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Stay strong, Texas — our hearts and thoughts are with you.

Union Plus Disaster Relief and Partner Assistance

You may be eligible for a $500 Disaster Relief Grant from Union Plus
If you are a union member who participates in certain Union Plus programs and have been affected by the severe winter storms in Texas, you may be eligible for financial assistance through the Union Plus Disaster Relief program.*

No-cost legal help for Texans through MetLife's Disaster Relief Plan
MetLife Legal Plans has activated its Disaster Relief Plan for union members who have been affected by the recent severe winter storm in Texas.

MetLife network attorneys are able to provide document review and consultations for many issues that these individuals may face, at no cost to them through their Disaster Relief Plan. These include:

• Reviewing documents related to federal aid and insurance claims
• Providing consultation for identity theft issues due to lost personal documents
• Answering questions about damaged property for renters or homeowners
• Providing advice on dealing with creditors and bill collectors

This service will be available through July 31, 2021. Members that need assistance can call the Customer Service Center at 800-821-6400. ​​They will need to identify they are with Union Plus, the last four digits of their Social Security Number or membership number and indicate that they are interested in the document review and consultations services being offered as part of the Disaster Relief Plan.

LifeWorks Grief Counseling from MetLife
LifeWorks has resources available for you and your members to provide emotional support and referrals for community resources to help during this difficult time. LifeWorks has opened its 24/7 crisis support hotline for anyone affected by the severe weather and power outages.

The Crisis Support Line is available by calling: 1-877-757-7587. This hotline is available for anyone in the community impacted by this event. Callers will receive professional emotional support and/or referrals to community resources.^**

MetLife Auto & Home Catastrophe Response Team and Claims
MetLife stands ready to assist Texan customers experiencing property losses due to the recent extreme cold, including damage from burst pipes. Assistance includes:

• Help customers secure shelter, as needed
• Guide customers through temporary repairs
• Issue advances for immediate expenses using debit cards and electronic fund transfers
• Promptly compensate customers for any damage to property

MetLife Auto & Home Auto property damages
Phone: 1-800-854-6011
Email: MET_CAT@metlife.com

MetLife Auto & Home Flood policy claims
Phone: 1-877-254-6819
Email: metlifecs@torrentcorp.com

Ways to get or give help

Texas Workers Relief Fund
The Texas Workers Relief Fund has been established by the Texas AFL-CIO to assist workers and their families in their time of need.

Texas Freeze Resources from the Texas AFL-CIO
The Texas AFL-CIO has compiled a broad list of resources by region/city, that include shelter and food based resources.

Texas Mutual Aid Organizations

Here are some of the largest Mutual aid organizations in major Texas cities:

Austin
Donate to Austin Mutual Aid via the Venmo accounts @austinmutualaid and @austinmutualaidhotels.

Note: Do not donate to @austinmutualaidhotel (similar to the legitimate handle, just without an S.) this is a fraudulent account not associated with Austin Mutual Aid.

Dallas
Feed the People Dallas  is a Black/Latinx female-led network that serves the Dallas–Fort Worth area. You can Venmo it at @feedthepeopledallas or donate via it’s website: https://feedthepeopledallas.com/.

Houston
Community Care - Mutual Aid Houston has been overwhelmed by generous support and has recommended donations to the below organizations to help those in need in the Houston area:

• Crowdsource Rescue (@cs_rescue on Twitter) is a 100% volunteer organization using next-generation technology to quickly connect professional first responders and vetted civilian rescue teams with people in the community who need help after disaster strikes. Distributing food, water, generators, and heaters to people without power or water.
• Houseless Organizing Coalition (@HocHtx on Twitter) is a revolutionary coalition fully operated by BIPOC organizers building dual power within Houston's houseless community. Distributes supplies and addressing needs for those in our houseless community.
• West Street Recovery (@weststreetrecovery on Instagram) is a horizontally organized grassroots non-profit organization which aims to use efforts toward recovery after Hurricane Harvey to build community power.
• Houston Food Bank (@HoustonFoodBank on Twitter) serves more than 1.1 million people in the 18 southeast Texas counties and distributes food and other essentials to those in need through a network of 1,500 community partners.
• Texas Jail Project (@TxJailProject on Twitter) is a grassroots advocacy project that listens, informs, and advocates for people trapped in Texas county jails. Amidst the Texas Winter Storm, they set up a rapid response helpline for folks and their families to report on-the-ground conditions in jail facilities where thousands have no clean drinking water and are experiencing neglect.  They have been distributing funds to people's commissaries for those who are able to purchase food, water, and hygiene products through their jail's commissary stores. They also posted money to folks' phone accounts and covering the cost of all collect calls from jails.
• Community Fridges in Houston
  • HTX Community Fridges x Third Ward Community Fridge | Instagram
  • Alief Community Fridge | Instagram
  • Baytown Free Fridge | Instagram
  • Cloverleaf Community Fridge | Instagram
  • Stafford Community Fridge | Instagram
  • Tomball Community Fridge | Instagram

San Antonio

Para Mi Gente Mutual Aid is asking for donations via Cash App ($pmgmutualaid) and Venmo (@pmgmutualaid).

