Author: IUEC Local 17 Website Administrator

February ’12 Aricle to the Cleveland Citizen

Brothers and sisters:

Leave Friday, April 20th open on your calendar for the 2012 Local 17 Retiree’s Dinner.  It will be held at Frank Sterle’s Slovenian House at 1401 East 55th Street.  Cocktails will be served at 5:30 and dinner at 6 pm.  The cost will be $30 for active members and free for retirees.  This is a great opportunity to get together and hear the history of Local 17 from the men who made it.

For readers who are interested, IUEC Local 45 in Akron is having apprenticeship recruitment through February 14.  For more information, you can contact Local 45 Business Agent Dave Morrow at 330-753-3953 or through their website at iuec45.org.

The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 880 have settled their strike with Rite Aid.  Local 880 wants to thank the building trades for their support during the strike and encourages its union brethren to again patronize Rite Aid.

The welding class will start March 26 and run through April 6.  The class meets from 5pm to 9pm at the world headquarters of Lincoln Electric in Euclid, Ohio.  There is a $600 deposit that is refunded on completion of the course.  The course is geared for a G3 and G4 certification and the class will be filled on a first-come first served basis.

It is good to hear about brothers and sisters taking advantage of the opportunities for continuing education offered through NEIEP.  The website offers several online courses covering a variety of topics.  If you have forgotten your login ID or password or just need help logging into the student gateway, you can call NEIEP at 508-699-2200 or 800-228-8220.  The more you know the more valuable you become.

At their September meeting, the trustees of the health benefit plan voted to terminate the services of Optimum Health and selected Carewise Health to provide precertification, disease and case management services for the plan.  This is in response to Optimum losing member information requiring the Plan to contract with Debix for identity protection services for members.

As of the January meeting there is no news on the status of the contract negotiations with NEBA.  ThyssenKrupp has joined NEBA and will negotiate the new agreement with Kone, Otis and Schindler.  Remember that we are less than six months away from the end of the contract.  Save as much as you can in the event of a work stoppage.

The January meeting also was the third reading of the proposed bylaw to raise dues $10 per quarter starting January 1st and a discretionary amount to be determined by the trustees.  After a vigorous floor debate, the proposal was amended to make that discretionary amount a recommendation to the body and subject to a floor vote for acceptance.  It was good to see so many brothers taking part in the floor debate.  Believe me, your voice was heard very loud and clear by all in attendance.

In order to keep in contact with everyone as the contract draws to a close, please be sure that your contact information is correct with Business Agent Tim Moennich.  If you have moved or changed your phone number, please let him know at 216-431-8088 or email him at TMoennich@iueclocal17.org.

Where are they working?

Jason Costa and Ryan Foley doing a fire service overlay at Westlake Condos for Schindler,

John Goggin and Joe Sumph doing comp ropes at Erieview Tower for Schindler,

Bob Brady and Tom Kelly doing a cylinder replacement at GE Ivanhoe for Otis,

Jeff Lindell and Brendan Hyland installing escalators at the Art Museum for Kone,

Neil Beechuk and Nick Meyer finishing a two-stop hydro at Mount Saint Joseph for Thyssen,

Jason Fredrick, Anthony Metcalf, Bill Dudas and Todd Belak doing a changeover at Halle’s for Thyssen,

Scott Hicks and Chris DeJesus doing a three-car mod at the casino for Schindler,

Bob Meyer and Tom Gombar doing a mod at the Salvation Army for Kone,

Ken Bowles and Jason Sohayda doing a mod at Kaiser for Otis,

Jason Faber and Joe Broz Jr. doing a jack at Copper Tree for Thyssen.

February ’12 Article to the Elevator Constructor

Brothers and sisters:

I’ve been thinking a lot about safety over the past few months.  In part because of my return to the trade and comparing safety practices to the foundry industry I was fortunate to work in for three months prior to my return.

