Author: IUEC Local 17 Website Administrator

International organizer Jim Lowery was in town the last week of April for a scheduled meeting with non-signatory Gable Elevator. At the last minute Gable declined to meet saying that they would pass on signing with the IUEC at this time.

While disappointing, it was not entirely unexpected. Being a big fish in a small pond is easy but, there comes a time in every businesses existence where the owner has to decide whether he has what it takes to play with the big boys.

Gable Elevator has a history of paying substandard wages and minimal, if any, benefits. Everything I heard about the company says they consider themselves a family. As the head of the family, it’s sad the owners decided to not give the other members the best possible wages, benefits and education for the very difficult and dangerous work they do. I know I want the best for my family and sacrifice everything I can to make it happen.

That is what being part of a real family, like the IUEC, is all about.

Did you know that your NEIEP apprenticeship graduation can help you get an associates or bachelors degree? It can. If you go to neiep.org, click on About and cursor down to College Options for NEIEP Graduates you can read about the over 100 colleges that will accept your NEIEP credentials for up to 38 credits. It’s a great opportunity for every constructor to advance their career by taking their education to the next level.

Local 17’s area coordinator Jeff Burns was in town to attend a job fair at the Polaris Career Center sponsored by the Cuyahoga Country Department of Job and Family Services. According to Burns the event was well attended and he had the opportunity to talk to people of all ages about joining the best trade in the trades.
Where are they working?

Bill Sellers and Eric Crossgrove doing a door mod at Kirby Manor for Schindler,

Shawn Yatsko and Fran Adams unloading a truck at Cherry Park for Schindler,

Neil Beechuck and Kevin Driscoll installing a three-stop holeless at John Marshall for Thyssen,

Jeff Ward and Dave Adrian doing repair work at Hanna Annex for Thyssen,

Jim Rogers running a car at CSU for Schindler,

Don Knapik and Lloyd Parks doing water damage repair at Willard Park Garage for Schindler,

John Logue, Ken Bowles, Jim Thompson, Matt Pinchot, Al Ward, Jason Saunders, John Larsen and Steve Keating doing a mod at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel for Otis,

Jim Archer and Joe Sumph installing an elevator at Westlake Condos for Schindler,

Jeff Lindell and Todd Ross opening up escalators at Progressive Field for Kone,

Scott Hicks and Tom Peska installing an elevator at Kemplin Bradley for Schindler,

Gerard Szmerekovsky and Craig Nolty doing a hydro retrofit at RTA for Otis,

Brendan Hyland, Tim Moore and Chris Wyant at the Hilton Hotel job for Kone,

Bob Myers and Matt Hardin doing a mod at Westerly for Kone,

Kevin Thomas and Ed Gimmel installing two hydros at Beachwood Commons for Thyssen,

Tom Gombar and Jean Lafontaine doing a jack at NASA for Kone and,

Joe Broz, Jr. and Nick Meyer doing a valve and jack at Columbus Park Apartments for Thyssen.
As of this writing there are eleven mechanics on the bench.

Till next month…

Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.
Don
DKnapik@windstream.net

Brothers and sisters:

To everyone reading these words, please take a minute and thank the person responsible for helping you find a place in the best trade in the trades. If you are the loved one of an IUEC member, then thank them in some small way for all they do. This job is not always easy and it is always dangerous but, it provides all of our union family with a security that is the envy of the trades.

So, thank you Mike Syrowski. Happy May Day.

The Cleveland Building and Construction Trades have an agreement with the host committee of the Republican National Convention. The Committee agrees to use organized labor whenever possible and the trades agree to do all in their power to avoid work stoppages during the 2016 convention being held in Cleveland next July.

Business Manager Tim Moennich wants to remind everyone that it is the responsibility of the membership to report to the hall anytime they are on a job that will last more than two days. This applies to construction, modernization and repair teams and is important to keeping track of the level of work in the Cleveland area. You can contact Tim at the hall at 216-431-8088 or email him at TMoennich@iueclocal17.org.

At the March meeting Tim reminded the membership that a supervisor must notify you when changing your time and that you must report the correct amount of expenses (zone, travel, milage, cartage, purchased items, etc.) per the contract and local expense agreement negotiated with the employers on your behalf. It only takes a few minutes before submitting your time for the week to check over your expenses and receipts to ensure they are charged correctly. If you are not, then reserve a date for an Executive Board meeting. They meet two weeks before the regular meeting at the hall located at 3250 Euclid Avenue. If you have problem with a supervisor not paying the correct amount of expenses, then contact Tim at the number above and he will handle it for you.

