{"id":1870,"date":"2020-03-21T15:48:10","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T20:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/?p=1870"},"modified":"2020-03-24T07:06:26","modified_gmt":"2020-03-24T12:06:26","slug":"daily-update-from-president-utecht","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily Update from President Utecht"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>March 21, 2020<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dear Member:<br>Ancillary Benefits Expanded and Open Enrollment Period To Begin for members in Part-Time positions<br><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As Chairman of the Board of Trustees for our MRMC Union Health &amp; Welfare Plan, I am proud to announce that our Ancillary Benefits Package has been expanded to include Doctor on Demand AND a renewed Open Enrollment Period for those eligible members to sign up for more coverage. It will still cost you $1 a week.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This past week, I proposed expanding the current Ancillary Benefit Package for members in part-time positions to include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.doctorondemand.com\/\">Doctor on Demand<\/a>, which is video\/virtual doctor health visits, to the Board of Trustees. This is a huge value to our members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your employer will offer a renewed open enrollment period for those current members who are already employed, as well as the regular open enrollment period for new hires. Check <a href=\"http:\/\/www.663benefits.com\">www.663benefits.com<\/a> for information as it is updated by Wilson-McShane, our Health &amp; Welfare Administrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The current Ancillary Benefits Package includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Dental Care Benefits<\/li><li>Vision Care Benefits<\/li><li>Life Insurance Benefit<\/li><li>Accidental Death and Dismemberment Benefits<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.team-mn.com\/\">Employee Assistance Program<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.doctorondemand.com\/\">Doctor On Demand (telehealth)<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Because members who elect Ancillary Benefits Package or currently have it won\u2019t have Blue Cross Blue Shield cards, each time they use Doctor on Demand there will be a $49 out of pocket cost. However, the MRMC Health &amp; Welfare fund will reimburse the member if they send receipt to Wilson-McShane, the Plan\u2019s administrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Union Grocers Raise Industry Standards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p> More Union Members Get Appreciation Pay <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This week, you learned how our many of our union grocery employers stepped up to give increases in pay to all union hourly employees by $2 an hour. It all began with a UFCW Local 663 grocer in greater Minnesota, Miner\u2019s Inc. Union grocers raised industry standards. This means more of our union members get appreciation pay.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the initial <a href=\"http:\/\/www.startribune.com\/cub-kowalski-s-others-give-raises-to-hourly-workers\/568933152\/?fbclid=IwAR0G8f-6Ddmd5NzsMaMQJd65wukyA7IB1AW3MSQkThl8YHcYcs5uJhVOmws&amp;refresh=true\">Star Tribune story<\/a> ran this week about the appreciation pay, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twincities.com\/2020\/03\/19\/cub-foods-kowalskis-temporarily-give-workers-raises-hy-vee-adds-protective-windows-at-checkouts\/\">Pioneer Press<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kare11.com\/article\/news\/health\/coronavirus\/cub-foods-kowalskis-give-employees-a-raise-during-covid-19-outbreak\/89-6ff3b17b-eebf-4ed0-9e9b-e994d418a31b?ref=exit-recirc&amp;fbclid=IwAR0qXHA0UOrzLzd0qRmlLGgmzh7SOCHvUw5RCwwevj1aFJbvEokNdIxGTe0\">Kare 11<\/a> covered it. Following the Star Tribune story, Lunds &amp; Byerlys announced full-time employees will receive an additional $500 and part-timers will get $200 on their first check in April. That includes all current workers and those temporarily away to care for themselves or family members.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Local 663 Union grocery employers led those efforts, and yesterday non-union grocery competitor Target announced a $2 pay increase for their workers. I\u2019m proud to work on your behalf with employers to fight for what you deserve.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">More Employers Offer Appreciation Pay To Members<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Eastside Food Coop also joined the list of grocery employers who are giving appreciation pay to our members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Employers who have given the appreciation pay increase include: Miner\u2019s, Quisberg\u2019s Cub Foods, Corporate Cub Foods, Jerry\u2019s Foods, Jerry\u2019s Cub Foods, Kowalski\u2019s Markets, Lunds &amp; Byerlys, Radermacher\u2019s Cub Foods, Linden Hills Coop, Seward Community Coop, Oxendale\u2019s and Eastside Food Coop.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ongoing Resources for Workers During COVID-19 Outbreak<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In our ongoing efforts to keep communication lines open and information available, here is a list of useful websites during these uncertain times that you and your family may find helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/\">UFCW Local 663 website<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.state.mn.us\/diseases\/coronavirus\/index.html\">Minnesota Department of Health website<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/\">Center for Disease Control website<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/\">World Health Organization website<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/uimn.org\/applicants\/needtoknow\/news-updates\/covid-19.jsp\">State of MN COVID-19 &amp; Unemployment Insurance Benefits website<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Take care. Please contact me if you have comments, questions or concerns. Thank you for the hard work that you do.