summer 2013 - UFCW Local 1445

INSIDE:
SUMMER
2013
ABC winners............................................pg
3
At Your Service.......................................pg 2
Scholarships....................................pp 8 - 10
Fighting Leukemia..................................pg 6
Legislative Report..............................pp 3, 7
Women's Network..................................pg 4
An American Hero..................................pg 7
SUMMER 2013
LOCAL 1445
Page 1
UNIONNEWS
30 Stergis Way
Dedham, MA 02026
(781) 461-6775
ISSN 1049-1147
www.ufcwlocal1445.org
Vol. 38, No. 2
AWARD-WINNING QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF UFCW z LOCAL 1445
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
PRESIDENT’S
MESSA
GE
MESSAGE
RICK CHARETTE
ACA: The Law of the Land
It amazes me that even though we are one of the richest
countries in the world, we don’t have healthcare for all.
We don’t have a universal single-payer system with an
employer mandate. No, instead we have the Affordable
Care Act (ACA) which, in itself, does have some good
features. Every parttime person will soon have access to
unlimited coverage regardless of prior medical
conditions; and parttime people whose household
incomes are less than 300% of the federal poverty level
will get financial subsidies from the government. For
seven years we were able to continue to provide to our
parttime members in the Interstate Fund a “frontloaded”
plan that was very successful and took care of over 99%
of their medical needs. We were able to do that because
we fought hard at the Massachusetts state level, and
then in Washington, DC, for waivers that allowed us to
continue providing our parttime plan for the past seven
years. Now the federal law - the ACA - gets passed in
Congress and it prevents us from continuing to provide
our parttime plan. It’s unfortunate and it isn’t right,
but it’s the law.
We have hired the Segal Company, a national company
that has a professional relationship with us, to assist in
making the transition to the Mass Health Care
Continued on page 11
Funding the Work to Find a Cure
New Alliance
Promotes
Workplace Benefits
for Retail Workers
GUEST
EDITORIAL
With the exception of retail
workers who have a union and a
voice on the job, too many
American workers are struggling
to survive on low wages and
RICH
parttime hours with little or no
WHALEN
benefits. As the nation’s largest
retailer, Walmart has played a huge Guest editorial by Rich Whalen
UFCW International VP
role in influencing the retail
Director of UFCW Region 1
industry, and many retail
employers have followed Walmart’s lead by skimping on hours
and preventing fulltime schedules so they won’t have to provide
benefits.
Recently, a coalition of social justice and policy experts from
around the country launched the National Retail Justice Alliance
to highlight the social and economic plight of retail workers in
the United States. On March 26, the alliance, in partnership with
Citizen Action/Illinois, Women Employed, and Jobs With
Justice, hosted a hearing in Chicago with Representative Jan
Schakowsky (D-Ill.) to highlight the economic struggles of
parttime workers in retail and other service industries. The
hearing also underscored the need for Rep. Schakowsky’s
Continued on page 3
2013 Official
Quarterly Meeting
Reunión oficial trimestral 2013
Próxima reunião em 2013
This quarter’s official
membership meeting will be held
on the following date:
Esta reunión oficial de membrecia timestral
se celebrará en la siguiente fecha:
Esta reunião será realizada no dia:
Secretary-Treasurer Jeff Bollen (left) and President Rick Charette (right)
at the annual Local 1445 Golf Tournament presenting the Leukemia &
Lymphoma Society's Lou Ulsch (center) with a check for the $25,000 in
donations raised by Local 1445. More photos pg 6
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
7:00 p.m.
Local 1445 union hall
30 Stergis Way, Dedham, MA
SUMMER 2013
Page 2
AT YOUR
SERVICE
How the Health Care Law is Making a Difference
for the People of Massachusetts
For too long, too many
hardworking Americans paid
the price for policies that
handed free rein to insurance
companies and put barriers
between patients and their
doctors. The Affordable Care
JIM
Act gives hardworking families
RONAYNE
in Massachusetts the security
they deserve. The new health
care law forces insurance companies to play by the
rules, prohibiting them from dropping your coverage if
you get sick, billing you into bankruptcy because of an
annual or lifetime limit, or, soon, discriminating against
anyone with a pre-existing condition.
