July 2020 Scoop

Are you having trouble viewing this? Click here to view in browser.

Friday, July 3, 2020

SEANC adds 163 new members, winners named

Thank you to all of our members who helped SEANC recruit 163 new members in June. Last month SEANC ran a member recruitment contest that entered each new member and their recruiter into a drawing for $250. Additionally, the top recruiter in each region won a $50 prize (plus $20 per member recruited). Below is a list of the winners.

Recruiter $250 Winner Michelle Dixon, District 58 Wayne Community College New member $250 Winner Mary Decker, District 10 Dept. Of Public Safety Piedmont $50 Winner Jacque Chatman, District 20 South Central $50 Winner Deborah Harney, District 22 West $50 Winner Rose Moon, District 9 East $50 Winner Patty Moore, District 67 North Central $50 Winner Tracy Webb, District 42

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! For the month of July, each new member who joins online will be entered into a drawing for $250, and each current member who recruits a new member will be entered into a drawing for $250 as well!

Plus, EVERY MEMBER who recruits a new member will receive $20! And anyone who refers a possible new member to SEANC will receive $20 if that person joins.

Simply send us contact information and we'll take care of the rest!

Click here to read flier

During these difficult times, when the voices of state employees need to be heard at the legislature, we must continue to strengthen our voice by growing our membership base. We encourage each member to recruit in the workplace. There's strength in numbers, so point your recruits to SEANC.org to join today!

Hans takes over as UNC System president The UNC System Board of Governors recently announced that Peter Hans has been selected to take over as President of the 17-campus system.

Hans has worked for the last two years as president of the N.C. Community College System. He also has extensive work experience with the UNC System, having served three terms on the UNC Board of Governors and been an advisor to the previous UNC President.

“SEANC has developed a strong relationship with Peter Hans in his time with the community college system, and look forward to working with him in his new role to address concerns of university system employees,” said Mark Dearmon, chairman of the SEANC Higher Education Committee. “Our committee has worked closely with the UNC system for the last several years and is excited to continue that in the future as well.”

SEANC co-hosts Virtual Town Hall on NHRMC sale SEANC partnered with Save Our Hospital, a grassroots organization of concerned citizens, host a virtual town hall opposing the sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center on Monday night.

The event brought awareness and much-needed conversation to what could be a monumental decision affecting 42,000 State Health Plan members in southeastern North Carolina.

The hospital is financially healthy, yet its leaders refused to join the State Health Plan’s Clear Pricing Project, an initiative led by State Treasurer Dale Folwell to make health care more affordable and keep prices from going up for state employees and retirees, even though it would have made money by signing on.

A recent poll commissioned by Save Our Hospital found that 70% opposed selling NHRMC and 76% wanted to maintain operations as they are. Yet there has been little input sought by the group studying the sale or county commissioners.

Exclusive Local and National Discounts Save at thousands of national locations – as often as you like! For a complete list of merchants and discounts offered, go to seanc.org, click the discount tab, and then click on PerksConnect. Be sure to visit the website often, as more merchants and more savings are added all the time. This is just a sample of participating retailers!

View PerksConnect Brochure

View Dental Plan The SEANC Insurance Department is available to assist you Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at 800-222-2758 or insurance@seanc.org.

Stay tuned to SEANC Social Media for updates

www.seanc.org | The State Employees Association of North Carolina | © 2020

Sha r e this e m a il:

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.

View this email online.

1621 Midtown Place Raleigh, NC | 27609 US This email was sent to .

To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.

Subscribe to our email list.

Are you having trouble viewing this? Click here to view in browser.

Friday, July 10, 2020

SEANC awards first-ever 'Unsung Hero' award to Kody Kinsley of DHHS Leaders in state government are the key to promoting safe, productive working conditions for employees. Often their work goes unnoticed.

SEANC has created an "Unsung Hero" award to periodically recognize these officials who go above and beyond to make their workers' lives better.

To that end, the SEANC Select Committee on DHHS Issues voted this week to recognize Deputy Secretary for Behavioral Health & IDD Kody Kinsley with the inaugural "Unsung Hero" award for his efforts to keep employees informed and safe during the COVID-19 crisis.

Kinsley is the Operations Lead for DHHS’s COVID-19 Response and has gone above and beyond the call of duty to make sure employee concerns are at the forefront of decision-making.

“Kody Kinsley has made the safety of employees his priority during the crisis,” said SEANC Select Committee on DHHS Issues Chairwoman Sonya Akbar. “His commitment to his employees and his willingness to work with SEANC has been critical in this difficult time.”

