June ’23 Elevator Constructor

Brothers and Sisters:

The 2023 Local 17 Golf Outing will be held July 8 at Bunker Hill Golf Course, 3060 Pearl Rd, Medina.  The format this year will be a 2 pm shotgun start with lunch served prior and dinner immediately after.  The cost is $150 per person.  Watch your mail for signup and payment information.

John Taylor is currently finishing with the Hydraulic Controller Troubleshooting class.  All 12 students have found this to be an informative and helpful class.  If there are any continuing education classes you may be interested in having Local 17 offer, contact Business Manager John Driscoll Jr at the hall at 216-391-8088 or email him at JEDriscoll@iueclocal17.org.

NEIEP offered three continuing education courses for those who are required by the contract to have CE hours as well as any member who wishes to take advantage of the opportunity.  The Required Mechanic CE training must be completed annually by all mechanics who passed the Mechanic Exam on or after 7/9/2022. Mechanics who passed the Mechanic Exam before 7/9/2022 are grandfathered. The training for them is optional.  For more information go to neiep.org and click on the Mechanic CE options for more information.

There will be a forklift driving certification class scheduled in the coming months.  This is an important certification for those working construction and modernization to maintain our work off loading and moving material on a jobsite.  Watch this space for updates.

Congratulations to the nine Local 17 members who took the welding class at Lincoln Electric and received their certification.  

Congratulations also go out to Local 17’s newest members Jake Driscoll, Jassen Kavedzic, Justten Kavedzic, Mark Thomason and Tyler Whitmore for joining the best Local in the best trade in the trades.

As this issue goes to press and arrives in your mailbox, the spring semester will be drawing to a close with finals being taken the week of May 29.  Good luck to all apprentices and to those who will be preparing for their Mechanics Exam.

Remember to pick up your working card by the first of the month.  There is a $10 fine levied for cards left at the hall past the first of the quarter.  It is also a requirement that the card be with you at all times during working hours.

Employers are offering electric vehicles to Local 17 members, mostly resident mechanics.  The requirements for installation and electric cost reimbursement of the chargers and at work charging options have not been reviewed by the International.  As of now, the hall is advising all members to not exercise this option.

The details of licensing by the State of Ohio are moving forward.  John is in contact on a weekly basis with Work Preservation following the details of the implementation and enforcement of the law.  As previously reported, the law is expected to be in full effect and force by the end of the year.   

The Sherwin-Williams headquarters job is expected to be manned by Schindler in May.  If Schindler is planning on bringing in their Large Projects team to run the job in accordance with them staying on the job the Local 17 bench will be clear.  KONE and Otis have a lot of work now and on the books for the rest of the year.  TKElevator is still having material issues and is moving employees around to keep them working.

The Brothers and Sisters of Local 17 send their condolences to the family of retired Brother Bob Charron who passed away April 11.

As of this writing there are one mechanic and one probationary apprentice on the bench.

Until next month,

Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.

Don

DKnapik@windstream.net

2023 IUEC Local 17 Retiree’s Dinner

The Annual IUEC Local 17 Retiree’s Dinner is always a well attended and highly anticipated Local event. The opportunity for current members to talk with retirees, retirees to catch up with old friends and the chance for both to make new friends.

There is an old saying: “when you’re young you listen to the stories told about others, when your older you tell the stories and when you’re old they tell the stories about you.”

May we all be that fortunate.

Below is a gallery of photos from the night.

May ’23 Labor-Citizen

Brothers and Sisters:

The 2023 Local 17 Golf Outing will be held July 8 at Bunker Hill Golf Course, 3060 Pearl Rd, Medina. The format this year will be a 2 pm shotgun start with lunch served prior and dinner immediately after. The cost is $150 per person. Watch your mail for signup and payment information.

The 2023 IUEC Local 17 Retiree’s Dinner will be held Friday, May 19 at Harry’s Steak House, 5664 Brecksville Road, Independence. The bar opens at 5:30 with dinner being served at 6:30. This is a great opportunity for current members, no matter how long they have been in the trade, to meet the men who helped make Local 17 great.

John Taylor has completed the Hydraulic Controller class with 12 students agreeing it was a helpful experience. Nine Local 17 members also completed the welding class held at Lincoln Electric and received their certifications.

