February 2025 Elevator Constructor

Brothers and Sisters:

The work situation in Cleveland for all the trades is very positive and is expected to remain so for the foreseeable future. As elevator constructors, we hold a unique place in the trades. Not only do we command the best wages and benefits, our work touches on aspects of all those working around us. This unique perspective allows us to notice trends and act as leaders within the workplace.

When a building owner selects a general contractor for a job no matter the size, the GC turns to the pool of contractors it is confident can do the job in a safe and efficient manner. These are relationship which are developed and refined over time and represent the overall experience of that contractor with the subs they choose to select for the job.

As with all relationships, problems will arise. The key to maintaining a positive relationship is how these issues are addressed. As elevator constructors we need to be the example of how a union trade is supposed to work and call out those which put the trade union movement in general into disrepute. This means Brothers and Sisters in the trades who abuse their position in the workplace and create a hostile or unsafe environment for those around them.

This means policing our own to maintain the integrity of the organized trades and minimize the opportunity for non-signatory companies to take hold and steal work which would otherwise go to an organized Brother or Sister.

A reputation is like glass, easy to shatter and difficult to repair. Maintaining that reputation is something all trades must make a priority.

On December 27, an era in Cleveland elevator operation ended: Greg “Chief” Schlegel retired after 45 years of running a freight car at Landmark Office Towers. Chief had been an ambassador of good will for the buildings past and present Fortune 500 tenants and a friendly voice on a dreary day.

Landmark opened in 1930 as part of the Cleveland Union Terminal project which includes the iconic Terminal Tower as its centerpiece. Chief started working there in 1979 and his 45 years service represents almost half the existence of the complex.

Prior to the advent of automatic elevators, operators ran the cars at office buildings and department stores often acting as the first line of security and a directory on where to go and who to talk to once inside. Presently, outside of cars turned over for temporary operation, Cleveland has only a handful of full-time elevator operators still working.

I first met Chief in 2000 when I came to help clean secondaries with the resident mechanic. He was friendly, helpful and very upfront. He was better at keeping a person up to date on the inner workings of downtown and plugged in even better than the most veteran news reporter. I would not doubt that Chief was the source for getting some of Cleveland’s biggest news stories rolling.

On his nickname, Chief said that one day he was joking with one of the contractors when the subject of the fire department came up. Apparently several members of his family were presently or had been members of the Cleveland Fire Department and when he brought this up the contractor gave him a hat and said “well, I guess that makes you Chief!” And thus a legend was born.

Congratulations Chief on a retirement well earned.

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

Local 17 Photos for February ’25 Constructor