Shop Visits
Shops visits in the second quarter of 2006 include:
Consolidated Eagle Press, Hatcher Press, Howard Quinn Company, and California State Automobile Association.
Negotiations Update
President Lahtinen reports that one-year Agreements have been reached with Alpha Press, Inc., Wildwood Press, Firestar Productions, Consolidated Printers (Litho and Bindery Agreements), Strategic Design, Sterling Graphics, Inc., and Proforma Resources, Inc.
Consolidated Eagle Press ratified the terms and conditions of a new 3-year agreement at a special call meeting on April 10, 2006.
Negotiations will soon be getting underway with Lithotype Company.
Upcoming negotiations will be with Schawk, Inc. (formerly Seven Worldwide) and Alonzo Printing Co.
CLF Supports Angelides for Governor
Primary Election Endorsements
The California Labor Federation announced its endorsement of Phil Angelides for Governor at its Pre-Primary Convention in Oakland.
Over 500 delegates came from around the state to vote on labor's official endorsement for Governor as well as other state and federal offices and ballot measures.
The Federation is the umbrella group for labor in the state, and includes both the AFL-CIO and the Change to Win unions. The Federation has pledged to put its powerful campaign resources behind Angelides to defeat Arnold Schwarzenegger in his November bid for re-election.
"Our members are still angry at Schwarzenegger for his attacks on our pensions, our jobs, and our schools in his costly and unnecessary special election," said Art Pulaski, Executive Secretaary-Treasurer of the Federation.
"Phil angelides was endorsed because he has a vision to put California back on the right track. He has a vision for a California where ggood jobs are created and where the economy works for ordinary Californians, not just corporate CEOs. He has a vision of California where the wages of our lowest paid workers rise with the cost of living and not because politicians need a lift in the polls.
"With the endorsement, our unions are pledging to work with Phil Angelides to take California back and to make our vision of a more just California a reality."
The California Labor Federation also endorses:
Lieutenant Governor: John Garamendi
Treasurer: Bill Lockyer
Insurance Commisioner: Cruz Bustamante
Secretary of State: Debra Bowen
Attorney General: Dual -- Jerry Brown, Rocky Delgadillo
Proposition 81: YES
Reading & Public Library Construction & Renovation Board
Proposition 82: YES
Pre-school Education for all 4 year olds, funded by a 1.7% tax on individual income over $400,000 ($800,000 for couples)
- May 20: Last day to register to vote in the primary election
- May 30: Last day to submit application for vote-by mail (VBM)
- June 6: Primary Election
The James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund
With the merger of the Communications International Union with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (that became effective 1/1/2005), the A. J. Andrade Scholarship Program that was sponsored by the GCIU ended in 2005, with only outstanding payment for former winners continuing to come out of that fund.
However, children and grandchildren of active, retired, disabled, deceased, or laid-off members who have had at least 12 months of consecutive membership in good standing are now eligible to apply for the Teamsters' James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund.
This annual scholarship is available to high school seniors only, and students cannot apply if they have already graduated from high school. Applicants must also be in the top 15% of their high school class, and they must submit SAT or ACT scores. Students must plan on attending an accredited four-year college or university.
Applications are available at the local union office. The deadline to submit applications is March 31, 2006. Any applications received after that date will not be processed. Please call the union office at 415-239-7700 if you are interested in an application.
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Happy Holidays
Contract Holidays in Most Shops
Thanksgiving Day: Thurs. Nov. 23
Day after Thanksgiving: Fri. Nov. 24
Christmas Eve (observed): Mon. Dec. 25
Christmas Day (observed): Tues. Dec. 26
Some recognized paid holidays may differ as a result of individual bargaining agreements.
Newly Organized Shops
Three small shops have signed one-year contracts with the Union. They are Times Printing in Eureka, California, CLP Specialty Advertising, Inc., and W.G. Clark Printing Company. We wish them continued success as Union shops!
On Monday, August 7, 2006, the votes were tallied from the secret mail ballots for the referendum on the proposed merger. The Merger Ballot Committee reports that 90% of the returns approved the merger with Teamsters Union Local 853.
The Merger Ballot Committee is chaired by Craig Moline. Henry J. Kroll, Larry Kleebauer, and Lennie Kuhls also serve on the committee.
Governor Breaks Promise to Protect Worker
The Sacramento Labor Council reports that when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger forced the Legislature to approve his new workers' compensation law in 2004, he promised he would not harm injured workers, but would actually increase benefits for those seriously injured.
To the contrary, four different studies have proven that the Governor has broken his promise to protect injured workers' medical care and disability compensation. He has not increased benefits, but instead has taken away billions of dollars in benefits from injured workers and their families and choked off their access to necessary medical treatment.
According to applicants' attorneys, the Governor adopted regulations that ignore the law. the regulations do not protect injured workers or increase benefits as promised, but instead, arbitrarily and illegally slash permanent disability benefits by an average of 50-70% across the board. The Governor is hurting the most seriously injured workers -- those who are entitled to permanent disability benefits. Those benefites have been reduced in many cases to almost nothing.
The four separate studies, including two by the state agency that administers the workers' compensation system and oanother by the insurance industry itself, all agree on the severity of the cuts to permanently disabled workers.
