JANUARY 2014 NEWSLETTER

DUES INCREASE FOR 2014

Effective January 1, 2014 Journeyman working dues will increase to $148.00 a month. All other dues will remain the same.

LOCAL ORGANIZERS POSITION

In December I appointed Brother Steve Goolsby as our Local Organizer for 2014. Brother Goolsby has held several positionswithin the Local during the years and I am confident that Steve will continue to serve our Local well in the upcoming year as our Organizer.

S.A.S.M.I. UNDEREMPLOYMENT

It isnow time to file for S.A.S.M.I. Underemployment Benefits for the S.A.S.M.I. B-Period (July 1st through December 31st 2013). If you’re a Journeyman Member and were unemployed for any length of time or worked less than 900 hours during this six month period, you may be eligible to receive these benefits. About the middle of February, Southern Benefit Administratorswill be mailing applications for these benefits to all of our eligible Members along with instructions on how to complete the application.In addition to the completed application, you will need copies of all your W-2’s for 2012and a printout from the Employment Security Office showing your unemployment earnings for the last six months of 2013. When completing this application, please remember that you must account for all 26 weeks; i.e. unemployment benefits, illness, workers compensation, other employment, etc. If you think you’re eligible to receive these benefits and you do not receive an application in the mail, you may pick up an application at the Local Union Office. Your completed applications and copies of this related information must be received in our office by no later than March 27th 2014 so that we will have the time to complete our portion of the application and forward it to the S.A.S.M.I. office prior to the cut off date of March 31, 2014.

RECENT DEATHS AND BIRTHS

The Members of Sheet Metal Worker’s Local Union #177 were recently saddened by the passing of Brother John Wittenmeier. John was 67 years old and had 43 years at the time of his passing on December 27, 2013.

Also, Tommy Wall passed away on December 21, 2013. Tommy was 55 years old and had 25 years of service.

If we have forgotten anyone, please let us know and we will announce your event in our next newsletter.

RETIREE MEETING

The next retiree meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at 9:00 am.

SIGNING THE OUT OF WORK BOOK

If you get laid off from your employer you must sign the out of work book in order to be eligible for certain benefits. The book must be signed once a month to keep your name on the call list for the next month. You can sign by coming in to the Hall yourself, getting someone to sign for you (with the exception of the office personnel), mail a note to the Union Hall, or you can email a request to .

NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS

In order to help get information to our Members, we have set up a new e-mail address. If you want to be notified by e-mail about a member death please send your email address to . Please include your name and tell us you want to be notified on important situations. We also can send the monthly newsletter to your email. IF YOU DECIDE TO RECEIVE THE NEWSLETTER BY EMAIL YOU WILL NOT BE MAILED A COPY BY THE POST OFFICE. In case of special called meetings, contract, votes, etc. Members will be sent a copy of the notice by the post office as we have always done. We will also continue to post information on our website at .

If you do not have an email account you can set one up for free on many different websites such as gmail, hotmail, etc.

CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS

Contract negotiations are coming up this spring. Enclosed is a questionnaire asking for your opinions concerning the upcoming negotiations. Please take the time to fill out the form and return it to the Hall as soon as possible.

FUTURE WORK OUTLOOK

The work outlook continues to be slow. I am looking for Gallatin TVA to start hiring in the late spring or early summer. Local Contractors are either holding their own or laying off.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“The basic goal of labor will not change. It is – as it has always been, and I’m sure always will be – to better the standards of life for all those who work for wages and to seek decency and justice and dignity for all Americans.” George Meany, President of the AFL-CIO (1955-1979)

Fraternally yours,

Anthony R. Easley

Business Manager, FS/T

ARE/bib