Brothers and Sisters,
I hope everyone had a fun and safe weekend. With the first quarter of the year coming to a close, there is some information that I would like to keep you updated on.
Due to the Governor's extended Stay-at-Home, the Business Office will adjust it's hours to comply. Your IBEW 531 staff will continue to come in but the Business Office will be closed to all foot traffic. As always, if you have an issue that cannot be effectively taken care of via phone or email, an appointment is being required to take care of your business. Union Meetings will continue to be looked at on a Month-by-Month basis and your Executive Board will continue to meet, as scheduled, via Zoom conferences.
The JATC will stay closed to all except staff. Even with the building closed, the apprenticeship has still been able to "carry on". Roland, along with all of our Instructors, has stepped up and implemented E-learning along with "virtual" learning via Zoom. This has been a succcess so far with no classes being missed and cautious measures are being taken to ensure the safety of our apprentices during testing. Kudos to the JATC team!!
During Governor Holcomb's live update today, April 6th, the Commissioner for Indiana DWD stated that the $600 benefits (in addition to Indiana Unemployment Benefits) should be available week of April 20th. This is part of the Care Act's Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Package (PUC) and will be paid retro to March 29th. We will continue to update you as this changes or new information is available. The Indiana "Stay at Home" order has also been extended to 11:59 pm on April 20th. Click here to view the most recent Governor Holcomb Executive Order. This Executive Order can also be found in it's entirety on the COVID-19 Resources Board.
In speaking with Zenith, the April pension check run went as scheduled with very minimum disruption. Also, those members looking to retire in the very near future should NOT have any disruption in their pension processing as well.
In an effort to be as "touchless" as possible, the upcoming Wage Survey will NOT be done by mail. We will be sending out a survey via Survey Monkey in the very near future. We will inform the membership via Facebook, push notification, website, and call out when the wage surveys are available. We will be sending these directly to your inbox with the Email that we have on file. If we do not have an email or a current email on file, please call the hall and update that info asap.
The IBEW Local 531 elections are also coming up. Your Executive Board, along with I/O guidance, has decided on how we will be handling our nominations and elections. As per I/O Policy, we WILL be sending the membership a notification letter in the mail in the next day or so. Please check your mailboxes towards the end of the week for this information. Any questions regarding the election should be addressed to our Election Judge, Darrin Watt.
For our members that live, work, shop, or visit LaPorte, Mayor Tom Dermody has recently issued an Executive Order limiting the amount of persons that can be in stores. Click here to view the article. This information can also be found on our Covod-19 Resources Board.
Just a reminder, your quarterly dues can be paid online via CC in the "Members Resources" tab of the website. You MUST login to do this. If you are having trouble logging in, please contact the hall for assistance. You can also sign up to have your quarterly dues automatically deducted from your First Trust Credit Union account.
Please continue to visit the website for updated information. Also, if you have not already, download our app via the website as well. All pertinent information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, is being posted on our Covid-19 Resources Board. I also want to say Thank You to the membership that continues to man our work in a "safe" manner as well as those who have elected to stay home in order to keep themselves and their families safe. We will get thru this together Brothers and Sisters!!
#INthistogether,
Jim C.
