January ’22 Elevator Constructor

Brothers and Sisters:

Happy New Year to the International community and the families of Local 17. To say the past two years have been a challenge is an understatement. Local 17 has been working continuously since the pandemic was declared in March 2020 with no let up in sight.

The rumor as of writing is that Schindler has been awarded the Sherwin-Williams HQ project on Public Square. The plan is for between 18 and 28 elevators in a 38 floor building. Otis and TK have mostly mods on their books, Gable has about a dozen mod and construction jobs planned while KONE has three good size jobs at Van Aken, Circle Square and Ahuja. This is a very fortunate circumstance as many localities shut down for significant times costing members valuable pay and pension hours.

We have also seen face masks and hand sanitizer become company issued PPE and the controversies over mandatory vaccinations and vaccination status become a political wedge to divide a nation. It’s sad. Using the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people all over the world as a political bludgeon to advance a divisive ideology is, in my mind, criminal and those advancing these issues are not the patriots they present themselves as.

Let’s pray that in 2022 cooler heads calm this fiery discourse.

Spring Semester starts the week of January 17th. There will be 14 apprentices in RC100 and eleven in RC400 with one apprentice doing RC200 on home study. The likely date for an orientation class will be Wednesday, January 19 with our new Area Coordinator Jordan Miller.

If everyone passes their classes as scheduled, Local 17 will have six test-eligible apprentices after the Fall semester. Good luck to those ready to take their next step in the trade.

Ross Elevator was bought out by KONE and owner Jim Ross retired along with mechanic Doug LaFontaine. Gable Elevator was bought out by Canton, Mass-based 3Phase Elevator. 3Phase has operations in New England, the Mid-Atlantic and Florida. This will be their farthest western office.

At the November meeting, the Local 17 delegates to the 32nd General Convention gave reports on the committees with which they were involved. John Patton sat on the Constitution and By-Law Committee, Bill Lynsky was on the Resolutions Committee, Tim Narowitz was on the Health Committee and John Driscoll Jr was on the Pension Committee. Of the hundreds of resolutions discussed by the different committees, 20 passed on the floor covering safety topics. Thirteen need to go to the bargaining table because they deal with issues in the Collective Bargaining Agreement and seven were integrated into the International Constitution and By-Laws on November 1.

On November 6th Brother and Sister Ernie and Andrea Rodriguez held a fundraiser at Herman’s Pub in Brunswick for Andrea’s daughter, Grace Shank, who was diagnosed in August with brain cancer. Grace was living in Madison, Wisconsin at the time of her diagnosis and successful surgery. According to Andrea, prior to her becoming ill Grace was an active young lady who, among other interests, rode motorcycles with a group from IUEC Local 132 (Madison, WI) as well as playing multiple string instruments. The money raised will go to offsetting living expenses not covered by the IUEC health benefits.

The January meeting will be a mandatory meeting for the installation of officers. Those not in attendance will be fined accordingly.

The Brothers and Sisters of Local 17 send their condolences to the families of Honored Retiree Jim Koberling who passed away and Brother Bill Dudas who lost his sister.

As of this writing there is one mechanic on the bench.

Until next month…

Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.

Don
DKnapik@windstream.net