All Americans will have the security of knowing that they
don’t have to worry about losing coverage if they’re laid
off or change jobs. And insurance companies now have
to cover your preventive care like mammograms and
other cancer screenings. The new law also makes a
significant investment in State and community-based
efforts that promote public health, prevent disease and
protect against public health emergencies.
Health reform is already making a difference for the
people of Massachusetts by:
· Expanding health insurance coverage in
every state
The Affordable Care Act will expand health insurance
coverage by establishing a Health Insurance
Marketplace in every state and increasing access to
the Medicaid program. 238,545 or 4% of
Massachusetts’s non-elderly residents are uninsured,
of whom 204,254 (86%) may qualify for either tax
credits to purchase coverage in the Marketplace or
for Medicaid if Massachusetts participates in the
Medicaid expansion.
· Increasing Access to Medicaid
The Affordable Care Act also fills in gaps in coverage
for the poorest Americans by giving states the option
IT P
AYS TO BEL
ONG TO
PA
BELONG
LOCAL 1445
NUMBER OF WORKSITES VISITED BY
UNION REPRESENTATIVES:
March 1, 2013 to May 31, 2013
Total since June 1, 2012
GRIEVANCES HANDLED:
March 1, 2013 to May 31, 2013
Total since June 1, 2012
BACKPAY AND BENEFITS
RESTORED FOR MEMBERS:
March 1, 2013 to May 31, 2013
Total since June 1, 2012
1,190
4,686
598
2,332
to expand Medicaid to individuals under 65 years of
age with income below 133 percent of the federal
poverty level (FPL) (approximately $14,000 for an
individual and $29,000 for a family of four) beginning
in January 2014. States will receive 100% federal
funding for the first three years to support this
expanded coverage, phasing to 90% federal funding
in subsequent years. In addition, Medicaid and
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
eligibility and enrollment will be much simpler and will
be coordinated with the Marketplace.
· Providing new coverage options for young
adults
Health plans are now required to allow parents to
keep their children under age 26 without job-based
coverage on their family coverage, and, thanks to this
provision, 3.1 million young people have gained
coverage nationwide. As of December 2011, 21,000
young adults in Massachusetts gained insurance
coverage as a result of the health care law.
· Making prescription drugs affordable for
seniors
The Affordable Care Act makes prescription drug
coverage (Part D) for people with Medicare more
affordable. It does this by gradually closing the gap in
drug coverage known as the “donut hole.” Since the
enactment of the law, 6.1 million Americans with
Medicare who reached the donut hole have saved
over $5.7 billion on prescription drugs. Nationwide,
drug savings of $2.5 billion in 2012 were higher than
the $2.3 billion in savings for 2011. In
Massachusetts, people with Medicare saved over
$96.4 million on prescription drugs since the law’s
enactment. In 2012 alone, 59,062 individuals in
Massachusetts saved over $39.4 million, or an
average of $667 per beneficiary. In 2012, people
with Medicare in the “donut hole” received a 50
percent discount on covered brand name drugs and
14 percent discount on generic drugs. And thanks to
Continued on page 5
Know
someone
who needs
a union?
Tell them
to call
Local
1445!
Organizing
Department
$37,490
$125,720
1-800-439-1445
LOCAL 1445
UNION
NEWS
UNIONNEWS
Published Quarterly at Boston, MA by:
UNITED FOOD & COMMERCIAL
WORKERS UNION LOCAL 1445 ~
Chartered by the United Food & Commercial
Workers International Union
RICHARD O. CHARETTE - President
JEFF BOLLEN - Secretary-Treasurer
DOUG BELANGER - Recorder
RICHARD O. CHARETTE - Exec. editor
Linda Ferrazzara - Managing editor
Local 1445 UNION NEWS (ISSN 1049-1147)
is published quarterly for $30 per year by
Local 1445, 30 Stergis Way, Dedham, MA
02026. Second class postage paid at Boston,
MA under the Act of 1812. Postmaster: send
address changes to Local 1445 Union News,
30 Stergis Way, Dedham, MA 02026.
SUMMER 2013
Page 3
Guest Editorial (continued from page1)
legislation—the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights Act of 2013
(H.R. 675)—which would extend protections to parttime
workers in the areas of employer-provided health insurance,
family and medical leave, and pension plans.
