Category: Cleveland Citizen

October ’13 Labor Citizen

Brothers and sisters:

 This has been a very busy month, so let’s get too it…

Every member of IUEC Local 17 should have received a letter from the local about two important upcoming events.  The first is the special called meetings for the nomination, election and installation of officers.  These dates are November 8th, December 13th and January 10th.  Special called meetings are mandatory and there is a $20 fine for not attending.  No excuses will be accepted unless you call the hall prior to each meeting.

The second event is the annual Children’s Christmas Party which will be held on Saturday December 21st at 1pm at the hall located at 3250 Euclid Avenue.  Children up to and including 12 years old will receive gifts.  Mothers are asked to bring baked goods and beverages will be provided.  There is a form at the bottom of the letter to return to Entertainment Chairman Mike Hogan at 26962 Southwood Lane, Olmsted Township, Ohio  44138 or contact him via email at M.Hogan67@yahoo.com.  Deadline for responses is November 22, 2013.

There are still spots available for the welding class offered through NEIEP and Lincoln Electric.  This gives the participant the opportunity to qualify for a 3G (vertical up) and 4G (overhead) certification.  For more information contact Business Agent Tim Moennich at 216-431-8088 or through email at TMoennich@iueclocal17.org.

On September 12th, IUEC Local 17 administered written tests to 100 candidates for the apprenticeship program.  Interviews are currently slated for the last week of October.

Tim reported at the September local meeting about the IUEC national meeting he attended.  One point brought up was the national meeting was the National Elevator Political Action Committee (NECPAC) check-off form in the back of the agreement book.  This is a voluntary program where the companies will take the money directly out of your check and deposit it in the fund.  The form has a box five or ten cents per hour or you can donate any amount you like.  A five cent check-off at 2000 hours a year would result in a $100 donation and ten cents per hour would be $200 a year.  This is a solid way to fund an organization that will make your voice heard with the candidates and work to elect those that have our best interest at heart.

There was a victory for organized labor involving the Dayton racino project.  Penn Gaming, the developers of the project, took the stand that the job would be prevailing wage but when several bids were awarded to non-union contractors, Dale Herzog, the Executive director of the Northwest Building Trades, called a meeting with Penn Gaming, Turner Construction and 40 building trades representatives.  At the meeting, Penn expressed frustration with the lack of bidders on the project which resulted in the non-union contractors getting the bids.   ACTOHIO Director Matt Szollosi suggested using a PLA (project labor agreement) to bring in more represented labor.  This arrangement gave Penn more bidders and resulted in union contractors getting the work.

There is a link to ACTOHIO’s website on the Union Links page of the local’s website, iueclocal17.org.

If you work for Kone, then keep an eye on the vacation pay for travel time during working hours reported on your pay stub.  It has been discovered that Kone is not always paying the proper vacation hours for travel time.  If you notice an issue, report it to the hall.

Schindler settled with IUEC Local 17 on an issue where a contractor unloaded a truck instead of a Schindler team.  The company paid a four team-hours penalty to the local.

The International and Schindler reached an agreement on mechanics that are working as final acceptance testers.  They may fill out the Schindler SAIS form by checking off each item in compliance.  If an item does not comply then it must not be reported as being compliant.  Schindler instituted this as a quality control measure to ensure a reliable installation as well as a check of critical safety systems.

IUEC Local 17 sends it’s condolences to the families of retired Brother Dan Zupancic who lost his wife and the family of Brother Tim Keating who passed away in a car accident September 1st.

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

Intellectual Competence

I recently received an email from Terry Horner of Otis talking about the paper is son wrote for his Senior Experience before graduating from Walsh Jesuit High School.  The Senior Experience is a three week period where seniors shadow in a business or industry to gain practical knowledge they would not otherwise receive in the classroom.

Terry’s son David shadowed Mike Pytash of Otis’ Cleveland office as he exposed him to the ups and downs (pun intended) of the elevator business.  As I read through his piece, there was one section that struck me as particularly insightful.  In it David talked about intellectual competence and what it means for the business as a whole.

