Masonry Magazine May 1968 Page. 37
Statewide Welfare Program
(Continued from page 4) ly 6,000 bricklayers of Chicago and Cook County. Data developed during the study revealed that the plan which would offer the greatest benefits to the membership would be a true statewide health and welfare program which would include the Chicago program and all other Local Unions that wish to participate.
Speaking for the Chicago plan, Edward Joyce, President of Local 21 and Chairman of the Masonry Institute Board of Trustees, stated, "The two most urgent questions facing welfare funds today are: how to protect our members against the soaring costs of health care and how to protect our members from losing eligibility as they travel from one jurisdiction to another? The best answer to both questions is for Locals to cooperate in establishing welfare funds which cover the widest possible geographic area. The problems involved in creating such funds are great, but the need of our members is greater."
The Illinois committee concluded that the new Statewide Plan offers the following advantages:
1. Greater Mobility-A Bricklayer may work any place in the State and all hours worked for contributing employers will count for Plan eligibility.
2. Lower cost insurance-Because of the size of the group to be insured, the amount of money required by the insurance company is lower. This means more dollars for benefits. The chart, "The Larger the Group the Lower the Net Cost of Insurance" shows why.
3. Lower cost of administration-Because a large group is involved, the cost of administering the welfare program is lower. This means more money for benefits from the same dollars of employer contribution.
4. Simplified negotiations-All technical, actuarial and administrative details connected with the welfare program are taken care of by the statewide plan. Therefore, negotiations are simpler. Locals and the contractors need only negotiate the specific number of cents per hour that the employer will contribute, and enter into a participation agreement with the Bricklayers of Illinois Welfare Plan.
5. Prompt claim service-An efficient administrative procedure which has been established for Cook County will be extended to all participating state locals and will assure prompt action on all claims.
A key feature of the new program is the flexibility it will allow Locals in negotiating the employer contribution rate to the program. In recognition of the difficulties that would be involved if all locals were required to negotiate the same contribution rate, the committee set up a 10 cent per hour program, a 15 cent per hour program and a 20 cent an hour program.
MF Construction Machinery
Bidding for a major share of a $6 billion world-wide market, the industrial and construction machinery group of Massey-Ferguson Limited has unveiled for the North American market a new line of heavy construction machinery.
Eleven new MF construction machinery models in four categories were introduced before 150 dealers and newsmen during a day-long product "Launch" at MF's recently opened 332,000 square foot facility near here.
The new equipment line which includes four-wheel drive loaders, crawler tractors, hydraulic excavators, and backhoe loaders-was introduced to the European market March 25 during dedication of a $9.5 million, 500,000 square foot plant in Aprilia, 25 miles south of Rome.
Massey-Ferguson, the world's largest manufacturer of tractors and diesel engines, "is determined to become a major force in the industrial and construction machinery field," emphasized John E. Mitchell, Group Vice President -Industrial and Construction Machinery, at the Akron ceremonies.
Mr. Mitchell noted that the Aprilia plant addition boosts to $30 million MF's investment in industrial and construction machinery development, and swells to 1.5 million square feet the production space allotted to this program.
Acme Acquire Cast Stone Firm
Acme Brick Company has entered into an agreement to acquire the McDonald Bros. Cast Stone Company of Fort Worth. The announcement was made jointly by Bill Darwin, Vice President-General Manager of Acme Brick's Southwest Division and by A. E. Eisemann, President of McDonald Brothers.
An undisclosed amount of Acme Brick common stock will be exchanged for the ownership interests of this privately held company. The transaction is subject to approval of Acme Brick's board of directors.
McDonald Bros. Cast Stone Company is a producer of pre-cast concrete architectural building panels and cast stone. Started in 1920 as the C. J. Sutton Company, the present name was adopted when bought out by Roy and Rice McDonald in 1938. This pioneer firm is the oldest and largest manufacturer of engineered pre-cast exposed
From left to right: A. E. Eisemann, president of McDonald Bros. Cast Stone Co., Bill Darwin, Southwestern Division vice president-general manager for Acme Brick Co., and Jerry Savell, general manager of the McDonald operation.
aggregate architectural panels and cast stone in the Southwest.
The current McDonald management will remain active in the operation of the business, with Jerry Savell continuing as General Manager.