Unemployed Myers workers receive fund-raiser checks         

[MARCH 8, 2005]  A neat stack of 95 checks splitting over $60,000 went out today. Unemployed Myers workers came to the Knights of Columbus Hall Tuesday morning where Local 644 steward Troy Poole of the Carpenters union was distributing checks and handling paperwork.

Strikers filed in one by one to pick up a small union check and a fund-raiser check. Poole said that funds are still coming in and that, like the checks that were given out today, whatever continues to come in will be divided up equally among all the unemployed workers.

Myers still will not come to the table to negotiate a contract with the workers.

Union officials will be making a trip to Springfield on Friday. While they are there they will investigate the possible application of new legislation signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Monday.  

Senate Bill 1994 provides that a locked-out employee may receive unemployment insurance benefits under specified circumstances. While the Myers employees were not locked out, officials say that the circumstances are similar.

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