Sponsored by Schakowsky and Representative George Miller
(D-Calif.), the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights ensures that
parttime workers (defined as those working less than 30 hours a
week) and their families have access to critical workplace
benefits. The legislation strengthens the Affordable Care Act,
which currently penalizes only those employers who fail to
provide health insurance to fulltime workers but includes no
such penalties for employers who deny health coverage to
parttime workers.
For years, Local 1445 has fought to make sure that retail jobs
are good jobs with benefits, and more and more retail workers
are joining the UFCW for a better life. It’s important that we
support groups like the National Retail Justice Alliance and
policies like the Part-Time Worker Bill of Rights in order to
protect the health and well-being of millions of parttime workers
in retail and other service industries.
Congratulations to our
latest Active Ballot Club
(ABC) winners!
$100 winner Amy Skelly
(Stop & Shop - Stoughton) with
BA Cherie Aquilino
$100 winner Roberta Volis
(Stop & Shop - Methuen) with
steward Steve Paolini
$50 winner Robert Laferte
(Stop & Shop - Franklin) with
BA Cherie Aquilino
$50 winner Robert Moschella
(Stop & Shop - Milford) with
BA Cherie Aquilino
$50 winner Susan O'Brien
(Stop & Shop - Malden) with
BA Bob Lennon
$50 winner Mary Polcari
(Stop & Shop - Milford) with BA
(you guessed it!) Cherie Aquilino
For more information about this legislation and the National
Retail Justice Alliance, visit http://www.govtrack.us/congress/
bills/113/hr675/text and www.retailjusticealliance.org.
LEGISLA
TIVE REPOR
T
LEGISLATIVE
REPORT
Time to Raise the Minimum Wage in Massachusetts
On June 11th more than 600 members of organized labor and the
community turned out to support raising the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts’ minimum wage. Jim Carvalho of Local 1445
(pictured above) testified in front of the Joint Committee of Labor
and Workforce Development in support of two bills, H.1701 and
S.878, which call for an increase to Massachusetts’ minimum wage
to $11 per hour by July 2015, and subsequently tie the minimum
wage to the Consumer Price Index, beginning in 2016.
Over the past 4 decades, the small and infrequent increases to our
country’s and commonwealth’s minimum wages have not kept pace
with increases in the cost-of-living and inflation. This has caused the
real value of the minimum wage to decrease over these years and
has eroded the purchasing power of minimum wage earners.
Increases to Massachusetts’ minimum wage as outlined in these two
bills will provide the lowest wage-earners with added income that is
desperately needed in order to help them make ends meet, and
which will be put back into local economies as they spend wage
increases on goods and services they may not have been able to
afford previously.
Continued on page 7
If you’ve signed up for ABC, you’re automatically entered in the
raffle and YOU could be one of our next winners!
At LEAST six winners -
two $100 winners and four $50 winners -
are chosen at each quarterly membership meeting from all members
entered. You do not have to be present to win.
Supporting ABC means
safeguarding laws that protect
YOUR rights and benefits,
such as time-and-a-half pay
for Sunday work.
Don’t miss out - see your
shop steward and sign up TODAY!
Not sure who’s your shop steward? Speak to your
business agent, or call the Local 1445 office
(1-800-439-1445) and we’ll be happy to help you.