The spring semester ends the week of May 29th, which is Memorial Day. Good luck to all the apprentices on passing their finals and an additional round of luck to those preparing for their Mechanics Exam.s

Remember to pick up your working card by the first of the month. There is a $10 fine levied for cards left at the hall past the first of the quarter. It is also a requirement that the card be with you at all times during working hours.

Employers are offering electric vehicles to Local 17 members. The requirements for installation and electric cost reimbursement of the chargers and at work charging options have not been reviewed by the International. As of now, the hall is advising all members to not exercise this option.

Elevator Licensing in Ohio is moving forward as the details of administering the law are being hammered out between Columbus, the International and the affected Ohio Locals. Business Manager John Driscoll Jr is in contact on a weekly basis with Work Preservation following up on the details of the implementation and enforcement of the law. As previously reported, the law is expected to be in full effect and force by the end of the year.

The Sherwin-Williams headquarters job is expected to be manned by Schindler in May. If Schindler is planning on bringing in their Large Projects team to run the job, according to John, in accordance with them staying on the job the Local 17 bench will be clear. KONE and Otis have a lot of work now and on the books for the rest of the year. TKElevator is still having material issues and is moving employees around to keep them working.

The Brothers and Sisters of IUEC Local 17 send their condolences to the family of retired Brother Bob Charron who passed away April 11.

As of this writing there are one mechanic and one probationary apprentice on the bench.

May ’23 Elevator Constructor

Local 17 article for the May 2023 Constructor

Brothers and Sisters:

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about family. It hasn’t been one particular incident that sparked the thought but, rather a feeling which raised the question: what is family?

The traditional view of family is the group of people into which a person is born: mother father, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in any combination. This is the group which a child creates their initial identity and forms their vision of their place in the world. This is the group to which they belong.

Many years ago in these pages I wrote something very similar on this subject. My conclusion was that family is something that evolves over time to include not only the group into which you were born but, a greater group to which you want to belong or wants you to belong.

In March 2019 my granddaughter Gabby was born. Her birthday is one day before the date shared by my grandmother and son. My Granny was a wonderful, kind woman who gave me a love for authentic Old World food, inspired wonder in the world and looked over me from above at age 49 as I completed the bike ride from Cleveland to Cincinnati along US 42 I traced on the Sohio folding map when I was age seven. My son was an outgoing, extremely friendly young man who enjoyed listening to baseball, music, playing all sorts of games and hoped for a family of his own. He left us too soon.

I think about them both all the time, especially in the spring. I think about planting flowers with my Granny and throwing the ball with my son. I miss them both.

Shortly after Gabby as born, I got a call from my son’s friend Chris that he was coming home to Cleveland from Dallas and he was bringing his family. Jon and Chris had been best friends since the age of six. They caught frogs, turtles and snakes together, played games together, rode bikes together, adventured together. Jon and Chris: always together.

On June 1, 2019, after the Union golf outing, my daughter Michele had a party at her house in Columbia Station. I left the outing as soon as I could. When I walked in the house the first person I saw was Chris. He was older, a little heavier, had a beard, but there was no denying it was him. We hugged a long hug that said ‘welcome home’ without either of us having to use the words.

I sat for hours listening to him talk about about Dallas and his life in Texas. I met his wife and three children: two girls and a boy. I always thought of him as a second son and seeing him as an adult with his family fills me with a happiness I cannot put into words.

The four of us, Jon, Michele, Chris and myself sang “Rosalita” as loud and long as we could. The family was back together. Chris was home.

My wife watches Gabby a couple days a week. It has been the greatest joy of my life watching to two of them together. Gabby calls my wife Magga and I’m Papa. Gabby and Magga grow flowers together, make chalk drawings on the driveway together, play games together, read together and go on adventures together.

The other day I came home from work, washed up and took a seat in my chair. My wife was sitting with Gabby, her arm about her reading a book, the two of them in a moment only the two of them could share. How will Gabby’s world be defined? What will be the group with which she defines herself? How big will her world be? Grandmother and granddaughter, always together.

Until next month,

Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.