Kinsley called SEANC “an indispensable partner during these trying times” in accepting the honor.

“Effective and frequent communication is crucial right now, and with things changing so rapidly, SEANC has been a helpful ally and advocate. We have worked very hard to ensure our large team is informed and aware of how their jobs are impacted, how we are working together to serve North Carolinians, and how we are working to prioritize employee safety.”

Read his full statement here.

Retired recently? SEANC wants to recognize you In this time of work-from-home measures, SEANC understands it is hard to celebrate retiring employees. We would like to help with this by recognizing any member who has retired during the crisis.

If you or a coworker retired during the crisis, we want to know! Simply fill out this form and give us some details. We will recognize your years of service on our social media platforms!

The SEANC Insurance Department is available to assist you Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at 800-222-2758 or insurance@seanc.org.

Learn more

Exclusive Local and National Discounts Save at thousands of national locations – as often as you like! For a complete list of merchants and discounts offered, go to seanc.org, click the discount tab, and then click on PerksConnect. Be sure to visit the website often, as more merchants and more savings are added all the time. This is just a sample of participating retailers!

View PerksConnect Brochure

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! For the month of July, each new member who joins online will be entered into a drawing for $250, and each current member who recruits a new member will be entered into a drawing for $250 as well!

Plus, EVERY MEMBER who recruits a new member will receive $20! And anyone who refers a possible new member to SEANC will receive $20 if that person joins.

Simply send us contact information and we'll take care of the rest!

Click here to read flier

During these difficult times, when the voices of state employees need to be heard at the legislature, we must continue to strengthen our voice by growing our membership base. We encourage each member to recruit in the workplace. There's strength in numbers, so point your recruits to SEANC.org to join today!

Stay tuned to SEANC Social Media for updates

www.seanc.org | The State Employees Association of North Carolina | © 2020

Sha r e this e m a il:

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.

View this email online.

1621 Midtown Place Raleigh, NC | 27609 US This email was sent to .

To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.

Subscribe to our email list.

Are you having trouble viewing this? Click here to view in browser.

Friday, July 17, 2020

Election endorsements process begins online EMPAC, the member-driven political arm of SEANC, is in the process of conducting its interviews for endorsements for the November election. This process usually occurs via inperson interviews, but with the threat of COVID19 looming it has been moved online this year.

State employees and retirees make all decisions on EMPAC’s endorsements based not on political affiliation, but on candidates’ knowledge of and willingness to work on our issues if elected. The PAC routinely produces a bi-partisan list of endorsed candidates at the statewide and legislative levels.

Council of State interviews began via Zoom videoconferencing last weekend and will be completed on Saturday. Out of 18 candidates for Council of State offices, 14 accepted EMPAC’s invitation to interview. EMPAC will interview both candidates for governor this Saturday as well.

Each EMPAC area will also conduct interviews with legislative candidates. Seven will utilize Zoom, while the other 11 have opted to use online questionnaires. The deadline to respond is July 31.

As a state employee, your job is political. Fair or not, your pay, benefits and way of life depend on politicians. One way in which you can improve your future is to become politically active and join EMPAC today!

Retired recently? SEANC wants to recognize you In this time of work-from-home measures, SEANC understands it is hard to celebrate retiring employees. We would like to help with this by recognizing any member who has retired during the crisis.

If you or a coworker retired during the crisis, we want to know! Simply fill out this form and give us some details. We will recognize your years of service on our social media platforms!

The SEANC Insurance Department is available to assist you Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at 800-222-2758 or insurance@seanc.org.

Learn more

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! For the month of July, each new member who joins online will be entered into a drawing for $250, and each current member who recruits a new member will be entered into a drawing for $250 as well!

Plus, EVERY MEMBER who recruits a new member will receive $20! And anyone who refers a possible new member to SEANC will receive $20 if that person joins.

Simply send us contact information and we'll take care of the rest!

Click here to read flier

During these difficult times, when the voices of state employees need to be heard at the legislature, we must continue to strengthen our voice by growing our membership base. We encourage each member to recruit in the workplace. There's strength in numbers, so point your recruits to SEANC.org to join today!

Stay tuned to SEANC Social Media for updates

www.seanc.org | The State Employees Association of North Carolina | © 2020

Sha r e this e m a il:

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.

View this email online.

1621 Midtown Place Raleigh, NC | 27609 US This email was sent to .

To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.

Subscribe to our email list.

Are you having trouble viewing this? Click here to view in browser.

