Western Michigan Area Local

General Membership Meeting Minutes

WMAL - APWU
DECEMBER GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
December 1, 2007

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Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM at 918 Benjamin NE, Grand Rapids. Meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and invocation.
Roll Call of Officers:
Present:
Jennifer Amos, President
Bill Scutt, Clerk Craft Director
Amy Marcus, Executive Vice-President
David Janes, AO Director
Jackie Pike Sgt-at- Arms
Karen Hodges, Recording Secretary
Linda Chandler, Treasurer
Absent:
Scott Larabel, MVS Director
Steve Lang, Maintenance Director

Applications for membership

Kevin May Clerk Holland
Joseph Schaut Clerk GR
Bonnie Wilson Clerk Holland
Sheryl Egger Clerk Holland
Ann Knikelbine Clerk Fennville
Bills
$39.85 refreshment overage for tonight MSC
Officers Reports
Treasurer, Chandler: November and December treasurer reports were given. MSC
Executive Vice President, Puhalski; Monitoring the organizing report, it is wrong will contact National. There was a labor management meeting on October 30th. The stations on days do not post for the holidays. Starting Thanksgiving, they will because of the seniority issue. BMU clerks have concerns for their safety. Working the P-3 custodial staffing, Jim Mysczka has been helping. P-1 lighting is a safety hazard. Early outs- way too many of them, this could lead to jobs being lost. Please stop taking them. People brought in on their holiday are taking an early out after only working an hour; this is not fair to the other employees who were not brought in on their holiday. I would like to congratulate the newly elected officers and personally thank the out going officers Jennifer, Karen, David, Scott, and Steve for their dedication to the local; I hope they will continue being active in the local. Filed labor charges for not getting information requests. Tried to drop the charges but can’t once they are filed.
Clerk Craft Director, Scutt; Thank membership for sending me to the Clerk Craft Conference in Las Vegas. Close to agreement for start time for those on limited or light duty. There have been some areas with no Desired Overtime List, close to signing a temporary agreement with that. Continuous battle with weighing the mail. Scales will be going away in January. Filed a grievance for Thanksgiving because of the start time were moved up, also for staffing on the holiday. Also one for not training customer service people. Good return on the election ballots. Two new jobs coming in manual section (flats area.)
AO Director, Janes; Thank you to all the AO members that came tonight. Couple grievances going on. Function 4 audit in Grandville, trying to eliminate 1 job. Tracking their hours. Function 4 audit in Holland, possibly getting back a couple jobs. Thanks to Jack Fryling for his help and I will work with him in his new position.
Motion Novakoski, Second, Austin; to change the order of business so the election committee can give their report. Carried Sally Lesiewicz, chairperson; thank the election committee and a special thanks to Barb Tubbs for letting the articles have a later deadline. There were 747 ballots mailed out and a total of 478 returned. Nine were undeliverable and 4 blank ballots and 1 voided ballot. The results were: President, Richard Page 166 votes, Catherine Beemblossom 157, Jennifer Amos 147; winner Page; Executive Vice President, Amy Marcus 356, Jennifer Gilbert 110; winner Marcus; Recording Secretary, Mike Long 309, Karen Hodges 163, winner Long; Clerk Craft Director, Bill Scutt 196, Ray Novakoski 176; winner Scutt; Maintenance Craft Director, Jim Smith 50, Jim Myszka 31; winner Smith; Associate Office Director, Jack Fryling 32, David Janes 13, Roy Bailey 4, winner Fryling. Had a great election committee to work with.
Back to regular business.
President, Amos; Thank you for letting me serve you for the past 3 years.
Committee Reports
Budget Committee, Chandler; Read the minutes of the meeting. It was decided by the committee that due to the elections of officers for the local that we wait for the 2008 budget to see if any positions change and to get the new officers input. It was decided to use the 2007 budget for 2008 until the February 2008 General Membership meeting and at that time to present a new budget to the Executive Board and the membership for their approval or disapproval. If no meeting takes place because of lack of quorum, weather, etc. the new budget will be brought up at the next General Membership meeting and the old one will be used until that time.
A&E Committee, Puhalski, Like to welcome 2 new members to the committee, Karen Hodges, and Pete Brock and a welcome back to Catherine Beemblossom. We have a casino trip to Soaring Eagle in Mount Pleasant, Sunday January 20th. Planning a family Christmas Party for 2008. Ray Novakoski will be the chairperson for the charity golf outing and we will be having coffee and cookies and giving gift certificates away on Dec 13th and 14th for the member’s downtown and the P-1, 2 & 3. Stations and AO’s will be taken care of also.
P.O.W.E.R. Committee, Hodges; our annual “Wish upon a Star tree” adopted family will be one of our own, Cely Lozada, a P-1 flat sorter. Cely is in the advance stages of Lupus and her kidneys having shut down and she is currently on dialysis 3 times a week. She is not a candidate for a transplant because of her Lupus. She also has fluid around her heart and she has problems walking because of numbness in her legs. She has 3 young boys, ages 12, 10 and 8. Trees should be up this week, downtown and at P-1.
Health plan, Lesiewicz; Still have some booklets, deadline is Dec 10th; you will need your post office pin number to sign up on line.
Correspondence
Thank you from Susan Miller, recent retiree and thank you from the Kathy Page Memorial Race.
Board Recommendations
To extend the organize drive through December 2008 of a $50 incentive for signing up a new member. Carried
To extend the 5 $100 VOE drawings to be held in December 2008. Carried
To make it a policy to send the Treasurer to at least one Secretary/Treasurer training per year with LWOP, airfare, per Diem, Registration, lodging and applicable taxes. Carried
To use the Western Michigan Area Local 2007 budget for 2008 until the February 2008 General Membership Meeting and that the WMAL accepts, as an authorization for expenditure of funds from the local treasury, the report and budget from the Budget Committee, dated 11/27/07. Also that the Executive Board of the WMAL has the authorization to shift monies, if needed, between categories as long as the overall disbursements amount do not exceed the overall income including additional income. Carried
New Business
Motion Hodges Second Janes; to donate $500 to the “Wish upon a Star tree” family. Discussion Carried
Motion Hodges, Second Lola Verboom to spend up to $50 for a goodie basket for Herb Wallerius Carried
Motion Austin, Second Janes; to send the President to a Secretary/Treasurer training class in 2008 with LWOP, registration, per diem, lodging, airfare, and applicable taxes. Carried
Point of Info; Page inquire about the audit committee
Point of info; Beemblossom, to send a Christmas card to Herb Wallerius at the Kent Community Hospital
Labor Management
Give to Amy
Drawings
COPA $40 winner Jack Fryling $40 (donated to Cely Lozada)
$10 from cans
$250 Attendance Rita Hekkema would have won had she been present
VOE Drawing Linda Monroe, LeAnn Merrills, Leslie Rawlings, Johnny Kent, and Sandy Rich
Election $250 Kathleen Strunk and Martin Mieras
10- $25 December:
Sandy Page, Scott Achterhoff, Bill Brunni, Jeff Larabel, Mike Hill, Tammy Brynes, Amy Puhalski, Steve Austin Richard Fletcher, Jackie Pike
$10 drawings:
Jennifer Amos, Karen Hodges, Bill Scutt, Jon Niswonger, Sally Lesiewicz, Linda Chandler, Lola Verboom, Doug Wells
Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
Karen Hodges
Recording Secretary

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