Benefits Committee Report

Dave Najduch, Chair

Over the summer months the activities of the Benefits Committee and the work of the Chair usually slow down. The renewal process by which services and fees for the coming year are to be determined starts in September and will be completed by January of 2023. This routine is well practiced and occurs each year.

With the regular work of the committee to start in the fall, RTAM was made aware that the Winnipeg Teachers’ Association would be shutting down its Manulife Benefits Plan effective December 31, 2022 and that would impact just over 1400 of their retirees. TRAF mailed a letter out from the WTA to the impacted members in the late spring explaining this.

At the RTAM June Executive and Board Meetings, there was discussion about the impact this would have on those retirees and the health coverage they could access. A motion was passed directing the Benefits Chair to begin a process by which WTA retirees could easily obtain information about RTAM. It was clear WTA members were looking for RTAM options given the high volume of calls taken by our office staff.

As the Chair, I spoke with MTS about a series of informational meetings they scheduled for September for WTA retirees. Originally MTS had set two in person and one Zoom session. Due to high demand MTS has now scheduled five in person meetings, which are booked to capacity as well as the Zoom meeting. It looks like somewhere between 500-600 WTA members will be in attendance across all of these meetings.

I would like to thank Glen Anderson at MTS for our ongoing talks. RTAM is being provided fifteen minutes at each of the sessions to present information about our Johnson plan. MTS will be speaking about the Blue Cross plan provided through MPSE. RTAM will also be participating in a Question and Answer session after the presentations.

If you are interested in the information being shared, go to the RTAM website and click the banner Welcoming WTA Retirees. Once opened you are able to see exactly what has been made available to date. I would encourage current RTAM members to look at the article Health and Travel Cost Comparison, there is interesting information about travel coverage that could benefit current RTAM members. Go to the RTAM website and click Welcome WTA, then click Health and Travel Cost Comparison. There will be more in a future KIT.

I need to thank Dianne, Denise and Sean in the RTAM office for their efforts. Things have been moving quickly on this issue and they have helped me stay on task and have also provided valuable information to many callers looking for clarification.

September should be interesting. 

Photo by Rae Leaden RTAM Photo Contest Entry