MEMORANDUM
To: MITA OE 324 Power of Attorney Contractors (POA Contractors)
From: Mike Nystrom, Executive Vice President/Secretary
RE: Significant Updates
Date: August 8, 2018
MITA RESCINDS POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR OE 324
As of Wednesday, August 8th, 2018, MITA has notified Operating Engineers, Local 324 that it has rescinded Power of Attorney for all companies working under the recently expired MITA Road and MITA Utility Distribution Agreements. This decision is one that was made with significant thought and discussion with the entire MITA Labor Relations Committee.
Ultimately, this dramatic shift in strategy was chosen as the best course of action for all companies involved in this contract stalemate. More importantly, this decision was executed to relieve the significant sense of concern that the employees, who are stuck in the middle by working under these agreements, are feeling. By making this decision, all fringe benefits checks should now be accepted, cashed and credited to the employees during contract talks.
There will be a group of contractors reaching out to each one of you to discuss potential negotiations with OE 324. If the union contacts you directly, or if your company is feeling coerced in any way, please feel free to contact the MITA office.
Please click here to see the Road Rescission Letter.
Please click here to see the Utility Distribution Rescission Letter.
FRINGE FUNDS, APPRENTICES AND EXTRA HELP
Throughout this struggle with OE 324, the union leadership has regularly stated that the only reason that they were not willing to accept fringe benefit funds, to supply certification on apprentices and to send extra help when requested by a contractor, was because of the Power of Attorney relationship that those affected contractors had with MITA. Now that the rescission has happened, it is expected that the OE 324 leadership will be true to its word and those rejections should no longer happen.
AUGUST 15TH FRINGE CONTRIBUTIONS
At this point, it is suggested that all fringe contributions be made as they were prior to the expiration of your respective agreement. This means that you should immediately stop including the vacation fringe contributions in the weekly paychecks of all Operating Engineers, and send the full month’s worth of contributions in with your fringe check on August 15th.
PENSION WITHDRAWAL LIABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE
From the very beginning of this process with OE 324, it was recognized that the union leadership would try to exploit contractor concerns over withdrawal liability. MITA staff and legal counsel have worked diligently to prepare any and all arguments that pension withdrawal liability cannot and should not be triggered in any way during this labor dispute.
Recently, the OE 324 Pension Plan announced that it will be performing an information gathering process, and therefore you may soon be receiving a form from the Pension Plan asking for corporate information. A copy of the form is attached. This form is not a withdrawal liability notice, and there should be no concern that somehow withdrawal liability is now going to soon be triggered. It is only a request for basic information.
However, it is important that this form be filled out correctly and returned in a timely manner to the OE 324 Pension Plan. Because it is important to have the correct information on the form, MITA is scheduling a meeting (see below) with our attorney, Don Scharg, to go over how to properly complete the form.
QUESTION AND ANSWER MEETING
All contractors are invited and encouraged to attend an informational meeting at the MITA office, located at 2937 Atrium Drive in Okemos, on Monday, August 13th at 10:00 am. Please make every attempt to attend. Please RSVP to mariamrobinson@thinkmita.org.
FINAL NOTE
Please continue to send your employees to www.michiganinfrastructurelabornegotiations.com for continued updates, including information on this development. Please contact Mike Nystrom, Executive Vice President/Secretary, at mikenystrom@thinkmita.org or at 517-896-1493 if you have questions or concerns.
