January ’17 Labor-Citizen

Brothers and Sisters:
A large thank you to all the IUEC Local 17 members and their families who came out to the 2016 Children’s Christmas Party. This annual event brings together families of Local members and retirees for an afternoon of fun with food, a show and a visit from Santa bearing gifts to all the kids 12 and under. There are photos available on the Local 17 website, iueclocal17.org.

Classes for apprentices will be starting the first week of February with a two-hour orientation class. Starting with this semester, each student enrolled in the NEIEP Apprenticeship Program will be issued a laptop with all of their classroom books preloaded. They will also have access to industry related videos and Virtual Classroom courses. The big advantage will be the ability to search the documentation for keywords or highlight important information. Updates to the laptops will happen weekly or whenever there is a change in the curriculum. This will save a significant amount of money for NEIEP and make the IUEC apprentices among the best supported in the trades.

Business Manager Tim Moennich has sign up sheets available for a scaffolding class and CPR class. The scaffolding class leads to a card which certifies the bearer as a Competent Person for the erection of frame scaffolding. The card is good for three years after which it must be renewed. If your card is due, lapsed or coming due, now is a great time to take the class. The second offering is a CPR class. This class will give the student the confidence to handle an emergency situation and might just help save a life. Both of these classes are offered in conjunction with NEIEP. If you are interested in either class you can contact Tim at the Hall at 216-361-8088 or by email at TMoennich@iueclocal17.org.

Every IUEC member should have received a letter from the National Elevator Industry Benefits Plan about changes in the plan for 2017. The most significant change is in the drug plan. When there are generic drugs, the member will pay the generic co-pay. If the member wants the name brand drug they will have to pay the co-pay plus the difference between the generic and name brand drug. The change is expected to impact less than one percent of everyone in the plan and provide a considerable savings to the plan.

The Affiliated Constructions Trades (ACT Ohio) working with the Ohio AFL-CIO were able to derail House Bill 394 which would have decimated the Ohio Unemployment Compensation benefit received by so many Ohioans. Instead, working together and with House, Senate and business leaders they worked out a compromise that keeps benefits the same for 2017 and freezes the weekly unemployment compensation for 2018 and 2019. This means no reduction in benefits for those enrolled in the program.

ACT Ohio is an organization created by the Oho State Building Trades Council to facilitate industrial development and promote industry best practices for Ohio’s public and private construction sectors.

If you have not picked up the 2017 wage rates, please stop by the Hall.

As of this writing there are two mechanics and two apprentices on the bench.

Until next month..
Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.

Don
DKnapik@windstream.net