As always, double-check before donating to ensure you’re doing it safely and effectively and thank you for being good neighbors to our friends in Texas.

Union Plus Disaster Relief Grants of $500 are available to eligible participants of one of the following programs:

• Union Plus Credit Card Program²
• Union Plus Mortgage Program
• Union Plus Personal Loan
• Union Plus Life Insurance
• Union Plus Accidental Death Insurance
• Union Plus Auto Insurance 
• Union Plus Retiree Healthcare

To qualify for a Union Plus Disaster Relief Grant:

1. Your residence must be in a county qualifying for “Individual Disaster Assistance” from FEMA. To check if your county has been designated as an area eligible for individual assistance, visit FEMA’s disaster declarations page.
    
2. You must have had a Union Plus Credit Card for at least three months, Union Plus Personal Loan for at least six months, Union Plus Mortgage, Union Plus Retiree Health Insurance, Union Plus Life or Accidental Death Insurance or Union Plus Auto Insurance for at least 12 months with that account or policy in good standing (be up-to-date on payments).

If you participate in the Union Plus Credit Card Program and want to apply for a disaster relief grant, call 1-800-622-2580.

If you participate in any other of the designated programs and want to apply for a disaster relief grant, call 1-800-472-2005.

The Union Plus Disaster Relief Fund has provided nearly $1 million in assistance to union members facing hardships following Hurricanes Michael and Florence, floods and other natural disasters. Head to the Union Plus Disaster Relief Fund page to learn more about the benefits and eligibility requirements.

Before you start shopping for a home, it's helpful to keep a few things in mind:

• Research your desired location: If you're considering moving to a new area, find out about those things that are important to your daily quality of life: schools, parks, proximity to wilderness areas or cities.
• Find the right real estate agent for you: Because finding the right home is a personal and important process, it's essential to work with a real estate agent who can help you reach your goals. Seek recommendations from friends, look for reviews online, schedule online or in-person meetings to get to know potential candidates.
• Know your price range: It's important to consider how the down payment, monthly payment, and other expenses like closing costs and home maintenance fit within your budget. Your home mortgage consultant can work with you to find a home financing option that meets your needs.
• Keep things uneventful: When you're considering applying for a home mortgage, be mindful about making big purchases (like a boat, car, etc.) or big moves (such as switching to freelance from a full-time job), as they could affect your application's approval status.

Your Wells Fargo team, together with Union Plus, is ready to provide home financing support and benefits to active and retired members of participating unions and their families.

Finding a home that meets your needs, in a neighborhood you love, at a price you can afford is a delicate balancing act. But with a little preparation, you'll be ready to start.

Learn more about Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

If 2020 has taught us anything, it has helped us understand the importance of home. If you need a dedicated room for your online student or a larger yard to play in, it may be time to explore some new options for your next home. The pandemic has many Americans reflecting on their living spaces and thinking about their long-term financial goals. Take a minute to focus in on your own unique goals, opportunities and circumstances and make the best decision for you.

Here’s how to move forward with your buying plans:

Do your homework.
Did the pandemic change what you’re looking for at all? Is a home office more important or a backyard patio? What about your finances? Do you feel secure in your job? Do you already have savings set aside for a down payment as well as for a rainy-day fund?

Know what you can afford.
The recent pandemic reinforces the reality of economic ups and downs and the fact that disasters can happen. It reinforces the importance of not overextending yourself in buying; you want to be able to weather any economic cycle. As you consider this, know that a bright spot is that mortgage rates are very low right now, which helps stretch your dollars when you decide to buy. It’s always safe to have a rainy-day fund for expenses and repairs. Buying a home is a long-term commitment.

Start your house hunt from home.
While a recent survey from realtor.com indicates that three out of four consumers want to see a property in person before buying, we know that consumers love to start their house hunt from their computers (and about a quarter would buy without seeing!).

Embrace digital tools.
Just like shopping for your perfect house, you can apply for a home loan from your kitchen; you never really need to step into a bank. Many tasks can be handled online, from starting the loan applications to signing disclosures and uploading needed documents during the loan process.

