Union Trustees Extend Medical Benefits

Benefits Extended through Oct. 31, 2020

The Union Trustees of our Medical Benefit Trust Fund proposed, and a clear majority of all Trustees voted to extend Medical Benefits for all participants of our Local 2 San Francisco Trust Fund through October 31^st, 2020.

Local 2’s San Mateo County Trust Fund is in the process of taking the same action: extending Medical Benefit coverage through October 31^st, 2020.

The Union is able to extend benefits because the Fund is continuing to pay for benefits (to Kaiser, Blue Shield, etc.) out of RESERVES (extra money) that our Union has built up over the years.

Since our Union contract settlement of 2006, each year we have had a “bucket of money” to spend on Wages, Pension contributions, and Medical Benefits. The Officers of the Union, in consultation with the Union Committee leadership, have made very prudent decisions which have built the strength of our Medical Benefit Fund. Each year the Union Committee has met to decide how much money would go into Medical Benefits, how much to Pension, and how much of a Wage increase we would get.

It was because of money built up in reserves that the Union Trustees were able to propose and implement Dental Benefit Improvements (from $2000 to $4000 per year coverage) earlier this year.

The wisdom of those decisions is apparent now. Because our Union did not just grab the biggest raises possible, but continued to built the Pension, and continued to build our Medical Benefit reserves, our Union Trust Fund is able to pay for our Medical Benefits during this time of crisis.

Enjoy the security of your Medical Benefits! You paid for them out of wage increases our Union chose to forgo in favor of building our Medical Benefit Reserves.