a brief summary of union aid information management systems and its services

1. AIDING THE LABOR MOVEMENT ONE LOCAL AT A TIME As our motto says, we are here to help local unions with their communications and information management needs. We are able to do this better than anyone else because we come from labor. We have been local presidents and board members and some of us have even lost our jobs as a result of our labor activities. Because of this we are motivated to see that you succeed. Having come from a labor background we are well aware that more likely than not you are donating a great deal of your time and that of your families to help others. With this in mind we have attempted to reduce the amount of time you need to spend on your particular duties through interactive web-based information management. A subscription to UNION AID is like hiring a complement of full time help working 24 hours a day 7 days a week to perform the most difficult tasks. 1. Inter-local communications between members and the local officers. 2. 24/7 member access to union information such as seniority rosters, the CBA, grievance forms and bidding by seniority. 3. Centralized grievance processing. 4. And continually increasing service upgrade.

3. WHAT IS INFORMATION MANAGEMENT? Information submitted by local members is collected and processed through our comprehensive online web service. Our website hosts local news, detailed CBA content, and a online grievance form for all subscribed locals. UNION AID engages in an integrated form of information and task management to maximize your time and efforts in the administration of your local union. As a web-based effort we are able to project your local’s presence across your entire geographic area of jurisdiction with equal effectiveness and efficiency. If like many local unions you suffer from a lack of qualified well trained stewards, UNION AID picks up the slack. No matter how far from you your members are or on what day or shift they may work, they have access to nearly all of the services of the union, just as though you were all in the same building.

4. UNION AID FOR NEGOTIATIONS INFORMATION - Prior to any effort to negotiate it is imperative that the negotiating team know and understand what it is that the collective bargaining unit members need or want out of the negotiation process. UNION AID is on hand to help. By posting an appropriately designed questionnaire and providing a rapid method of response you can have this information at your finger tip with minimum disruption in your work schedule and time with your family and well in time for negotiations. NEGOTIATIONS - During the negotiations it is critical to success that you be able to keep the membership up to date with the progress of the negotiations, the attitude and degree of cooperation on the part of the company. You many need help from the membership in general. You may need to inform them of the need for and type of actions to be taken and maintain control of it during negotiations. With UNION AID behind you, all this can be done in real time more quickly than you ever thought possible. DECIMINATION OF INFORMATION - Once the negotiation team has come to a tentative agreement, this information can be immediately distributed to every member no matter where they may be or the days or hours they may work. An informal vote may be taken to determine if additional negotiations are needed and for what. CONCLUSION OF NEGOTIATION - At the conclusion of negotiations a ratification vote can be quickly conducted in half the time and with less effort and expense than ever before.

5. UNION AID’S GRIEVANCE PROCESSING CENTER UNION AID’S Grievance Processing Center allows members of the local to file grievances at anytime and anywhere. Standardized fill in grievance forms and instructions are provided to enable the grievant to file his grievance before even talking to a steward and to provide only that information critical to proving the case. In this way precious time is saved by avoiding long drawn out stories and justifications. Once the grievance is completed it is electronically transmitted to the Grievance Processing Center. ONCE SUBMITTED to the center, the grievance information is processed and distributed to the local’s designated steward in a typed and legible format with complete information. This enables the steward to simply pick up the phone and handle the grievance informally with all parties as identified in the grievance. If the informal process is unsuccessful, the steward has a completed and typed formal grievance in hand ready for submission. If any information is lacking the parties contact information is recorded within the grievance enabling the steward to engage in a follow-up investigation. FILE NUMBERS can easily be assigned to each grievance making every grievance totally searchable by name, number or other identifying information. ARCHIVING GRIEVANCES is simple and you need not worry about storage space. UNION AID stores all grievances filed for future reference and use by the local union and when requested can be turned over to the local on demand. In the mean time all information is kept secret and secure until needed.

7. NEW MEMBERS ORIENTATION The orientation of new hires and their processing into the local has always been a source of difficulty in many locals. Often the union is not allowed to participate in the processing of new hires while on duty. UNION AID assists its clients by providing online orientation for new hires on the website. Copies of the CBA, Dues Cards and benefits packages can all be accessed by new hires on the clients website. Currently, UNION AID is investigating the potential of having dues payable over the net on the clients website. Union Aid provides a simple and efficient solution to your locals information management needs. Our services are aimed at streamlining information collection and distribution, thereby allowing your officers the opportunity to represent their members more and handling tedious paper work less.

8. UNION AID’S LOCAL COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM To be successful every Local Union must maintain effective communications with its members. Union Aid provides a simple and effective method of communications with its clients Internet web presence. This presence is 24/7 and nationwide in its reach. It offers the local the opportunity to provide its members and officers with comprehensive services not possible before and a single rate and from a single source. Local Union news and matters of significance can be put into a monthly website newsletter posted on the client’s website. UNION AID can also provide a modified telephone answering service directing calls and providing instructions for the filing of grievances and site operations. This service greatly reduces the time spent by local union officers on the phone and dealing with insignificant problems saving time and resources for the big ones. UNION AID hopes to continually improve its services to its clients. We welcome your input and suggestions

9. “ KEEPING IT SIMPLE’ Union Aid provides a simple and efficient solution to your locals information management needs. Our services are aimed at streamlining information collection and distribution, thereby allowing your officers the opportunity to represent there members more and handling tedious paper work less.