September/October 2002 Newsletter

 

The President’s Corner
by Clay Bowlby

An Open Letter To C.E.O. Notebart

Dear Sir,

Since taking over at Qwest it should be apparent to you that there are issues around employee morale. I would like to help you solve one of the most serious. I can tell you in just two words how to substantially raise both management and occupational morale. Fire Sedgewick!

I hope that you never have to suffer the indignity of being threatened with having your pay cut off as you are lying on your death bed dying from cancer. I hope that you never have to feel the humiliation of being accused of lying about an on the job injury and then having to jump through hoops and roadblocks purposely placed by Segdewick so that you can pay bills and put food on the table for your family. I hope that you don't have to go through the maze of lies like "we didn't receive the proper ocumentation" when you have a signature on registered mail saying that they did.

. Have you ever been told by someone that it is my job to deny you benefits? These people seem to take great pride in doing so. The only thing they take more pride in is telling you that they are following Qwest policy! They seem to enjoy finding new ways to delay your claim, and when you finally resolve their issue they find another. I question how someone who has never met me or examined me can determine what treatment is necessary or when I should return to work better than my physician. What credentials do they have to make these decisions?

 		  

Stories in this issue:

You may think all of this is an exaggeration, I can and will provide you with the horror stories and documentation to back up my statements. If you check with your own local management teams I believe that they will confirm my complaints. It is time, Mr. Notebart, to start showing the working people of Qwest that they are valued and to turn off the terrorism know as Sedgewick. This is not just a problem in my local but in every location and department within the company. Your credibility and that of the company itself can be greatly enhanced by resolving the problems caused by this company that claims to be doing your bidding.

I look forward to your reply; your answer can improve the morale and reduce the feelings of betrayal all employees of Qwest harobr who have had to run the Sedgewick gauntlet.

sincerely, Clay Bowlby
Pres. C.W.A. Local 7804

Related story: Necessary Tactics for Dealing with Sedgewick

Washington Unions Take a Stand On “War Against Terrorism”

WashTech News
By Fred Hyde

(Seattle, WA) -- The floor of the convention at the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) in Spokane, Washington was hushed when Gil Veyna took the mike to support Resolution Against the War, Attacks on Civil Liberties and Cuts in Public Services. "As a Chicano and a unionist," Veyna said resoundingly, "I resent Bush's 'war on terrorism', which is a war on working people and immigrants."

Veyna, a 22-year Veterans Administration hospital employee, was at the August 19-22, 2002 convention as a delegate for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3197. His union is one of several which has raised objections to the government's plan to remove civil service protections and collective bargaining rights from the 170,000 federal workers in the newly formed Department of Homeland Security.

In his comments, Veyna criticized the national leadership of the AFL-CIO for its unstinting support of the military actions in Afghanistan. He noted that the administration has now turned its guns on dockworkers, referring to the threat to call out troops in the name of "national security" in the eventuality of a strike by the International Longshore Workers Union.

Veyna was no less critical of what he termed "federally sanctioned racial profiling following 9/11" which put immigrants under the spotlight and led to many unfairly losing their jobs. When Veyna sat down, not a single delegate of the 500 unionists representing locals throughout the state rose to speak against the resolution, and it passed overwhelmingly. Thus Washington became the first State Labor Council in the country to call on the AFL-CIO to seek repeal of the USA Patriot Act and oppose the U.S. government's war without end.

Necessary Tactics for Dealing with Sedgewick

By Karon Ingledue

The Communicator has published several excellent articles giving us guidelines for dealing with the contractor, Sedgwick, which Qwest uses to manage our benefit cases. I have been involved with Sedgwick for the past 11 months on my disability and have found some methods and tactics that have proved to work in my favor. I want to pass these along to our membership.

First and foremost: document, document, document! My success, for the most part, seems to pyramid down from thorough and honest documentation. Don’t make the mistake of assuming your caseworker is working WITH you. My first one flatly refused to contact any of my doctors for information while at the same time denying my case based on lack of documentation. I solved this by contacting each doctor’s office and explaining the necessity of getting a transmittal receipt each time they fax to Sedgwick. And I did have occasion to need one of these forms.

At the same time, make sure you know what is and is not included in the information being sent. Be aware of what is in your medical file. Two of my doctors would not honor the Sedgwick release form I was required to sign. The form is vague, sloppy, and appears to be for health benefits, not wages. Talk to a records keeper early on in your treatment to clarify both what form they need to release information and the role of Sedgwick.

Another form of documentation is the method you use to communicate with Sedgwick. On many occasions I had to send information to them. I did this in one of two ways. If I could fax it, I did so from a Qwest fax machine and got a transmittal receipt. This paid off when the caseworker claimed she never got the information. I simply looked at the receipt and informed her that Qwest said she did. Suddenly everything was there and “someone” had misfiled it. If I had to mail something I sent it with a request for a return receipt. Sedgwick was nice enough to give me an opportunity to use it to substantiate my claim.

