May Update
Greetings 94c,
Both the monthly membership meeting and E&G board meetings were held May the 1st. There will be a meeting with the company sometime this month over standard work and the safety tracker.
Topics of discussion for the board were:
- IFS Several members reported pay issues. We believe these to be resolved. We also have a member who resigned and currently IFS is refusing to pay her vacation time out. We will go the grievance route if this is not resolved this week. Also because of the change in how vacation accrues, IFS has offered to allow folks to use 24 hrs company excused time off without pay on an unprecedenting setting basis during 2025.
- Waste Treatment There were several issues discussed involving Waste Treatment. Discipline had been proposed for several of the operators over an incident involving a clock chart and follow up actions. The operators were following the SOP that had done nothing wrong. Thankfully, waste treatment management partnered with the Union in explaining the situation to SLT and the issue appears to be resolved.
- DS3 Column Packing Several grievances have been filed over the course of the last few months over the company continuing to pack and unpack columns in DS3. The issues that they have never slowed down to actually train the operators who should have already taken over this work. A detailed training plan has been put in place and Brad Propst is heading up this effort.
- China shipments The site has sent a shipment of Primaxin to China. That does not necessarily mean that future shipments will take place. It is still up in the air.
- Picnic The picnic is May the 17th from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at the site. Please bring your family, come out and enjoy some good food. Retirees and their families are also welcome.
- West Point Negotiations The West Point negotiations are ongoing. The contract expired April 30th at midnight but a 72 hour rolling extension was agreed upon. This basically means that when either side says that they are through, it is 72 hours before either the Union strikes and or the company locks them out. There has been movement, but they are miles apart on wage increases. We will update this site as changes occur.
- Supplemental Insurance Several members who have been hospitalized recently were unaware that the supplemental insurance that many of us carry actually pays a hospitalization benefit. If you’re hospitalized and have supplemental insurance through CAI it is worth calling to see if you’re covered. In most cases they have paid out several thousand dollars.
- Adopt a Highway The highway cleanup went well. The next day will be scheduled in October. Thank you to all who came out and helped. The chemical worker signs are in place on route 340.
Retirees We had two retirees since the last update:
Terri Powell was currently working in the powerhouse. Terri also spent time in factory 1 and HPV. She hired in April of 2001. Good luck Terri!
Terrence Hearn spent most of his career in factory 7 but also worked in factory 8. He hired in November of 2001. Best wishes to you in retirement Terrence!
Deceased Retiree Sadly we have to report the death of Kenny Good. Kenny passed away April 25th, 2025. He finished his career here at Merck as an Instrument Technician. He was the last one here to hold that title. Kenny hired in April 16th 1974. Condolences go out to his family.
Again the picnic is May the 17th please make plans to attend, the next Union meeting is June the 5th. Hope to see you at both!