MAR 2023

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS: 

UNITED HEALTH CARE HERITAGE PREMIER www.myuhc.com 

          1-888-533-3731

UNITED HEALTH CARE CHOICE PLUS 

     1-888-533-3731 (Outside IA-IL Area)

UNITED HEALTH CARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE (Retirees)

          1-866-811-8476

UNITED BEHAVORIAL HEALTH

          1-888-533-7311

UNITED HEALTH CARE DENTAL

          1-800-996-7518

OptumRX (Prescriptions)

          1-888-279-2568

UNITED HEALTH CARE VISION

1-888-533-3731  www.myuhc.com 

DEERE BENEFIT CENTER

Alight Solutions 

          1-844-689-7833 (Active & Retired)

Aon Hewitt (PENSION)

          1-844-689-7833

MET-LIFE LEGAL PLANS (f/k/a HYATT)

    1-800-821-6400 www.legalplans.com 

FIDELITY 401K BENEFITS

          1-800-354-3427

JOHN DEERE PLANT

          515-289-1350

JOHN DEERE MEDICAL

          515-289-3219 / Fax: 515-289-3487

LOCAL 450 UNION HALL

          515-283-1784

SHOP COMMITTEE

Chair, Keith Chada

          515-289-3206

Josh Overton

          515-289-3230

Jon Vaughan

          515-289-3069

Pat Garcia

          515-289-3068

UAW SAFETY REPRESENTATIVE

Steve Bradley

          515-289-3653/Cell: 515-306-3777

UNION TIME STUDY REPRESENTATIVE

Keith Frette

          515-289-3542

   

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

MARCH 17TH

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS 2023

Apr 7, Good Friday

May 29, Memorial Day

July 4, Independence Day

ELECTION COMMITTEE

Nominations for Election Committee was held at the February 18th Regular Meeting.  Winners by acclamation are Steve Becker, Stacie Spaur, and Rachel Malloy.

STEWARDS & REGULAR MEETING

The next Stewards Meeting will be held at 8:00 AM and the Regular Meeting at 9:00 AM on Saturday, March 18, 2023, at the Union Hall. Agenda includes regular order of business.

LAWN MOWING BIDS

The Trustees of Local 450 are requesting bids to mow the Union Hall property. Also include in your bid a separate amount for weed/fertilizer in the Spring/Fall.  The area to be mowed is all of the grass inside the fenced property.  Make your bid for the entire mowing season ending in the Fall of 2023.  The Trustees reserve the right to reject any or all bids.  Bids must be submitted by 3:00 PM, March 14, 2023 to the Union Hall.  The successful bidder will be notified at a later date. (Note, taxes will be withheld and you will receive a W-2 at the end of the year.  If it’s a business, we will need your Tax ID number and you will receive a Form 1099.)

STATEMENT OF UAW ON IDLING OF STELLANTIS BELVIDERE PLANT FEBRUARY 28

The following taken from the International Union’s Website……

Last December, Stellantis NV announced its decision to idle the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois on February 28, 2023, by refusing to put a new product into the award-winning plant.

“UAW Local 1268 members at Belvidere have proudly built vehicles for Chrysler, then FCA and now Stellantis since 1965. They have delivered quality and productivity for the corporation for generations,” says UAW President Ray Curry. “Stellantis’ ill-advised decision will have negative repercussions throughout the region and supplier network.  It will disrupt lives, uproot families, and leave communities struggling to find economic drivers to pay for schools, roads and other services.”

“It is notable that while Stellantis abandons this community after being part of it for almost sixty years, the corporation has benefitted from numerous and generous subsidies, federal loans, grants and tax abatements – all paid for by U.S. taxpayers,” adds UAW Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell. “The cruelty of its decision was heightened last week when the company disclosed that CEO Carlos Tavares received a staggering compensation package of $24.8 million for 2022, despite the company’s shareholders questioning the excessive compensation given to Tavares in 2021.  All of this done by a global company which looks to the U.S. market for 48% of its revenue.”

Stellantis’ decision to idle the Belvidere Assembly Plant will not stand.