Page 4
SUMMER 2013
Two Local 1445 Members at Stop & Shop #5 in Peabody, MA Have Retired
Jack Crowley, frozen food clerk, (in
the photo to the left) and Stephen
Boudreau, lead dairy clerk, (in the
photo to the right) have recently
retired. Between the two of them,
they have almost 100 years of membership in Local 1445 and service to
Stop & Shop! To say that they will
be missed by their union brothers
and sisters, and customers, and
fellow workers, is a gross understatement.
We wish them - Jack and his wife, Mary; and Stephen and his wife, Joyce - many future years of health and enjoyment,
as they are finally able to take advantage of the retirement they've both worked so hard for!
As one of its recent community-oriented projects, which have included soliciting
contributions for local food pantries and holiday toy/gift drives, the UFCW Local
1445 Women's Network collected pet food donations to benefit animal shelters.
"Helping people is our first, number one priority," stated Women's Network director Cherie Aquilino. "But unfortunately, lost and abandoned pets, and other at-risk
animals, often get forgotten. This can certainly be of great concern to our members
and all animal lovers."
In an email, Cherie's daughter, Christina, said:
"Dear Women’s Network,
A heartfelt thank you to you and your stewards for organizing and collecting
pet supplies. Countless needy cats and dogs have enjoyed the many donations
that were so graciously bestowed upon them. The shelter volunteers are
overwhelmed with gratitude as they work tirelessly, with limited resources, to
care for an endless population of vulnerable pets. Please know that your
combined efforts have improved the lives of many. Keep up the great work
and know that your kindness and generosity has touched many lives."
SUMMER 2013
Page 5
At Your Service (continued from page2)
the Affordable Care Act, coverage for both brand
name and generic drugs will continue to increase over
time until the coverage gap is closed.
· Covering preventive services with no
deductible or co-pay
The health care law requires many insurance plans to
provide coverage without cost sharing to enrollees for
a variety of preventive health services, such as
colonoscopy screening for colon cancer, Pap smears
and mammograms for women, well-child visits, and
flu shots for all children and adults. The law also
makes proven preventive services free for most
people on Medicare.
In 2011 and 2012, 71 million Americans with private
health insurance gained preventive service coverage
with no cost-sharing, including 1,773,000 in
Massachusetts. And for policies renewing on or after
August 1, 2012, women can now get coverage
without cost-sharing of even more preventive services
they need. Approximately 47 million women,
including 1,212,350 in Massachusetts will now have
guaranteed access to additional preventive services
without cost-sharing.
The Affordable Care Act is also removing barriers for
people with Medicare. With no deductibles or copays, cost is no longer a barrier for seniors and
people with disabilities who want to stay healthy by
detecting and treating health problems early. In 2012
alone, an estimated 34.1 million people with Medicare
benefited from Medicare’s coverage of preventive
services with no cost-sharing. In Massachusetts,
686,735 individuals with traditional Medicare used
one or more free preventive service in 2012.
· Scrutinizing unreasonable premium
increases
In every state and for the first time under Federal law,
insurance companies are required to publicly justify
their actions if they want to raise rates by 10 percent
or more. Massachusetts has received $4,385,165
under the new law to help fight unreasonable premium
increases.
· Removing lifetime limits on health benefit
The law bans insurance companies from imposing
lifetime dollar limits on health benefits – freeing
cancer patients and individuals suffering from other
chronic diseases from having to worry about going
without treatment because of their lifetime limits.
Already, 2,520,000 people in Massachusetts,
including 975,000 women and 633,000 children, are
free from worrying about lifetime limits on coverage.
The law also restricts the use of annual limits and
bans them completely in 2014.
