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SNAP helps 1.9 million Pennsylvanians. That's why it is important for the United Way voice to be heard.
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Join UWP on July 17th to Advocate for SNAP!
UWP and some of our members will be heading to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, July 17th to speak with our congressional leaders on the importance of protecting SNAP in the Farm Bill.
Both the House and Senate passed their respective versions of the Farm Bill in the last two weeks. The Senate version of the legislation protects the SNAP program, however the House version made some significant changes to SNAP that would have negative impacts to millions of Americans, including the nearly 1.9 million Pennsylvanians currently using SNAP. A conference committee will be appointed to determine the final details of the legislation.
It is important for the United Way voice to be heard as we fight to protect SNAP! There are several ways you can act:
- You can contact our congressional delegation using our action alert. Please feel free to share this alert with your boards, volunteers, and donors for their voices to be heard also!
- We have messaging to be utilized when speaking with legislators, which can be found on the members' only site on the UWP website. You will also find sample op-eds, letters to the editor, blog posts, and social media messaging for you to utilize. We highly encourage you to flood Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram on Tuesday, July 17th when we are up on the Hill.
- You can help UWP collect stories on how SNAP has impacted residents in your communities.
- Finally, if you are interested in joining UWP on the Hill in D.C. on Tuesday, July 17th please contact Maggie Livelsberger (maggie@uwp.org) by Wednesday, July 11th.
Please take action and help United Way protect SNAP!
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UWP summer webinar series: Learn something cool this summer!
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United Way of PA still has four upcoming webinars as part of our 2018 Summer Webinar Series. Registration is still open to join these engaging and helpful webinars.
SNAP AdvocacyWebinar: Strengthen & Protect
Monday July 16, 2018 1:00PM-2:00PM
United Way of Pennsylvania has declared that one of our goals is to protect and strengthen SNAP to maintain its responsiveness to combat hunger and provide financial stability. Our other goal is to ensure policies promote access and facilitate enrollment rather than create roadblocks. How can our network come together to obtain these goals? Join us for a discussion of needed advocacy and strategies to employ for SNAP across the state.
Overtime Eligibility Standards Proposal & Getting Involved in Advocacy
Friday July 20, 2018 10:00AM-11:00AM
Governor Wolf recently put out a proposed rule that would increase the wage threshold for "exempt status" and also make revisions to the "duties tests", used to determine eligibility. The proposal is similar to one put forward by the Obama administration which was halted by federal courts - see more info in the article to the right!
This webinar will feature guest speakers from the PA Chamber of Business and Industry, and PA Dept. of Labor & Industry to education our members on what this proposal entails and how it will impact United Ways and the communities we represent.
Following our learning on the proposed rule, UWP will be holding a 30-minute refresher on the importance of advocacy in our United Way work and how UWP can support our members in this area. Advocacy ensures that United Ways make their voice, and the voices of those we serve, heard when policy is enacted. Without advocacy - United Ways lose vital opportunities to make sustainable impact.
Pre-K for PA:Making the Case for Pre-K in PA
Tuesday, August 14, 2018 3:30PM-4:30PM
United Way of PA joined the Pre-K for PA campaign in 2016 to push for increased access to high-quality pre-k for all of PA's 3 and 4 year olds. By fiscal year 2020-2021, the goal is for PA to invest an additional $310 million in high-quality pre-k by making increased annual investments.
One year after joining the coalition, UWP will look at what progress has been made and where to go next. United Ways throughout the state would benefit from investments made in high-quality pre-k, so opportunities for our members to become involved will be highlighted.
U.S. 2020 Census: Planning a Complete Count
Tuesday, August 28, 2018 3:00PM-4:00PM
The U.S. Census counts every resident in the United States. Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution mandates that this occur every 10 years. The information the census collects helps determine how more than $675 billion of federal funding is distributed to states and communities each year.
Lynne Newman of the U.S. Census Bureau will join United Way of PA members to discuss plans for the 2020 census. Topics to be covered include:
- Different ways to respond to the U.S. Census
- Census office locations in PA
- How and why to form complete count committees locally
- Reaching out to low response populations
- U.S. Census confidentiality
- Recruiting U.S. Census workers
If you have any questions, or have a topic you would like to see presented, please contact Amanda Barbarich via email or call (717) 238-7365 x206
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Supreme Court's Janus decision: fast facts
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United Way Worldwide held a webinar to brief the network on the Janus decision. Here are some basics to understand:
- To the contrary of how some news headlines portray the case, government unions will continue to exist.
- The decision does not impact the payroll collection of regular union dues by public employers.
- The decision does not apply to unions governed by the National Labor Relations Act.
