Newsletter

“Once in a while, you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.”

- Robert Hunter

Apparently, some people out there believe that updating the Fund about changes in their insurance status—like a divorce, a new dependent, or a child who’s aged out—is optional.

Optional! Like extra guac. Or pants on a Zoom call. Or, you know, showing up a Benefit Funds educational meeting or a Local 697 membership meeting.

We’ve removed its functionality.

Why?

Was it because it was mostly ignored? Well… that’s true. Let’s be honest—most of you are probably surprised to learn it even existed. It’s been sitting there for seven years, and it never really got much love.

And take full advantage of the resources already built for you. You’ve earned them—now make them work just as hard as you do.

Now, here’s the thing: staying informed isn’t just a duty—it’s a power move. Think of the newsletters, the FAQs on our site, and those membership and educational meetings not as chores, but as your insider’s guide to making the most of your benefits.

A modest yet noteworthy group of you (196 souls, give or take) didn’t quite accumulate enough hours to keep your health coverage afloat for the fourth quarter of 2025.

And yes, before you sigh and mutter, “Wait—this again?”—the answer is, regrettably, yes.

Are you absolutely certain you won’t face a shortage-of-hours situation for medical coverage in the fourth quarter of 2025?

If the answer is anything less than a confident yes, now would be an excellent time to do something radical—like checking your pay stubs from the second calendar quarter.

Yeah… the Plan’s not covering that.

Not sure what actually counts as an emergency?

Here’s a wild idea: Read the SPD now - before you need it. (Think of it as Googling “parachute” before you’ve jumped.)

Or ask your parents - ideally before you’re panicking, confused, or standing in line at the ER.

Not for nothing—you’ve got options.

We can’t tell you exactly when Mo will grace our offices again. Frankly, we’re not even sure he’ll be around in July at all. And yet, in a curious way, that uncertainty is rather the point, isn’t it?

The window to meet him was open—wide open—for the better part of ten months.

Marriage, birth, divorce, coverage changes—it’s big stuff.

And odds are, it affects your standing with the Benefit Funds.

Will it? Maybe. Maybe not.

But here’s the catch: we won’t know unless you tell us and submit the appropriate documentation.

Tuesday, September 30 @ 4:30 PM
Wednesday, December 31 @ 12:00 PM

Yes, we checked. No, they haven’t changed.

Not sure what they mean?

That’s your cue to crack open the H&B SPD—or check the FAQs, newsletters, and notices you’ve already seen.