Serving T&E Employees of Evansville IN
JOBLESS BENEFITS EXTENDED FOR ALL WORKERS
WASHINGTON
– President Obama signed a $24 billion economic stimulus bill into law
Nov. 6, providing additional jobless benefits to those idled by the
business slump, reports the Associated Press.
The bill includes similar benefits for rail workers covered by Railroad Retirement.
The
law provides another 14 weeks of benefits to all out-of-work people who
have exhausted their benefits or will do so by the end of the year,
estimated at nearly 2 million. Those in states where the jobless rate
is 8.5 percent or above get an additional six weeks.
The
extra 20 weeks could push the maximum a person in a high unemployment
state could receive to 99 weeks, the most in history. Unemployment
checks generally are for about $300 a week.
The
bill-signing came a day after the House, displaying rare bipartisan
agreement over the troubling employment picture nationally, voted
403-12 to pass the measure. The Senate had approved it unanimously Nov.
5.
"The
need for such a measure was made clear by the jobs report that we
received this morning," Obama said, citing Friday's government report
the jobless rate hit 10.2 percent last month, the highest since 1983.
For their part, lawmakers stressed that the fourth unemployment benefit extension in the past 18 months was necessary because initial signs of economic recovery have not been reflected in the job market.
(The preceding article was published by the Associated Press.)
| Health care insurance premiums to rise |
|
For rail employees covered under the health and welfare provisions of the national railroad agreement, health care insurance cost contributions rise beginning Jan. 1, from the current $170.96 per month to $200 monthly, owing to increases in health care costs under the plan. The carrier monthly payment rate for other than non-duty injury health care insurance also will rise Jan. 1, from $1073.76 per employee per month to $1,273.41 per month. Carriers pay 100 percent of the plan’s administration costs. The 15 percent of health care insurance costs for medical, dental and vision benefits paid by employees in 2010 will reach the 2010 monthly cap on employee health care insurance contributions. Without that cap, employee costs per month would be higher in 2010. Owing to the rise in health care costs nationwide, the national rail plan's health care costs will rise by 18.8 percent in 2010 compared with 2009, while costs of the dental plan will rise by 1.8 percent, and the vision plan by 2.5 percent. |
| November 4, 2009 |
2010 904 MEETING SCHEDULE
Thursday January 7,
Thursday February 11,
Thursday March 11,
Thursday April 8,
Thursday May 6,
Thursday June 10,
Thursday July 8,
Thursday August 12,
Thursday September 9,
Thursday October 7,
Thursday November 11,
December Christmas Party TBA
Events
Special Visit
We are fortunate to have Santa Claus available to meet the kids before our Christmas Party on December 5, 2009. Be at Eagles Club West Side at around 4 pm.
NEWS
To stay informed go to WWW.UTU.ORG
REHEARING IN MERGER RULING SOUGHT
Following
an Oct. 23 inconclusive decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the case involving a ruling
by a federal district court to enjoin the failed UTU/SMWIA merger, a
petition was filed for rehearing by the panel or by all 15 judges of
the Sixth Circuit.
The petition was filed by the plaintiffs -- whose initial complaint in 2007 led to a restraining order against the UTU/SMWIA merger -- as well as by the UTU.
Two of the three judges on the panel who ruled Oct. 23 found that the federal district court did not abuse its discretion in issuing the preliminary injunction against the merger.
Further, two of the three members of the appellate court panel found the district court did have jurisdiction, but the alignment of the judges on these issues produced an inconclusive result.
In fact, one of the three appellate judges involved in the Oct. 23 inconclusive ruling recommended that, "in light of the competing rationales and potential for confusion, the panel might have been better advised to have permitted this appeal to be reassigned to another panel, in lieu of deciding it, in the hope that another panel might have been capable of producing a two-judge majority."
In asking for the rehearing, the plaintiffs cite an "exceptional public importance concerning the jurisdiction of the federal courts to hear claims by union members under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act."
Members
signed up for e-mail alerts will receive notice of new developments
immediately as they occur. To sign up for e-mail alerts, visit the UTU
home page at www.utu.org and click on the "e-mail alerts" link.
To read the 15-page petition for rehearing, click here.
To read the 58-page Oct. 23 inconclusive decision of the Sixth Circuit's three-judge panel, click here.
UTU Local 904
Meetings Held
Perry Township Trustees Office
4319 Broadway Ave
Evansville IN 47712
