Dear Local 34 Members,

We hope you are all doing well and are safe at either home or in your workplace. Union leaders across campus are beginning to reach out to our co-workers to check in and see how you are doing and see how Yale is responding to this crisis. If you have any questions or concerns please reply to this email and we will be in touch.

Also we are happy to announce that we have revamped the Local 34 website with new features, up to date news and information. Take a look here, http://www.local34.org/

We have also been in ongoing talks about pay provisions, health and safety and moving work to home during this crisis and are now turning to discussions about the future. We will keep you updated.

 

 

 

In Solidarity, 

 

 

President Laurie Kennington  

 

 

Secretary Treasurer Ken Suzuki

 

 

HEP Suspended Till 9/30/2020 due to COVID-19

The Health Expectations Program (HEP) promotes good health through required preventive screenings and visits. However, these appointments are difficult to schedule nowadays because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Therefore the University and the unions have agreed to make temporary changes to HEP.

 

  • All health actions currently due or overdue will now have a new deadline of September 30th.

  • No HEP opt-out fees will be deducted starting this week and going through October.

 

This extension also applies to health coaching. Please note that health coaching via phone remains available and can be used to complete coaching requirements from home.

Members or spouses who have health actions due on September 30 will need to meet that deadline, or opt-out fees will be deducted from their pay starting Thursday, November 5, 2020.

Please check your status at yale.healthmine.com.

We wish you and your families good health.

 

Stacy Downer offers VITA Tax Assistance

 

Stacy Downer, a Local 34 member for over 5 years, also serves as a VITA savings specialist. VITA, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, offers free tax preparation assistance to people who make less than $56,000 a year, persons with disabilities, and others.

Stacy volunteers as a savings specialist. She helps people organize and file their taxes for free. She also gives them advice and options on what to do with their tax returns like financial planning and setting up savings accounts.

She started doing this work while working at a check-cashing place. Stacy saw that people who were struggling financially were paying up to $100 to get their taxes filed and that many of these places were taking advantage of their customers.

 

Since the locations where VITA volunteers usually work such as libraries and community centers are closed Stacy and her team are cold calling people who qualify for the program and doing the work virtually. Many of the people Stacy talks to are excited to get the help they need. If you, your family or someone else needs tax assistance and qualify for this assistance please reach out to us here or contact Stacy or virtualvita.ct@gmail.com

 

Take Action: Tell Congress to Adopt America’s Five Economic Essentials

 

While our Union’s industries have been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 economic and healthcare crisis, we all recognize that America’s workers across all sectors are affected in ways that will be devastating for years to come. Without more direct help, hardworking people and their families will continue to spiral downward.

 

Millions of people who have lost their jobs and millions more on the front lines of the COVID-19 global pandemic need our collective support and decisive action from Congress. That’s why we’re partnering up with our union siblings with the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, AFT, UFCW, among others representing America’s workers, to call on Congress and President Trump to adopt America’s Five Economic Essentials as the centerpiece of future legislation:

 

 

  1. Keep America healthy—protect and expand health insurance for all workers.
  2. Keep front-line workers safe and secure.
  3. Keep workers employed and protect earned pension checks.
  4. Keep public schools going, the Postal Service solvent, state and local governments running.
  5. Keep America competitive—hire people to build infrastructure.

As the fighting hospitality union, we know how to make noise. As a fighting labor movement together in solidarity, we are unstoppable. Tell Congress to act NOW for America’s workers.

 

In solidarity,

 

D. Taylor
UNITE HERE International Union President