September/October 2003 Newsletter

 

We Must Vote NO to Protect Safe Jobs

Initiative 841—the only statewide initiative on the ballot in this year’s November election—would REPEAL an important workplace safety rule that prevents painful, debilitating injuries. This initiative was bought and paid for by the bully-boy lobbying group, the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW).

The BIAW’s goal is to repeal not only our state’s common sense ergonomic rule, but to use this same tactic to attack and repeal all of our state’s fundamental workplace rules. If they get I-841 passed, you can expect to see them attack prevailing wage rules, overtime rules and every other basic workplace protection we have fought for over the last hundred years. That’s one of the many good reasons to stop them NOW!

As the fall political season heats up, union members need to know the facts:

  • Every year, 50,000 Washington workers suffer from work-related ergonomic injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and low back strain.
  • These injuries account for one-third of all workers’ compensation claims in our state, and also account for 46% of all workers’ compensation costs.
  • These injuries are preventable, and the new ergonomics rule will help us prevent them
  • The rule targets high hazard jobs, and the standards are applied in a fair, reasonable manner. The rule does not require any action from nearly 50% of employers who do not have any high hazard jobs.
 		  

Stories in this issue:

Our state’s ergonomics rule saves money and jobs by preventing costly injuries. Healthy workers are more productive than injured workers. That’s why many of Washington’s leading businesses have already implemented successful workplace ergonomics programs. Their voluntary actions have helped, but so many injuries are still occurring that a hit-and-miss voluntary approach just isn’t good enough. In fact the prospect of a statewide rule has probably prompted many businesses to adopt programs on ergonomics. If the rule goes away, many businesses will likely take a pass and avoid any change.

Painful, chronic, preventable injuries hurt thousands of working families every year in our state. That’s why we need you to support Working Families for Safer Jobs, the campaign to say NO to Initiative 841. You can find out more on the web at www.no841.org, or you can contact the Washington State Labor Council at 1-800-542-0904 or e-mail, dgroves@wslc.org.

What’s Hiding in that little Manila Folder?

Have You Seen Your Personnel File Lately?

Your personnel file, what’s in it and how long does it stay there?

You have the legal right to inspect the contents of your personnel file. Your employer should, at least annually, review the contents of your file and remove any erroneous or irrelevant information in the file(s). If the employee does not agree with the employer’s determination, the employee may at his or her request have placed in the employee’s personnel file a statement containing the employee’s rebuttal or correction. Nothing in this subsection prevents the employer from removing information more frequently. (Qwest contract article 25, and Washington state law r.c.w. 49.12 sec. 2)

Company Instruction states that the employee may take a reasonable amount of notes to propose to management corrections, deletions, or amendments to the record. If the changes are not acceptable to management, the employee must be informed and furnished in writing the reason(s) for the refusal. The employee shall be given the opportunity to place in their file a concise written statement setting forth the reasons for the disagreement.

Prohibited Records: Supervisory files, individual personnel jackets maintained in the employee’s department (supervisor) must not contain the following material:

  1. Documentation, e.g., in appraisals or recommendations, which makes reference to non-job related data, such as the employee’s personality, home conditions, marital status, physical characteristics, age, race, sex, religion, etc.
  2. Records too old to be relevant to the employee’s current job status, for example:
    1. Outdated applications for leave of absence.
    2. Transfer applications, not current or cancelled.
    3. Job performance appraisals going back more than two prior years unless required for supervisory attention or possible disciplinary action.
  3. Reference to any discrimination complaint filed by the employee.
  4. Information related to legal processes which have been settled, e.g. wage garnishment, assignment of wages, etc.
  5. Reference to or documentation for arrest or conviction records.
  6. Reference to a union grievance filed by the employee or by the union on the employee’s behalf.

Secondary Personnel Files
Records maintained on a day to day basis may be held separately from the employee’s primary personnel file. These records would normally include documentation of discussions, training and development activities, the current attendance records and documentation of job performance. This information may be summarized periodically and forwarded for inclusion in the Personnel File. When an employee transfers to another department, all relevant documentation should be forwarded.

