October 2005 Labor Views

Service awards to members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners for the month of October were presented to:
Charles Molkenthin 25 years
Marc Trudeau 25 years

Congratulations!

Reminders: Two holiday floaters are left before the end of the year: Columbus Day and Veterans’ Day. I recommend that members who don’t have time to cover for the Christmas shutdown should plan to take advantage of these floating holidays. That way employees won’t have to borrow vacation time from next year. The carpenters have had the good fortune of working the holidays in the past if they chose to because work has been plentiful, but we are not guaranteed that luxury every year.

New Hires: You have heard me complain for many months that Management should hire more carpenters. They hire painters and riggers and welders, but not carpenters. The fact that we carpenters exhaust our job title regularly on weekends indicates that more carpenters needed to be hired. Recently that has happened. We anticipate that new carpenters will be on board soon, and I encourage all carpenters to be supportive of them and assist in making the transition to EB an easy one for them. We all benefit when our co-workers have the support they need to do their jobs well. The Company has been using versatility to complete some of our workload so members are encouraged to assist the other tradespeople who are working in our department because we never know when the shoe will be on the other foot.

I would like to thank the many members who generously contributed to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. The Carpenters’ Union also donated $1000 on behalf of its membership. Times like this should make all of us realize how fortunate we are especially compared to those people who live on the Gulf Coast.

It is that time again to opt in or out of medical and vision insurance. (VSP is additional vision insurance that is available to us.) If you have any changes, make sure that you fill out the forms correctly by the designated due date. If you have no changes, don’t fill out any forms.

Health screening day was September 13, 2005. Many members took advantage of the opportunity to have their blood pressure checked, cholesterol checked, etc. I would like to remind members that all of us have medical insurance, and we should seek regular check-ups with our family physicians. This may allow us to identify a minor health problem before it becomes a major one. When you have good health, everything else is secondary.


SSIP: I recently learned that less than 60% of employees at EB participate in the SSIP program. I understand that, for a lot of people who aren’t earning first class pay, it is difficult to find extra money to invest. Members should seriously consider investing since the Company will match your contribution dollar for dollar when you invest in GD stock. Even an investment of 2% is matched by the Company, and the tax benefit alone can make this worth your while. Taking your contribution out of your pay before taxes may even drop you into a lower tax bracket, and the difference in your pay each week may not even be noticeable. I recommend that you consider investing in the stock program especially those members who anticipate early retirement.

The 2005 Safety Awareness memo has been signed. Recognition is based on three segments: lost work days ($50), safety awareness ($75), and employee participation ($75). This is another benefit negotiated by your Union.

I encourage everyone to check our website for current road job lists, seniority lists, t-shirts, hats, and other information. Our address is www.local1302.com.


Our next Union meeting is a quarterly meeting. It is October 13, 2005, at 2:45pm in the Union Hall at 171 Thames Street, Groton. Your participation is welcomed.