We are the United Steelworkers, North America’s largest industrial union. We’re 1.2 million members and retirees strong in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. We proudly represent men and women who work in nearly every industry there is.
*2020-2021 12-hr Schedule*Check with your department for staggered start ups.[]New July shutdown schedule as of 3/22/21[]*2019-2020 12-hr Schedule *(subject to change up to Sept 15)*[]
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*2020-2021 12-hr Schedule*Check with your department for staggered start ups.[]UPDATE: New July shutdown schedule as of 3/22/21[]*2019-2020 12-hr Schedule *(subject to change up to Sept 15)*[]
*2020-2021 12-hr Schedule*Check with your department for staggered start ups.[]*2019-2020 12-hr Schedule *(subject to change up to Sept 15)*[]
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*2020-2021 12-hr Schedule*Check with your department for staggered start ups.[]New July shutdown schedule as of 3/22/21[]*2019-2020 12-hr Schedule *(subject to change up to Sept 15)*[]
Interlake employees signed on to an Interlake vessel will begin to see state taxes being withheld from their paychecks as early as March 24th. Income will be reported to your current state of residence and the proper amount of taxes withheld. Included in the email announcing these changes is a link to the appropriate tax forms to complete and return to Human Resources. Having state taxes withheld from your checks is not optional - and failure to complete the withholding forms will not exclude you from having taxes withheld (the forms are for claiming dependents, etc.)
Interlake employees signed on to an Interlake vessel will begin to see state taxes being withheld from their paychecks as early as March 24th. Income will be reported to your current state of residence and the proper amount of taxes withheld. Included in the email announcing these changes is a link to the appropriate tax forms to complete and return to Human Resources. Having state taxes withheld from your checks is not optional - and failure to complete the withholding forms will not exclude you from having taxes withheld (the forms are for claiming dependents, etc.)
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Not all states are currently set up, so if you do not see state taxes withheld from your paycheck, the office doesn't have your state set up but will be finishing up within the next several weeks.
Interlake employees received an email from Human Resources a couple of weeks ago with information about changes being made to the process of reporting earnings to state tax agencies. Many of our members have had questions about the changes being made, and the Local Union reached out to Interlake Steamship to clarify some of the common questions being asked.
State Tax Withholding - sailing season
Interlake employees signed on to an Interlake vessel will begin to see state taxes being withheld from their paychecks as early as March 24th. Income will be reported to your current state of residence and the proper amount of taxes withheld. Included in the email announcing these changes is a link to the appropriate tax forms to complete and return to Human Resources. Having state taxes withheld from your checks is not optional - and failure to complete the withholding forms will not exclude you from having taxes withheld (the forms are for claiming dependents, etc.)
Not all states are currently set up, so if you do not see state taxes withheld from your paycheck, the office doesn't have your state set up but will be finishing up within the next several weeks.
State Tax Withholding - winter work
While working winter work, you will be taxed state wages for the state you are working in rather than the state in which you reside.
Sturgeon Bay - Wisconsin state taxes withheld
Fraser Shipyards - Wisconsin state taxes withheld
Detroit Nicholson - Michigan state taxes withheld
Toledo Shipyards - Ohio state taxes withheld
DonJon Shipyards - Pennsylvania state taxes withheld
This change takes place because winter work is not considered a "Jones Act" job, where income is made as part of your participation in interstate commerce, whereas winter work wages are earned just as they are for any regular land-based job where taxes are withheld for the state in which the business is located.
If you have tax questions, we recommend you consult your tax preparer for the best advice for your particular needs.
Unemployment
These changes being made will affect how you file for unemployment. In the future, you will need to file for unemployment from your state of residence. You will no longer file with the State of Ohio unless that is your state of residence. We will post information about changes to unemployment filing procedures at www.usw5000.org/unemployment.
Check your Interlake provided email account for further information about these changes, and if you have questions, contact Kathy Dorko for more information.
As always, feel free to contact USW Local 5000 for any additional concerns you may have about these changes.
Interlake is currently updating its method of reporting employee earnings to State Treasuries. This may affect where employees apply for unemployment benefits. We are working on identifying the exact procedure for our members to apply for unemployment and will post updates once we find out more information.