For more information, updates, and
information on the health care law in
other states, go to www.healthcare.gov
Our Newest Retirees ~
Chacko Abraham
Joseph Baptist
Edna Bernardo
Patricia Bessette
Normand Bileau
John Blackberg
Joan Blinn-DeRosa
George Bogosian
Antoine Bonnet
Katherine Bonsang
Stephen Boudreau
Marie Bucknam
Patricia Burns
Esteban Casasola
Dorothy Ciampoi
Deborah Collette
Geraldine Corbett
Marilyn Cunio
Sharon Davis
Joan Dempsey
Michelina Dicenso
Charles Doucot
Darlene Edwards
Charles Egan
Heureuse Exantus
Robert Falasca
Linda Falvey
Elizabeth Fecteau
Dorothy Gibney
Julie Goodwin
Mark Hebert
Katrinia Jacob
Lahuja Jahuja
Linda Jorgensen
Thelma Jurewicz
Patricia Kelley
Kenneth Logan
Margaret Lovely
Robert March
Fanny Martinez
Retirees
Frances Matton
John McGrath
Joseph Melanson
Roland Merrill
Lucien Mondesier
Elaine Mooney
Kenneth Nichols
John Nolan
Theodore Pappas
Antonio Paulo
John Perry
Joseph Pirrotta
Linda Rakiey
Angelo Saporito
Stanley Smith
Ronald Ouellette, Sr.
Nancy Tarantino
Judith Thomas
Leonard Troio
Eula Yancey
Club
Is there life after retirement? You BET there
is - just ask the members of the Local 1445
Retirees Club! If you’d like more information on
how to join the fun, fill out this form and mail it
to: Membership, Local 1445 Retirees Club,
UFCW Local 1445, 30 Stergis Way, Dedham,
MA 02026.
Name:
Address:
Phone number:
Retired from:
E-mail address (optional):
UFCW Interstate H & W Fund
Claims Paid - Experience Report
March 28, 2013 through June 19, 2013
Coverage:
$ 753,982.91
Dental
6,078.00
Vision
440,882.64
Disability
1,755,564.78
Rx (March - May)
Medical (March - May) 14,547,769.95
$17,504,278.28
Total
IMPORTANT: If you work for Stop & Shop and you
change or have changed your social security number,
at any time and for any reason (even for as simple a
reason as a typo in your records), you MUST notify
the UFCW Industry Pension Fund at 1-800531-2385 in order to receive pension credit
under both numbers.
If you have any questions on this matter, feel free to call
Jim Ronayne (1-800-439-1445, ext. 121); your
conversation will be kept strictly confidential.
SUMMER 2013
Page 6
UFCW Local 1445 Leukemia Golf Tournament
Teeing off against cancer
SUMMER 2013
Matthew Patterson,
Son of Local 1445 Shop Steward
Pat Patterson (Stop & Shop, Lynn)
Page 7
LEGISLA
TIVE REPOR
T
LEGISLATIVE
REPORT
Minimum Wage
(continued from page3)
The time is now for Massachusetts to once again take the lead
in the country and increase its minimum wage. Tell your
elected representatives they need to give workers a raise! You
can find your state representative and senator by visiting
https://malegislature.gov, go to www.ufcwlocal1445.org and
click on "Contact state and federal legislators", or contact Jim
Carvalho at Local 1445 to find out how you can become more
involved with these important issues.
A True American Hero
On April 15, off-duty Lynn firefighter Matthew Patterson and his
girlfriend were sitting in a Boston restaurant, watching runners as
they approached the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
Matt is an Army veteran who has served in Kazakhstan and
Afghanistan, and is all too familiar with the sound of an IED
(improvised explosive device) blast. When the first explosion
occurred at the Marathon, Matt was jolted by a horrible sense of déjà
vu; when the second bomb went off Matt knew exactly what it was.
He yelled to the other patrons to get to the back of the restaurant as
he flew out the front door, straight into the chaotic pandemonium on
the street, to help the bomb victims.
A young girl, her leg blown off by the explosion, lay bleeding to death
on the pavement. Matt got a belt from another rescuer and tightened
it around the girl’s leg, saving her life. That little girl was Jane Richard
who survived the horrific attack but lost her leg; tragically, her 8-yearold brother, Martin, lost his life.
After delivering Jane to a responding Fire Department vehicle, Matt
immediately returned to the scene to help others injured by the
bombs.
Matt has been nationally recognized for his heroism by President
Obama. He also threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park, alongside
other heroes from the April 15 Boston Marathon terrorist attack.
