2020

4/3/2020 Business Manager Message - (4/3/2020)

A Message from Business Manager Mark Burri

April 3rd, 2020

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

I hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly upended the San Francisco Bay Area construction industry, not to mention the entire world. Local 467 is dedicated to providing all members with as much information and support as possible to get through these challenging times. The safety, health, and security of all members has been and remains the highest concern of Local 467. Please review the information, links, and resources below.

LOCAL 467 COMMUNICATIONS: Please encourage Local 467 members you know who may not receive Local 467 emails to contact Local 467 at (650) 692-4730 to update their contact information and bookmark the Local 467 website at www.ualocal467.org.

LOCAL 467 SAFETY: The United Association maintains a COVID-19 safety resource webpage here… https://uanet.org/pdf/COVID-19%20Resource%20Center%20Page.pdf. Cal/OSHA also provides guidance on requirements to protect workers from COVID-19 here… https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/coronavirus/Health-Care-General-Industry.html.

LOCAL 467 MEETINGS: Local and state restrictions on gatherings continue to prohibit membership meetings until further notice. Executive board, officers’, delegates’, and joint labor-management apprenticeship & training meetings will be soon be conducted by video conferencing. Details will follow.

LOCAL 467 POLITICAL & LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS: Local 467, along with our Building Trades Unions' affiliates, are communicating with local and state government providing suggestions for COVID-19 industry site safety and exposure control plans and guidelines. The United Association, along with the North America’s Building Trades Unions, are communicating with Congress providing suggestions for structuring worker stimulus packages. While several bills have already been approved, more are likely on the way, so it's vital Local 467 members' needs are reflected in any future legislative relief packages.

LOCAL 467 HEALTH & RETIREMENT BENEFITS: If you've been laid off or furloughed and worked full-time with a full bank of hours, you will have as many as six (6) additional months of Local 467 family health insurance. Call Local 467 at (650) 692-4730 or the benefits office at (408) 288-4455 for your current bank of hours balance and health insurance coverage status. Local 467’s health and retirement benefits plans' trustees are working with legal counsel to draft and approve enhancing Local 467 benefits by allowing defined contribution plan (401a/401k) hardship withdrawals, loans, and waiving loan payments for twelve (12) months. If COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders cause prolonged unemployment and jeopardizes active Local 467 members’ health insurance benefits, the trustees may consider extending health insurance benefits. Details will follow.

LOCAL 467 TRAINING: The training department is issuing laptops to all apprentices to resume spring semester training remotely. If you’re an apprentice, you must respond to training department email instructions as to how laptops are issued. If you know an apprentice, please encourage them to communicate with the training department if they haven’t already. Apprentices who do not participate in remote training will not advance through the apprenticeship.

UA SCHOLARSHIP CONTESTS: Each year, the California State Pipe Trades Council (CSPTC) and the United Association (UA) offer college scholarship contests that have awarded thousands of dollars to families of Local Union 467 members in good standing. The CSPTC Scholarship Contest deadline has been extended to Thursday, April 30, 2020. Rules, instructions, and an application are here… http://www.calpipes.org/scholarship.aspx. The UA College Scholarship Contest deadline is Sunday, June 7, 2020. It's advertised in the January, February, March, and April issues of the UA Journal. Rules, instructions, and applications are available at https://uascholarshipfund.communityforce.com/Funds/Search.aspx.

FREE COLLEGE: The Union Plus Free College Benefit makes it possible for you and your family members to earn an associate degree completely online – for FREE. Learn more here... https://www.unionplusfreecollege.org/

LOCAL 467 MEMBERSHIP DUES: In response to Local 467’s extensive unemployment caused by shelter-in-place-orders to prevent the continued spread of, and exposure to, COVID-19, the Local 467 executive board unanimously approved crediting all non-retired active members (trades, apprentice, and journey level) the equivalent to twelve (12) monthly dues payments at the Building Trades Journey-Level rate of $31 per month, totaling $372 which will be credited toward Local 467 monthly membership dues. The funds needed to provide the credit and pay per capita to the United Association will be drawn from the Local 467 general fund. Please make sure you're current on your membership dues. ONLY NON-RETIRED ACTIVE MEMBERS WHOSE MEMBERSHIP DUES ARE PAID THROUGH JUNE 2020 AS OF JULY 1, 2020 WILL QUALIFY FOR THE $372 CREDIT.

CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT (EDD) BENEFITS: California EDD provides a variety of support services to people who have lost their jobs or have had their hours reduced due to the impacts of COVID-19 in California. General information about California’s unemployment insurance program is available here… https://edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/. To file an unemployment insurance claim online, click here… https://edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/Filing_a_Claim.htm. To file an unemployment insurance claim by telephone, click here… https://www.edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/Telephone_Numbers.htm. For California unemployment insurance changes and updates relating to COVID-19, click here… https://www.edd.ca.gov/about_edd/coronavirus-2019.htm.

FEDERAL STIMULUS REBATE CHECKS: Anyone with a Social Security number who is not a dependent of anyone else should be eligible for a check under the income caps. Adults who earn $75,000 or less per year should receive $1,200, while that amount will reduce on a sliding scale for people who earn up to $99,000. Anyone with a higher income will not qualify. There is no minimum qualification. This amount applies to each member of a married couple and families will receive an additional $500 for every dependent child under 17. The payments are classified as advance tax rebates and will not be taxed. More information is available at the nation’s leading independent tax policy nonprofit organization, the Tax Foundation… https://taxfoundation.org/federal-coronavirus-relief-bill-cares-act/.

PAID SICK AND FAMILY LEAVE: Last month, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which provides employees with paid sick and family leave related to COVID19. The bill is summarized here... https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employee-paid-leave.

INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX RETURNS: Tax Day has been moved from April 15 to July 15 for California and federal tax return and payment deadlines.

SHELTER-IN-PLACE ORDER ISSUED TUESDAY MARCH 31, 2020 BY SF BAY AREA COUNTY HEALTH OFFICERS: The Tuesday, March 31, 2020 order supersedes the March 16, 2020 order. The new order is stricter and extends the shelter-in-place through Sunday, May 3rd, 2020. The following are construction-specific excerpts from the new order:

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13. Definitions and Exemptions

13.f.v. Construction, but only of the types listed in this subparagraph below:

1. Projects immediately necessary to the maintenance, operation, or repair of Essential Infrastructure;

2. Projects associated with Healthcare Operations, including creating or expanding Healthcare Operations, provided that such construction is directly related to the COVID-19 response;

3. Affordable housing that is or will be income-restricted, including multi-unit or mixed-use developments containing at least 10% income-restricted units;

4. Public works projects if specifically designated as an Essential Governmental Function by the lead governmental agency;

5. Shelters and temporary housing, but not including hotels or motels;

6. Projects immediately necessary to provide critical non-commercial services to individuals experiencing homelessness, elderly persons, persons who are economically disadvantaged, and persons with special needs;

7. Construction necessary to ensure that existing construction sites that must be shut down under this Order are left in a safe and secure manner, but only to the extent necessary to do so; and

8. Construction or repair necessary to ensure that residences and buildings containing Essential Businesses are safe, sanitary, or habitable to the extent such construction or repair cannot reasonably be delayed;

13.f.xii. Plumbers, electricians, exterminators, and other service providers who provide services that are necessary to maintaining the habitability, sanitation, and operation of residences and Essential Businesses, but not for cosmetic or other purposes;

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ADDITIONAL WEBSITES AFFILIATED WITH LOCAL 467:

The United Association (UA)

ua.org

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO)

aflcio.org

North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU)

nabtu.org

State Building & Construction Trades Council of California

cabuildingtrades.org

San Mateo County Central Labor Council / Community Services

COVID-19 Information & Resources