UPEC Member Remembered

Friday, December 12, 2008

REDDING - With family, friends and co-workers lining the hallway out side her hospital room, Shasta County Sheriff’s Department Account Clerk Linda Runyon died yesterday as a result of injuries sustained on Wednesday’s tragic accident. “This is a sad day for the Shasta County employee family”, stated UPEC Business Manager Chris Darker. UPEC staff began working on union benefits for the family yesterday as news spread throughout the county. “UPEC Staff Attorney Paul Goyette provided a letter to the family yesterday outlining the services of his firm that we negotiated as a benefit for our members and their families”, Darker said. The County has brought in crisis counselor’s to assist with grieving employees. Human resources will have an “Open House” today in administration for all county employees. A fund has been established to assist the family with hospital costs.

Tragic Accident Injures Two

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Redding - A tragic accident Wednesday afternoon has left two members injured, one critically, after they had attempted to cross Court Street in Downtown Redding.

The two employees, both accountants with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office were crossing Court Street at the intersection with Tehama Street in the crosswalk when the accident occurred.  Sheriff Tom Bosenko said that he and all his staff join in what is a remarkable outpouring of support for both employees from across the Shasta County workforce.  “It’s a very difficult time for the families of the employees involved” he said, “as well as the entire County family.”

The thoughts of the UPEC staff, board and other members are with the injured employees and their families. 

Prime Shasta Contact Information (rev. 12/12)

Friday, December 05, 2008

Employees or former employees may encounter difficulty identifying SRMC entities if they are naming them as respondents when filing claims against the hospital. 

Information provided originally from the City of Redding initially suggested that Prime Healthcare Shasta had not applied for or obtained a Business License to conduct business and operate in the City of Redding in a timely manner, despite actively operating in the City since at least November 1, 2008.  This would have made it appear that Prime Healthcare was in violation of City Ordinances.  Shasta Regional Medical Center has now provided UPEC with information that they submitted their application for a business license to the City on November 14th, 2008 and that it was granted on November 24th with an effective date of November 1, 2008.  It appears that the information originally obtained from the City was erroneous and we are posting this correction to that information.

In addition to the above, SRMC provided a copy of their business license listing the address for Prime Healthcare Services - Shasta Inc, Shasta Regional Medical Center as being 1100 Butte Street, Redding, CA 96001-0852.

We apologize to any of our readers for any inconvenience the erroneous information obtained from the City may have caused.

Use Caution Before Borrowing Against Your 401k

Some employers offer the option of borrowing against your 401k plan. While for some individuals this may be a good option for a loan. However, we are encouraging everyone to seek professional financial advice before you do this. There are some benefits and some downfalls to making this decision on your own; a professional financial advisor can make sure that you are properly informed.
One thing to remember is that if you are terminated or you quit working with that employer, the loan has to be paid back, in full, right away. If you cannot repay the loan, it will be considered defaulted, and you will be taxed on the principal balance. There may also be a penalty for early withdrawal depending upon your age. This has become an issue for multiple members now and we strongly encourage anyone who may end up defaulting on their loan to seek financial advice to assist them further through this process.

Important Notice Regarding SRMC Checks to Employees

Monday, December 01, 2008

The union has been notified of employees at SRMC who have received checks from SRMC from their flex spending accounts that have bounced. If you have been affected you may contact the Union to notify us so we can document the complaint. If you are affected you may file a claim with the State Labor Commissioner’s Office by calling 530 225-2655. Alternatively you can file out a claim form available at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/HowToFileWageClaim.htm.
Employees filing complaints or claims must be able to provide proof of the NSF status of the check (NFS stamp or other correspondence from the bank indicating NFS status) as well as proof of the number of days the check is no good. State law provides a penalty against employers writing NSF checks to employees equal to one full day of wages for each and every day that the check is written on insufficient funds.
Please contact the union office for any more information if you have any confusion with how to proceed with this type of claim.

New UPEC Handbook

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

REDDING - A new member handbook is now available on-line in the “Download” section of the UPEC website. The handbook is the third edition in recent years and was only provided to new members. The handbook is two times larger and contains over 60 pages of information about UPEC Local 792 as well as a section on the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA). Members can view the book on line and print all or part of the book. Full color binded copies are available at the union office.