By Willie Barrere
National President
In early February, as soon as the union’s current Executive Board was in place, we began working on productive changes in staffing, enhancing AMO operations to better serve the membership, and starting the process of correcting shortfalls in our internal systems so they can better meet our union’s needs going forward.
AMO Executive Board members are also trustees of the AMO Plans. With our new leadership in place, we also immediately focused on needed improvements to member benefits that centered on our interaction and discussions with AMO members, rather than rhetorical priorities.
We selected Christian Spain as the chief union trustee for the AMO Plans to provide strong and decisive leadership representing our goals and implementing our desired benefit improvements as quickly and effectively as possible. Christian serves with the lead employer trustee, Anthony Naccarato, as alternating secretary/chairman of the AMO Plans Board of Trustees.
Below is a brief summary of what we’ve completed and accomplished since February, with votes of the Board of Trustees taking place during our meetings in July. These are very brief, and if details are lacking here in some places, more information will be provided in the near future.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind when considering changes to AMO benefits.
1. The AMO Plans are governed by union and employer trustees. Changes to AMO benefits require agreement among the union trustees and the company trustees, so it is not just a matter of making a decision and doing it. Everything is a carefully balanced discussion in an effort to reach consensus.
2. There is a finite amount of money in the AMO Plans. It is a relatively large amount of money, but it is finite and dedicated to providing existing benefits, so adding benefits is not just matter of deciding what ought to be done for AMO members. Everything has to be done within the limits of the money that is there. All changes and enhancements have to be financially modeled by the AMO Plans actuaries, and buffers for saving and investment funds have to be maintained so that all of our benefit plans can survive and thrive through market fluctuations, surges in claims, etc.
Pregnancy Leave Policy
Our first Pregnancy Leave Policy was approved. Effective August 1, 2024, there is a process for leave upon medical determination resulting in a not-fit-for-duty due to pregnancy. Our policy was developed after discussions with female members of AMO, the other unions, and industry leaders. Our policy will provide up to 15 months of medical coverage commencing after a member’s vacation ends, one year of Covered Employment Credit towards retiree medical, and STAR Center eligibility for training when the member returns to work, so long as the member remains not-fit-for-duty. We will work to negotiate into our CBAs the opportunity for the member to return to their last job.
Enhancements to Retirement Benefits
The trustees of the Defined Benefit Pension Plan approved the following enhancements:
• For the first time since the AMO Pension Plan was frozen in 2009, our retirees will get some type of financial acknowledgment – a stipend in the form of a one-time 13th check in 2024. It will be issued in December. A cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase was our desired goal, but the expense right now is too high, considering the desire and need to simultaneously improve other benefit plans.
• The approximately 1000 active sailing members who are due a pension will receive a 10 percent increase in their frozen defined benefit amount. To be eligible for this increase, eligible active participants of the Plan who retire on or after October 1, 2024 must have one day of Covered Employment between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024 prior to retirement. The increase will be effective October 1, 2024.
The trustees of the Defined Contribution Plan approved the following enhancements:
• DC Plan participants will get 1 percent increase to each of the 5, 7, 8, and 12 to 30 years-of-service allocations. An increase of 2 percent will be applied for year 9. The adjusted schedule is included here reflecting a January 1, 2025 effective date.
The annual cost to the AMO Plans for these enhancements is projected at nearly $10 million.
In our first six months working together with the membership, these are the enhancements formulated, discussed and adjusted, financially vetted, and approved through the work of this Executive Board and team of AMO Plans trustees for the union, working with the employer trustees and AMO Plans directors and staff.
I’ll go over some of the benefit enhancements we are still looking at in a separate article. There is more we are working on and always more to consider.