Local 1445 is proud of Matthew Patterson for the courageous and
unselfish actions he took that terrible day to save innocent lives. And
we are proud of all our union brothers and sisters – the firefighters,
police officers, and first responders - who risk their lives every day to
protect the rest of us.
"Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor,
never the victim. Silence encourages
the tormentor, never the tormented."
~ Elie Wiesel, 1986 Nobel Peace Prize
Walmart Workers Across the Country
Strike, Travel to Shareholders Meeting
This past June more than 100 Walmart associates went on an
extended strike to protest Walmart’s illegal efforts to silence the calls
for change at Walmart and traveled to the company’s annual
shareholders meeting in Arkansas. Two associates from
Massachusetts, David and Aubretia, joined their fellow OUR
(Organization United for Respect) Walmart members in a week-long
nationwide caravan to Bentonville, AK, to voice the direct impact that
Walmart is having on their lives and the economy.
In Massachusetts, with the help of the Women’s Network, the Local’s
organizers, and community and labor allies, delegations were sent to
nearly 40 of the state’s Walmart stores. They delivered letters to the
store managers in support of Walmart associates, and thank you
flyers to the associates themselves as part of a national day of
action, in conjunction with the company’s shareholders meeting and
the striking workers' demonstrations.
In Arkansas, with community supporters echoing their calls nationally,
OUR Walmart called on Walmart to create better jobs. More and
more people are
calling for the
company to end
retaliation against
employees and for
the company to
publicly commit to
improving
associates' hours
and wages, so
workers don’t have
to rely on taxpayerfunded programs to
support their
families. After the
shareholders
meeting, David and
Aubretia returned to
work at their stores
and to continue their
activism with OUR
Walmart.
SUMMER 2013
Page 8
2013 Local 1445/Massachusetts AFL-CIO Scholarship
Winners
Congratulations to our 2013 Local
1445/MA AFL-CIO scholarship
winners, James McGrath (left) and
Dimitria Yeannakopoulos (right), with
their parents. Scholarship winners
from unions across the state were
honored at the May 9th awards
dinner held at the IBEW Local 103
union hall in Dorchester.
James is a Local 1445 member and Xaverian Brothers High School senior who works at Stop & Shop #418 in
Norwood, MA; Dimitria attends Bishop Fenwick High School and is the daughter of Local 1445 member Joakim
who works at Stop & Shop #410 in Gloucester, MA. Both received Local 1445 scholarships as a result of their high
scores on the qualifying test, which is administered by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO to high school seniors each
year on the first Wednesday in February.
If you will be a college-bound high school senior this fall and you, or your parents or grandparents, are a member
of Local 1445, be sure to check the next issue of the Local 1445 Union News for more information and an application form for the Local 1445/MA AFL-CIO scholarships.
Scholarship Opportunities
This is your LAST CHANCE to apply for the 2013 UFCW Local scholarships - DON'T LET THIS
OPPORTUNITY PASS YOU BY! These scholarships will be awarded and winners announced at the
quarterly membership meeting on July 23; information and applications for NEXT year's
2014 scholarships will be in the next issue of the Union News.
And don't forget to check the scholarship and financial aid information available at www.unionplus.org/collegeeducation-financing/union-plus-scholarship. (You don't have to be a UnionPlus credit card holder to be eligible your membership in Local 1445, by itself, qualifies you for many UnionPlus benefits.)
SUMMER 2013
Page 9
Page 10
SUMMER 2013
SUMMER 2013
Page 11
For cruciverbalists (and you know who you are) -
MCMXXXVIII to MMXIII: DXXV YEARS AND STILL GOING STRONG!
Hint: A familiarity with Roman numerals may be helpful. By LF
Solution: In the next issue of the UFCW Local 1445 Union News or go to www.ufcwlocal1445.org and click on "Puzzle solution".
