March/April 2004 Newsletter

 

President’s Corner

For the last few months I have been off on short term disability. Although it was a difficult time for me and I am not 100% yet, I want to thank all of the members and friends for the cards and phone calls wishing me a quick recovery. The positive messages from you made my difficulty seem bearable and as always it is nice to know that people care about you. Thanks again.

Most of my experience with the health care profession was positive. I was not happy with a couple of doctors. In fact the lack of expertise on the part of one in particular was negative in my diagnosis and recovery. The message from me is this, If you are not sure about what your doctor is doing or saying challenge them or change doctors. It’s your life and your health, be in charge and question the professional you are working with. It is their responsibility to work for you, not the other way around.

Clay Bowlby

The Health and Wellness Advisory Committee

Qwest recently participated in a survey sponsored by the National Business Group on Health to assess employee satisfaction across four major companies in regard to the quality of services offered to those applying for disability benefits. The information collected was used to evaluate our current processes and the performance of our current Qwest Disability Services administrator. The results of the survey indicated the need for a significant change in the administration of our disability programs.

Based on this feedback from employees, the joint Health and Wellness Advisory Committee would like to announce that Qwest Disability Services is undergoing some major enhancements. Effective April 1, 2004 a new vendor will be responsible for all disability claims. The vendor is the Reed Group Ltd. They will provide an enhanced medical management model and streamlined processes for short term, long term disability, medical restrictions, and all FMLA leaves.

 		  

Stories in this issue:

Time Reporting changes for the new CWA Contract with Qwest

These changes are available in all time reporting systems and are valid for occupational employees only. The new time codes became effective 8-17-03.

  • ACA8 This time code is reported when an employee is required to be on call and carry a pager for longer than 1 calendar week in the month
  • · SC1 This time code is reported when a work schedule change is made with less than 24 hours notice. It generates a $1 differential for tracking purposes and flags the system for time and a half
  • SC5 This time code is reported when a work schedule change is made with more than 24 hours notice. This pays a $5 schedule change premium
  • Make sure you supervisor signs your time off correctly; they have supposedly all been trained on the new contract!
  • The time code list and pay check/pay stub codes are available at the Payroll website on the Q. If you don’t have access to it, ask your supervisor to provide a copy for you.

Any questions please contact an officer of the local.

Work Schedule Posting

Section 2.6 (Qwest contract) The Company may elect not to post weekly work schedules in those work groups which are normally scheduled for the same tours. If appropriate for a work group, the Company shall post or make work schedules available to employees at least (7) calendar days before the starting date of the work schedule.

Work Schedule Changes

Section 2.7 The Company will inform an employee of a schedule change including the scheduling of overtime no later than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the start: (a) of the employee’s tour or normally scheduled tour OR (b) of the schedule change if that change is earlier than the normally scheduled tour. If the Company fails to give the employee the appropriate twenty-four (24) hour notice of the schedule change the employee shall be paid one and one-half (1 ½) times his or her basic wage rate for all hours actually worked outside his or her normal tour and a short notice premium of one dollar ($1.00).

A work schedule shall become fixed seven (7) calendar days before the beginning of the schedule. If the Company changes an employee’s schedule (including the scheduling of overtime) after the schedule is fixed but with more than twenty-four (24) hours notice of the change, the employee shall be paid a schedule change premium of five dollars ($5.00). New contracts should have been distributed by now. You can find the entire contract on line at the HR web site or at the District 7 web site. It is downloadable in Adobe Acrobat PDF version. www.cwa-union.org/district7 Go to the drop down box that says pick an area to visit, choose New 2003-2005 Qwest Contract.

Dreams Can Come True. Your Dream Vacation May be Just $10 Away…

We are pleased to announce a very exciting and worthwhile joint promotion to benefit charity – the CWA/Principal Financial Group ® American Dream vacation give-away. One lucky CWA member will win a trip to Hawaii while two runners-up will also be able to choose other vacation packages to destinations such as Florida , Las Vegas or New York City .

The winning names will be drawn during the CWA Annual Convention, August 30 – 31, 2004 .

Grand prize is seven nights in Maui , Hawaii . The winner will stay in an ocean-view room at the Hyatt Regency. Prize package also includes: round trip airfare from home city, hotel taxes, mid-size car rental, daily buffet breakfast, and flower lei greeting.

Entering to Win is Easy

All you have to do is:

  • Contribute at least $10 to your favorite 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity between January 1 and August 1, 2004
  • Ask for an acknowledgement of your donation

Send a copy of the acknowledgement along with an official entry form to the Principal Financial Group, While you can choose which charities you want to give to, CWA's adopted charity of choice is the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. You can make donations by calling 888-499-HOPE or visiting www.pedaids.org.

For complete information on this contest, go the the national CWA website at the following URL. http://cwa-union.org/members/VacationGiveaway.asp

Dear Working Families e-Activist:

Last week we reported to you that the Bush overtime pay take-away is likely to be finalized by President Bush and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao before the end of March. An announcement could come as soon as this Friday.