“We have immediately addressed the concerns of the 2300 affected employees by negotiating with the company on retirement packages, voluntary termination, as well as pre-retirement leaves to allow employees to grow into their retirement.  We are also working with interested members on the relocation process,” notes UAW Vice President and Director of the National Stellantis Department Rich Boyer.  “While the power of collective bargaining softens the blow for UAW Local 1268 members who work for Stellantis, we know that the options are much more limited for the supplier network which includes UAW members as well as the community at large. This economic dislocation is a choice made by Stellantis to reap even higher profits. We will highlight their corporate greed to workers, community, taxpayers, and consumers.”

The UAW will continue to demand that Stellantis put a product in the Belvidere Assembly Plant. This pattern of starving facilities of a product creates uncertainty for UAW members and raises questions about Stellantis’ commitment to the U.S.

UAW workers deserve better.  U.S. taxpayers who subsidize Stellantis deserve better. And U.S. consumers deserve better.

 

SPRING AHEAD

Daylight Saving Time begins March 12th.  Reminder to turn your clocks AHEAD one hour.

RETIREMENT CONGRATS!

Jan 31: Mark Tedford, Dept. 42

  Bruce Elsinger, Dept. 30A

RETIREES NOTE

At our February meeting, winners by acclamation for Retirees Election Committee were Dennis DeJoode, Chair, Scott Bowman, and Carol Shores.

The next Retirees Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, March 8th at 12:00 Noon with Pizza from Sonny’s Bristo; Meeting at 1:00 PM. With the ongoing Covid-19 Virus, no Potluck will be held. We want everyone to be safe. DO NOT BRING FOOD IN unless it’s in a store-bought prepared package/box.

The $25.00 door prize winners in February were Jim Wittick and Linda Jensen.  Dick Fontana and Michael Johnson’s names were drawn for the $200.00 progressive prize, but they were not present.

Nominations will be taken at the April 12th meeting for all offices in the Retirees Chapter and one (1) delegate position for the Retired Workers Council.  Elections will be held at the May 10th meeting.  Now’s the time to continue to be active in your Union and run for an elected position in our Retirees Chapter.  

  IN MEMORY

Philip C. Johnson

~Hired 01-12-59 ~Retired 01-31-89 ~Deceased 12-19-22

Randy Schmidt

~Hired 01-29-79 ~Retired 08-01-94 ~Deceased 01-13-23

Rolland Collins

~Hired 12-18-57 ~Retired 08-31-87 ~Deceased 01-25-23

Jerry Roff

~Hired 11-16-70 ~Retired 01-31-07 ~Deceased 01-31-23

Alan Conley

~Hired 02-18-74 ~Retired 02-28-06 ~Deceased 02-08-23

Chavez Valadez

~Hired 10-02-72 ~Retired 10-31-04 ~Deceased 02-20-23

THANK YOU NOTES

A special thank you goes out to Bill Sharp for making & donating the new Retirees Chapter Board hanging in the Hall representing those who retired.  Nice job!

                        

CHAPLAIN CHAT by Curt Forney……

There was a story of a hamster and its owner. Each morning Sam would jump on the wheel, stopping only to grab a bite to eat. He was driven by some ingrained belief that his effort was getting him somewhere. Trudge, trudge, trudge. Run, run, run. Nibble, nibble, nibble. He eats a few occasional treats to break the monotony. That’s Sam’s life… and life for Sam’s hamster is almost as monotonous! Sometimes life can feel like that, one long constant treadmill. We wonder as we go through each day are we really accomplishing anything of significance. Too often there is the feeling we are just going through the motions, and we hope the problems we face each day will not swallow us up. Is there any hope that my life actually means something beyond the daily grind? There is an antidote. It is found in an old legend of a man who found the barn where Satan kept his seeds ready to be sown in the human heart. On finding the seeds of discouragement more numerous than others, he learned that those seeds could be made to grow almost anywhere. When questioned, Satan reluctantly admitted that there was one place in which he could never get them to thrive. "And where is that?" asked the man. He replied sadly, "In the heart of a grateful person." A grateful attitude may not necessarily change your circumstances, but it can help you see them differently. Think about it.