November ’24 Elevator Constructor

Brothers and Sisters:

The Annual Local 17 Children’s Christmas Party will be held Saturday, December 14 at the hall located at 3250 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. There will be gifts for children 12 and younger. Watch your mail for the sign up slip and return it as soon as possible to the hall.

The November 8 and December 13, 2024 and January 10, 2025 meetings are Special Called Meetings for the nomination, election and installation of officers. All members are expected to attend unless otherwise exempt per Local 17 By-Laws. Exemptions must be called into the hall at 216-431-8088 or by contacting Business Manager John Driscoll Jr at JEDriscoll@iueclocal17.org. Members not in attendance will be fined.

Local 17 is holding a forklift certification class at the hall. The class is designed for those seeking a forklift certification for use on construction sites. Brother Tim Narowitz is teaching the eight-hour class.

For those interested in a welding class, Local 17 is tentatively set for January 2025. This gives apprentices and those interested mechanics the opportunity to get a 3G and 4G certification. This is a 40-hour class held for four hours a night over two weeks. To register, compete CW019 Welding Preparation class on the NEIEP website, neiep.org, under the Training, Training and Licensing, Welding Training menus. For more information contact John at the hall.

Another classroom space has been added in the basement of the school. This gives the Local the opportunity to offer additional continuing education classes as well as make-up classes as needed. All classrooms have been painted in the standard NEIEP color scheme and logos added to each classroom. This is part of an effort by the organization to standardize the learning experience across the International. The work was done by a local signatory painter.

So far, there have not been any reported issues with the vacation checks issued July 15 or the pay raises due the apprentices the first full pay period after September 1.

At the September meeting it was announced Brother Al Jerson was stepping down ahead of retirement as a trustee of Local 17. Jerson had 40 years in the trade and spent the last 16 years as a trustee handling the officers payroll, withholding taxes and W2s. He was elected in 2008 and helped shepherd the Local through the economic downturn of that year as well as shore up the finances during that rough period in the Local’s history.

Brother Brian Chambers was appointed by President John Patton to take his place and was sworn in as a trustee. Chambers most recent officer role was as the Entertainment Chairman.

Retirement is something we all strive to achieve. The notion of having total control over your day is an especially enticing notion since our employers have us scheduled to the moment, geopositioned to within six feet and increase our responsibilities without a consummate increase in authority to perform them.

What happens when that constant onslaught of demands suddenly ends? Quiet.

The quiet of a day without the the screech of an alarm notifying the recipient of yet another requested visit by a customer looking to keep their ancient elevator running for yet another sixty years. The constant phone calls demanding “what’s your ETA, the customer is complaining about (fill in the blank), I need you to get there, what do you mean you left their only car down?”

This is why good men and women seek release in a liquid concoction or find themselves in a corner in the fetal position.

And then… quiet.

As of this publication date, four years, seven months and twenty-eight days to go.

Not that I’m counting.

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

Brother Al Jerson addresses the body as he announces his retirement as an IUEC Local 17 trustee and from the trade. Jerson spent 16 years as a trustee position.

Brother Brian Chambers is sworn in as the newest trustee of IUEC Local 17. Behind him (left to right) Recording Secretary Brother Joe Broz Jr, President John Patton and Business Manager John Driscoll Jr.