49. Criticize; badmouth
50. Makes angry
52. Go back on one’s word; an error in the game of bridge
57. Your bargaining agent that guarantees you a fair contract and
dignity and respect on-the-job
60. Byzantine Emperor from 457 AD to 474 AD
61. “__, ___ to me! I won’t believe you anyway!” (2 words)
62. Capital of Samoa
63. Credit reports; abbr.
64. Prognosticator
65. Zen paradox or parable
Across:
1. The old sod
5. A speech impediment
9. Luke Wilson’s brother
13. Yours and ____
14. “_______ of Old Smokey” (2 words)
16. The yellow Teletubby
17. Organization of special importance to recipients of this
newsletter
20. The condition of being in balance; stability
21. “_____ and shine!”
22. Cross piece on a railroad track
23. Legal; bona fide (slang)
25. “I’d hate to be in your _____!”
27. A rowdy crowd dance, as at a wedding (2 words)
31. Name, Fr.
32. Sign on ID
33. Gerund-forming suffix
34. Beloved elephant of children’s literature
36. Mountain system in south-central Europe (2 words)
38. Commune in the Côtes-d’Armor department in Bretagne in
north-western France
40. Ax-like wood shaping tools
41. Per Ambrose Bierce: “…form of wit to which wise men stoop
and fools aspire.”
42. “Sorry! My bad!”
43. An elected legislator; abbr.
44. Take aim (3 words)
46. “As ___________ resort”; (2 words)
48. Like royalty; majestic
Down:
1. Flightless Australian birds
2. Crack or fissure; MMORPG
3. Largest empire in pre-Columbian America
4. UFCW Local 1445 Union _______
5. These sink ships (2 words)
6. Relative of Ltd.
7. Non-blinking
8. Courteous
9. Not young
10. What you might find in a Dan Quayle cornucopia (2 words)
11. May be a character from “The Beverly Hillbillies”?
12. Central parts of churches
15. Afternoons
18. Female Indian name meaning “beauty”
19. Model of aircraft (var.)
24. Westboro, MA native’s inventions for separating cotton fibers
from seeds
26. Rub elbows with high society
27. Slit
28. Federal agency in charge of workplace safety; abbr.
29. Requires a boat to get rid of garbage? (3 words) Forgive me for
this one!
30. Makes like a cow
34. If you have a luxury vehicle with leather seats, you might use this
in cold weather (2 words)
35. Kelly on TV
37. Dried bean of many colors
38. Bog; marsh
39. Common excuse for missing school? Abbr.
41. The first day of a two-day one-day sale (a la Macy’s)
44. Garbage
45. Corporate-funded organization that pushes antiworker/antiunion
legislation; abbr.
46. Mature
47. Prisoner with no chance of release
51. Pooh’s pal
53. A Midwestern right-to-work state; abbr.
54. Fair extraordinaire
55. Type of brain cell
56. “___ Almighty” 2007 Steve Carrell/Morgan Freeman film
58. This state’s antiworker governor abolished many workers’ rights
to organize; abbr.
59. What golfers are concerned with on the course (or what they do
when comparing scores?)
President's Message (continued from page1)
Connection a simpler and less stressful one. The program will be coming out soon, and information will be available
through a series of letters, post cards, website videos, and meetings; information will be sent to your homes and
posted in the stores as well. The program is branded “HOW2” and every piece of information will start with “HOW2”.
In addition, three of our healthcare professionals are being trained to be the “navigators”, and we have also
arranged for the state to send in some of their healthcare officials to help make the transition a smooth one.
Remember: We will continue to provide through the Fund dental coverage, life insurance, and accidental death and
dismemberment insurance (AD&D) coverage, as well as an increased short term disability benefit, for our eligible
parttime members. We will also be using the "HOW2” campaign to explain the Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and
In solidarity,
the Annual Bonuses Accounts (ABA), so look for the “HOW2“ label coming soon.
SUMMER 2013
Page 12
SECRETARYTREASURER’S
REPORT
MATEWAN*: ONE MORE BATTLE IN
AMERICAN LABOR HISTORY
that helped American workers win the right
to have a union today
Prior to 1935 when President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
signed into law the National
Labor Relations Act (NLRA/
Wagner-Connery Act) that
JEFF
allowed American workers to
BOLLEN
legally form a union in their
workplace, untold numbers of
Americans were arrested, assaulted by private police,
framed for crimes, and even murdered for trying to
unionize their factories and mines.