Whether you’re buying a home for the first time or refinancing to get more out of your mortgage, apply for a Union Plus mortgage with financing through Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Your Wells Fargo team, together with Union Plus, is ready to provide home financing support and benefits to active and retired union members of participating unions. Spouses (or domestic partners), parents, and children of union members are also eligible.

Learn more about Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

Can’t Miss Holiday Movies

If you’re craving cozy, this list of treasured holiday movies is sure to put you in a festive and relaxing mood.

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas
2. A Christmas Carol
3. A Christmas Story
4. Christmas with the Kranks
5. Elf
6. Frosty the Snowman
7. Home Alone movies
8. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
9. It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
10. It's a Wonderful Life
11. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
12. Miracle on 34th Street
13. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
14. The Christmas Chronicles movies
15. The Santa Claus movies
16. The War with Grandpa

Indulgent TV Series

Check out our favorite bingeable TV series to add to your winter break watch list — festive or not! These shows are perfect to watch while holiday shopping online, wrapping presents or cooking dinner.

1. Community
2. Dreamworks Happy Holidays from Madagascar
3. Dynasty
4. Glee
5. Hart of Dixie
6. Heartland
7. Holiday Home Makeover with Mr. Christmas
8. Law & Order
9. Madam Secretary
10. Man with a Plan
11. Merry Happy Whatever
12. New Girl
13. Riverdale
14. Stranger Things
15. The Great British Baking Show Holidays
16. The Office
17. The Ranch
18. West Wing

Have a taste of winter

There’s nothing like a cup of hot cocoa or cider after a snowball fight. Keep your family warm and full with these wintertime staples.

• Make spiced cider
• Load up on hot cocoa with whipped cream, marshmallows, and chocolate sauce
• Make pancakes with hot maple syrup
• Bake a pie or cookies
• Simmer a pot of hearty stew or homemade soup
• Do family fondue night

White Chocolate Fondue Recipe
Try this decadent White Chocolate Fondue recipe from Sandra Lee. You’ll only need a handful of (union-made) ingredients! Choose from pretzels, pound cake, sliced apples, or bananas for dipping.

• 1 cup heavy cream (Dairy Fresh, Hiland Dairy, Prairie Farms)
• ½ stick of unsalted butter (Dairy Fresh, Hiland Dairy, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Land O’ Lakes Butter, Prairie Farms)
• 1 (12 oz.) white chocolate morsels (Hershey’s, Ghirardelli, Nestlé)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine cream and butter. Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat. Add white morsels. Stir until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. Transfer to a fondue pot, chafing dish, or ceramic bowl.

Spend time outdoors

Being outdoors this winter is one of the easiest and safest ways to have fun! Here are some of our top picks for outdoor winter activities.

• Go sledding down hills
• Make snow angels
• Build a snowman or snow fort
• Have an awesome snowball fight
• Take a wintry hike
• Go ice skating
• Plan a winter scavenger hunt
• Build a bonfire and make s’mores

Connect with loved ones

Make the most of your time with loved ones with these easy ideas. Also, learn how to stay connected with family, friends, and neighbors with these apps.

• Setup a living room picnic
• Eat dinner by candlelight
• Host a themed movie marathon
• Plan a virtual game night

Try something new this year

If trying something new this year is on your resolutions list, here are some hobby ideas for you to embark on. Check out more creative, free + low cost activities to try at home!

• Take an online cooking class
• Join a virtual fitness class
• Host a virtual book club
• Take up arts and crafts

Follow these fall maintenance tips from Kiplinger.com to prepare your home for cold weather.

1. Check your heating system
   Beating the rush now means you’ll be able to have a technician check out your furnace and thermostats before the crowds start calling on the first cold day. While you’re checking out your furnace, take the time to replace those furnace filters you bought at the hardware store at the start of the summer.
2. Reverse your ceiling fans
   If your fans have a reverse switch, now is a good time to change directions. Switching the air flow creates an updraft, sending the hot air from the ceiling down into the room. Result? You stay toastier.
3. Prevent ice dams
   If you’ve ever seen those telltale giant icicles hanging from the edge of your roof, you know that ice dams (and their potentially serious flooding) are forming in your home. To prevent these damaging shelf-like formations of ice, contact a contractor or home-energy expert to seal up any potential insulation issues in your attic before they can cause damage. Cleaning your gutters is another great way to keep ice dams at bay.
4. Install storm windows
   Keeping your home warm is so much easier when air isn’t stealthily escaping through gaps in older windows. If you can get your storm windows in before it gets really cold, you’ll be ahead of the game when the mercury falls. Caulking around windows and doors can also help keep the heat inside for you to enjoy.
5. Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
   Fall is firmly upon us and winter is coming, so use that as a reminder to test your smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector, and change the batteries. When the winter edges back into spring, test them and change the batteries once again.
6. Shut off outdoor water systems
   Disconnect all garden hoses, drain outside faucets, and if your faucets aren’t frost-proof (mainly a feature in newer homes) shut off your water using the valve inside your house. Similarly, if you have an outdoor sprinkler system, now is the time to have it drained by an irrigation company.
7. Drain all fuel-filled equipment
   Drain the gas tank of your mower and any other equipment that uses fuel, so that it can be stowed safely for several months…and so it will start up again when you need to do those first spring chores.
8. Stock up on winter products
   Stock up on ice melting pellets, antifreeze, and any other winter products you know you’ll need. It’s also a good time to buy a new shovel or snowblower, or contact a snowplow service to sign up, if you live in an area where heavy snow is the norm.
9. Inspect your fireplace
   If you have a fireplace, now is a great time to have it inspected and thoroughly cleaned, along with your chimney.