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At the conclusion of the 2021 navigation season, employees of the Interlake Steamship Company will no longer seek unemployment benefits exclusively through the State of Ohio. Instead, you must file for unemployment from your state of residence. This comes as part of a series of changes as to how Interlake Steamship Company is reporting earnings to state treasuries.
*Click here to view more information about COVID-19 and the maritime industry. * [1]
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*Click here to view information specific to COVID-19 and the maritime industry. * [1]
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Our foremost priority is to ensure the health and safety of our workers. We are developing this page to provide information about workplace safety, as well as ways to report health and safety concerns to the Local Union for further investigation.
Last year, our industry along with the rest of the world was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the beginning, the approach to dealing with the virus has changed frequently, and over a year later, we continue to see changes at the national, state, and local levels. All of our employers have adopted policies and procedures over the past year to help prevent infection from occurring while continuing to transport the materials and service the industries that form the backbone of our nation. We will do our best to update this page as we get more information about policies and procedures related to COVID-19.
COVId-19 policies in the workplace
Each of the four employers whose workforce is represented by our local union has policies in place of varying degrees to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. If you have concerns regarding your employer's COVID-19 policies or feel that policies are being applied unfairly, please contact us to discuss your concerns.
US Coast Guard MSIB 02-21
On February 1st, 2021, the United States Coast Guard issued Marine Safety Information Bulletin 02-21 detailing COVID-19 Safety Requirements in the Maritime Transportation System.
The President issued Executive Order (13998), Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel that requires masks be worn on all “public maritime vessels, including ferries” to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued order: "Requirement for Persons to Wear Masks while on Transportation Hubs, 29JAN2021", which requires all persons traveling on all commercial vessels to wear a mask.
This Order requires conveyance operators to use best efforts to ensure that any person on the conveyance wears a mask when boarding, disembarking, and for the duration of travel. Depending on the circumstances, best efforts may include:
boarding only those persons who wear masks;
instructing persons that Federal law requires wearing a mask on the conveyance and failure to comply constitutes a violation of Federal law;
monitoring persons on board the conveyance for anyone who is not wearing a mask and seeking compliance from such persons;
at the earliest opportunity, disembarking any person who refuses to comply;
providing persons with prominent and adequate notice to facilitate awareness and compliance of the requirement of this Order to wear a mask; best practices may include, if feasible, advanced notifications on digital platforms, such as on apps, websites, or email; posted signage in multiple languages with illustrations; printing the requirement on...
Your solidarity has made all the difference in the world! We (your Negotiating Committee) met once again with hospital management on Friday (3/19/2021). The results of this protracted negotiations were finally positive. We achieved a Tentative Agreement for a new Labor Contract.
The wage increases achieved are much improved over the previous offer; as we cannot be treated as second class employees vs. non-union co-workers.
The USW legal department assisted us, and we are pleased to report that our pre July 2017 pension language will be restored (vs. the rejected proposal) upon ratification. Other improvements previously TA’d were preserved.
We also appreciate the help of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) Commissioner. The FMCS is an independent agency of the U.S. government. FMCS was created in 1947 by Congress to prevent strikes. The Agency’s official mission is to “preserve and promote labor-management cooperation and peace.” The FMCS assigned a Commissioner (also known as a Federal Mediator) to these very difficult negotiations. The Federal Mediator became more involved as negotiations had grown even more tense in 2021, and the Union’s strong resolve to achieve meaningful wage increases for members grew more urgent.
We plan to send the details of the Tentative Agreement to each of you in a packet via US Mail this week. The packet will include a ballot to vote on the new Tentative Agreement terms and postage paid envelope to return your ballot for counting.
While there will always be work to do in the next negotiations, we hope you agree with us that the terms we arrived at in the Tentative Agreement are satisfactory and meet with your approval.
If you wish to be a USW Steward and receive education for the position, please let Bridgette know - we’re going to build Local 2801 to be an even greater voice for our members!
In Unity,
Bridgette, Milton, Anna, & The USW Int’l Union (AFL-CIO) Support Team Unity & Strength for Workers!