Don
DKnapik@windstream.net

April ’23 Labor-Citizen

Brothers and Sisters:

IUEC Local 17 had a large presence at the 2023 Cleveland St. Patrick’s Day Parade. KONE donated the use of its stake body truck for the event and it was driven by Brother Morgan Armstrong. For photos of the days events, go to the Local 17 website, iueclocal17.org.

The 2023 IUEC Local 17 Retiree’s Dinner will be held May 19 at Harry’s Steak House on Brecksville Rd in Independence. The cost for active members is $60 and, of course, retirees attend for free. The bar opens at 5:30 and dinner will be served at 6:30. Mail in the response form to the hall and the attention of Entertainment Chairman Todd Kemp, 3250 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, 44115. Be sure to indicate wether you are attending as an active member or retiree and your preference of main course. This is always a well attended event with a healthy mix of members willing to tell their stories.

The Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Industrial Compliance is drafting the regulations for implementing the Ohio Elevator Licensing Law signed by Governor DeWine in January. The regulations will cover license costs for mechanics and contractors, enforcement and other procedural rules necessary for enforcement. The rough draft is expected to be ready in July for review and appointments to the board is expected in late November to early December.

Schindler has agreed that field employees will not block open hoistway doors for access by contractors but, supervisors can block the doors. The general contractor will have to sign a release before being issued a release key. At no time will a field employee be involved in the transaction. If there are any questions or concerns contact Business Manager John Driscoll Jr at the hall at 216-431-8088 or email him at JEDriscoll@iueclocal17.org.

John Taylor is transitioning from the AC motor class to the hydraulic controller troubleshooting class. There were 12 members signed up for the continuing education offering.

For those apprentices with absences from class, the last week in April is scheduled for the first makeup class. Any one apprentice can only miss two classes during a semester and those instructional hours must be made up before the end of the semester.

The Local By-Law changes voted on any the body at the January general meeting must be submitted to and approved by the International. This means the $5 anniversary fund was not included in this quarters dues. Next quarter the amount will be added to the contingency fund and will be $30 instead of the $25 charged now.

The Brothers and Sisters of IUEC Local 17 send their condolences to the family of honorary retiree Brother Jim Stiner who passed away March 7.

As of this writing there is one assistant mechanic on the bench.

April ’23 Elevator Constructor

Brothers and Sisters:

Mechanics who passed their exam after July 2022, the start of the new contract, are required to have eight hours of continuing education credit in order to receive their raise.  NEIEP offers three courses through the website, neiep,org, that satisfy the contractual requirement.  Online classes on sexual harassment, multimeter skills and the governor lab are available to every mechanic in the International.  NEIEP will also pay the student eight hours of straight time at their Local’s rate to take the course.  

Continuing education is more important now than ever with the State of Ohio passing licensing for those working on elevators and escalators within the State.  Watch this space as well as the Local 17 website for updates as they become available.

Ohio Elevator is the non-signatory home lift company spun off from Gable Elevator after they became a signatory.  The company is making overtures about entering the commercial market with postings all over Facebook.  If you see them on a job call Business Manger John Driscoll Jr at 216-431-8088 or email him at JEDriscoll@iueclocal17.org.

Congratulations to those that marched in the 2023 Cleveland St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  Since the parade  fell on a Friday, the festivities were well attended by both participants and crowds.  Photos of the event and Local 17’s part in the parade are available on the website, iueclocal17.org.   

Where are they working?

DJ Spring and Deven Shields doing a one-car mod at Eaton on Chagrin for Otis,

Jim Thompson and Matt Dinko at Metro Critical Care doing a two-car mod for Otis,

Shane Huff and Luke Schnitzler doing a 1 car mod at St.Church in Oberlin for Otis,

Ken Bowles and John Ranney doing a teo-car mod at Fairview Hospital for Otis,

John Logue and Pat Pollock at Cleveland Clinic Beachwood doing a two-car mod for Otis,

Jerry Szmerekovsky and Pat McHugh at CCF Mentor installing four cars for Otis,

Pat Kelly and Cory Oldham at Longfellow installing three cars for Otis,

Craig Nolty and Brendan Teets at the Meridian doing a three-car mod for Otis,

Tom Peska and Matt Ramser installing two cars at Parma Storage for Schindler,

Shawn Yatsko and Tom Holian at the Justice Center doing a five-car mod for Schindler,