When working in the foundry hard hat, safety glasses, metatarsal-protecting shoes, flame retardant clothing and gloves appropriate for the task were the minimum required PPE for anyone outside the locker room or restroom.  People working maintenance needed to be able to work in any part of the plant at any time.  This meant extra gloving, harnesses for working on the cranes or in the man lifts and protection for cutting and welding, masks for certain buildings with high silicon dust and ear protection because no matter where you went it was loud.  Because I was working as an electrician versus a millwright I had arc-rated leather and rubber gloves as well as a tinted full-face shield and jacket for working in high voltage disconnects.  LOTO was mandatory for anything other than troubleshooting requiring the power engaged.

These were rules everyone lived by because everyone knew the dangers we shared and did not want to see a fellow foundry man hurt.  We all looked out for each other.  Unsafe practices were not tolerated.

When someone on the pour line was not wearing his safety glasses under his face shield and was reminded three times in ten minutes by a supervisor from another department his response was a less than courteous “I don’t work for you.”  He was walked out the next day.

As elevator companies institute added layers of safety practices it begs the question:  how much more refinement is needed to reach zero accidents?  Do we really need another safety procedure or do we need reinforcement of a current procedure?  Accessing pits and car tops are the two skills every probationary is taught immediately on their entry into the field.  If you are lucky enough to have a mechanic that teaches and reinforces good habits, there is a good chance you will never have an accident.  If you don’t, well you know where this is going.

Part of the problem is that safety is not personal until it affects you.  Until it is you going to the ER because of a preventable fall, eye injury or laceration much of the training is just words we hear over and over until they lose their meaning.  It is like a parent constantly screaming at a child until that child no longer responds because it is just background noise.

Recently I was part of a group that went through training that qualified us to work at First Energy nuclear plants.  A very high percentage of the training centered on radioactivity and how to safely work around it.  Since it is invisible except to special equipment, it requires a high degree of awareness of your surroundings to keep from becoming contaminated.  The most valuable skill they discussed was the “Two Minute Drill.”  This consisted of upon entering a work space, looking around and evaluating it for potential hazards and avoiding those hazards that are known and reporting those not enumerated prior to starting work.  This was the same thing I did every day at the foundry.  It kept me safe then and I continue to do it today,

One of my resolutions is to actively and consciously keep safe practices in the forefront.  This means LOTO, safety glasses and gloves at the minimum.  When I see one of my colleagues lacking or find a customer that has cut a lock, defeated a safety device or some other transgression, I will take the time to correct them.

After all, we are all in this together.

 

Till next month,

Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.

 

Don

dknapik@windstream.net

January ’12 Article to the Cleveland Citizen

January 13th is a mandatory meeting for the installation of officers.  If you do not attend and are not on vacation or working overtime that night, then you will be subject to a $20 fine.

NEIEP is offering three opportunities for continuing education this first quarter.  The first opportunity is a three-night OSHA 10 class to be taught by John Taylor.  The dates are yet to be determined.  Second is another welding class leading to 3G and 4G certification.  It will be taught over two weeks from 5pm to 9pm at Lincoln Electric, the world leader in arc welding equipment headquartered in Euclid, Ohio.  For proposed class dates and other details, contact Business Agent Tim Moennich at 216-431-8088.

Lastly, NEIEP has developed a number of new online courses, labs and videos covering a number of topics. These are all offered at no cost to constructors.  If you have a particular class you would be interested in seeing Local 17 offer, please contact Tim as our instructors are willing to start a class if there is enough interest.

Congratulations to Brother John Goggin for being the first member of Local 17 to receive his signalman’s certification.  This is an online course offered through NEIEP and completed with a written and oral examination by the NEIEP area coordinator.  It is free and offered to all elevator constructors.

Brother Tom Koch will be stepping down this year from the school board.  On behalf of everyone in the local and in particular those that have had the honor of being your students, I would like to say thank you for the dedication and patience you have shown to everyone you have touched through the years.  You have made a positive impact on the trade in general and Local 17 in particular.  We are all richer for your efforts.  His spot will be taken in January by Jerry Reitz.

