February ’17 Labor Citizen

Brothers and sisters:
The International Union of Elevator Constructors Locals 17 (Cleveland) and 45 (Akron) are proud to announce that effective February 1, 2017 Gable Elevator of Twinsburg became a signatory to the IUEC contract. This draws to a close a three year effort by the Locals to organize Gable into the union.

In a Facebook post on January 25, Local 45 Business Manager Dave Morrow Jr. announced the signing and thanked the International’s head of organizing Jim Biangini, regional organizer Jim Lowery and Local 17 Business Manager Tim Moennich for their efforts in the successful signing. He also went on to say “I look forward to working with the new members and owners Rick Gable and Phil Isaac.”

The signing adds 21 new members to the rolls of the Akron local. Those new members who were not previously part of an International Local will now be eligible for apprenticeship training through the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP) as well as participation in the National Elevator Industry Benefits Plan. Those previously members will also be eligible for continuing educational opportunities through NEIEP’s online and classroom instruction. The NEIEP program is the only accredited apprenticeship program recognized by the State of Ohio as meeting all the requirements for apprentice training.

Local 17 would also like to thank those that helped with the effort in this organizing campaign. Special notice goes to Brothers Joe Broz, Jr., John Patton, Mike Moennich, Bill Lynsky, Tim Gibbons, Lucas Jenke, Steve Keating and retired Brothers Buzz Gibbons and Jimmy Battiger for all the time and effort exerted in this successful campaign. There are others to thank, some of whom must remain anonymous. This was truly a group effort.

Moving forward it is important that these new members feel welcome by the Brothers and Sisters of both the Akron and Cleveland Locals as well as the Building and Construction Trades in general. If your see one of these new members, take the time to say hello and welcome them into and some of them back to the best trade in the trades.

On a personal note, I have said this before and I will say it again for all to read: I have never been prouder to be a part of anything than I am to be a member of IUEC Local 17.

Congratulations.

All apprentices should have their NEIEP issued laptops. The laptops are preloaded with digital copies of all NEIEP materials needed for the eight semester apprenticeship. They feature the ability to run the Virtual Courses from the classroom or home.

Local 17 has opening for the scaffolding and CPR classes. The scaffolding class is taught in cooperation with Scaffold and Access Industry Association Training Program and leads to a three-year certification as a Competent Person in the erection of scaffolding. The CPR class is offered to teach the student the possible life saving skill and give them the confidence to handle an emergency situation. If you are interested in either of these continuing educational opportunities contact Business Manager Tim Moennich at 216-431-8088 or email him at TMoennich@iueclocal17.org.

The Brothers and Sisters of IUEC Local 17 send their condolences to the family of retired Bother George Prochaska who passed away January 4th.

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