It was standing room only again as well over 100 Teamsters packed the house for the second General Membership meeting under the direction of Trustee Marcus King.  Many were in attendance to hear and question the guest speaker, William Einhorn, the Administrator for the Philadelphia and Vicinity Health and Welfare Fund. 

After the Pledge of Allegiance, Mr. Einhorn gave an overview of the Fund benefits.  The members peppered Mr. Einhorn with many technical questions and real life examples.  In most cases, the Philadelphia benefits turned out to be superior to the old Local 331 Plan.  There did seem to be some provider issues regarding the dental benefits which the Fund will look into and attempt to address.  The questioning went on for well over an hour, so Brother King asked the last few members with numerous questions to join Mr. Einhorn in a conference room so that the general meeting could proceed.

Marcus then read the minutes and financial report.  Members signed up for training opportunities including computer classes, forklift and others.  They also signed up to be considered for committee assignments.  Initially, there will be three committees, Bylaws, Building and Action.  To add your name to any of these lists please contact the union hall.

Marcus discussed the Atlantic County election campaign and invited members to come to the union hall after 5 pm on March 11th for a celebration.  He discussed negotiations with the city over purchase of the building.  He then answered a number of questions from the floor under "Good and Welfare" and raffled off door prizes before he adjourned.

Refreshments were hot dogs and sauerkraut, Philly soft pretzels, and beverages (many thanks to Sue Taylor and others who helped prepare them).  Because of the large number of members being fed, a new 50-50 raffle was organized to help defray the costs of these meals.  A prize of $79 was awarded to the winner this month.