- Fair share fees are now prohibited in public sector unions. If a public employee has opted not to join a union, they cannot be required to pay a fair share fee. Historically, these fair share fees were justified as a contribution for the collective benefits that non-union-member employees may receive from the union's collective bargaining presence in their workplace.
- State government has ceased collecting fair share fees from nonmembers effective immediately, and school solicitors have been advised by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association to do the same.
- A number of states already have laws which prohibit the fair share fee. Pennsylvania is one of 22 who do not have such a law, so the decision does represent a change for our state. Supporters of the plaintiff say it impacts 5 million union members across the country.
- Labor organizations in PA are shifting their focus to recruiting and retaining members, and encouraging public employees to choose to be part of their union.
- There will be state legislation reacting to the federal decision. In Pennsylvania, Senate Democrats are working on a bill which would "streamline" the union election process, and require that new employees be given access to certified unions in order for them to explain the benefits of union membership.
Here is a statement from the
PA AFL-CIO regarding the decision.
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United Way Workplace by Facebook goes live July 18th!
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Workplace by Facebook will be a unique, mobile-first way to share knowledge, communicate, and collaborate with United Ways next door and across the world.
United Way Worldwide will be sending emails to claim your Workplace by Facebook account on July 18th. Your account will be separate from your personal account. It will be completely secure from the public. Do not make a Workplace by Facebook account until you receive the email invitation.
If you have been using the demo version of Workplace by Facebook, your account will not carry over. Please make sure to save every resource you have been using on your computer before the new Workplace goes live to ensure you have continued access to them.
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Deadline to Use Flex Credits for 2018 Conference: July 20th, 2018
In order to be reimbursed for the cost of attending the UWP conference from flex credits, United Ways need to fill out United Way Worldwide's form by Friday, July 20.
If you need to check your flex credit balance, you can always do so by logging into United Way Online here.
Questions? Please contact Amanda Barbarich via email or at (717) 238-7365 x206. She will be glad to assist you with this process. Thank you again for attending the conference, and see you in State College June 5 -7, 2019!
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Wolf
administration proposes new overtime eligibility rule which affects nonprofits
The Wolf administration proposed a new rule regarding overtime eligibility standards for workers. The rule, which is similar to the proposal put forward by President Obama a few years ago, would change overtime eligibility rules imposed on Pennsylvania employers by increasing the wage threshold for "exempt status". It would also include significant revisions to the "duties tests", which are used to determine eligibility for exempt status. Finally, the rule will establish an automatic update to the salary threshold every three years, beginning in 2023.
The proposed Pennsylvania salary threshold is $47,892, which is a significant increase to the 2004 Department of Labor enacted salary threshold of $23,660. The proposed regulation would allow up to 10% of the salary threshold to be satisfied through the payment of nondiscretionary bonuses.
Based on an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, it is estimated that up to 460,000 salaried employees in Pennsylvania may benefit from this rule change by 2022. It is estimated the biggest impacts will be in occupations that are office and administrative support occupations (46%), transportation and material moving occupations (40.4%), farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (40.2%), construction and extraction occupations (38.9%), and service occupations (38%).
UWP is aware this proposed rule change could impact our membership and we have scheduled a webinar for Friday, July 20th at 10 a.m. to discuss the proposal. We will have speakers from the PA Chamber of Business and Industry, as well as the PA Dept. of Labor & Industry. We encourage our members to join the webinar to learn more about this rule change and the impact it may have on your United Way or partner agencies. You can register for the webinar here.
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PA first state to pass Clean Slate legislation
One of UWP's supported pieces of legislation, House Bill 1419, known as Clean Slate legislation, was enacted into law by Governor Tom Wolf. Pennsylvania is the first state in the nation to enact such a law.
The clean slate legislation provides a "second chance" for people who were convicted of summary offenses or some misdemeanors. The legislation would allow for those convicted of summary offenses or certain misdemeanors to have their records sealed automatically by the Pennsylvania court's computer systems after 10 years without a crime. If the person faces two or more first-degree misdemeanors they would be eligible for their records to be sealed after 15 crime-free years. The legislation also allows for persons who were arrested but never convicted of a crime to have their records sealed immediately.
While the computer system will be equipped to seal these records automatically when the crime-free time is complete, it will take about 2 years for the proper updating to be made to the computers. Those wishing to have their records sealed sooner, and who are eligible, will be able to petition the court starting in January.
This piece of legislation was largely bipartisan and passed both chambers almost unanimously. The law will seal the records so they will not be accessible on background checks, however law enforcement will still have the ability to access them. This allows people to apply for employment or housing and legally disclose on the application they have not been convicted of a crime.
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