If you have not started to save money for the end of the contract, start now! The new year is a great opportunity to get a handle on your income and potential expenses for the future.  People never plan to fail they just fail to plan.

 

Make it Something Great

 

I’m sitting here on the cusp of 2012 pondering the year that has been, to put things lightly, tumultuous at the least and revolutionary in so many ways.

We started off the year with a slew of new governors, most notably Wisconsin’s Scott Walker and our own John Kasich, ramming through public-sector collective bargaining bills that limited union negotiations on a variety of issues.  We in Ohio repealed SB 5 in such a landslide that our once boastful governor looked like a schoolboy who just took a whipping from his headmaster on election night.  It was a great win for labor and sent a clear message about the power that well organized groups can still have on our political class.

This coincided with the Arab Spring that over threw long entrenched dictators from Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and the continuing struggle to unseat the leader of Syria.  While these countries are not progressing in the American mold of freedom, they are creating their own expression of democracy that suits their Arab heritage.  The quandary is whether these new governments will be friendly to America or become radical Islamic states.  Essentially overthrowing the dictator they knew for the dictator they did not know.  Now with the recent death of Kim Jong Il, North Korea has a young and untested leader with his finger on the nuclear button.  Keep that in your sights for 2012.

In America we have the Occupy movement which has succeeded in raising the awareness of the 99% that live under the Golden Rule (the one percent with the gold makes the rules for the 99%) to the excesses of Wall Street and the Federal Reserve.  In Oakland they shut down the port in support of the Longshoremen and were attacked in several cities by the police force with no provocation.  The attempts by the establishment to frame them as old hippies getting their last kicks before retiring to Florida have failed because the face of these protestors is young, clean shaven and linked together by social networks.  This makes it very difficult to cut off the head of the movement because there is no central figure to demonize.  The only way to smash them is to crush the idea that freedom exists in America and the idea this republic was founded upon the preservation of individual liberty is a fallacy.  The push back on these protestors is either the death throw of the old guard or the institution of more liberty seizing programs by the self-appointed rectors of all that is good.

It is because of Occupy and the Arab Spring that Time Magazine named the protestor as their person of the year.  A prediction… Occupy will gel into a true political movement and be a force in 2012 like the Tea Party on the right.

We now have the traveling circus called the GOP primary with its calliope of revolving frontrunners.  My prediction for 2012… the one to come out of this mess to run against President Obama will be the winner of a war of attrition that will fracture the GOP and give the president a second term.

If you have been watching the History Channel with any frequency you know that the Mayan long count calendar ends on December 21, 2012, the winter solstice and shortest day of the year.  While I do not believe that we are on the dawn of the biblical Apocalypse, I do believe that this year, with all the tumult leading into it, will be a small “A” apocalypse for the entrenched powers seeking nothing more than their own selfish agenda.  What can and must rise out of the ashes of 2011 is a new realization that the old paradigm is over and a new thought process that encompasses our new reality has taken hold.

Facebook has succeeded where eons of religion, politics, geography, philosophy, art, literature, war, peace, education, money, TV, radio and newspapers all failed.  We are all now linked into each other in ways no one has ever dreamed.  The question then becomes… is this new linked reality good or evil?  A tool is not inherently good or evil.  The new reality will be what we make it.

Make it something great.

 

2012 Retiree’s Dinner Date Announced

Keep April 20, 2012 open for the 2012 Annual Retiree’s Dinner.  The dinner, which features German food and drink, will be held at Frank Sterle’s Slovenian Country House, 1401 East 55th Street, Cleveland.  The event starts with beverages at 5:30 and dinner served at 6:30pm.  The cost for active members is $30 and retiree’s are free.  A letter will be going out with further details.

Welding Class Information

Starting March 26th and continuing for the following two weeks, IUEC Local 17 in conjunction with the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP) and Lincoln Electric, the world-leader in welding equipment, will be offering a welding course leading to G3 and G4 certification.