The 2015 Local 17 Retiree’s Dinner is scheduled for May 15 at Frank Sterle’s Slovenian House Restaurant, 1401 East 55th Street Cleveland, Ohio. Letters will be coming soon so you can reserve your place at this well attended annual event to honor those who worked so hard to make IUEC Local 17 the best local in the best trade in the trades.

Where are they working?

Greg Miller and Jim Sinclair are doing a mod at 1330 Old River Rd. in the Flats for Maximum,

Bill Sellers and Tim Gibbons installing a pump unit at the Cathedral Parking Garage for Schindler,

Anthony Metcalf and Ken Eaton doing a two-car mod at the Drake Apartments for Thyssen,

Jim Archer and Mark Byram doing a two-car mod at Westlake Condos for Schindler,

Dave Francis and John Brunner installing two hydros at Cedar Point for Schindler,

Kevin Thomas and Pat McCann installing two hydros at Beachwood Commons for Thyssen,

Jeff Ward and Dave Adrian doing a jack at the Health Pavilion in Fairlawn for Thyssen,

Tom Gombar and Clint Williams doing a door mod at Presidential Apartments for Kone,

Mike Miller, Jason Sohayda, Matt Page and Lucas Jenke starting the Flats East Bank project for Otis,

Matt Weingart and Taurus Ogletree installing a three-stop elevator at CSU for Schindler,

Neil Beechuck and Kevin Driscoll installing a hydro at Avon Middle School for Schindler,

Scott Hicks and Tom Peska installing a car at the Crocker Park Parking Garage for Schindler,

Gerard Szmerekovsky and Craig Nolty installing two cars at RTA-Lee Road for Otis.
The brothers and sisters of Local 17 extend their condolences to brother Brian Semanco whose father passed away March 18th.

As of this writing there are 17 mechanics and two apprentices on the bench.

Until next month,

Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety,

Don
DKnapik@windstream.net

Brothers and sisters:

Local 17 has a lot to be proud of this year on the continuing education front. There were ten brothers taking the hydraulic controller class, 13 in the welding class and a whopping 20 members signed up for the scaffolding class.

If none of those offerings appealed to you then just a reminder that NEIEP offers several online courses through their website neiep.org. These offerings were developed so the student can study at their own pace and in their own time. As a constructor, it is important to stay on top of your game by being smarter than what you are working on. We pay for it so use it.

The new certified signal person and rigger class has been accredited by ANSI. This adds more value to your employer for anyone taking this class.

For those looking to add an OSHA 30 certification, John Taylor will be teaching an upcoming class. If you are interested, call Business Manager Tim Moennich at 216-431-8088 or email him at TMoennich@iueclocal17.org.

On the organizing front, Regional Organizer Jim Lowery is set to meet with the owners of Gable Elevator about becoming a signatory and the West Virginia-based Emar Elevator is reportedly ready to sign on as a represented company. Emar did modernization work for Millennium Properties in 2010 and 2011 at Lourexis Senior Housing and Abington Arms both in Cleveland.

A Handel and Sons truck was spotted at the Truman Building on Euclid. Handel is a non-signatory company out of Kent, Ohio that specializes in home and material lifts. They are also known to a lesser extent to do standard commercial elevator work. The general contractor on the job is Pride One, a notoriously anti-union contractor. All the trades on the job were non-signatories and the Cleveland Building Trades decided to have the business agents handbill the job. No news on how that was received at the job site.