Friday, July 24, 2020

Join Us in the Fight for State Services

North Carolina and other states are going broke because of COVID-19, putting the public services and institutions we count on at risk.

The state is facing a $4 billion funding gap because of lost revenue. Furloughs have already started at some agencies like DOT. Job cuts at our universities, DHHS facilities, schools and other agencies are likely without a lifeline from the federal government.

Nationally, 1.5 million public workers have lost their jobs because of the virus and state governments need an estimated $120 billion to survive.

If the US Senate doesn’t act soon, state and local governments will not be able to balance their budgets, ultimately, plunging our communities deeper into a health and economic crisis.

Please tell Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr to stop stalling and vote for an aid package that will help our state.

Contact your Senators

WE NEED YOUR HELP! We're only a few new members away from last month's total of 162. Please reach out to your friends and colleagues to tell them all the benefits of joining SEANC! As an added bonus, all new members and all current members who recruit a new member who join from today through July 31 will be entered into a drawing for a $100 gift card!

And remember our July incentives: Each recruiter gets $20 for every new member they sign up as well as any new member they refer to us who joins. And all new members and recruiters will be entered into our monthly

Click here to read flier

drawing for $250!

Recruit, recruit, recruit!

The SEANC Insurance Department is available to assist you Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at 800-222-2758 or insurance@seanc.org.

Stay tuned to SEANC Social Media for updates

www.seanc.org | The State Employees Association of North Carolina | © 2020

Sha r e this e m a il:

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.

View this email online.

1621 Midtown Place Raleigh, NC | 27609 US This email was sent to .

To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.

Subscribe to our email list.

Are you having trouble viewing this? Click here to view in browser.

Friday, July 31, 2020

UNC, college employees facing significant challenges Without help from the federal government, states are facing large deficits because of lost revenue from the COVID-19 crisis. This will mean cuts in funding for state agencies and possibly lost jobs and furloughs.

Nowhere is this more evident than at our universities, colleges and schools, which are facing significant challenges in reopening as well.

Randy Ramsey, chair of the UNC Board of Governors, has asked the university chancellors to prepare for a “worst-case scenario” by developing plans for a 25% and 50% budget cut.

While no one expects such drastic cuts, cuts anywhere close to this magnitude would be devastating to our universities, employees and students and could include furloughs or job cuts.

The SEANC Select Committee on Public Education met last week to discuss some of these challenges and ways for SEANC to help. These challenges are significant and ever-changing as cases of Covid-19 remain high. The committee’s focus is on the health and safety of employees and students along with job security. Balancing these goals will be difficult.

Now we need your help. Earlier this year, SEANC created the SEANC Cares program which is designed to amplify the voice of our members. We encourage our members who work for universities, community colleges, and public schools to share their concerns and ideas by emailing seanccares@seanc.org. You can do this confidentially which will give SEANC valuable information in trying to address your concerns.

We also need you to contact U.S. Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis to tell them to support the HEROES Act, which contains funding for states.

Contact Your Senators

Folwell announces plan to save retirees money on health care State Treasurer Dale Folwell and the State Health Plan Board of Trustees announced in mid-June a new contract with Humana for Medicare Advantage plans that will save retiree families up to $220 a month.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2021, Medicare-eligible members will continue to enjoy premium-free coverage through the new plans from Humana, while eligible dependents will have monthly premiums of only $4 for the Medicare Advantage Base Plan.

The Treasurer's office released the video above to dispel some of the rumors surrounding the change, which will save the State Health Plan more than $600 million over three years.

All members currently covered under UnitedHealthcare will be moved to Humana beginning Jan. 1, 2021. Members will continue to have the choice of the Base or Enhanced Plan under Humana as well as the option of the 70/30 Plan, which is administered by Blue Cross North Carolina.

Open enrollment for 2021 will take place Oct. 15-31. If you have questions, please let us know by emailing seanccares@seanc.org. We have also set up a page of Frequently Asked Questions to help retirees navigate this change.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Today is the last day to recruit a new member or join yourself to be entered into a drawing for a $100 gift card!

This is in addition to our July incentives: Each recruiter gets $20 for every new member they sign up as well as any new member they refer to us here who joins.

And all new members and recruiters will be entered into our monthly drawing for $250!

The SEANC Insurance Department is available to assist you Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at 800-222-2758 or insurance@seanc.org.

Stay tuned to SEANC Social Media for updates

www.seanc.org | The State Employees Association of North Carolina | © 2020

Sha r e this e m a il:

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.

View this email online.

1621 Midtown Place Raleigh, NC | 27609 US This email was sent to .

To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.

Subscribe to our email list.