Meeting Reminder!
As a reminder, our regularly scheduled local union meeting is on Thursday, September 27th at 12:30 eastern time in the lobby conference room at the USW Headquarters. If you’re in the building please try to attend, if you’re not in the building you can watch the meeting live in the members only section of our local union websitewww.USWlocal3657.org.
If you need a log-in ID for our website please e-mail Molly Relihan mrelihan@usw.org
If you have any items that you’d like to discuss at the meeting please e-mail Patrick Young pyoung@usw.org so we can add them to the agenda under new business.
3657 Union Bug!
As union members we have the right to mark our work products with the our union label (or union bug) so people know that it was produced by union labor. The union bug is usually displayed at the bottom of a document in the middle or toward the side.
Local 3657 Activist Pam Diana re-designed the Local 3657 Union Label so now we have a high-resolution version of the label (Thanks Pam!). We encourage everyone to remember to put the union label on letters, flyers, posters, and other documents you produce. You may even want to embed the Union Label in your e-mail signature!
Here is a high resolution version of our label as well as a smaller version which is best for affixing to letters, leafletts and e-mails. If you need a different version of the file, please contact Pam Diana at pdiana@usw.org.
Local 3657 members do great work and we put out some great materials so we should be proud to put our Union Label on our materials so everyone knows that union members produced them!
Moving Forward on Microsoft Office Certification
Because of the overwhelming interest in participating in the new ‘pay for knowledge’ program, we reached out to New Horizons to discuss possibilities for providing trainings for Local 3657 members. On September 10th, New Horizons came to the headquarters to make a presentation on training options that we may look into.
For each Microsoft Office application there are three one-day training sessions (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) that should prepare participants for passing the Microsoft Office Specialist test. We are working to figure out a way to schedule in-person, instructor led classes in the building. It may be possible for 3657 members in the field to participate in those courses remotely as well.
Alternatively, 3657 members in the field may choose to participate in instructor-led trainings at one of New Horizons’ training centers around the country or participate in another online, instructor led training.
Because of the incredible interest in the program we are working to make trainings available as quickly as possible. The trainings will not, however, be available anytime before the election and with the amount of vacation scheduled in November and December it seems unlikely that we’ll get anything off the ground until the beginning of 2013.
As you all know the contract does not require that you go through the New Horizons program to obtain your Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certificates so you may still choose to attend a local community college or any other training center that offers training to prepare you for the MOS exams. With prior approval those training programs are eligible for reimbursement through the Tuition Assistance Program in the contract. You will still need to pass the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) exam and provide a copy of your certificate before you are eligible to receive the pay for knowledge pay increases outlined in the contract.
If you have questions about the program or need further information feel free to contact Jen Pfeifer (jpfeifer@usw.org) in personnel.
Wellness at the USW
On September 7th, representatives from USW Local 3657 along with representatives from the other bargaining units at the International (SRU, PTEU, OPEIU) met with the International to receive a presentation from Redbrick Health about the possibility of implementing a voluntary wellness program for employees of the International. We are set to meet with Redbrick again on October 2 and we will keep you updated on the outcome of any discussions. We are hoping to have parts of the program roll out as soon as January 1.
United Steelworkers Local 3657 