Members should explain the situation to their bankers and try to work out some solution such as temporary suspension, reduction or stretching out payments.

Try to work out some kind of accommodations with your landlord before you get in arrears. If you are being threatened with eviction, get in touch with the local public housing authority at 736-3423, Lompoc, 925-4393, Santa Maria

Most utilities will take partial payments or allow arrears to be spread over several months. If you get a notice of a service shutoff, you should go immediately to the utility company’s credit office. Some states prohibit power cutoffs under certain conditions.

Get in touch with creditors before they become delinquent. Most creditors prefer to avoid legal hassles involved in repossession, especially if you have a good credit record and assurances are made that payments will resume when the strike is over.

This is the exception to the above rule. A car can be reposed off the street with little or no problem

The IAM Employment Services Department offers several types of independent health insurance including temporary and/or permanent major medical insurance. In some cases, this coverage is less than what continuing coverage under COBRA may cost. For information or the medical insurance program call 1-888-521-2900 or use this link:

http://www.goiam.org/employmentservices_fortis/

COBRA

A federal law that provides for the right of each worker to continue his/her health insurance, in the event of a strike, at the same cost the employer was paying, plus two percent. Employees have 60 days to elect this option, you should get this in the mail 14 days prior to the expiration of your insurance.

If a family is eligible for Aid to Families with Dependent Children of Unemployed Parents, they are usually eligible for Medicaid. Eligibility and assistance vary from state to states. However, in most states, strikers who qualify for Medicaid are eligible for elective surgery, outpatient services, diagnostic work, prescribed drugs, eyeglasses and more. Strikers who might be eligible for even a limited period would be foolish not to use such extensive benefits.

Members may be reluctant to accept "welfare" but a strike is a fight for economic justice. We must draw on any resources that will help us hold out against conglomerates that employ us. As taxpayers we have paid for such assistance many times over.