OPEN ENROLMENT FOR ACTIVE MEMBERS COVERED UNDER THE WTWT PLAN

JULY 2020 - Local 492 is pleased to announce that Blue Cross/Blue Shield Health Plan and Presbyterian Health Plan will again be offered to Active members of Local 492 this year as optional medical plans.  Both Presbyterian and Blue Cross/Blue Shield are federally qualified Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO’s), and are available to you and your eligible family members as alternatives to the Western Teamsters Welfare Trust’s Indemnity Medical Plan.

I encourage you to read the Comparison of Benefits packet that will be mailed directly to you and become familiar with the benefits and terms of the WTWT, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Presbyterian medical plans, Member changes will be accepted through August 24, 2020 and will be effective with September coverage.  If you have any questions with regards to the open enrollment materials, please call Northwest Administrators Customer Service Center at (800) 872-5439.

Remember:  If you do not wish to make any changes to your current enrollment, you do not have to do anything.

HOW TO ENROLL

If you are currently enrolled as an HMO member and wish to remain covered by the same plan during the year ahead, you do not have to do anything.  However, if you wish to add or delete dependents from your coverage, or if you wish to switch to a different plan, you will need to submit the appropriate forms.  You must be eligible for benefits under the Western Teamsters Welfare Trust in order to enroll in either Presbyterian or Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico.  The time period for open enrollment is August for September 1, 2020 effective date. Any changes of enrollment must be RECEIVED at:  Northwest Administrators, 2323 Eastlake Avenue East, Seattle, WA 98102 no later than August 24, 2020.  To enroll in the Plan of your choice:

1) If you are currently enrolled in the WTWT Plan and wish to change to Blue Cross/Blue Shield or Presbyterian, complete an appropriate enrollment form and mail it to: 

Northwest Administrators, 2323 Eastlake Avenue East, Seattle, WA 98102 in time for it to ARRIVE there no later than August 24, 2020.

2) If you are currently enrolled in either Blue Cross/Blue Shield or Presbyterian and wish to change to the WTWT Indemnity Plan, simply complete a WTWT form and mail it to: Northwest Administrators, 2323 Eastlake Avenue East, Seattle, WA 98102 in time for it to ARRIVE there no later than August 24, 2020.  

EXCLUSIONS & LIMITATIONS: Please note that certain services are either not provided, or are provided with limits by all three plans.  Other exclusions and limitations apply.  For further information, see the enclosed Comparison of Benefits, or call:

WTWT Plan Northwest Administrators:

(800) 872-5439

Blue Cross/Blue Shield Customer Care Center:

(800) 423-1630

Presbyterian Member Service Department:

(505) 923-5678 or (800) 356-2219

Remember that your dental, vision, life, and disability coverage with WTWT are not changed in anyway when you choose either Presbyterian or Blue Cross/Blue Shield for the medical portion of your benefits.

TEAMSTERS UNION LAUDS CARES ACT RELIEF FOR YRCW WORKERS

Loan Will Protect Livelihoods of 30,000 Workers Impacted by Pandemic

A $700 million loan provided by the United States Treasury under the CARES Act will help YRC Worldwide, Inc.'s operating companies pay its employees' health care and other benefits and get through this pandemic while protecting the livelihoods of about 24,000 Teamsters and their families, Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa said today.

"I want to thank Congress for passing the CARES Act, and the President and the Treasury Secretary for their help in making this essential bridge loan possible," Hoffa said. "They recognized the urgency and acted swiftly to avoid our members' health benefits from being cut and, in the long term, to protect

24,000 Teamster jobs at YRC Freight, Holland, Reddaway and New Penn."

The CARES Act assistance will be used to pay for employee health care and pension costs and other obligations. YRCW employs 30,000 freight workers, including 24,000 Teamsters. "I echo General President Hoffa in thanking the government for providing this loan and protecting our members' livelihoods" said Ernie Soehl, Teamsters National Freight Director. "Like so many Teamsters who are essential workers, our members working at the YRCW operating companies have continued to keep our nation's supply chain moving to serve millions of Americans,” Soehl added. “They are true heroes. This assistance gives them some peace of mind moving forward and we hope it gives YRCW the economic stability it needs in the months and years to come."

TEAMSTERS JOIN IN CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH

Union Calls on Congress to Create Federal Holiday

The Teamsters join in honoring the 155th anniversary of the first Juneteenth and call on Congress to create a federal holiday marking the end of slavery. The Teamsters Human Rights & Diversity Commission will be celebrating along with Teamsters from across the country. Juneteenth, a portmanteau of June and nineteenth, is also called Freedom Day, Emancipation Day or Jubilee Day.

Juneteenth acknowledges June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger, along with more than 1,800 federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take control of the state and ensure freedom for the last remaining enslaved African Americans in the area.

This year, there is a renewed sense of purpose surrounding Juneteenth, given the continuing injustice black Americans face in this country. The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 26 at the hands of police may have been the catalyst event that has brought hundreds of thousands into the streets to protest against racial discrimination all across this country, but the litany of wounds can be traced back 400 years.

“For more than a century, the Teamsters have stood for racial equality. But that in itself is not enough,” Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said. “This union recognizes that we all must do more to ensure that black Americans live their lives without fear of injustice and have an equal voice in our communities. A Juneteenth holiday is a small, but important, step towards recognizing the full independence of every American.”

Juneteenth initially became an occasion for gathering lost family members and measuring progress against freedom. In many territories, freed Black people would dress in their finest clothes to hear speeches. The earliest celebrations sparked traditions that continue today – from readings of the Emancipation Proclamation and religious services, to cookouts and family sporting events.

“This country continues to battle with the demons of its original sin, slavery,” said Marcus King, Director of the Teamsters Human Rights and Diversity Commission. “Creating a Juneteenth holiday will not solve the nation’s ills, but it will continue America’s evolution towards truly bringing liberty and justice for all.”

President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.” However, after more than two years, there were still thousands of enslaved black people unaware of their freedom, located in a handful of confederate territories where word spread slowly or was outright resisted. Some slave owners coordinated with Union troops to wait until the end of a harvest to inform enslaved black people they had been freed. Others resisted until federal troops arrived to read Lincoln’s proclamation to the enslaved.

Although Juneteenth has been informally celebrated primarily by African American communities since that day in 1865, currently 46 of 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia recognize Juneteenth as an official state holiday or observance. Texas became the first in 1980. New York and Virginia have also announced efforts to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday there as well. Many corporations such as Twitter and Nike have declared Juneteenth a company holiday in recent weeks in response to protests over the killing of George Floyd and as corporate America faces backlash over racial inequality.

It is very important to commemorate Juneteenth this year. It has only been 155 years since the end of slavery and African Americans in this country still face discrimination and brutalization through an evolved machine that inflicted those same atrocities over the last 401 years.

The Human Rights & Diversity Commission is using Juneteenth 2020 as day of reflection, action and service. We implore you to join us in doing the same.

Please share your story. Take a picture with your Teamster logo and send it to the IBT Instagram or Facebook pages celebrating Juneteenth.