 RIGHT TO WORK
Be sure to contact your reps from congress and the house. Let you leaders know that you SUPPORT and REQUEST a NO vote on right to work. Go to http://district4.cwa-union.org/ for futher information.
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To all members of Local 4700,
With a fresh start to the new year, we have had some changes in local officers. I would like to take this time to introduce your new officials, starting with myself. I am David Reddick President, Dave Wilson is our Executive Vice President, Nina Hettenbach as Sect/Treasurer. Dave Filbert has assumed the position of South Area Division Rep. As of this time, we dont have a North Area Rep, but look forward to finding someone for the position. Brian Titzer is the Cheif Steward at the 5525 Old Boonville Hwy garage. We (the new officials) will try to make this transition as smoothly as possible. Dont hesitate to call on anyone of us if you have any questions or concerns. Watch for updates, for when the become available, will be posted on the web site.
Thanks and have a great Christmas and New Year
Dave Reddick
Local 4700 President
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TO: CWA Local 4700 Membership
From: Curt Smith, Election Chair
Date: November 18, 2011
Re: Tentative Results from the 2011 Officers Election
The following are the tentative results from the 2011 Officers Election. There were 196 original ballots sent out and 2 duplicates. There were 106 ballots received, 105 ballots were valid, 1 ballot was void due to no signature, and none spoiled or challenged.
Candidates for President Total Votes = 105
David Reddick 55
Debbie Sturgeon 50
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MEDICARE PART B & CAREMARK PRESCRIPTION CHANGE
Effective January 1, 2012, approximately 3400 Midwest Legacy SBC & 3200 National Legacy ATT MEDICARE Primary Retirees will see a change in their Prescription coverage when CVS Caremark will begin to "electronically" co-ordinate benefits with Medicare PART B for SOME prescriptions drugs or supplies (without requiring a paper claim).
MAIL ORDER ONLY:
Medicare requires an Assignment of Benefits (AOB) form be signed by the individual in order for medicare to be billed. THIS IS A ONE-TIME REQUIREMENT... however....FAILURE TO SIGN & RETURN THE AOB W/IN 60 DAYS WILL CAUSE THE INDIVIDUAL TO BE RESPONSIBILE FOR THE AMOUNT MEDICARE WOULD HAVE PAID. This amount will be added to Caremarks outstanding mail order balance. (The reason retail is not affected is that you are usually signing an AOB at the retail pharmacy when you sign for your prescription.)
Caremark will send out the AOB (requesting signature) the first time the Part B medication or supply is dispensed through mail order in 2012. If not signed and returned w/in 30 days, another notice will be sent and, if again it is not returned, the final request, along with an invoice for what Medicare would have paid, will be sent.
Details regarding this change are expected to be mailed out to impacted retirees mid Dec 2011.
Some Drug & Supply Examples: certain diabetic supplies like testing monitors, test strips, lancet devices and lancets, blood sugar control solutions, certain oral cancer drugs, drugs used with soem types of durable medical equipment, like a nebulizer or external infusion pump.
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2012 Retirees Annual Enrollment Is Coming
10/31/11 Annual Enrollment Begins For Legacy SBC Retirees
· Enrollment kits will be mailed to your last known home address
· You can enroll On-line: http://resources.hewitt.com/att OR
· Call a Service Rep at 1-877-722-0020
· You will need your User ID & Password (call if you don’t know it)
11/12/11 Annual Enrollment ENDS
11/13/11 - 11/25/11 Correction Period (if needed)
Notes & Reminders (Company Sponsored/Traditional Medical Plans)
NO new Healthcare Reimbursement Acct deposits are scheduled for this year.
Pre-1993 Retirees generally keep what they have unless the current plan not offered. United Healthcare is generally the administrator. No monthly premiums.
Post 1993 Medicare Eligible Retirees have no monthly premiums & are generally administered by BC/BS of IL. Be aware of ALT = Alternative medical plans as they have much higher deductibles/out of pocket and penalty costs. Medicare eligible retirees in MI will NOT have the Blue Care Network HMO option due to higher costs & low volume.
Post 1993 Non-Medicare Retirees have a choice of keeping their old plan with a monthly premium ($9.67 S - $17.41 S+1 - $21.76 F) or choosing the Alternative plan without premiums, BUT w/much higher deductibles, out of pocket & penalty costs. (exception will be “New Hire Retirees” should there be any)
PPO/Non and HCN (Healthcare Network Plan) all use the same Dr/Hospital Network.
Determine that your providers are In-Network/Stay In-Network to be cost effective.
Preventative care is not usually covered Out of Network or is limited. You must have no prior diagnosis & Dr must use a preventative code to be deemed preventative.
