By: Duane Ballard

Greetings Brothers and Sisters,

Natasha (our Bookkeeper) and I just came back from the Financial Conference and I am pleased to announce that our LM and 990 have been completed. If you are not familiar, these are figures and forms we have to submit to the federal government. They are a lot like your personal taxes you file every year. The ones we are responsible for are very detailed in what we spend, who we pay, what we pay, and a multitude of categories to include property and the building contents.

They say behind every man stands a great woman and, in this case, it is very true. If it wasn’t for Natasha, I would still be doing 2024 LMs. She is the glue that helps keep your financial department stuck together. She is smart and very computer savvy. My old butt never knew how stupid I was until I got a smart phone.

If you see Natasha, tell her Thank You for all the hard work she does. Not only does she do the dues office, she also puts together the web page and handles our Facebook page. We are all blessed to have her here as our Bookkeeper.

I often get asked about when dues are going back to two hours. The UAW Constitution states that when our strike fund is at $850 million dues will revert back to two hours. As of the end of 2025, the balance stood at $834 million.

The UAW Constitution also provides that the International can spend up to $60 million, per convention cycle, of the strike fund for organizing. Since 2022, the UAW has spent $209 million in strike benefits to members and $3 million in strike assistance.

With all that being said, in my personal opinion, it will be a while before we ever see it back to two hours. It was a huge fight to get it at 2.5 hours and I don’t think the International wants to have that fight again anytime soon. They will continue to use more money for organizing and try to keep that amount under the $850 million threshold.

I want to remind our retirees that we are still looking for members to help work the election on April 23rd. We pay $12 an hour and you will get a chance to see some of the people you haven’t seen in a while. If your are interested, call Coley at 810-232-4130, ext 231, and get your name on the list.

This past Saturday night, we had our Union Sportsman Alliance Dinner here at our Union Hall. It was a huge success and the hall was packed. We had 20 tables packed with people who supported our cause of getting kids outdoors and building and supporting the Genesee County Parks to help promote youth outdoors.

I want to give a huge shout-out to Rick Wagner for all his support to our event. Rick is the Work Comp and Social Security attorney we have in the hall on Fridays. Not only is he the best in his field, he also gives back greatly to our Union Hall by sponsoring a table and refreshments for the event.

A big thank you also goes out to Tom Kuczera from our FMC plant. He is chair of our Education and Bylaws Committees, and has always been a big contributor to this event.

This has started our being a very busy year and I don’t see a slowdown in sight. This winter has seen 10 extra pounds materialize for me and I am missing getting outdoors. To me, being outside is like a sanctuary for my soul. The problem is I haven’t gotten much time out this year, and to be honest, late last year. With the weather breaking a little, I am really getting the itch to get outdoors in some shape or form.

My grandkids are the ones pushing me to get outdoors now. Take some time to listen to some kids at times. If you have done it right, they may be the ones to get you outdoors.