“Becoming intellectually competent in the elevator industry can be tough as there is no real formal instruction manual on elevators.  Although there are books such as “Elevators 101” they cannot really teach you the things you need to know about elevators to efficiently sell, install, maintain, or service them.  There are books on elevators that will explain their components and the functions of those components, but they do not provide the in-field experience one will gain by working with someone who is very “elevator smart”. 

“The true intellectual competency comes from years of experience within an office setting being surrounded by those who know their stuff or by working in the field as a mechanic or adjuster.  When a person gets hired by an elevator company they are taught in the classroom and in the field by those who have the most experience and prove themselves to be the most intellectually competent.  When one is not intellectually competent it is common for them to be not employed by an elevator company as the elevator industry, in every aspect, is highly competitive. 

“Intellectual competence is important not only to the business of an elevator company but to the safety of the public.  When one works on or designs an elevator the most potent, focused thought must be channeled to the completion of the task.  Without focus work becomes sloppy, and when work is sloppy, people’s lives are in danger.  When one looks for an elevator they look for not only the best quality in the product, but the best safety.  If an elevator company’s product becomes notorious with being unsafe business for that company will be effectively non-existent.  Intellectual competency is important to the survival of every aspect of the elevator industry.” 

This part caught my eye because it talks about everyone in an organization cooperating to give their customer (the general contractor, building owner or management company, tenants and the general riding public) the best and safest experience when riding vertical transportation equipment.  It also talks about how if one aspect is lacking the entire organization suffers.

I worked many years in both inside and outside sales before starting in the building trades.  I know first-hand how much effort it takes to get a new customer and how easy it is to lose them when one part of your organization does not communicate with another.

If you take a minute and think about everything that is required for us in the trades to go out and do a job (starting with sales, office support, materials purchasing, transportation, tooling licensing, wages, overhead, coordination with other trades, etc…) it becomes very quickly apparent that we are all a team pushing for mutual success,

Wherever David Horner’s life takes him, I hope he remembers that point. I hope we all remember it.

September ’13 Labor Citizen

Brothers and sisters:

 There were four members of IUEC Local 17 eligible for the Mechanics Exam held on September 11.  As all journeymen know, the final exam of your apprenticeship is actually the easiest one you take.  The true test comes every day after that when you have to balance the pressures of safety on the job, company imposed time restraints and the desire to do your best as a union craftsman.  These are not always easy obstacles to overcome.  Sometimes, when the sun, moon and stars are all in alignment, the job moves forward flawlessly to the satisfaction of all.  Sometimes Mr. Murphy visits the job and the best laid plans fly out the window.

An airline mechanic friend once summarized the philosophy of the industry as “if you find it, fix it because that is one less thing to make the aircraft crash.”  For the most part, this culture of safety has resulted in the airline industry having a very good safety track record.  Because the elevator industry is unique in our scope of work and our exposure to the general public after the pile of parts becomes a living, breathing machine, we have a special responsibility to the riding public to ensure their mode of transportation is, first and foremost, safe and then reliable.  If this means taking extra time to reset the actuating pressure or speed of a safety device, take it.  If that means leaving a unit down until the proper adjustment can be made, take it.  It is far better to error on the side of safety than to leave a safety device designed to protect the public in a state that will never allow it to work.

Think about it like this:  when you’re done with a job, would you feel good about having your family ride than elevator or escalator?  If you have a nagging voice saying “no” then damn the yelling you’re going to get.  Do the job right.

After 138 years in business, Edmonds Elevator, Cleveland’s oldest independent elevator company, was purchased by Thyssen Krupp effective July 1.  In a letter to Local 17, former Edmonds president Tina Schaffer said “I would like to thank you (Tim Moennich) and the union board members and local members for being so supportive and helpful while we transitioned through the personal and company loss of Big Mike (Schaffer).  You will never fully understand how much that meant to me but I assure you it did not go unnoticed.”  Big Mike Schaffer passed away last year.

Local 17 is left with six signatory companies:  the four majors (Kone, Otis, Schindler and Thyssen) and two independents, Maximum and Ross.