HCN plans usually have less pre-authorization/medcall rules than PPO/Non. When in doubt on either plan; always call the administrator prior to usage if possible or within 48 hours after to avoid paying penalties. (Examples but not limited to: inpatient hospital stays, mental health pre-approvals, 2nd opinion mandates, tests/procedures required on outpatient basis, specialist referrals, true emergency ER-ambulance rules, home health care, hospice, extended care, organ transplants, air transport, chiropractic limits.
Always check HMO costs, levels of coverage and whom is actually covered.
Keep ALL Documents including Confirmation of Coverage. Check your dependents.
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2012 Annual Enrollment ENDS
10/14/11 Annual Enrollment ENDS – Active Bargained – Legacy SBC Employee’s
Enrollment Service Center 1-877-722-0020
Or On-line: http://resources.hewitt.com/att
7am – 7pm Central time
10/15/11 – 10/28/11 Correction Period if needed
Notes & Reminders
- Carefully review all benefits and costs before choosing your coverage.
- Be sure your providers participate in the Network.
- Print & SAVE all enrollment materials; including your Confirmation of Coverage
- Enroll each year in FSA’s if you want to participate.
- Premiums are taken from checks pre-tax UNLESS you choose POST tax now.
- Check HMOs carefully for changes to level of benefits, who they cover & costs.
- Stay in the network or HUGE penalties may apply.
- ONA claims are paid as if In-Network & is an advantage if you are so designated.
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2012 Annual Enrollment Is Coming
10/3/11 Annual Enrollment Begins – Active Bargained - Legacy SBC Employee’s
Enrollment is paper-less (ie: no enrollment kits are mailed)
Enrollment can be made by phone 1-877-722-0020 (7am-7pm central) or
On-line enrollment http://resources.hewitt.com/att
You will need your user ID & Password
Speak to a Service rep if Password or User ID is unknown
10/14/11 Annual Enrollment ENDS – Active Bargained – Legacy SBC Employee’s
You Must Enroll by this date of you MAY LOSE benefits.
10/15/11 – 10/28/11 Correction Period (if needed) – Active Bargained-Legacy SBC
NOTES & REMINDERS
- BC/BS of IL is the exclusive provider of the traditional Company sponsored medical plan. Check providers carefully to be sure they are in the network.
- If designated ONA; claims are paid on an In-Network basis.
- PPO & HCN provider networks are all the same, but the plans are different in how they work: Example: Medcall Requirements, 2nd Opinion & Outpatient Rules, Specialist referrals, etc. Please check plans details.
- Check that Dependents are eligible & SSN are accurate.
- Flexible Spending Accounts need to be enrolled in EVERY year.
- There are no new HRA deposits (except through success share awards).
- Watch for premium increases (ie: HMOs, Vision Plus, Supplemental Life).
- Premiums are pre-tax unless you change it to post tax. You MUST elect POST TAX during Annual Enrollment if you want to reimburse yourself the monthly premiums thru your HRA
- Preventative Care is NOT COVERED out of network.
- Default is to Smoker on Supplemental Life if no other designation is made.
- PRINT & SAVE all Enrollment materials including your Confirmation of Coverage so you have proof of what you chose in case of future disputes.
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The Anti-Democratic Attack on Workers' Rights
House Republicans are attacking workers' rights again, and this time they've shut down the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), stopping hundreds of thousands of construction and IT jobs for airport modernization and forcing the layoff of thousands of working Americans.
At 12:01 am Saturday morning, FAA funding was shut down. This attack is led by Representatives John Mica (R-Fla.) and Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and Speaker John Boehner, who, with House Republicans, are demanding that the democratic election standard for airline workers in a union representation election be stripped from the FAA Reauthorization Bill.
That's right. This anti-democratic, extremist campaign to stop workers from joining a union has grown so strong that House Republicans think it's more important than creating and keeping good American jobs.
These Members of Congress want to impose an election standard on airline workers that doesn't apply anywhere else in our democracy. They even want to count non-voters as NO votes. Under this standard, not a single current Member of Congress would have won election to the House of Representatives.
We can't allow this attack on workers' rights and democracy to go forward. Send an email to your representative today and urge him or her to put politics aside and put democracy and good jobs first. Take a moment to tell to your member of Congress to drop the politics. It's time to do the right thing for America's working families and taxpayers and keep democracy in our country. Click link below.
http://action.cwa-union.org/c/11/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2570
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STOP OUTSOURCING OUR JOBS!!!
TELL CONGRESS THIS DEAL MUST NOT PASS!
