June 10, 1999
Picket line at the Ste. Genevieve Post Office
STE. GENEVIEVE — Patrons coming to the Ste. Genevieve Post Office Wednesday may have been surprised to find a picket line.
Local members of the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 343 conducted an informational picket line according to shop steward Sam Cox:
Cox says the post office is making billions of dollars in profits, and the letter carriers want a share in that.
Wednesday’s picketing was conducted by off-duty letter carriers. There was no work stoppage or slow down.
Officials were contacted at the other post offices in the region. An official at the Perryville Post Office said there was no picketing there. The rural post offices have no members of the NALC working there, they use contracted motor route carriers who are not members of the union.
Jackson man named Blue Cross Blue Shield regional sales manager
ST. LOUIS — A Jackson man has been named the new regional sales manager for the Southeast Missouri region at Alliance Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Jeffrey Bierman will be responsible for Perry and Ste. Genevieve Counties in Missouri and Randolph County in Illinois as well as the rest of Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois. He will manage account executives, enrollment representatives, the account and sales support staff, and handle large group sales, service and renewals.
Bierman has a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Southeast Missouri State University.
He lives in Jackson with his wife Paula, and son Eric and daughter Kelsey.
A labor union dispute shut down SEMO University project
A labor union’s dispute with a Perryville painting subcontractor shut down a Southeast Missouri State University construction project Tuesday.
Workers in other trades walked off the job Tuesday morning after Painters Local Union 1292 picketed the construction site. Non-union painters remained on the job.
University officials said they hope the dispute will be resolved quickly so work can proceed on expansion of the Student Recreation Center.
An official with District No. 2 of the International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades, said the union suspects that Jerry Hotop Painting isn’t paying the prevailing wage on the construction job.
But Jerry Hotop, who owns the Perryville painting company, said the company is paying its painters the prevailing wage as required by state law.