Recent News
Members Overwhelmingly Ratify New Contract
Protect Yourself From Tax Scams
Union Notified of Payout Dates for Raises, Retro $, and Bonus
Workers Want Unions: How States Have Strengthened Worker Power in 2023
Treasury Department Releases First-Of-Its-Kind Report on Benefits of Unions to the U.S. Economy
A Labor Day Like No Other
4 Tips to Protect Yourself from Scams
NLRB Ruling Makes It Easier for Unions to Organize
Uterine Cancer Now a Covered 9/11-Related Condition
Update on Medicare Advantage
Updates on Student Loan Forgiveness
WTC Presumption Filing Deadline Extended
OTHER NEWS
Local 300 members overwhelmingly ratified the new contract by 629 to 3. President James Golden said the votes were counted on Oct. 10.
Tax season is here again and with it, new and
creative ways for scammers to take advantage
of honest taxpayers. The following are some of
the most popular scams this year and tips on
how to avoid becoming a victim.
Download Flier Here >
Oct. 31, 2023 - Local 300 was notified that all members in Mayoral Agencies and the Department of Education (DOE) will receive their Ratification Bonus on Nov. 24, 2023. Raises and retro money will be received on Dec. 8, 2023.
Housing Authority (HA) members will receive their Ratification Bonus on Nov. 16, 2023. The Union is still waiting to hear from the Housing Authority on a payout date for raises and retro money.
Health+Hospitals Corp. (HHC) has not confirmed any payout dates as of yet.
Local 300 has no more information other than what's detailed above. All payout dates are determined solely by the City, DOE, HA, and HHC. Our union has no input on payout dates. We will post another update as soon as we have more information.
Nov. 1, 2023 - americanprogress.org
Unions and collective bargaining increase workers’ democratic voice; raise wages and build wealth; and improve conditions for all workers. It should be no surprise that nearly 70 percent of Americans support unions, and support is especially high among younger generations. Despite the fact that workers want and need unions, decades of weakened labor law has eroded workers’ ability to form unions and engage in collective bargaining. Yet, states have significant authority to build power for working people.
Read More Here >
Sept. 4, 2023 - portside.org
Labor Day 2023 isn’t like Labor Day 2022. It isn’t like any Labor Day of the past half-century.
The reason is simple: Labor law has changed.
Two Fridays ago, the National Labor Relations Board restored a good deal of labor law to its original purpose of enabling workers to bargain collectively for better pay and working conditions.
In its decision in the Cemex case, the Board ruled that when a majority of workers at a company or worksite affiliate with a union (something they could do by signing affiliation cards), the employer could either recognize that union voluntarily or request that the Board hold an election. If, during the run-up to the election or the election itself, the employer committed an unfair labor practice (ULP), the Board would immediately declare the union recognized and order the employer to begin bargaining with it.
Read More Here >
8.28.23 - The Treasury Department just released its most comprehensive-ever look at the role labor unions play in the American economy with a new report by the Department’s Office of Economic Policy. The report represents one of the more than 70 actions implemented by the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, chaired by Vice President Harris. The report finds that unions play an important role in addressing longstanding challenges faced by the middle class – including stagnant wages, high housing costs, and reduced intergenerational mobility. In doing so, unions contribute to a more robust and resilient economy.
It's about to get harder for bosses to use illegal union busting to try to stall worker organizing. In a new ruling, the National Labor Relations Board outlined what will happen now if employers try illegal union-busting activity. If workers want a union, and employers use illegal tactics in the run-up to a union election that could compromise the election — like firing union organizers, or retaliating against workers engaging in protected union activities — the new rules say workers no longer have to hold a fresh election. Workers will instead automatically get their union and employers will have to bargain with them.
Read More Here >
Despite evidence linking the disease to 9/11 toxins, uterine cancer had been the only cancer that wasn’t covered.
The final rule takes effect immediately, allowing the WTC Health Program — a federal program that provides no-cost medical monitoring and treatment for certified WTC-related health conditions — to begin covering treatment services as soon as possible for patients with certified WTC-related uterine cancers. The program, administered by the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, is authorized for the next 67 years (through 2090).
Hundreds of women currently enrolled in the program have uterine cancer — a number that is expected to increase as women who don’t have another qualifying 9/11-related illness become eligible to enroll. Families of those who have died of 9/11-related uterine cancer are also eligible to seek compensation.
In the past few years, lawmakers, 9/11 survivors and responders, and advocacy groups have advocated for the addition of uterine cancer to the list of covered conditions. After extensive efforts and a recognition of the scientific data which supports the link between exposure to 9/11 toxins and uterine cancer, on Jan. 18, 2023, the WTCHP took the necessary step of adding uterine cancer as a 9/11-related condition. As such, 9/11 toxin exposure victims who are either experiencing symptoms of uterine cancer or have already been diagnosed with this condition, can seek medical monitoring and treatment funded by the WTCHP.