The class will be taught at Lincoln’s headquarters in Euclid, Ohio and will run Monday through Friday from 5 to 9 pm for two weeks.  There is a $600 deposit required when signing up for the class.  The deposit will be returned on completion of the course.

Sign up is on a first-come, first-served basis.  For additional details contact Business Agent Tim Moennich at 216-431-8088.

January ’12 Constructor Article

Brothers and sisters:

I hope that everyone reading this had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year filled with all the joy of the season.

Starting January 1, there will be a $1.15 increase in the mechanics pay scale.  Each classification will receive an increase at their percentage of mechanics rate.

There was a very important mailing about a potential identity theft issue involving the Benefits office and Value Options, the network provider of mental health and substance abuse treatment.  According to the letter sent out to every participant, a computer tape containing personal information was lost in transit from Value Options back to the Plan office.  The information was provided to Value Options in order to qualify participants when they sought services.  Since neither the Plan office, Value Options or the carrier used for the shipment have located the tape, they arranged for identity theft protection through Debix for all plan participants at no cost for one year.  This includes members and their covered dependents.

Identity theft is nothing to be taken lightly.  If you have received the letter and not acted on it, I implore you to contact the Benefits office and take advantage of this opportunity to protect yourself and your dependents.  A link to the Benefits office is available through iueclocal17.org under the Union Links button.

I would like everyone reading this to take a few minute and go the Local 17 web site, iueclocal17.org, and read the local’s article for the December issue of the Cleveland Citizen.  It highlights the efforts of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, a Columbus-based “non-profit, non-partisan legal center dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights of Ohioans from government abuse” and their efforts to turn Ohio into the 23rd right-to-work-for-less state.

This is the same group that fronted state Issue 3, the amendment to the Ohio Constitution opting out the Health Care Reform Act passed by the previous Congress.  The amendment passed by a 66 percent to 34 percent margin.

As you might guess, I have a multitude of thoughts on this subject and I will be bringing them to you as the campaign to defeat this next attack on unionism rolls forward.  I’ll repeat here one of the highlights of the Citizen article:

“Being a union member does not guarantee success and it does not shelter failure.

Being a union member, being productive at your job, and having the opportunity to make a better life through better wages, benefits and working conditions is something worth fighting for.  Now is the time to clean your guns, stock up on ammo and be prepared.  The conservatives are coming.”

Where are they working?

John Goggin and Joe Sumph replacing step chains at One Cleveland Center for Schindler,

Keith Poscocil and Ken Eaton installing a three-stop traction at Lorain Community College for Kone,

Jeff Lindell and Ken Jung installing escalators at the Art Museum for Kone,

Mike Miller, Greg Seaman, Gerard Szemerkovsky and Tony Karovich installing two tractions and two hydros at Marymount Hospital for Otis,

Dave Brunner, John Brunner, Mark Byram, Dave Lehotan, Chris Wyatt and Brian Owens installing escalators at the Casino for Schindler,

DJ Springs and Joe Simcic starting the Eaton job for Otis,

Matt Pinchot and Scott Villanueva at the Cleveland Clinic Parking Garage doing a two-car mod for Otis,

Scott Hicks and Jim Rogers installing an elevator at the Casino for Schindler,

Local 17 would like to extend its congratulations to Brother Ryan Foley and his wife on the birth of their baby girl.  A large welcome home goes to the brother of Jeff Ford and stepson of honored retiree Bob Pudimat, Captain Joe Ford, on his return from Iraq.

As of this writing there are 18 mechanics and one apprentice out of work.

Until next month,

Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.

Don

Dknapik@windstream.net

Deadline for NEIEP Letters Nearing

Just a reminder to all those that are on the new hire list.  NEIEP has to have your response recieved at their office by no later than January 5 to remain on the list.  If they do not receive your response you will drop off the list and no longer be eligible to be picked up.  If you have any questions please feel free to call Business Agent Tim Moennich at 216-431-8088.