I had two very successful tactics I used for telephone calls. I never used the toll free 800 number. I always called a number that would put charges on my bill. The costs to me was $2.00-$3.00 per month and believe me, the fact that I was willing to pay for a documented call really got their attention. The second thing I did came at the end of each call when I ask for a recap of the information covered during the call and EXACTLY what their expectations were. I always said, “Let me go over my notes of this conversation and make sure we have no misunderstanding”.

What should you do if your caseworker argues with you about some information you are giving? I asked her to conference on my doctor’s office so we could get this straightened out. During the 3-way call Sedgwick was informed that the medical procedure they were suggesting was appropriate but only in third world countries. I got the impression they didn’t appreciate the sarcasm.

As you probably have realized, my documentation modality has cost me money. Including phone bills, mailing costs, copies for my use, yadda yadda yadda, I spent under $10.00 per month. That is less than I spend in one week going to work.

The guidelines laid out by our Union officers are sound; be where you should be, tell the truth, be aware that Sedgwick is not your friend nor will they ever act in your best interest. By following the basic rules, contacting my local when I did have problems, and having my own ducks in a row each time I interacted with Sedgwick I was able to keep my job without any interruption in pay and provide myself with a more healthful environment for recovery.

[What Karon has presented here is the sadly necessary posture to be taken if you have to deal with Sedgewick...she has thoughtfully and logically detailed ways to protect yourself, by laying a paper trail and making Sedgewick responsible for doing their job for US...I would advise cutting this article out and filing it away...Ed]

Secretary’s Report

By Randy Grams

Literacy Volunteer Tutor Training

Imagine not being able to read street signs, use the telephone book, fill out an application, or read your child a bedtime story. 24% of Pierce county residents need basic literacy education. You can volunteer to make a difference in someone's life.

The Tacoma Area literacy Council provides free Basic Literacy and English As A Second Language assistance through the use of volunteer tutors.

Potential tutors need not be professional teachers, just have a desire to help others learn to read. Training in the Laubach teaching method and on-going support is provided.

Training for volunteer tutors to teach basic literacy and English as a Second Language will be held. Starting Monday Sept. 23rd for three sessions. Monday Sept. 23rd, Wednesday Sept. 25th, and Friday Sept. 27th. All sessions 9:30 am. to 3:30 pm.

Please plan to attend if you can: Sessions will be held at:

Community of Christ Church 6912 40th St. West. University Place, WA

Call 253-272-2471 now to register or inquire.

WashTech Offers Training

“One of the biggest issues facing technology workers today is training. As employers move away from workforce investment, private training courses remain out of reach for many workers, and the state's college system is overloaded with demand. WashTech's training program, with a growing number of courses taught at our own regional training centers, is an attempt to respond to these problems faced by high-tech workers…”

At the Local’s website, click on the link to WashTech to learn more about them and the course offerings they have….while at the local website, feel free to leave a comment; or make a suggestion for any articles or subjects you would like to see in future issues. Ed.

Court Rejects Attempt to Derail Ergonomics Rule

Thurston County superior Court Judge Paula Casey today rejected every single argument in a business group’s lawsuit against the State over its development and implementation of an ergonomics rule designed to prevent musculoskeletal injuries at Washington workplaces.

“This ruling is very great news for working families in Washington State,” said Rick Bender, President of the Washington State Labor Council. “The State has an interest—and, in fact, a constitutional obligation—to ensure its workplaces are safe and healthy, and the ergonomics rules is a critically important step toward addressing the Number One cause of work injury in this state.”

Some 50,000 workers suffer ergonomic-related injuries every year in Washington, costing the State workers’ compensation system around $400 million annually. The State rule promulgated by the Department of Labor and Industries requires businesses to develop a plan to identify and address ergonomic hazards (tet the ruleIt has already been implemented, but enforcement is not scheduled to begin until 2004.

Among the arguments presented by the so-called WE CARE (Washington Employers Concerned About Regulating Ergonomics) Coalition in its suit against the Department of Labor and Industries was the L&I had exceeded its authority in adopting the rule, it did so without following proper procedures, its cost-benefit analysis is flawed, there isn’t enough scientific evidence to support the need for ergonomics prevent, and the implementation plan is inadequate.

Today, Judge Casey rule no, no, no, no and...NO! As reported in the Wall Street Journal, national corporate interests have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the WE CARE coalition in an attempt to defeat the rule and stamp out Washington’s pioneering ergonomics rule before it spreads to other States. The have viewed to appeal today’s decision to the Supreme Court.

“Once again, this important rule has survived an aggressive attack from certain short-sighted members of the business community,” Bender said. If they follow though on their threat to appeal the decision, we will continue to do whatever we can to help the State defend this critically needed standard.”

 

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