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LECHTERS - OFFICE
MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT
WHEREAS, the parties have met to modify the contract with an intent to
provide better benefits to the office personnel employed by Lechters, it is
hereby agreed, by and between Local 99 UNITE and Lechters, Inc., to modify the
existing collective bargaining agreement ("Agreement"), whose term is July 1,
1997 to June 30, 2000.
NOW, THEREFORE, it is agreed:
1. Paragraph 21, "Severance Fund - Termination or Dismissal of Benefits"
shall be modified as follows:
a. Effective January 1, 1998, subsection "a" shall be modified in
that the contribution rate shall be changed from 1/2% to 0%.
b. The following paragraph shall be inserted as subsection "g" and
the paragraphs following shall be re-lettered to effect this change.
g. The amount of benefits due from the Fund shall equal the average
base weekly salary of each covered employee as of December 31st of
the year prior to termination, multiplied by every full year of
employment as of December 31 of the year prior to termination (with
six (6) months or more in an employment in the prior year rounded to
the next higher year and less than six (6) months of employment in
the prior year rounded to the last full year.) Such payment,
however, is not to exceed the relative proportion of Trust assets as
reported as of December 31st of the last calendar year that covered
employees entitled to receive such benefits as a result of
termination compares to the total number of covered employees
liabilities for all workers under the Plan who would be entitled to
receive benefits in the event of a total shutdown.
For the purpose of determining the aforesaid "average base weekly
salary" for computation of benefits herein, the average base salary
wage of the covered employee shall be determined by multiplying the
employee's regular hourly base wage effective as of the December
31st preceding the date of termination, multiplied by the number of
regular weekly work hours in a week under the
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collective bargaining agreement for full-time employees (i.e., 35
hours/week) and for employees who are not full-time employees, the
number of hours in a regular work week shall be the average number
of hours that the employee worked each week during the twenty-six
(26) weeks immediately preceding the date of termination.
2. Effective January 1, 1998, paragraph 20 "Benefit Funds," subsection "c"
shall be modified to increase by 1/2% the contribution required to be made gross
weekly payroll to the Health and Welfare Fund for benefits provided to
participants.
3. Eliminate all unessential administrative costs except for essential
expenses such as audit expenses, tax report filings (Form 5500) and related
expenses. [Fund to pay all administrative expenses.]
4. Increase efforts in achieving investment return on fund assets.
5. In all other respects the Agreement is confirmed.
AGREED AND ACCEPTED:
LECHTERS, INC.
By:_________________________________ ______________________________
Dated
AGREED AND ACCEPTED:
LOCAL 99, UNITE
By:_________________________________ ______________________________
Dated
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