Some of the fiercest battles took place in the 1920s in
West Virginia’s coal mines. Workers and families lived in
impoverished conditions where lack of food and proper
healthcare, and the harsh, dangerous working conditions
meant miners and their families faced serious illness and
excruciating death as part of their everyday lives.
Workers died from black lung disease, mine shaft caveins, explosions, and suffocation from lack of oxygen and
poisonous underground gas. Those who spoke up and
protested or tried to organize into the United Mine
Workers Union were subjected to cruel treatment and
physical abuse by the mine bosses and guards; others
were murdered outright. The law enforcement
community generally sided with and were in the pockets
of the mine owners.
While West Virginia Coal company operators did all they
could to oppose unionism in their mines, the same
terrible working conditions existed in all the non-union
mines. Workers who were hired had to sign a binding
“yellow-dog contract" (legal then, not today) under which
miners pledged not to join a union or they risked losing
their jobs and housing. They were paid next to nothing
and had no freedom of speech or right to assembly.
In 1920 after the workers went on strike to improve
working conditions and wages in Matewan, WV, the
owners hired African-Americans and Italian immigrants to
replace the strikers. The replacements, after
experiencing the harsh conditions in the mines, joined
the strike and shut the mines down completely. The
owners removed the workers from their company
housing, forcing the families to live in tents. To intimidate
workers and try to break the strike, the owners then hired
private cops and thugs who ambushed the families at
night, shooting rifles and machine guns into the tents
while they slept. Men, women, and children were
murdered or seriously injured by the company’s hired
goons. The Matewan sheriff, Sid Hatfield, was different
than other law enforcement personnel in that he was a
local neighborhood guy who actually sided with the
strikers and resented the out-of-state private police for
bringing violence to his community. Sheriff Hatfield
stopped the mine owners' hired thugs from removing
furniture from the employees’ homes, infuriating the mine
bosses. The owners then brought more hired guns to
Matewan where a gunfight erupted between the
company’s hired police, the town’s sheriff, and a handful
of workers and town residents. When the smoke
cleared, all the company’s hired guns were dead, as
were a town banker, the union organizer, and several
townspeople. Sheriff Hatfield (Hatfieds vs McCoys) was
hailed by the locals as a hero for winning that gunfight.
But in furtherance of their corrupt and cowardly agenda,
the mine owners paid to have Sheriff Hatfield shot to
death, from behind and in the back of the head, several
months later on the courthouse steps.
The union prevailed in the end.
Other major labor battles ensued in other coal mining
towns in West Virginia as workers continued with their
struggle to win better wages and improve the deplorable
conditions in the coal mines. Many more workers and
innocent family members died, as well as those who
fought on the side of the mine owners, including
company-hired militia and police.
Finally, in 1935, President Roosevelt signed the NLRA
which legalized the right to form unions, putting an end to
most of the bloody worker/company wars.
Today, employers still fight employees’ union organizing
efforts, but now their hired goons wear Brooks Brothers
suits and use threats of plant closings and rumors of job
losses, instead of guns and brass knuckles, to intimidate
workers. In many ways they are even more dangerous
today than the company hatchetmen of old, because
they hide their ultimate profit-driven agenda behind a
facade of solicitude and concern for their workers'
welfare.
But what was true a hundred years ago in the coal mines
of West Virginia is still true today: "Divide and conquer.
As long as some people have commanded the work of
others, this has been management's basic principle."
(Peter Rachleff, professor of
history at Macalester
College, St. Paul) We must
never lose sight of the fact
that our solidarity is our
strength.
*Matewan (1997), written
and directed by John Sayles
and starring Chris Cooper
and James Earl Jones, is a
movie that dramatizes the
1920 “Battle of Matewan”
(also know as the “Matewan
Massacre”)