Now, President Bush's top political allies are attacking efforts to protect overtime pay. They're pressuring television stations not to run TV ads paid for by the MoveOn.org Voter Fund that are critical of Bush's overtime pay take-away. They don't want you to hear what's about to happen to the paychecks of millions of America's workers.

It's more important than ever that you reach out to your friends, family and co-workers to let them know about the Bush overtime pay take-away. Please ask them to sign the Petition to Save Overtime Pay at the link below.

http://www.saveovertimepay.org/

Overtime pay is critical to the well-being of millions of working families--and the Bush administration's paycheck heist must be exposed. You have done a great job of keeping this issue alive. Senators and representatives in Congress have voted right on this issue under pressure from you. Now, the goal is to get the word out to people who haven't signed the petition or haven't heard about what is going on. That is how we'll win.

Please send an e-mail to your friends, family and co-workers. Ask them to sign the Petition to Save Overtime Pay at the link below. http://www.saveovertimepay.org/

We also suggest you send a short note to other e-mail lists you are on. For example, there may be an e-mail list in your community that allows you to post messages. Think about e-mail lists you are on through a sports team, a hobby club—any way you have access to groups of people who need the opportunity to protect workers' paychecks. These lists are opportunities for you to spread the word. Please forward a note with a link to the petition website.

You can also download a printable petition form to circulate in your workplace, neighborhood or community. Please get as many signatures as you can.

http://www.saveovertimepay.org/petition.htm

The petition has been a huge success. Since last week's update, more than 50,000 new people have signed the Petition to Save Overtime Pay. That only happened because of the outreach you did to protect good jobs and good paychecks. Let's keep it going!

Thanks for all you do. Look for another update soon. In Solidarity,

Working Families e-Activist Network, AFL-CIO

We're ready, once again, to kick off the Joe Beirne Foundation's annual scholarship offerings for the 2004-2005 school years.

The Foundation's Board of Directors has approved the awarding of thirty (30) partial college scholarships of up to $3,000 each, and the winners also will receive second-year scholarships for the same amount, contingent upon satisfactory academic achievement.

Eligible for the scholarships are CWA members and their spouses, children and grandchildren, including the dependents of retired, laid off or deceased members. Applicants must be high school graduates or high school students who will graduate during the year in which they apply. Undergraduate and graduate students returning to schooling may also apply

Note that beginning this year, applications will be made solely online by filling out and submitting an application form at the Foundation's website: http://cwa-union.org/members/beirne/index.asp

Applications will be accepted between November 2003 and March 31, 2004 – the final deadline. Early submission of applications is encouraged. The winners will be chosen by lottery drawing. Further information about the program can be found at the website.

This valuable scholarship program is made possible by the funding CWA Locals. For those Locals not yet participating in funding the Beirne scholarships, I urge you to do so. Financial arrangements can be developed to accommodate your Local's needs. Please feel free to call my office for information and assistance.

Sincerely,
Morton Bahr, President.

If you are having Medco Problems……….

At our Health and Wellness Committee meeting held on February 26th and 27th, 2004, issues specific to the recent prescription plan changes were discussed. We know that some employees are having problems getting their prescriptions filled in a timely manner and some are having service issues with Medco. The following are actions that will take place to resolve these problems quickly:

If employees contacting Medco directly does not resolve the problem, Keith Peters and Carla Floyd, Health Benefit Coordinators, can also be contacted at 602-235-1371 or 503-251-7026 respectively for assistance in resolving these problems.

A communication from the Health and Wellness Committee will be distributed in the next two (2) weeks with some additional education and information about the prescription plan.

A Medco representative will be attending the next Health and Wellness Committee meeting scheduled for April 6, 2004.

Brian Steele and a Medco Representative will be attending our Qwest caucus at the District meeting in May.

FYI—Medco Health Solutions, formerly Merck-Medco Managed Care, is the top pharmacy benefits management company in the US, serving some 65 million members. The company assists health plans in managing drug costs by negotiating rebates with pharmaceutical companies and processing claims. Patients may fill their prescriptions through a network of 60,000 pharmacies, a mail-order program, or the company's Internet pharmacy. Medco Health Solutions processes about 530 million prescriptions per year for clients that include unions, corporations, HMOs, insurance companies, and federal employees. The company was spun off from pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. in 2003. Wellington Management owns about 10% of the company.

Good and Welfare:

Service Anniversaries

March: Elaine Allison, 35 years; C.W. Wood, 25 years; Dan Sievers, 25; Bob Pine, 25; Wendi Patterson, 25; Thomas Romeo, 5; Lynda Adams, 5; Larry Hogue, 5.

April: Mark Rickey, 35; Vic Cissell, 35; Alan Ribeira, 25; David Mills, 25; Mike Nord, 24; Delila Tomlinson, 25; Todd Krupa, 5; Mary Bonham, 5; William Kling, 5; Ken Naylor, 5;

Retirees: Qwest: Karon Ingledue

New Members: Mary Bonham; Scott Bradford.

 

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