At the end of February our Secretary-Treasurer John DeMartino retired after 27 years on the staff of Local 338.  I want to thank him for his years of service and for his dedication to our membership.  On behalf of everyone at Local 338, I would like to wish John and his wife Christine a happy and joyful retirement. 

I would also like to congratulate our newly elected Secretary-Treasurer Murray J. Morrissey.  Murray has been our Executive Vice President since 2001 and has done an outstanding job.  He was responsible for everything from doing some of the negotiations to supervising our field operation.  I know all of you will join me in congratulating Murray and wishing him well in his new position.

It has been quite a few months to begin 2010.  The battle for healthcare reform was long and difficult, but in the end our nation took the first steps to ensuring that every American has access to affordable quality health care.  I know there is a great deal of misinformation out there about the reforms.  There are a lot of questions on what the new legislation will do and how it will impact average Americans.  There is a propaganda campaign going on about this vital bill and we ask all of our members to look at the reforms objectively and give them time to take effect. 

The reality is something had to be done about healthcare costs and the 32 million Americans who were without healthcare and the comprehensive reforms recently signed into law are a good first step towards correcting a broken system.  That is why Local 338 worked to do our part to get the legislation passed.  Our members made thousands of phone calls to their members of Congress, took trips to Washington to get our message out and attended numerous rallies in support of the reform.

Now that Healthcare is completed we can move onto other issues affecting this union including pension reform and immigration reform.  Our political Action team continues to push Congress to work on both of these critical issues.  We also are working in Albany to secure funding to protect our members working for agencies that receive funding through the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD).  

Local 338 is working at every level of government to protect our members.  Whether you like politics or not, the bottom line is this: the decisions made by our elected officials have a direct impact upon you, your family and your wallets.  We are involved to make sure the needs of working/middle class Americans are represented, but we can not do it alone.  This union is Stronger Together and we need you to get involved!  By simply joining our PAC, volunteering for our political campaign team, or attending our union meetings/rallies you can become a critical part of the fight to protect your brothers and sisters. 

We have a big year ahead of us, we face many challenges but together as one union speaking with one voice United and Determined we will accomplish our goals of a better life for our members and their families.

Visit our website or speak to your union representative to find out how you can get involved and help protect our future!