Felix DeJesus and Brian Seither at Winton Manor doing a three-car mod for Schindler,

Pat McCann and Ric Supinski doing door mods at South Park Manor for Schindler,

Matt Wiengart, Lucas Jenke, Joe Sumph, Aaron Reed, Brian Bond and Tito Mike doing mods at UH for Schindler,

Dave Gnagy and Jay Carlson in Columbus installing two cars for Schindler,

Dan Varga and Jarrett Adams at Euclid 3 doing a two-car mod for Schindler,

Joe Gouker and Eric Schaffran finishing a twelve car installation at Ahuja for KONE,

James Hirz and Mark Thomason at the Artisan installing three 23-stop cars for KONE,

Brendan Hyland and Jake Driscoll at Chagrin Riverwalk in Willoughby installing one car for KONE,

Drew Williams and Mike Miller Jr doing a mod at 55 Public Square for KONE,

Tim Narowitz, Vince Smrdel, Chris Sipos and John Smith at Bratenhal II doing a four-car mod for TKE,

Anthony Metcalf and Christian Thompson doing a mod at Judson Park for TKE,

Bill Dudas and Dave Ford doing a mod at Judson Manor for TKE,

Jason Fredrick and Brad Skotko dong a mod at Marine Tower West for TKE,

Kevin Thomas and Sean Canning at Fort Wayne, Indiana at Memorial Middle School doing a one- car mod for TKE,

Chris Wyant and Cris DeJesus installing a two-stop hydro at Shaker Library for 3Phase,

Mitch Klemp and Brian Owens at Shaker Court Condos doing a mod for 3Phase,

Marc Carollo and Dan Quigley at Giant Eagle doing a one-car mod for  3Phase,

Jim Ehrbar and Brian Owens doing a two-car mod at Chelsea condos for 3Phase.

As of this writing there are two mechanics and one assistant mechanic on the bench.

Until next month…

Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.

Don

DKnapik@windstream.net

March ’23 Labor-Citizen

Brothers and Sisters:

Retired Brother John Taylor is teaching the CE 093 AC motor class with five students.  He is willing to roll into the Hydraulic Controller Lab afterward if there is enough interest.  The class covers all aspects of troubleshooting a hydraulic elevator and is the same lab used during the apprentice training.  This is an excellent way for both new and experienced mechanics to hone their troubleshooting skills.  If you are interested in this or any other Continuing Education courses contact Business Manager John Driscoll Jr at the hall at 216-431-8088 or email him at JEDriscoll@iueclocal17.org.  

Those who passed the Mechanics Exam after the start of the present contract must have eight hours of Continuing Education credits through NEIEP to receive their raise.  The current offering of classes is Harassment and Discrimination, Multimeter Skills and a Governor lab.  NEIEP compensates the students for eight hours at their Locals scale for completion of the classes.  Every mechanic is eligible to take the offerings no matter when they passed their test.  For more information, go to the NEIEP website at neiep.org and click on the Mechanic CE offerings link on the main page.

At the February meeting Business Manger John Driscoll Jr reported that IUEC General President Frank Christensen attended the monthly Tri-State meeting.  As has been an ongoing topic for many months, the major signatory companies have been having issues with keeping a correct payroll on a regular basis.  The latest is that an Otis superintendent did not press the submit button prior to leaving on vacation. According to the report, this is not an uncommon issue across the country and the IUEC leadership is dealing with it on a case-by-case basis. Those affected by the error should have been made whole by the time of this publication. 

Vacation checks should have arrived by January 15th per the contract.  If you did not receive your check or believe there is an error contact your employer and John at the hall.

Major employers in the area are still claiming supply-chain shortages for not starting jobs.  Some are shuffling guys around to jobs while they wait for parts to arrive from vendors.  This may prove to be a short time issue with a flood of new work after the storm clears.

Ohio Elevator is dominating Facebook with an outreach to the commercial sector.  The company is the spin off of the residential division of Gable/3Phase Elevator.  They have recruited a former Local 45 and 17 member to spearhead their campaign into the commercial sector. A list of Local signatories is at the bottom of this article.  If you run into this company on a job or any company not listed below, contact John at the hall.

As of this writing there are two mechanics and one Assistant Mechanic in the bench.