<br>Sincerely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matt<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>March 21, 2020 Dear Member:Ancillary Benefits Expanded and Open Enrollment Period To Begin for members in Part-Time positions As Chairman of the Board of Trustees for our MRMC Union Health &amp; Welfare Plan, I am proud to announce that our Ancillary Benefits Package has been expanded to include Doctor on Demand AND a renewed Open &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Daily Update from President Utecht<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1308,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,59],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.13 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Daily Update from President Utecht - UFCW 663<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Daily union update from President Utecht. President Utecht announces expanded ancillary benefits. UFCW 663 fights for workers&#039; rights in the workplace.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Daily Update from President Utecht - UFCW 663\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Daily union update from President Utecht. President Utecht announces expanded ancillary benefits. UFCW 663 fights for workers&#039; rights in the workplace.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UFCW 663\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-21T20:48:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-24T12:06:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/UFCW663_logo_sizedforblog.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"270\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"UFCW Local 663\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"UFCW Local 663\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/\",\"name\":\"Daily Update from President Utecht - UFCW 663\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-21T20:48:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-24T12:06:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66b7ca0eecf8ad3f8d807f7b61ec5b46\"},\"description\":\"Daily union update from President Utecht. President Utecht announces expanded ancillary benefits. UFCW 663 fights for workers' rights in the workplace.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Daily Update from President Utecht\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"UFCW 663\",\"description\":\"A Voice For Working America\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66b7ca0eecf8ad3f8d807f7b61ec5b46\",\"name\":\"UFCW Local 663\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c04f16fc232710db4ef4933308588a4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c04f16fc232710db4ef4933308588a4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"UFCW Local 663\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/author\/local653\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Daily Update from President Utecht - UFCW 663","description":"Daily union update from President Utecht. President Utecht announces expanded ancillary benefits. UFCW 663 fights for workers' rights in the workplace.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Daily Update from President Utecht - UFCW 663","og_description":"Daily union update from President Utecht. President Utecht announces expanded ancillary benefits. UFCW 663 fights for workers' rights in the workplace.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/","og_site_name":"UFCW 663","article_published_time":"2020-03-21T20:48:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-03-24T12:06:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":270,"height":200,"url":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/UFCW663_logo_sizedforblog.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"UFCW Local 663","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"UFCW Local 663","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/","name":"Daily Update from President Utecht - UFCW 663","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-03-21T20:48:10+00:00","dateModified":"2020-03-24T12:06:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66b7ca0eecf8ad3f8d807f7b61ec5b46"},"description":"Daily union update from President Utecht. President Utecht announces expanded ancillary benefits. UFCW 663 fights for workers' rights in the workplace.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/21\/daily-update-from-president-utecht\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Daily Update from President Utecht"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/","name":"UFCW 663","description":"A Voice For Working America","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66b7ca0eecf8ad3f8d807f7b61ec5b46","name":"UFCW Local 663","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c04f16fc232710db4ef4933308588a4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c04f16fc232710db4ef4933308588a4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"UFCW Local 663"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.ufcw663.org"],"url":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/author\/local653\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1870"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1873,"href":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1870\/revisions\/1873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ufcw663.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}