TEAM MEMO
To: TEAM-IFPTE Local 161 Members
From: TEAM Office
Date: December 17, 2014
Re: New and Noteworthy
From the Office
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New Board Meeting Minutes and Reports have been posted.
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The 2014 Annual General Meeting Presentation is available here.
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TEAM Scholarships: Congratulations to the winners of the TEAM-IFPTE Local 161 Annual Scholarships. Four scholarships of $1,000 each, for first year post-secondary students enrolled in university, community college, trade school or an apprenticeship program were awarded to:
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Robin Armstrong (Dwayne Armstrong)
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Riley Wrublowsky (Bill Wrublowsky)
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Rachelle Yendrowich (Bonnie Yendrowich)
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Sarah Ziegler (John Ziegler)
This year, four awards of $500 each were given to TEAM members to help defray the cost of any academic or vocational course or seminar. The recipients were:
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Janelle Harper
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Daniel Lamoureux
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Marcello Nesca
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Mike Riediger
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Holiday Coverage: The office will be closed between Christmas and New Year. We reopen January 2, 2015. For immediate assistance during the break, you may contact the TEAM President, Misty Hughes-Newman at 204-941-5338 or Vice-President Mike Taylor at 204-799-8161.
From Our DB Pension Rep
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Pension Lawsuit Settlement Payouts and Transfers – On December 24, 2014, all employees in the DB Pension Plan who elected to receive lump sum payments, will receive the first of two distributions. This first distribution will be approximately one half of the lump sum cash payment shown on the Statement and Election of Estimated Benefits. The second and final payment for the balance of the entitlement will be made in 2015 once final calculations have been completed. For those employees who elected to transfer funds into an RRSP, these transfers will be made as soon as possible during the first few weeks following December 24th. Full details can be found here or at mtspension.ca in the section “Current Employees”.
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Court Hearing – The Pension Lawsuit Settlement Implementation Order of Justice Bryk is a quick read and is available here. His more extensive Reasons for Decision are here.
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The Pension Formula – The YMPE issue with the formula was resolved by agreement. The old calculation method resulted in some employees who retired part way through the year, receiving a lower pension. MTS will now calculate pension benefits using the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) for each partial year included in the Pension Benefit calculation based on a proration of credited service for that same year. For employees the new calculation methodology takes effect January 1, 2015.
Noteworthy
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As a show of appreciation, Starbucks, Winnipeg Square is offering TEAM members and your MTS colleagues 20% off all regular priced tumblers, mugs, CDs, ornaments, gift packs and packaged coffee (gift cards and hand-crafted beverages are excluded). This offer is valid only between 3:30pm and 5:30pm, Friday December 19, 2014.
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Retirement Income Security– The financial services industry pays itself large fees to manage your money and that eats up a big part of your retirement savings. According to research by the Canadian Labour Congress, the best way to help today’s employees to have enough money for tomorrow, is by increasing what everybody receives from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) as a share of their total retirement income. This is why the CLC is proposing that over the next several years we lay the foundation to double CPP benefits for the future: Retirement Security for Everyone.
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Consider giving the Gift of Life and making a blood donation this holiday season.
The TEAM and IFPTE office staff wish you and your family the best of the Season and a Happy New Year.
TEAM-IFPTE Local 161
204-984-9470 or 1-877-984-9470
[email protected]
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