It’s our economy and our jobs at stake!
Call Congress
1-877-851-3674
Your voice is powerful
The Scrpit: My name is ______ and I’m from ____, ___ (city,
state). I am asking [representative’s name] to oppose the
Colombia Trade Agreement.
Optional: I oppose the Colombia Trade Deal because:
Choose:
• Competing against an underpaid, non-regulated workforce in Colombia will hurt middle class Americans and threaten our recovery
• In the Colombian deal, there are no real protections for workers. Colombian labor laws don’t apply to 85% of workers and are under-enforced or ignored
• Until fair labor standards of just wages, fair treatment, safe working conditions and the right to organize at work are part of the trade deal, there can be no fair trade–only a race to the bottom.
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District 4 RMC Newsletter – June 24, 2011 – Volume # 16
HELP SAVE MEDICARE
Believe or not, Washington politicians are pushing an EXTREME plan to end Medicare as we know it. They want to replace Medicare with a voucher system that would put seniors at the mercy of big insurance company bureaucrats. And we know how that’s worked out for us in the past.
THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATES THE PLAN WOULD DRAMATICALLY INCREASE HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR SENIORS.
All of this is being done to finance more tax cuts for millionaires and multinational corporations. Yes, we need to balance the budget but not on the back of our seniors.
CALL OR WRITE your Senators before it’s too late.
Wall Street Journal Reports: AARP may be willing to cut Social Security? NOT so fast…
True or not…
Do NOT LET AARP speak for you. The current economic recession is all the proof we need to know that in many cases Social Security is frequently the only safety net that keeps millions of American Seniors in their own homes with food on the table.
This is a very real threat - the horse has left the barn.
PLEASE CALL, email or write your members of Congress & your Senators. Tell them to RAISE THE CAP as an alternative, but NO CUTS to SOCIAL SECURITY!!!
Tell them not to privatize Medicare or Social Security, period.
And to STOP TRYING TO BALANCE THE BUDGET ON OUR SENIOR CITIZENS BACKS.
Emailer’s can go to: http://bit.ly/ldixlQ
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TO ALL MEMBERS THAT RECIEVED FORMS FOR PERSONEL RECORDS:
If you have your form, please have your manager sign copy and return back to your union rep. We have to turn them back into district. If you havent recieved one, contact union rep to do so. Thanks Dave Reddick E.V.P.
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BOYCOTT
The AFL-CIO has approved a boycott of the Indianapolis Hyatt Regency Hotel. due to the refusal to recognizing their employees right to organize. Please refrain from meeting, sleeping or eating at this establishment
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We have all kinds of GREAT features like the ability to SEND TEXT MESSAGE ALERTS if needed right from our website, not to mention the face lift. We hope to utilize this site as a tool to relay relevent and current information to you and the rest of the public. Support Your Local Union!
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MEMBERSHIP MEETING
THIS IS TO ANNOUNCE AT THE NEXT MEMBERSHIP MEETING IN THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH, WE WILL BE VOTING ON PROPOSED BY-LAW CHANGES. PLEASE BE IN ATTENDANCE. ALSO WILL HAVE A GUEST SPEAKER.
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Too all AT&T members:
There is a form that is going to be located on the union boards allowing you to send in bargaining request information. If you are not able to recieve one, email dreddick@cwa4700.org , and one will be sent to you, they have to be in by Jan 6th.
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| JOIN US ON FACEBOOK
TYPE CWA LOCAL 4700 INTO SEARCH
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| CWA LOCAL 4700 MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
Evansville: Meeting held the 3rd Monday of every month beginning 6pm located at the Central Labor Council bldg on the corner of Fulton Ave and Franklin Ave Evansville, IN
Columbus: Meeting held the 4th Monday of every month beginning at 6pm located at the Edinburgh Library, Edinburgh, IN
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| BENEFIT/INSURANCE INFO IS PERIODICALLY MOVED TO THE MEMBERS SECTION OF THE WEBSITE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE. CLICK ON MEMBERS ABOVE TO BE REDIRECTED THERE.
(scroll down to search for previous article)
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| COMMUNICATION WORKERS OF AMERICA COMMITTE ON POLITICAL EDUCATION
Click on the link listed below for information on the CWA COPE Participant Incentive Award Program including how to join and redeem program awards for the CWA Committee on Political Education.
[ JOIN CWA COPE - COMMITTEE ON POLITICAL EDUCATION ]
Or follow this link directly to the CWA COPE website: http://www.cwa-cope.org/
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| Text message alerts-To recieve text alerts simply place your name and telephone number and submit, you will be added into system. Standard text message rates do apply!!!!
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