Prior to the WTCHP announcement, uterine cancer was the only cancer type that was not considered to be a 9/11-related health condition because early on, most 9/11 first responders who participated in research studies were males. Unfortunately, uterine cancer was not on the radar screen until the past five-to-10 years.
Now that the WTCHP covers all cancer types, no 9/11 survivor or responder who is suffering from uterine cancer – or any other cancer – should be denied medical benefits under the WTCHP.
The two-decade delay in recognizing 9/11-related uterine cancer has been costly for affected women who have had to pay for expensive treatments. Now that uterine cancer is on the list of 9/11-related health conditions, qualifying individuals who file claims with the WTCHP to seek medical benefits may also be eligible to seek and obtain compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) that provides financial compensation to responders and survivors who have suffered extensively because of their conditions.
Some individuals with 9/11-related conditions cannot work, thus leaving a financial hole that may not otherwise exist (absent the diagnosis of a 9/11-related health condition). Moreover, the physical and mental pain and suffering associated with a 9/11-related condition warrants an award of financial compensation The families of those who died from 9/11 related uterine cancer can now seek compensation for their losses as well.
A statement from the WTCHP last May on the proposed rule change explained that exclusion of this particular cancer was due to “insufficient evidence” to support adding it to the list of covered conditions. However, an advisory committee this past November unanimously approved the recommendation to add uterine cancer to the list of diseases covered by the program for first responders and those close to the attacks.
Anyone seeking more information or a program application should go to www.cdc.gov/wtc/application.html
The World Trade Center Presumption Law provides a presumption to eligible NYSLRS members and retirees who become permanently disabled and are unable to do their jobs due to certain conditions, that they can claim their permanent disabilities are the result of participation in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations. The presumption will apply unless it’s proven the condition was the result of other factors.
If you meet the eligibility requirements, the presumption allows you to:
You must file an Application for World Trade Center Notice (RS6047-N) prior to submitting an Application for World Trade Center Accidental Disability Presumption (RS6047-W). Even if you do not currently suffer one of the qualifying conditions, filing this notice will protect your right — and the right of your beneficiaries — to apply for benefits in the future.
Once you file a notice with NYSLRS, there is no subsequent deadline to file for an accidental disability retirement or retirement reclassification should the need arise.
For more information, Click Here >>
June 19, 2022 - thecity.nyc
New York City’s years-long effort to shift retired city workers to a cost-cutting health care plan was dealt a major blow Monday when the insurer in charge of running the plan announced that it is withdrawing from the deal.
The plan — which the city and municipal unions hoped would save $600 million a year in health care costs — would have been run by the Retiree Health Alliance, a partnership between health insurance companies Elevance Health, previously known as Anthem, and Empire BlueCross BlueShield. Read More >>
Juneteenth will be a paid city holiday for New York City workers beginning this year (2022).
Juneteenth is recognized as the effective end of slavery in the United States and is considered as the longest-running African American holiday. It became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, becoming the 12th federal holiday and first new one since Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As Juneteenth falls on a Sunday, city employees will be provided a paid holiday on Monday, June 20.
Paid Family Leave (PFL) is now available to eligible employees of the City of New York. Local 300 members in HHC, Housing Authority, Department of Education, and CUNY should contact their Personnel Departments if they need to use this benefit. This PDF >> has more information on the Paid Family Leave, who is eligible, and how it works.
In a broad reaching development, medical billing practices and abuses of same were addressed by federal legislation called the "No Surprises Act" which went into effect Jan. 1, 2022. This new law establishes protections from so-called "surprise medical bills", which arise when consumers inadvertently receive care from out-of-network hospitals, doctors or other providers they did not choose. Read More >>
The SEIU LOCAL 300 CIVIL SERVICE FORUM EMPLOYEES WELFARE FUNDS now are covering Active and Retiree Members’ dependent children up to age 26. “In times when so many younger adults are having difficulty finding jobs that provide benefits, this additional benefit for our members will enable them to further assist their children in transitioning to the working world,” said James Golden, Local 300 President and Welfare Fund Chair. “Through years of prudent fiscal management by our Fund Trustees, we now are able to provide this extension from the previous age of 19.”
In order to be covered, members must have a birth certificate on file with the Fund Office for each child before any claims can be submitted. If you are unsure whether you have all necessary birth certificates on file, you can email the Fund Office your name, title, cell phone number, and personal email address, and we will verify if we have the necessary documents. This benefit started March 1, 2021, and is retroactive to that date for any expenses occurred beginning March 1. The extended age pertains to all benefits provided to members’ and retirees’ eligible dependents up to age 26 as defined in the SEIU Local 300 Civil Service Forum Employees Welfare Funds Books>.
