March ’17 Labor-Citizen

Brothers and sisters:

There are a lot of festivities planned for the coming months. So, get out your calendars and take note….

Once again IUEC Local 17 will be marching in the Cleveland St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The event steps off at noon and the participating units marshal along Superior Avenue east of East 18th Street prior to the event. This is a very family friendly gathering and all members are encouraged bring their children to share in the excitement. This is a great opportunity to make a memory or begin a family tradition.

Entertainment Chairman Bill Dudas is planning a walleye fishing charter for April 22nd. The charter will cost $30 per person and is currently limited to the first 35 people who sign up. For more information or to sign up for this first time event you can call Business Manager Tim Moennich at 216-431-8088 or email him at TMoennich@iueclocal17.org.

The Annual IUEC Local 17 Retiree’s Dinner will be held May 19th at Frank Sterle’s Country House, 1401 East 55th Street just south of St. Clair Avenue. Refreshments start at 5:30 pm and dinner is served at 6:30 pm. The cost remains at $30 per person and will include a family style dinner. For more information contact Business Manager Tim Moennich no later than May 1st to secure your spot at this always well attended event.

There is a sign up sheet for classes in CPR and scaffolding. The CPR class is designed to give the participant an American Red Cross certificate. The scaffolding class is a Scaffold and Access Industry Association authorized program offered through the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP). The successful completion of the class makes the student a competent person for the erection of frame scaffolding. The certification is good for three years and must be renewed after that time. For more information on this or any other offerings, contact Tim at the Hall.

On February 8th, Brothers Joe Broz, Jr., Bill Lynsky, John Patton and myself were in attendance at the IUEC Local 45 (Akron) meeting when 21 new members were sworn in as a result of the successful organizing effort of Twinsburg’s Gable Elevator by both Local 17 and the Akron Local. Four Gable employees were sworn into Local 37 (Columbus) and they will be working in that jurisdiction. As a result of the signing onto the Standard Agreement, Gable also hired six experienced IUEC mechanics, four from Akron and two from Cleveland.

Since the beginning of Gable Elevator in 1991, they have been a significant player in the home elevator market. This single signing makes the home elevator market from Cleveland’s western suburbs south to Columbus and east to the Pennsylvania border the third largest organized region in the International. This pairs with the long term plan of the International to recapture the home market.

Gable employees have a portability agreement which allows them to work in both Cleveland and Akron but, they must report in when working in another jurisdiction.

If you see any of the new members take the time to congratulate them on becoming part of the best trade in the trades.

There are rumors of a tentative contract agreement between the IUEC, the Big Four elevator companies (NEBA) and the independents (ECA). No details will be available until all the contractors and Locals are briefed on the contents of the agreement.

As of this writing there are five mechanics and one apprentice on the bench.