Information you will hopefully never need: disability services

We hope you never need to contact us but if you do, we are here to help…...Mari Henderson, director of disability programs

In June, I announced some changes to the Qwest Disability Services program based on your feedback. As part of our commitment to keep you informed, I wanted to make sure you knew what to do if you need to report a disability claim. My hope is that you never need our services, but if you do, please refer to the following information:

  • To report a disability claim, your supervisor needs to call UNIcall at 866-864-2255. All claims should be reported by the fourth calendar day of your absence. Please remember, you are also responsible for ensuring your claim has been reported. You may utilize UNIcall to verify your claim has been reported and determine who will be managing your claim.
  • Once your claim has been reported, you will receive an informational packet that includes the contact information for the claims manager that has been assigned to your specific case. However, if you have any trouble contacting this individual or have any additional questions you may also contact Ramona Mitchell who serves as our employee advocate at 866-864-2255 x3284 or by e-mail at rmitchell@qwestdisability.com. Ramona is also available to assist managers with any questions they may have concerning our process.
  • If you need to appeal a decision on your claim, or have any questions concerning the appeal process, please contact Jennifer Whitehurst who serves as our dedicated appeals specialist at 866-864-2255 x1890 or by email at jwhitehurst@qwestdisability.com.
  • If any team can be of any assistance, please contact Chad Arsenault at 303-896-4381 or chad.arsenault@qwest.com

Arachnophobia? Not at our website

Check it out!

If you have access to the internet, we invite you to view, read, and participate in our web site. It is located at www.cwalocal7804.org. For those of you who don’t know, this has been in use for over four years.

The web site has links to other CWA sites (Headquarters and District 7), AFL-CIO, Union Privilege, Washington State Labor Council and other important things relating to our Local and unionism in general.

There is a link for members. We have removed the password protection, so it is easier to access now. You will find several choices there including stories, a link to sign up to receive this newsletter in PDF format (this saves us printing and mailing costs), and also a format to post opinions, suggestions, or gripes and groans on the message board. If you click on the “cool links” icon, you will find other useful information that may benefit you or answer questions. There is also a link on this page to view benefit information for Qwest.

If you to choose to sign up to receive e-mails from the local, you may do so, as well as unsubscribe if you so desire. This is a useful tool and a quick way to mobilize our members over issues that need immediate attention, or to just distribute important information.

Lastly, if you need to contact an officer or leave a general message for the Local, including the Executive Board, you may do so on the voicemail system at 572-7804. We check it periodically and will do our best to get back to you in a timely manner. The e-mail address is cwalocal@msn.com.

Please remember our General Membership meetings are held at 6pm the fourth Tuesday of each month unless otherwise posted. Check the bulletin board at your worksite. Remember there is strength in numbers. Hope to see you at the next meeting.

2004 Open Enrollment schedule

Mid September Postcard announcement to active and retirees and Open enrollment date and PIN reminder

10/13-10/17 Open Enrollment Kits sent to employees and retirees

10/27-11/7 Open Enrollment Window

11/10-11/14 Confirmation Statements sent to participants who made changes during the Open Enrollment window.

11/17-11/21 Correction Period

11/24-11/26 Confirmation Statements sent to participant who made corrections during the Correction Period

Enrollment Kits to Include: What’s New; Enrollment Instruction; Personalized Enrollment Statements; Plan Highlights Book (previously called Health Plan Guide); and Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs).

Good and Welfare:

Service Anniversaries

September: Dennis Shuler, 35; Hank Knaack, 30; David Bauding, 25; John Wood, 25; Patrick Fremont, 5; Timothy Thompson, 5; Pat O’Connor, 5; Christine Shevlin, 5.

October: James Christiansen, 35; Terry Enea, 35; Ron Devany, 30; Chris Jensen, 25; Dana Totten, 25; Arthur Ehrlich, 25; James Gerrity, 5; Mark Whitaker, 5; Wilfred Broussard, 5; Ben Currin, 5.

Retirees: Jan Meeks

 

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