After meeting with many of our new members, I thought it would be helpful to explain some of the duties the Secretary-Treasurer’s Office is responsible for. When I talk of new members, I am not only referring to the new hires, I am also referring to the members who are new to Local 369 as a result of the mergers that have taken place. In fact, the latest group to merge with Local 369 is Local 341. Welcome to Local 369!

In addition to being part of the negotiating committees, the primary responsibility of the Office of Secretary-Treasurer is to keep the local in compliance with the thousands of laws and regulations that are mandated upon labor unions, both financially and legally. This part of the Secretary-Treasurer’s duties encompasses everything from compliance with our building, our tenants, and all licenses, both State and Federal. In addition, insurance, taxes and various codes that the Town of Braintree and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts require us to be in conformity with, keep this office busy seven days a week. In addition, to the abovementioned tasks, is the collection and accounting of dues as well as paying all the bills generated in the course of doing business. Administering a 3.2 Million Dollar annual budget along with the 1 Million Dollar budget for the Local 369 High Road Energy Project has also places additional duties on this office. All these duties have increased dramatically since I was elected to this office seven years ago.

Presently, I am in the middle of our year end review with the independent auditor which is mandated by the by-laws of Local 369. This review examines all our financial records for the past year, as well as projections for the future. The preparation for this audit is extremely labor intensive because every bill, check, voucher and record needs to be available for examination. In addition to compliance and financial issues, the office of Secretary Treasurer handles most benefit issues that arise with our members and retirees.

Retirees and surviving spouses are also serviced through the Office of The Secretary-Treasurer in a variety of ways. These include Medicare questions and coverage, questions on supplements for Medicare and various insurances and sometimes transitions through the death of loved ones. I consider this an honor and a privilege to talk to and give support to the founding fathers of our local, the framers of our by-laws and contracts. These men and woman deserve recognition and thanks for their dedication to our Local.

Another important piece of legislation has come out of Washington that will affect most of our members in a positive way. On October 9, 2008,"Michelle's Law" (H.R. 2851) was signed into law. This new Legislation is designed to ensure that dependent college students who take a medically necessary leave of absence do not lose health insurance coverage. The law was named after Michelle Morse, a college student who suffered from cancer and continued her course load, against the advice of doctors, in order to remain covered by health insurance. Michelle's law provides that a group health plan may not terminate a college student's health coverage, simply because the child takes a medically necessary leave of absence from school or changes to parttime status. The effective date of this law is January 1, 2010. If you have any questions on these or any other topics, please feel free to come by the offices of Local 369. You may also reach me at the office at (781)-848-3740, on my cell phone at (617)-594- 5763 or by e-mail at Dhurley@uwua369.org. As you know, my door is always open.

In closing, I would like to wish all our members, retirees and their families a Joyful and Happy Holiday Season.