Posted:
January 18, 2008
Orville Owen was on the minds of retirees at the January meeting of the San Jose Chapter of the Local 1245 Retirees Club on Jan. 3.
Owen, the former Local 1245 Assistant Business Manager, long-time Retirees Club member, and active participant in the San Jose chapter, died on New Year’s Day.
“At our meeting we discussed some of our experiences with Orv,” reported Chapter President Jack Hill, who explained that he himself had been persuaded by Owen to join the union back in 1966 when Owen was the union business rep in San Jose.
“And without him, we would not have had a Retiree Club,” said Hill. “When things got rough he kept us going. We all will sure miss him.”
Retirees at all five chapters are preparing to send representatives to a joint meeting at Weakley Hall in Vacaville on Jan. 18 to discuss strategy for upcoming general bargaining between Local 1245 and PG&E. Also scheduled to be present at the union hall that day is IBEW International President Ed Hill.
Retirees in Santa Rosa in December took note of the fact that Local 1245 unit meetings will start entertaining proposals for negotiations—an opportunity to put forward proposals addressing retiree concerns. Although retirees themselves cannot make motions, there are many members—especially those nearing retirement themselves—who share retirees’ concerns over pension and medical benefits.
The Santa Rosa retirees also discussed the upcoming political elections in 2008 and the possibility that candidates may ask to attend meetings to meet retirees (also known as “the demographic group most likely to vote in elections.”)
At a time when medical costs keep going up for everyone, the Santa Rosa group also discussed the pluses and negatives of a national health plan, said Recording Secretary Ken Rawles.
At the Merced Chapter meeting in December, retirees discussed possible contact between Retiree Club chapter officers and Local 1245 Executive Board members to discuss “retirees' benefits and needs,” reported Chapter President Mike Bonds. Among the issues of greatest concern to the Merced chapter are voting rights for retirees at local unit meetings, a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for pension benefits, and an increase in PG&E contributions toward retiree medical benefits.