Welcome to your new Local 7898 Website

October 23, 2010

Do NOT patronzize Big Tuna restaurant on Front Street. Click on the link here to read why and watch the video below.

October 5, 2010

GREAT NEWS!!!

The Company has officially notified the Union that Georgetown will be re-started. The plans are to recall employees as needed and to provide the rerquired OSHA training. This safety training will be completed prior to performing work in the Plant. The initial group to be recalled will be the MTM's and the MTE's in order to prepare the plant for re-start. We will update the membership with future notices as they develop.

James E. Sanderson, Jr.

April 16, 2010

"IMPORTANT NOTICE"  EVERY ArcelorMIttal bargaining unit employee should attend our next regular meeting at 3:30 p.m. next Wednesday April 21, 2010! We will have some critical information to share with you at this meeting

March 10, 2010

"REMINDER NOTICE"  If you haven't enrolled in the TAA program yet in order to reeive the TRAINING, you have until APRIL 28, 2010.  Please understand that after this date (DEADLINE) it will be TOO LATE and you will lose all your TAA BENEFITS!!  Please go down to the South Carolina Employment Office in Georgetown to Sign up for TAA.  Your FUTURE depends on this.  Don't lose your benfits!!  Contact me at 843-655-1130 if you should have any questions. 

November 4, 2009
I have been officially notified that we have been certified for the TAA benefit program.  This is great news.  Our petition number is #71205 and the certification was posted on the Department of Labor Website.

Click below for the link to Workforce Center.

Georgetown Workforce Center

We want the membership to know that this website is to help them better understand the unemployment process and also to assist them with their training options.  On the Workforce Center page, click on the button on the left titled “Workforce Investment” under the training button.

Important Information for Laid Off Steelworkers:
Key Changes Make COBRA Health Care Continuation
More Accessible  

Healthcare is a critical issue for anyone in a job loss situation, and finding affordable coverage is often incredibly difficult.  Federal law allows workers who experience certain types of job loss – including a layoff – the right to continue an employer’s group health benefits under a program called COBRA.  Individuals normally have to pick up the cost of the entire premium.  For this reason, COBRA is often out-of-reach for people getting by on an unemployment check.  A new change in the law is making COBRA more accessible.

Key Change in Recently-Passed Economic Recovery Act Makes COBRA More Affordable

The federal government will pay 65 percent of COBRA premiums for individuals (and their eligible dependents) who (1) are eligible due to an involuntary job loss occurring between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009, and (2) make less than $125,000 a year. Those who elect COBRA must pay the remaining 35 percent (the employer collects) and include the value of the 65 percent subsidy in their taxable income. The subsidy will last nine months, ending sooner if the individual becomes eligible under another group plan or Medicare. 

How Do Individuals Take Advantage of the Subsidy?

Employers must notify eligible individuals who lose or lost their jobs between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 of the new COBRA information and provide eligibility forms.  Notices should be sent out before mid-April.  Individuals who did not elect COBRA coverage when they first lost their jobs or who stopped making premium payments and lost coverage will be given another 60-day period to elect COBRA after the notice arrives. 

Are There Any Special Circumstances?

Yes.  For instance, if an employer went out of business and terminated the health care plan, leaving employees ineligible for COBRA, those individuals still would not be eligible. Or, if a laid-off individual’s spouse has family coverage, the individual could still elect COBRA, but would not be eligible for the subsidy.  For more information on these circumstances and other details on the subsidy, please see the “COBRA Subsidy Info” section on the Make Our Future Work site at www.makeourfuturework.org.

Other Resources Available for Laid Off Workers

For an updated version of the Resource Guide for Laid Off Steelworkers click HERE or visit the Make Our Future Work site at www.makeourfuturework.org.   

Copyright notice

All text, graphics, and photographs appearing on the United Steelworkers Local 7898 "www.usw7898.com" home page and subsequent web pages are copyrighted and/or trademarked by  United Steelworkers Local 7898 or the United Steelworkers, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Redistribution or commercial use of this material is prohibited without the express written permission of United Steelworkers Local 7898 or the United Steelworkers. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, this web site is provided on an "as is" basis with no warranties, either express or implied; see the Terms of Use for further information.