By the time the seasons change, you’ll be ready to relax with your favorite cozy holiday beverage, enjoying your snug and winterized home.

Learn more about Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

Security guard Carlos Santiago has worked straight through the pandemic.

"While it's had its ups and downs, I’m grateful to be moving forward," Santiago says.

Santiago, a 10-year Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153 member from the Bronx, New York, is dedicated to his work and to helping other union members, often attending rallies and assisting at his local.

Nearly seven years ago, he signed up for the Union Plus email newsletter and first learned about the Union Plus Mortgage Program.

"Right then and there, I knew that I wanted to buy my own place," he says. "I called Union Plus a year and a half later and they guided me through the whole mortgage process."

With financing available through Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, the Union Plus Mortgage Program helps union members and their parents and children purchase or refinance their homes while also offering exclusive union member benefits.

"I tell my colleagues that it’s stressful [to buy a home] but Union Plus and Wells Fargo walk you through it and in the end it’s a home run," Santiago says.

When he heard about recent sweepstakes for Union Plus mortgage holders, he decided to give it a shot.

"I got the call [that I won]. It was unbelievable," he recalls. "I'm going to use the money to upgrade my place — do some painting and get some things fixed."

Santiago heartily endorses Union Plus and the Union Plus Mortgage Program.

"I am Union Plus 100%," he said.

To learn more about the Union Plus Mortgage program, visit unionplus.org/mortgage.

Soon after Christina Coady married her husband, an International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) member, the couple bought their first home together.

"We were living in a garage turned into a house and were paying rent,” Coady recalled. “I had never owned a home. We found a beautiful home in downtown Springfield. I fell in love with it as soon as I walked in the door."

Coady, who now runs her own bakery business, knew she could access VA loans from her time in the military. She didn’t know that her husband’s union membership would also play a role in the home buying process.

"Our realtor told us that Wells Fargo participated in the Union Plus Mortgage Program," Coady said. "She referred us to a Wells Fargo mortgage consultant, and we met all the qualifications. Everything was perfect and it all just worked."

The couple felt particularly good about the inclusion of hardship assistance with every Union Plus mortgage in case of layoff or other involuntary unemployment.

"It’s good to know it’s available if I need it in a harder time,” Coady said. “The fact that Union Plus had a sort of insurance in case anything happened sold me on it."

Union members who purchase or refinance a home with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage through the Union Plus Mortgage Program get a $300 award for refinancing and $500 award for home purchases.¹ Additional benefits for veterans are available from Union Plus. All Union Plus mortgages include access to the Union Plus Mortgage Assistance Program, which provides interest-free loans and grants from Union Plus when members out are out of work due to a union-approved strike, lockout, involuntary unemployment, or disability².

Coady described her first home buying experience as “pleasant and positive” and recommended the Union Plus Mortgage Program to other union families.

Visit unionplus.org/mortgage to learn more.

Earlier this year, 25 Union Plus mortgage holders were the lucky recipients of $1,000 each. Entrants were asked to describe their homeownership dream being realized; their experience as a union member mortgage holder; or what they would share with a friend about the program.

Pamela Goodman, AFSCME "When I applied to refinance my mortgage [my lender] informed me about [the Union Plus Mortgage Program] and what a great asset! It's so nice to have something positive to reflect on when there's quite a bit of negativity going on in our world right now."

Erin Sweeney, UA "I loved my experience with the Union Plus Mortgage Program. It was an easy way to access a great rate, fantastic customer support, and extra protections for ease of mind."

Bradley Thomley, UFCW "Having the mortgage assistance available with our loan gives us a peace of mind, especially during the current situation. Hopefully we will never need to use the help but just knowing it is available is fantastic."

Other lucky winners of the 2020 Union Plus Happy Homeowner Sweepstakes

To learn more about the Union Plus Mortgage Program designed for union families visit unionplus.org/mortgage.