Dear Union Brothers and Sisters:
As a result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Members on a COVID19-related layoff may be eligible for an additional $600 of unemployment compensation. The $600 is called Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation. Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, this payment may reduce the amount of SUB paid to individual Members should the Member receive it. The Company has notified us that they will be offsetting this amount from SUB payments should the state opt-in to the $600 payments.
Members in each state will have different requirements depending on how they typically apply for SUB. AutoSUB locations (Michigan, New York, Arlington, Fairfax) will follow the AutoSUB process. Those Members will not be able to apply via IVR or Web application. Members in other locations will apply as normal via IVR, Web, or paper applications with their state UC Benefit. The Company will then offset the $600.
Certainly, some Members may have issues with this process as we are aware of the State’s difficulties and the Company’s difficulties to properly apply these new laws. Please refer those Members to their Local Union Benefit Representative.
The UAW Staff has been working on this non-stop and we appreciate your support and cooperation during this critical time.
If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your General Motors Department Benefits Plans Section Representative for assistance. On behalf of the UAW General Motors Department Staff and Clerical, we wish you and your family the best and hope you remain safe as we get through this together.
Continue to file for unemployment just as we instructed. Continue to answer YES for SUB, for those of you who are SUB eligible, unless we tell you different. For those of you who are NOT SUB eligible, continue to answer NO. Continue to file for SUB once your money is deposited. If SUB is replaced by a stimulus package, we will tell you if there is a process change.
As of now, we do NOT have a change in the process. We will keep you updated.
My Brothers and Sisters,
Today brought more news of members and hard-working men and women stepping up to help our first line responders and their families and communities during these difficult days. We have members who have courageously volunteered their time, going through rigorous safety training at the GM Kokomo, Indiana, facility as they begin their work to make ventilators that will save lives. One of the first UAW workers to volunteer there said that she thought of her elderly mom as someone who might need this life-saving equipment.
We have contacted the Unemployment Office, the State House and the International Union this morning over SUB pay. The International Union says they will start working on this. I find it hard to believe they weren’t aware of it. If the Stimulus package from the Government was going to replace our SUB pay, a little heads up from the IUAW or the company would have been nice. Instead, we have to inform them, WTF, after 2 weeks of this bullshit, REALLY! I will let you know what we find out. If you lose your patience, I Am Not Your Target!
UAW Local 95 member Sandy Welch is a five-year cancer survivor. She has high blood pressure, too.
That means her immune system is not 100%. But, while others in Wisconsin are told to stay home, she heads to work every day as a medical transcriptionist at a medical clinic in Janesville. “I have a compromised immune system and sometimes I think about that, but I don’t let that take over my thoughts,” she said.
Sisters and Brothers,
A short message today to recognize the courageous men and women stepping up to help all of us during these difficult days. As you all know, we have many members on the front lines of this crisis, who report to work every day and put their lives at risk to keep our communities safe and functioning. And we have members who are stepping up and volunteering to help save lives in so many ways.
