Brothers and sisters,
Valentine’s Day is in two weeks. As a husband of almost 30 years I highly advise you to tell that special person in your life how much they mean to you. This includes all the significant others that read the Elevator Constructor every month. Whether the elevator constructor in your life is running rails all day or call backs all night, we do it to make a living that is the envy of the other trades.
When we come home at night, hurting and dirty from the events of the day, please understand when we take a pass on dinner and fall asleep early. Please keep a light on when we are out at night. There is nothing lonelier than coming home to a dark house. When you are pulling an all-nighter getting ready for a class, we are pulling all-nighters to pay for your education.
And always keep in mind that we do what we do because we want the best for you today and to build a great retirement for tomorrow.
For the second year in a row, Local 17 had a white ballot for the December special called meeting for the election of officers. On behalf of all the officers, I would like to thank the members of Local 17 for their confidence in the leadership they elected to run the day-to-day business of the local. It is not always easy to make the decisions that keep our union running but every one of your officers take pride in their due diligence and sense of cooperation that keeps our local moving forward.
There were a lot of money issues dominating the December union meeting.
I know that I am not alone in saying thank you to the trustees of the IUEC pension fund for their stewardship of one of the greatest benefits of being in the best trade in the trades. The pension rate for those retiring between January 1 and June 30 of this year went from $98 per credit year to $103 per credit year. Every hour we work on or after July 1 will count towards a $110 per credit year payment upon retirement. This means that a constructor working an average of 2000 hours per year for 30 years and retiring after the first of the year will have a defined benefit of $3635 per month. Our current pensioners also received a raise of between one and three percent depending on when they retired.
Those of us working towards retirement got a raise as well. Local 17 mechanics rate went up 75 cents an hour and everyone’s benefits are getting a $1.60 an hour raise.
Effective January 1 the mileage rate for business use of an automobile for 2015 is 57.5 cents per mile. Be sure you are receiving the correct rate when turning in your time.
Please be sure to call the hall when starting on a job that will take more than two days to complete. You can call Tim at 216-431-8088 or email him at TMoennich@iueclocal17.org to report your location and what you are doing.
Where are they working?
Matt Weingart and Taurus Ogletree installing an elevator at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights for Schindler,
Gerard Szmerkovsky and Craig Nolty doing service work at the Cleveland Clinic For Otis,
Mark Byram and John Brunner installing an elevator at East 9th and Euclid for Schindler,
Joe Broz Jr. and Dave Adrian doing a jack at Vantage Financial for Thyssen,
Jeff Lindell and Todd Ross at JC Penny in Canton doing escalator work for Kone,
Tom Gombar and Tim Moore at Bushman doing a rail realignment for Kone.
As of this writing there are 18 mechanics and two apprentices on the bench.
Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety,
Don
DKnapik@windstream.net
International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 17 