Women in Apprenticeship Day
Gov. Tim Walz has proclaimed Nov. 12, 2020, Women in Apprenticeship Day as part of Apprenticeship Week in Minnesota.
NAW20-Women-in-Apprenticeship-Day
State of Minnesota Apprentice of the Day Travis Hawley
Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020
Travis Hawley is an electrical apprentice with the South Central Minnesota Electrical JATC. After serving in the U.S. Air Force he took the advice of his father, also an IBEW Local 343 electrician, to pursue the trade via a registered apprenticeship program. Hawley is a strong advocate of the benefits of registered apprenticeship and encourages others to explore it as a pathway to a fulfilling career. His goals are to become a journeyworker electrician and to pursue a master electrical license and a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
Check out all the apprentices honored by the Department of Labor.
https://www.dli.mn.gov/business/workforce/apprentice-day
Minnesota Unemployment update
Minnesota is now approved by the federal government to participate in the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program. LWA is a short-term emergency program. It will provide an additional $300 per week to most unemployed UI applicants due to COVID-19. States have the option to provide an additional $100/week benefit from their own Coronavirus Relief Fund. Minnesota has already allocated Coronavirus Relief Funds to critical public health initiatives and other measures to fight the pandemic.
To receive the LWA, you must be eligible for unemployment benefits for that week. Your weekly benefit amount for unemployment benefits must be at least $100, and you must be unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The additional $300 per week will not show on the “Payment Information” screen of your online unemployment account. The payment will be deposited to the bank account or debit card they have on file. If you use direct deposit, the additional $300 per week will show up as a separate transaction. If you are eligible for multiple weeks of the extra $300 per week, you will receive the amount in a lump sum.
Applicants don’t have to do anything extra to receive LWA payments. Just cotinine applying, they will review all the payment requests made for the week of July 26th going forward and automatically pay applicants eligible for LWA. The additional $300 per week benefit will be available until all federal funds are exhausted or until Congress passes a replacement program. Based on current projections, they expect that LWA payments will end in all states by the middle of September.
If you have any questions about anything, please reach out to me by phone (507)577-1109 or email justinp@ibewlocal343.org
Executive Orders
President Trump signed several executive orders on Saturday. Workers earning less than $2,000 pre-tax dollars a week will have Social Security and Medicare taxes suspended. This will amount to 7.65% of your wages and will be in effect from September 1 – December 31, 2020. The president’s order also directs the Secretary of the Treasury to explore different avenues to eliminate the obligation to pay the suspended taxes, if nothing is agreed to the taxes will need to be paid back in full.
Another order may provide as much as $400 in enhanced unemployment benefits. For this to happen, each state must agree to enter a financial arrangement with the federal government for any unemployed person living there to receive additional benefits. The federal government would require states to pay for 25% (or $100) of the $400 each person may be able to receive weekly in additional aid. This benefit may not go into effect right away in Minnesota because an entirely new system to deliver the aid money would need to be established, which could take months.
Trump asked to renew the eviction moratorium what was in the CARES Act, to keep struggling Americans in their homes that initially expired on July 24, 2020, it would be extended until the end of the year. The last executive order relates to student loans held by the Department of Education and calls for the “temporary stop of payments and the waiver of all interest on student loans until December 31, 2020.”
Ultimately, the orders only come into effect once enforced. With democrats and Republicans still in negotiations, things could change quickly. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out by email justinp@ibewlocal343.org or phone 507-577-1109.
Unemployment Insurance (UI) Update
With special session approaching and the uncertainty of anything being finalized before the end of the month, here are somethings we do know. The extra $600 on top of UI ends July 25 in Minnesota, even though the federal government has it set July 31. There is also a federal 13-week extension of UI that you can apply for once you have exhausted your original UI. This extension has an expiration date of June 26, 2021.
Many bills are going through the federal government that would add and extend benefits to UI. There is no guarantee anything will get passed this month. Although nothing has been finalized, there is talk that they are planning to take a month break in August, which may extend into September.
I will keep everyone informed of changes when they happen. If anyone has any questions, please reach out to me by email or phone.
Justinp@ibewlocal343.org
(507)577-1109
Wage Allocation Results
The results for the wage allocation were finalized today by John Swanson, as Head Teller, and the Executive Board as Tellers. A big thank you to everyone that returned your ballot. This was a considerable turn out for a wage allocation vote. Thank you again.
482 ballots returned
1 ballot was in the arrears
1 spoiled ballot
480 total ballots counted
Votes for option #1 126
Votes for option #2 69
Votes for option #3 285
The new wage rates have been calculated and are in the process of being verified that all calculations are correct. Once verified, the new wage rates will be sent out to all members and contractors.
If you have any questions contact your union rep for more information.
Chad Katzung
Business Manager
Training Director Andy Toft Announces Retirement
South Central JATC Training Director Andy Toft Announces Retirement
Rochester, MN – June 12, 2020
The South Central Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) announced today that Training Director Andy Toft is retiring from his position as Training Director. Toft served as Training Director for the JATC since 1992. During his 28 years at the JATC, Toft oversaw the training of over 1,000 electrical apprentices from across Southern Minnesota.
Following Andy’s departure, Michael Bambrick Jr. will serve as Training Director for the South Central JATC effective July 1st, 2020. Bambrick started his electrical career as an Apprentice at Ryan Electric. He continued to work as a Journeyman for Ryan Electric until he joined the JATC in 2014. Bambrick brings valuable experience into this new role, including six years of teaching 3rd, 4th and 5th-year courses along with OSHA.
The JATC also welcomed Dustyn Marks as the new Apprenticeship Instructor in May. Dustyn Marks joined the South Central JATC as a training instructor on May 18th, 2020. Marks was previously a Journeyman Electrician for Accord Electric.
Congratulations to Andy on the retirement!
Congratulations to Mike and Dustyn on their new roles with the JATC.
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