The 2015 Local 17 Retiree’s Dinner is tentatively scheduled for May 15 at Frank Sterle’s Slovenian House Restaurant, 1401 East 55th Street Cleveland, Ohio. Letters will be coming soon so you can reserve your place at this well attended annual event to honor those who worked so hard to make Local 17 the best local in the best trade in the trades.
Where are they working?
Bill Sellers and Tim Gibbons doing a door mod at WO Walker for Schindler,

Joe Broz Jr. and Nick Meyer doing a jack at the Drake for Thyssen,

Local 11 mechanic Scott Davis is working with Brother Chris Wyatt installing buck hoists at the Hilton Hotel job for Tri-State Elevator,

Tom Gombar and Clint Williams doing valve conversions at RTA W 25th Street for KOne,

Heath Kramer and Jeff Lindell doing escalator clean downs at the Crate and Barrel for Kone,

Gerard Szmerkovsky and Craig Nolty starting the Flats East Bank project for Otis,

John Logue, Jim Thompson, John Larsen and Steve Keating doing a nine car mod at the Ritz Carlton for Otis,

Jason Sohayda and Jason Saunders working a The Gardens of Lyndhurst for Otis,

John Brunner and Joe Sumph installing two cars at CSU for Schindler,

Mark Byram, Dave Francis, Robin Eaton and Tom Peska working on the escalators at the Hilton Hotel job for Schindler.
The brothers and sisters of Local 17 sends their condolences to the family of retired Brother Richard Stumm who passed.

As of this writing there are 19 mechanics and one apprentice on the bench.

Till next month,

Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.
Don
DKnapik@windstream.net

Brothers and sisters:

By the time this issue of the Constructor reaches your door, the grasp of winter will be ready to give way to the warm embrace and anticipation of Spring Training.

As I write this article, the northeast is digging out from four feet of snow and Cleveland is about to be buried under a predicted twenty inches of partly sunny. The Super Bowl hype is in full swing with Marshawn Lynch’s silent press conferences and Deflategate dominating the news.

Luckily we in Cleveland do not have to worry about the distractions of a winning football team. We have the Browns. What we do have to look forward to is the St. Patrick’s Day Parade which serves as the unofficial beginning of spring for all Greater Cleveland. The city turns green from the west side to the east and downtown is awash in Gaelic grace. I never bought into the hype of the day until I started to take part in the parade festivities. A friend commented to me that their vision of the day is not about getting drunk on green beer and Irish whiskey, it is about people of all walks of life putting aside their differences for and celebrating the joy of community.

When you look at the complexion of the crowd watching the largest St. Patrick’s parade in the country it is hard to disagree.

This has been a very busy time for education in Local 17. In the months of January and February, there’ll have been three continuing education classes either completed or in progress with approximately 35 local members taking part. First is the outstanding welding class held at Lincoln Electric’s world headquarters training facility in Euclid. Second is the hydraulic controller and troubleshooting class which gives mechanics the opportunity to solve problems in the suitcase size controller. Lastly is the scaffolding certification class which is a recertification to those who previously took the class.

All of these opportunities come through NEIEP and the hard working people who develop, coordinate and teach the programs. I highly encourage each and every member to take advantage of the best education in the trades. It only makes you more valuable to your employer and less likely to be laid off. As always, be sure and go to neiep.org for information on all courses available.

Where are they working?

Jason Sohayda and Jason Saunders installing a car in Chardon for Otis,
Gerard Szmerekovsky and Craig Nolty unloading a truck in Avon for Otis,
Drew Williams and Lemroy Hurd installing an elevator at Mt. Sinai Parking Garage for Thyssen,
Ken Bowles, Bob Brady, Al Ward and Lucas Jenke at the steel mill doing a mod on the BOF passenger car for Otis,
Jason Fredrick and Bob Garmin at Reserve Square for Thyssen,
Tom Gombar and Tim Moore doing a valve replacement at Kimberly Park for Kone,
Scott Hicks and Jim Rogers installing an elevator at CSA Industries for Schindler,
Dave Gnagy and Matt Harden doing a door mod at Parma Hospital for Ross Elevator,
Neil Beechuck and Kevin Driscoll installing two cars at the 3rd District Police Station for Schindler,
Bill Yuhas and Ken Eaton installing three cars at Upper Chester for Thyssen,
Bill Sellers and Tim Gibbons doing a door mod at Perry Nuclear Power Plant for Schindler,
Mark Byram, Dave Francis, Robin Eaton and Tom Peska starting work on the escalators at the Hilton Hotel for Schindler,
Brendan Hyland and Matt Hausler doing a mod at Moreland Courts for Kone,
John Patton and Clint Williams doing retrofit work in Sandusky for Kone.

The Brothers of Local 17 send their condolences to the family of Brother Denny Dwyer who passed away December 31.

As of this writing there are 13 mechanics and two apprentices on the bench.

Until next month,
Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.

Don
DKnapik@windstream.net