Further, according to the California Medical Association, the Governor also has made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get the medical treatment that is necesary. And even if the treatment eventually is approved, the delay often makes the injury worse and creates the need for further trreatment that could have been avoided.
Arecently released study by the CMA shows that doctors who treat injured workers are forced to wait up to 6 months to get authorization for routine treatment and up to a year for surgery. Nearly two out of three of the 250 doctors surveyed said they intend to reduce their participation in the sytem or quit treating injured workers altogether.
The legislature passed the Governor's law in 2004 because he threatened a ballot initiative that they believed would have been even harsher. He said the law was necessary to reduce employers' skyrocketing insurance premiums that wree forcing businesses to leave the State.
Meantime, while premium rates have dropped on average by 35% in the last two years, insurance industry analysts have demonstrated that insurance companies are reporting unprecedented profits in 2004. They collected nearly $24 billion in premiums. But for every premium dollar collected, they pay out only 38 cents in benefits (or $9 billion in all). The remaining 62 cents ($14.5 billion) they keep as profit and overhead.
The only real winners are the insurance companies. To reduce employers' costs, the Governor took it out entirely on the backs of injured workers. Employers' premiums are not falling nearly as much as they should be. Injured workers are left struggling with destituion, depression, and poor health. The Governor's workers' compensation law is just anothger one of his attacks on labor unions and working families. When working families defeated the Governor's anti-union ballot measure in November, he admitted he made a mistake taking on unions with his special election. Now he neeeds to hear that his workers compensation law was a mistake, too! He needs to honor his promise and make it right!
Change in Status? Call Now!
Changes in status, such as marriage, divorce, death of a spouse, the birth of a child or other change in dependents, as well as change in beneficiaries should be reported to the Union office immediately. You must also notify the respective Trust Funds that you participate in.
If you don't know which Trust Funds you participate in, call the Union office for help.
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Member News
Congratulations are extended to the following member who will be receiving a service pin for his many years of service:
Carl Niederreiter (65 years)
David Borstel (60 years)
Walter Petrini (60 years)
Robert Tournahu (60 years)
Connie Tournahu (55 years)
Don Athens (55 years)
Glenn O. Gasaway (55 years)
Larry Cedusky (50 years)
Robert Potter (50 years)
Ted Pulisic (40 years)
Stanton Huey (25 years)
Wear your lapel pin with pride and in good health!
Please Note: Service pins honor members with 10 or more years of continuous membership in GCIU. Pins are available in 5 year increments. If you would like a service pin, please call the Union office: 415.239.7700
Robert Potter recently came by to visit and say hello. He is enjoying his retirement and looks great.
Congratulations to Marc Miyashiro (who works at GRAFIX) and his wife Janet who became proud grandparents of their first grandchild, a boy, Dax Thomas Robinson, on Friday, March 10, 2006. Dax weighed 8 lbs. and was 21 1/2" long. His parents, Trea and Ethan, are so excited. A beautiful baby, proud parents, and ecstatic grandparents are all in another dimension.
Retired Members
Congratulations to our newly retired members:
Lithograph
Members:
Richard O'Connor 3/1/06
David Poore 3/1/06
Richard Stranzal 3/1/06
Gregory Burke 2/1/06
Budd Case 2/1/06
Michael Ahlf 1/1/06
Julio Betti 1/1/06
Donald Dorn 1/1/06
Michael Edwards 1/1/06
Dennis Gareis 1/1/06
Alphonse LaRocca 1/1/06
Dennis Leal, Jr. 1/1/06
Gary Wenzel 1/1/06
Preston Young 1/1/06
Bindery Members:
William Jurgensen, Jr. 4/1/06
Raymond O. Moulton 4/1/06
Robert Ryan 1/1/06
Dennis Elwart 12/1/05
Linda S. Brodt 10/1/05
Brenda Parnell 10/1/05
Patrica A. Tanner 10/1/05
Jon M. Foss 9/1/05
Kay S. Hillsman 9/1/05
Henry Ortiz 9/1/05
Noemi M. Perea 7/1/05
Photoengraver:
Dennis Liddicoat 9/1/05
Michael Weatherwax 9/1/05
Final Shift
We extend our sympathy to the family and friends of members who have
passed away:
Lithograph
Members:
Vincent Turdici 4/11/06
William Mendel 4/10/06
George Wong 4/10/06
Lawrence Jarvis 4/6/06
Ralph Marano Jr. 4/6/06
Thomas Trujillo 3/22/06
Marshall Guest 3/21/06
Ronald Oliva 3/19/06
Stephen Wargo 3/19/06
Charles Triebel 3/12/06
Arthur McLaren 3/2/06
Daniel Batiz 2/27/06
Carolyn Keseloff 2/18/06
Elmer Winter 2/11/06
Colleen Lee 2/2/06
Bruce Moore 1/28/06
Paul Eck 1/18/06
Arthur Bartschat 1/7/06
Bindery Members
Norman Munroe 3/15/06
Clara Travers 3/8/06
Tony Marovich 2/27/06
Virginia Neumann 12/6/05
Photoengraver Members:
Donald Wear 1/1/06
- 1,300 square feet
- Located at
2301 Ocean Avenue,
San Francisco
Call 415-239-7700 for more details.
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