UWUA Local 304 Utility Workers Union of America AFL-CIO

The first meeting of the year was held this month, and it was nice to get back into the swing of things. We did a recap of the last year, went over some carry over items, and went over some new matters that are or will be facing us in the year to come. We talked about some of the conventions and trainings available to us for this year also.

We started off the meeting covering some of the things we have been through over the past year. We discussed past grievances, arbitrations, contractual wording and issues, etc.. We got an idea of what has been carried over into this year and where we stand on everything that has been happening. Both the Company and the Union continue to try and work together to hammer out some of the finer points of our misunderstandings, and it seems to have paid off. We have come a long way from the discourse experienced in the beginning of our Union existence and, with the efforts being put forth from both the Union and the Company, it will continue to get better in time. Don’t get me wrong, we are a far cry from perfect harmony, but looking from the beginning until now things have slowly improved.

We went over some of the issues we continue to have and the effects they have on us. We talked about our up and coming arbitrations and status with current grievances. The meetings are always a good resource to get a glimpse into another department that may seem foreign to the way another department handles things or what they are going through. The meetings are also a good way to get different ideas of handling any issues that may exist in different departments.

We were informed about the UWUA National Convention being held in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 24th through July 27th of this year. The Union is looking to send two members this year so let a member of the Executive board know if you are interested in attending. We were also apprised of a Union Members and Stewards Training being held for all the different Unions in Charleston West Virginia. The tentative date for this training is May 18th of this year. the date is subject to change, but any members interested in attending this training should contact a member of the Executive Board.

The next Monthly Meeting is scheduled at Brickside Bar and Grill for February 12, 2019 at 1545. If there is anything that you feel needs brought up or you would just like to stay informed I urge you to attend. The next couple of meetings will be in the middle of the Spring Outage and may be difficult for some to attend.