November Monthly Meetings Reminder

The November E-Board and Membership meetings will be held on Monday, November 5th. The E-Board meeting will begin at 5:30 PM, with the general Membership meeting scheduled to begin at 6:30. The change of dates is needed due to a scheduling conflict with the November CIF.

This is a very important meeting as we will be discussing bargaining proposals that we would like to submit to the District 6 Bargaining Committee. Please plan to attend to be updated on current events and to have a “say” in submitting changes to our contract to the District.


Mobility 2013 Annual Benefits Enrollment

Each year, you have the opportunity to review your benefit options and make enrollment decisions. Most of the information you need is available on the AT&T Benefits Center website, resources.hewitt.com/att.

This communication walks you through important information and reminders regarding your benefit programs, which will be effective January 1, 2013. Don’t miss your opportunity to review your available options and choose what’s right for you and your family.

Your enrollment period begins at 7:00am on November 5th and ends at 7:00pm Central time on November 16th.

Enrollment Action Items

To help you make the right enrollment decisions for you and your family, be sure to:

Review your recent benefits information and know your enrollment deadline.

Evaluate your available coverage options during your enrollment period because they may have changed.

Review your benefit costs including monthly contributions, annual deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums and copayments/coinsurance for your benefit plans because they also may have changed for 2013.

Check your medical coverage status, which could be network or outside-network-area(ONA) depending on your home ZIP code. This status can change from year to year based on changes in the provider network.

Review your health plan comparison charts on the AT&T Benefits Center website to compare costs and see detailed information about many of your benefits including medical, prescription drug, dental and more. These charts will have updated plan details and cost information, which may have changed from the previous year.

Review your Summary Plan Descriptions(SPDs) and Summaries of Material Modifications(SMMs). These documents provide details on your benefit plans and programs including eligibility requirements.

If you have a change-in-status event (such as a marriage or birth of a child) that requires you to change your coverage between now and the end of the year, you must go to the AT&T Benefits Center website and make two separate elections. First, change your coverage for the rest of 2012. Next, update your elections for 2013. For a full list of change-in-status events, refer to your SPD.


CORE Health & Welfare Benefits Annual Enrollment

Annual Enrollment is coming: learn the DOs and DON’Ts

Please check your AT&T company email to find the links you need to click on to review options available to you and/or your current choices.

To: All Active Bargained Employees and Non-management, Non-union Employees who follow bargained level of benefits

What: Do you know the DOs and DON’Ts of choosing your health and welfare benefits?

When
: Annual Enrollment starts Nov. 5 and ends at 7 p.m. CT on Nov. 16.

Action
Item:DO prepare. Start by reviewing your materials and learning about the health and welfare benefits options available to you.

DO use the tools and resources. When it’s time to enroll, use the tools and resources on the AT&T Benefits Center website to help you decide which benefit plans best meet your and your family’s needs.

DON’T delay. Give yourself time to choose the right benefits for you and your family, and make your enrollment elections before the deadline.


Letter From Local President David Patton

scan of letter

UPDATE FROM THE PRESIDENT/ CWA LOCAL 6203
OCTOBER 22, 2012

Greetings everyone, It’s been some kind of crazy year! I have seen so many “firsts” and gotten so many surprises and changes it has been difficult to keep up with. With all that has gone on with the Union and Company we, here at 6203 have fared better than most. For this, I want to thank the officers, and stewards, and most of all the members. In these times when there seems to be a lot of “unknown and unexpected” we have held together well. There are several current events and developments on the horizon that I would like to keep you informed about, as well as add some facts to some things you may have heard.

Union Hall Address 405 50th st – #793-6203 -Davids cell 806-543-5355

  1. The regular Monthly Meeting has been changed to Monday November 5th 2012; 6:30pm for the membership meeting and 5:30pm for the E-board meeting. This will be a very important meeting and I encourage all to attend.
  2. The December Monthly Membership/E-board Meeting date had to be changed as well. Meetings times remain the same, but we will be meeting on Tuesday, December 11, 2012. The date changes have been posted on the Union boards also.
  3. The Success Sharing Plan (SSP) (core employees only) has been confirmed by District 6 should be on the November 30th check. More information can be found in the linked post.
  4. The current Contract for Core expires April 6th 2013 @ 11:59pm; unless it is extended due to further bargaining, if a new agreement has not been reached. Early bargaining should start soon. This is one of the reasons the next few meetings are so important. We will be discussing mobilization activities and giving updates so again, please try to attend.
  5. Bargaining Proposals – very important you get these in. Every member is on a team with a strike captain assigned to that team. If you have any questions about this or the bargaining proposal, please call the hall. The proposals you turn in will be voted on by the membership at the next meeting; the Bargaining Proposal is what you submit to request a change or addition to the contract. If you know what you would like to see happen but don’t know how to put it into words, call me on my cell 806 543 5355 and I will give you a hand. These proposals should be very important to the Leveraged Service Rep as well as the Premise Tech. See the 2013 Bargaining Proposals Post for further information.
  6. AT&T’s big announcement on November 7th 2012: Fierce Telecom Article
  7. The Voluntary pension contribution from AT&T Mobility to the core fund: My belief is its being done to support and gain favor for the Nov. 7th announcement. AT&T’s Announcement. CWA’s Comment on AT&T’s Announcement
  8. Retirees benefit cost increase: it appears that premiums will be increasing from $17.50 mo. to $221.25. Call David Patton directly for further information.
  9. Bargaining Information Around The Nation:

As for me, I still believe we can win any fight and be successful in getting a fair and equitable contract. I have no fear when representing our members and our Local. Thank You for your trust and support. UNITED WE BARGAIN DIVIDED WE BEG- I n Unity; David Patton, President CWA Local 6203

Union Hall 806 793 6203 cell 806 543 5355


Success Sharing Plan

The following is a quote from a memo from District 6 to Local Presidents:

“We have received several calls from Locals asking about the 2012 Success Sharing Plan award payouts. The company has confirmed that the award will be made to eligible employees on November 30, 2012. The company also indicated that they anticipate having additional information available next week. Once that is made available to us, the information will be disseminated to the Locals.”

The following is an unofficial estimate of what the Success Sharing payout may work out to. These figures are subject to misunderstanding or correction, and should be taken as an optimistic estimate only until an official announcement is made.

The September 28, 2012 closing price of the stock was $37.70. The 10/3/2011 closing prices was $28.16. This is a difference of $9.54$1.75.

$9.54×150 works out to $1431.00. $175×150 works out to $262.50. These total to 1,693.50. After a tax of 30% and the deduction of Union Dues, we estimate that the checks may be between $1100-1200.


CWA Comment on Voluntary Pension Contribution by AT&T

The following is from a memo from CWA to local Presidents:

“Washington, D.C. — The Communications Workers of America is pleased to see that AT&T is taking steps to further strengthen its defined benefit pension fund. Retirement security is a critical issue for working families, and AT&T’s action means a strong future for the fund.

AT&T’s announcement comes at a time when many companies have moved in the opposite direction, eliminating or underfunding their pension plans and putting workers’ retirement security at risk.

The Department of Labor will review AT&T’s request to ensure compliance with regulations designed to safeguard plan participants.”


AT&T’s Pension Funding Announcement

From Randall Stephenson, CEO

“AT&T continues to provide retirement benefits, including pensions, to our employees and retirees at a time when only about one-third of Fortune 500 companies provide ongoing pensions. As reported in our annual report, we ended 2011 with $10.2 billion more in pension liabilities than assets in our pension trust, which was largely due to the economic downturn.

To address this deficit, today we announced plans to voluntarily contribute to our pension trust a preferred equity interest in our growing wireless business, valued at $9.5 billion. While we estimate our required funding for 2013 would be only about $300 million, our Board of Directors, my leadership team and I agree it’s important that we continue to strengthen our pension fund to help ensure earned benefits will be there for our approximately 600,000 U.S. employees and retirees. This proposal requires approval by the U.S. Department of Labor.

This contribution will help us significantly improve the funding of our pension, enhancing its strength at a time when many companies have eliminated pensions. And funding the pension this way addresses our pension commitments while giving us the financial flexibility to continue to invest in our business and return value to our investors — including the hundreds of thousands of you who are also shareholders in our company.

I’m proud that we’ve found an innovative approach that will enhance the strength of the pension fund. It’s the right thing to do for our employees, our company and our investors.

Randall”


Election 2012

The AFL-CIO has a comprehensive website available at http://www.aflcio.org/Legislation-and-Politics/Election-2012 with a wealth of information important not only to all union members, but to everyone who works (or worked) for a living.


2012 Success Sharing Plan

District 6 has informed us that eligible employees can expect the 2012 Success Sharing Plan payout on 11/30/2012. The District is expecting more specific information from the company over the coming weeks, which we will share with our members here as it becomes available.


Soda Can Pop Tops

Now through the end of 2012, we are collecting soda can pop tops for our local Secretary-Treasurer, Janice Bell. Please save your pop tops and bring them to the union hall or pass them forward to your steward for collection. Thanks!