Union News - September 2024
Now you may have heard this term or others such as local pizza day, family picnic, local barbecue, ice cream day, or other events sponsored by the local union.
Membership Appreciation Events are funded by and held for the members of the particular UTE local. These functions are organized for the members or the members and their families, as a recognition of the hard work that all the members do in order to make our union strong. This work does not go unnoticed, and locals take pride in being able to give back to the membership through relaxing fun filled events for a few hours or in some cases the better part of a day.
Events take place throughout the year with many taking place during warmer weather and others take place indoors as the weather turns to fall or winter.
Funds are made available from UTE National to assist locals to put on these events. At the UTE National Convention which took place in August 2023, a resolution was passed that provides up to $1,500 in assistance to a local to put on such an event. The requirement for the local is that they will receive financial assistance equal to the amount of funds spent on the event based on a dollar-for-dollar formula up to a maximum $1,500. Thus, if a local expended $4,000 to put on an event, they would be entitled to a subsidy from UTE in the amount of $1,500. This assures that the locals have sufficient funds to put on a great event for their membership.
If your local has not put on such an event recently or if you are unaware of any event that may be scheduled in the future, consider reaching out to your local executive and inquire if such an event is being scheduled before the end of the year. If the response is that nothing is being scheduled, it certainly does not hurt to ask why not?
This truly is a meaningful way for the union to thank the membership for their hard work and dedication. It is surely something that the union should do to express to our members how important they are to us.
Gary Esslinger
Chair, Communications Committee