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Thread: Union News

  1. #1

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    Default Union News



    10 ways to cope with financial crisis


    Few working Americans are old enough to have experienced anything like today’s financial crisis. With shock and horror, we’ve seen friends and family members lose their jobs, neighbors’ homes go into foreclosure, and trillions of dollars in retirement savings vaporize.


    Our advice is, first of all, Don’t panic. Remember, you’re not alone. You have the support of a union looking out for your interests, and working to keep your benefits and your job safe. This support includes a host of money-management services available to you at Union Plus, where our mission is to help guide you down the path that will protect you best.


    Second, be proactive in defending yourself and your family. Here are 10 recommended steps to help strengthen the financial security you need in these painful times.

    1. Pay down debt.
      The more you owe, the more vulnerable you are. To pay off credit cards and other debt faster, consider cutting back on your spending. If you need information to put together a plan, go to www.uniondebthelp.org for tips on digging out of debt, answers to common questions, and repayment calculators.
    2. Don't sink deeper into a financial hole.
      Swamped with bills? Need a budget? Take advantage of the Union Plus Credit Counseling program. Experienced credit counselors will listen to you and your needs, then help you develop a plan of action you can follow. For a free credit counseling session, budget analysis, and advice to help get your finances on a firmer footing, fill out the online request form or call the 24-hour toll-free line, 1-877-833-1745.
    3. Cut your expenses.
      From eating in instead of eating out to slashing what you spend on incidentals, cutting back on spending lets you keep more of what you earn. Union Plus offers discounts on everything from AT&T wireless service to car repairs to clothing to make it easier.
    4. Don't fixate on market fluctuations.
      If your goal is to build up a nest egg over time, don't let daily ups and downs panic you into bailing out of the stock market. Most financial advisers say don't cash-in your stocks or make any other drastic changes. You still may have the opportunity to benefit from its historic long-term growth potential. Tip: Instead of constantly checking your investments, look at your balance once a month (or even just once a quarter) to get a clearer view of the big picture.
    5. Diversify your investments.
      This involves putting together a balanced mix of stocks, bonds, and money market funds or other short-term investments, with the aim of offsetting "downs" in one asset category with "ups" in another — a strategy, while not working right now with all the downs, can help reduce risk and promote growth through good times and bad. To see if your investments are well balanced, learn more about asset allocation here.

    When union members who use the Union Plus benefits are faced with special circumstances, we are here to help. Check out the special hardship assistance available.
    SURVEY: What are YOUR top financial concerns?

    We’ll recap the results in an upcoming Union Plus E-News.

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    enews@unionprivilege.org


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  3. #2

    Default Re: Union News

    Quote Originally Posted by James48843 View Post
    1. Pay down debt.
    2. Don't sink deeper into a financial hole.
    3. Cut your expenses.
    4. Don't fixate on market fluctuations.
    5. Diversify your investments.
    Sounds like this was written by a fiscal conservative!

  4.  
  5. #3

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    Default Re: Union News

    From my Union this weekend:

    LAWMAKERS ONCE AGAIN SINGLE OUT FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
    New Legislation Takes Aim at Pay Freeze, Increasing Pension Contributions


    Over the past several months, members of Congress have continually looked toward federal employees as the primary source of spending cuts and revenue increases. Among other things, lawmakers have proposed using federal employee staffing and compensation reductions as offsets for payroll tax cuts, unemployment benefit extensions, highway funding, sequester replacement, debt ceiling increases and deficit reduction. Most recently, several pieces of legislation are focused on extending the federal employee pay freeze while another seeks to use pension increases to offset student loan interest rate reductions.

    On May 31, the House passed by a vote of 402 to 12 the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5854), which does not include funding for a pay increase for federal employees in the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs, thus freezing these salaries for the third year in a row. In addition, on June 6, the House began debating the FY 2013 Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 5855), which also does not provide funding for a federal employee pay increase. Federal employees are currently in the second year of a pay freeze expected to generate $60 billion in savings. Although the House vote on H.R. 5854 was bipartisan, Democrats are speaking out against the pay freeze provision and vowing to ensure it is dropped during conference.

    “I am extremely disappointed that Republicans are asking federal employees to take a freeze in pay for a third year in a row,” said House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). Hoyer stressed that, while federal employees have been asked to make numerous sacrifices, millionaires and billionaires remain unscathed. “America’s federal employees, Republicans ought to remember, are themselves middle-class workers and were hit just as hard as the rest of our middle class by the recession and the rising costs of living. Punishing them unfairly for their choice of career only harms our ability to recruit and retain the best workforce possible for the American people.”

