July ’14 Labor Citizen

Brothers and sisters:

There is a lot going on so I’ll get right into it…

There has been a great deal of activity on the part of the IUEC Local 17 Volunteer Organizing Committee. To date the group has attended three school board meetings (Solon, Amherst and Maple Heights) and received positive responses from board members and superintendents about our emphasis on elevator safety, safe work practices and the general educational requirements to be employed in this very dangerous trade. The VOC is planning on attending more meetings through the summer and into the fall when contracts are generally let out for bidding.

The VOC has spent a great deal of time hand billing East Fourth Street. While we may not have slowed the flow of restaurant and entertainment patrons, there has been headway with residents, business owners and managers. The flyer each one receives talks about elevator safety and the importance of being sure that the elevators they rely on everyday are maintained by the best tradesmen in the trades. These buildings are owned by developer Rick Maron and the elevators maintained by Gable Elevator, a non-signatory company.

At the June meeting, the local passed a resolution offering reduced initiation fees and monthly dues to employees of Gable who wish to go on the local’s list. This reduction in fees would last until the employee is picked up by a signatory company or Gable signs on to our contract and then the full fees would be in force.

There is a VERY IMPORTANT meeting of the VOC on July 16th at 5 pm at the school at East 28th and Superior Ave. to go over the rules and responsibilities of picketing. International organizer Jim Lowery will be there to answer any questions and run the meeting. Everyone is invited to come and give their input. The local is also asking each and every member to be available for two days of picket duty. Please talk with your supervisor about this very important part of keeping our work. Also, watch the local’s website, iueclocal17.org, for picket updates.

At the June meeting there was a bit of a changing of the guard. Long-time Local 17 officer Dennis Dixon retired from his post as Treasurer and was replaced by John Driscoll, Jr. Jason Fredrick was named and sworn in to fill Driscoll’s vacant trustee seat by President Brian McTaggart. Denny served Local 17 for 23 years as an officer in one capacity or another. If you see him out and about, be sure and say hello and thank him for his tireless work.

A note to all apprentices… fall semester classes will start in early August and you will be attending the 700 and 800 series classes.

To all the members holding welding cards, please get your documentation into the hall in order to maintain your certification. If you have a scaffolding card, it expired in November of 2013.

NEIEP is now offering a CPR and first aid class in cooperation with the American Heart Association. Besides learning this valuable skill, participants will receive a certificate that is valid for two years. There is also a virtual code course available through the website, neiep.org, which will help constructors learn about code requirements and related topics.

On the entertainment front, there were 77 members, 34 active and 43 retired, in attendance at the Retiree’s Dinner held at Frank Sterle’s. This is one of those events that everyone who attends enjoys because the faces are all friendly, the beer is cold and everyone walks away with a smile and good memories. Keep August 23rd open for a possible second golf outing. There are no details as of yet but when or if they come to fruition, they will be posted on iueclocal17.org.