Upcoming Proposed Flexible Spending Account Changes
October 30, 2024The APWU was recently notified of the proposed change to the FSA (Flexible Spending Account) administrator. FSA is an important negotiated benefit as it allows employees to put aside “pre-tax” dollars for certain medical and dependent care expenses.
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The APWU was recently notified of the proposed change to the FSA (Flexible Spending Account) administrator. FSA is an important negotiated benefit as it allows employees to put aside “pre-tax” dollars for certain medical and dependent care expenses.
The proposed management change will not eliminate the FSA. In addition, management’s changes are not related to upcoming changes in the FEBH/PSHB Health Plans beginning in 2025.
Management is switching the FSA administrator for enhanced security and more flexibility in how employees can access their accounts. Management understands that they need to keep all of the benefits of the current program, and says they intend to.
However, the current administrator (FSAFEDs) and the Postal Service are notifying current FSA enrollees that their funds must be used by December 31st, 2024, or they will be forfeited. This is completely unacceptable. Employees who put money in their FSA expecting to roll over any remaining money should not lose out in this switch in administrators.
The APWU is actively monitoring the situation.President Dimondstein has raised our concerns to the Postmaster General’s office. In addition, we are researching any possible legal action.
The Postal Service needs to ensure a roll over between FSA administrators, delay implementation of the change so that employees have time to use their FSA funds, or guarantee any money left in FSA accounts will remain available to employees next year.
Employees who wish to enroll in FSA for next year will need to create a “login.gov” account prior to Open Season.
The APWU leadership will continue to share any additional information and updates.
Upcoming Proposed Flexible Spending Account Changes0
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IAM Joins Western Pennsylvania Union Members to Get Out the Vote
For weeks, IAM and other union members in Pittsburgh and from across the country have flocked to the Allegheny-Fayette County Labor Council office to pick up materials before heading out to door-knock as part of the national AFL-CIO’s political program. In the first stage of the program, political volunteers visited union members’ households to provide
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Ignore the Polls. This Election Is Within the Margin of Effort.
Ignore the Polls. This Election Is Within the Margin of Effort.
Gwen Mills is the international president of UNITE HERE, the hospitality workers union. Before becoming the union’s first-ever female president earlier this year, she served as secretary-treasurer and political director, overseeing UNITE HERE’s swing state field canvass programs.I’m not anxious about the results of the election.
Don’t get me wrong, as the leader of a union of 275,000 hospitality workers in thiscountry, the outcome in November will have massive implications for us. Will we spendthe next four years on defense, fending off attack after attack as Trump and his alliesattempt to crush unions, deport our immigrant members, and take away women’srights? Or will we be able to stay on offense, with a Harris administration that enablesus to focus on improving wages and working conditions in the hospitality industry?We could spend a lot of time trying to read the tea leaves on races that are within themargin of error. Or instead of being anxious, we can instead focus our energy on themargin of effort. My union, UNITE HERE, is choosing the latter.UNITE HERE is running the largest independent labor-led canvass operation in thecountry. Over 1,400 housekeepers, cooks, dishwashers, concessions workers, andmore have already knocked on over 2 million doors. By election day, we’ll be more than2,000 strong, aiming to hit at least 3.5 million doors in ten key battlegrounds.Close elections are won or lost on the ground. Billions of dollars will be poured into theairwaves, generating a cacophony of noise that many voters are desperate to tune out.The answer to cutting through the noise? A real person, from your community, knockingon your door to have a face-to-face conversation. It’s old-fashioned, lowercase “d”democracy. Neighbors talking to neighbors about the issues in their daily lives.We’re not your typical paid canvass. Our own union members—workers who areleaders among their co-workers, who know how to organize—take a leave of absencefrom their jobs to work full-time as canvassers. Every day, they’re out in theircommunities talking to other working-class voters with similar demographics about realkitchen table issues.When our members, predominantly women of color and immigrants, knock on theirneighbors’ doors, they bring a unique credibility. Through cycles of investment in realdoor-to-door organizers, we win elections, and we build the movement needed to pushthe winners to deliver for working people.For that reason, our canvassing program is about more than the immediate election.When we knock on doors in Philadelphia, our first question in hard-hit