    President Obama has released Statements of Administration Policy against H.R. 5854 and H.R. 5855 that include veto threats. In the statements, the administration objects to any “effort to reduce pay for civilian personnel that would effectively extend the freeze on civilian pay through FY 2013.” The statements emphasize that “a permanent pay freeze is neither sustainable nor desirable” and encourage Congress to support the 0.5 percent pay raised proposed in the president’s budget.

    In addition, on June 6, the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee approved the FY 2013 Financial Services Appropriations bill that contains no federal pay raise and cuts funding for several major agencies. The bill, which will now go to the full House Appropriations Committee, typically contains a provision raising federal employees’ pay. Since the FY 2013 bill does not include that language, if it becomes law, federal employees’ pay would be frozen for a third straight year. House Appropriations Committee Minority Leader Norman Dicks (D-Wash.) came out against the legislation, stating that the bill will hurt federal employees and force agencies to decrease the services provided to the public. “This allocation, if enacted into law, would result in substantial reductions in basic services to the public, and furloughs, layoffs and vacancies at a time when employment remains the nation’s top concern,” he said.

    Federal employee pay is not the only area that has been targeted by lawmakers. On June 1, four Republican leaders sent a letter to the president outlining proposals for funding an extension of the 3.4 percent interest rate for student loans for another year, including one proposal that would pay for the extension by increasing federal employees’ retirement contributions. The increase would be included in the FY 2013 budget and would raise current employee contributions to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) by 0.4 percent in each of the next three calendar years (2013, 2014 and 2015) for a cumulative increase of 1.2 percent of pay over current contributions. Previously, the House passed a 5 percent increase over current levels to be phased in over five years in the Sequester Replacement Reconciliation Act (H.R. 5652) (see Legislative Update, May 18, 2012).

    Senate Democrats quickly rejected the proposals and criticized the House for putting forth concepts without bipartisan negotiations. “A budget is a comprehensive document,” said Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). “What they did is, they went in and cherry-picked a few things out. You can’t do that because this is part of a comprehensive budget.” Harkin continued by labeling the proposed offsets as “phony” and stated that the issue is whether Republicans would be willing to sit down and negotiate an agreeable solution.

    It is clear that federal employees continue to be the target of choice for many lawmakers. As such, PASS members should contact their representative and senators and urge them to oppose any legislation that targets federal employee pay and retirement benefits.


    HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE APPROVES TRANSPORTATION FUNDING
    On June 7, the House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee approved by voice vote its FY 2013 appropriations bill. The legislation provides $51.6 billion in discretionary spending, a $3.9 billion reduction from last year’s level and $1.8 billion less than the amount provided in the Senate version of the bill (S. 2322) (see Legislative Update, April 27, 2012).

    For the Department of Transportation, the bill appropriates $17.6 billion, which is $69 million below the FY 2012 enacted level. Included in this budget is $12.6 billion for the FAA, a $91 million increase above last year’s level but $3.3 billion below the Senate’s request. For the operations budget, the House bill appropriates $9.7 billion, which is 0.7 percent more than the FY 2012 enacted level and equal to the amount in the Senate bill. Similar to the Senate bill request, the funding includes more than $60.1 million for operations planning activities for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), which is slightly less than the FY 2012 enacted levels. Included in the operations budget is $7.5 billion for the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) and $1.3 billion for Aviation Safety (AVS). Both of these amounts are equal to the Senate request. In addition, the legislation includes language directing the FAA administrator to transmit to Congress a report describing “a comprehensive strategy for staffing, hiring, and training flight standards and aircraft certification staff in a format similar to the one utilized for the controller staffing plan, including stated attrition estimates and numerical hiring goals by fiscal year.” According to the legislation, the appropriated amount will be reduced by $100,000 for each day past March 31 that such a report has not been submitted to Congress.

    For facilities and equipment (F&E), the bill includes $2.7 billion, which is approximately $90 million more than FY 2012 enacted levels and $1 million below the Senate amount. The House bill also requests $175 million for research, engineering and development, which is $7 million above last year’s enacted level and $15 million more than the Senate’s request. The legislation is expected to be considered by the full committee in two weeks.




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  7. #4

    Default Re: Union News

    Unions were created a few years back in several DOD organizations with the main driving purpose to enable employees to avoid NSPS. Which then went away. I wonder what those unions now do relative to the mission of the organizations or if they are taking on a life of their own and exacerbating any employee/management interface/relationship. Indiana's governor and other leaders have opined that unions are counterproductive to good government. Unions always seem to produce the serf/lord mentality.

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  9. #5

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    Default Re: Union News

    And they wonder why the economy is recovering slowly.
    May the force be with us.

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