neighborhoods is:“Do you have a job?” We open the conversation with what’s really on their mind, andconnect people to hospitality training opportunities, pathways to a good union job. Andwe discuss politics and get out the vote.Gregory Moody was born and raised in North Philadelphia. He joined our hospitalitytraining program in 2022 and was trained as a cook. He was then hired at the stadiumsand became a member of UNITE HERE Local 274. Earlier this year he went on strikewith his coworkers to fight for fair wages, health benefits, and respect. Now he’sapplying the organizing skills he learned with the union to canvassing full-time forHarris, talking to his neighbors about their future.Nancy Chávez is a dishwasher at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and a member of CulinaryWorkers Union UNITE HERE Local 226. She’s a leader among her coworkers, andshe’s knocking on doors, talking to her neighbors about the economy and the fact thatLatinos can make the difference in this election.Kearra Rosales, a member of UNITE HERE Local 11, works alongside her aunt andgrandmother at the Downtown Doubletree in Los Angeles as a front desk agent. Lastyear she went on strike to protect healthcare and secure her grandmother’s access toinsulin. Now she’s knocking doors in Tucson for Kamala Harris to improve healthcareaccess in working class communities.The ground game is often dismissed, seen as a last-ditch effort. It shows in the $165million fundraising shortfall that grassroots groups are facing. But when elections arethis close, canvassers like Gregory, Nancy, and Kearra can make the critical differencewith voters who share their experiences and are on the fence about who to vote for, orwhether to vote at all.In 2020, Democrats won the decisive states of Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania byjust 124,608 votes combined. UNITE HERE mobilized over 440,000 infrequent voters tovote for Biden, including 125,000 who had not voted in the previous presidentialelection. In Nevada and Arizona, the number of these voters exceeded the margin ofvictory. That is the margin of effort.So in these final six days, don’t sit around fretting about the polls. Go knock on somedoors, or support groups that are.
Kenneth Quinnell
Wed, 10/30/2024 – 13:56
IAM, TWU-IAM Association Members at American Airlines Overwhelmingly Ratify Industry-Leading Contract Extensions
More than 34,000 members of the TWU-IAM Association, a union alliance of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) at American Airlines, have overwhelmingly ratified contract extensions that greatly increase pay, quality of life and more. The Association’s negotiating committees had reached tentative agreements with the carrier
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IAFF Center of Excellence clinicians put themselves in members’ boots
Thirty-six clinicians and staff from the IAFF Center of Excellence participated in Fire Ops 101, experiencing real-life scenarios to better understand the challenges fire fighters and emergency medical workers face on the job.
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IAM Union Mobilizes Across Wisconsin to Drive Voter Turnout, Safeguard Democracy
The IAM continues to ramp up efforts across Wisconsin in collaboration with the state AFL-CIO and other affiliates to mobilize union households ahead of the upcoming elections. The initiative focuses on encouraging voters to support candidates who prioritize infrastructure development, good jobs, and the protection of union rights, ultimately aiming to build a stronger economy
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Friend of the IAM, Trailblazing Chicago Rail Leader Honored with Metra Train Car
On Oct. 29, 2024, former Chicago Metra Board Chair Romayne Brown, the first African-American woman to chair the board, was honored with a Metra Train Car dedicated to her tireless efforts as the Metra Board Chair. During her term as chair, Brown helped lead the agency through COVID-19 challenges that became some of the most
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IAM Union Makes Final Push in Battleground States Ahead of 2024 Election
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2024—Brian Bryant, International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), today issued a statement on the IAM’s extensive political mobilization efforts in battleground states, emphasizing the critical role of union volunteers in getting out the vote for pro-worker candidates: “As the nation’s largest aerospace, airline, transportation, and defense
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UAW Members at Woodbridge Corp Walk Out on Strike
Early Wednesday morning on October 30, UAW-represented Woodbridge Corp – Atlanta Foam workers of Local 472 walked out on strike.
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UAW President Shawn Fain to Rally with DACM Members, Call On Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to Keep The Promise
UAW President Shawn Fain and Region 1 Director LaShawn English will rally with members from Detroit Assembly Complex-Mack at UAW Local 51 to call on Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to honor the union contract and Keep The Promise.
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