The IUEC Local 17 softball team took another early exit from the Cleveland Building Trades Softball Tournament held again this year at James Day Park in Parma and the Euclid Community Center in Euclid.  In their first game, the intrepid team of softballers took a hard early loss to the IBEW B team 20-10.  The game was called in the sixth inning.  Redemption followed on Friday when Ironworkers 17 went down in the “Battle of 17’s” with the IUEC retaining the trophy 13 to 8.  It was Pipefitters 120 that became their undoing when a late rally in the seventh dropped the Constructors from the tournament in a 14-12 loss.

The one bright spot was Anthony Metcalf who, once again doing his best Babe Ruth, walloped two over the fence home runs, one of which being a grand slam and  added to that an inside the park grand slam to his total.  Ric Supinski was denied a sure multi-base hit when the home plate umpire called his Game 3 seventh inning hit down the third base line foul. That helped end the rally and secured the win for 120.

In honor of our brothers in the Other Local 17 and the topping off of the new Inner Belt Bridge, I was forwarded this last year by one of the IUEC members.

The Bridge Builder

By Will Allen Broomgoole

An old man going along a lone highway

Came at the evening cold and grey

To a chasm deep and wide

Through which was flowing a solemn tide.

The old man crossing in the twilight dim,

For the solemn stream had no fears of him.

But he turned when he faced the other side,

And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man” said a fellow pilgrim near,

“you’re wasting strength in building here.

Your journey will end with the end of day

You’ll never again pass this way.

You’ve crossed the chasm deep and wide,

Why build a bridge at the evening tide?”

The builder lifted his old grey head

“good friend, in the past I have come” he said

“There followeth after me today

A youth whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm that has been naught to me,

To the fair haired youth may a pitfall be.

He too must cross in the twilight dim.

Good friend, I’m building this bridge for him.”

August ’13 Labor Citizen

Brothers and sisters:

 There are four members of IUEC Local 17 eligible for the Mechanics Exam to be held September 11.  As all journeymen know, the final exam of your apprenticeship is actually the easiest one you take.  The true test comes every day after that when you have to balance the pressures of safety on the job, company imposed time restraints and the desire to do your best as a union craftsman.  These are not always easy obstacles to overcome.  Sometimes, when the sun, moon and stars are all in alignment, the job moves forward flawlessly to the satisfaction of all.  Sometimes Mr. Murphy visits the job and the best laid plans fly out the window.

An airline mechanic friend once summarized the philosophy of the industry as “if you find it, fix it because that is one less thing to make the aircraft crash.”  For the most part, this culture of safety has resulted in the airline industry having a very good safety track record.  Because the elevator industry is unique in our scope of work and our exposure to the general public after the pile of parts becomes a living, breathing machine, we have a special responsibility to the riding public to ensure their mode of transportation is, first and foremost, safe and then reliable.  If this means taking extra time to reset the actuating pressure or speed of a safety device, take it.  If that means leaving a unit down until the proper adjustment can be made, take it.  It is far better to error on the side of safety than to leave a safety device designed to protect the public in a state that will never allow it to work.

Think about it like this:  when you’re done with a job, would you feel good about having your family ride than elevator or escalator?  If you have a nagging voice saying “no” then damn the yelling you’re going to get.  Do the job right.

There are still slots available for the welding class offered at Lincoln Electric leading to G3 and G4 certification.  If you are interested, then contact Business Agent Tim Moennich at 216-431-8088 or email him at TMoennich@iueclocal17.org.

NEIEP is rolling out two new hands-on labs for apprentices and mechanics.  They cover hydraulic valve simulations, similar to the hydraulic controller lab you are familiar with, and a freight door lab based on the Peelle door system.

The fall semester will start on August 12th.  Letters informing all apprentices of their class assignments should have been received by now.  If you haven’t received a letter, then call Tim at the hall.

Striking IUEC locals in Ontario province reached an agreement on June 28th to end their two-month long walkout.  The solidarity locals 50, 90 and 96 showed got members the money they were looking for as well as protecting seniority and double time.  No matter when your contract expires, ever member of the trades should have a personal strike fund available in case of a stoppage

After 138 years in business, Edmonds Elevator, Cleveland’s oldest independent elevator company, was purchased by Thyssen Krupp effective July 1.  In a letter to Local 17, former Edmonds president Tina Schaffer said “I would like to thank you (Tim Moennich) and the union board members and local members for being so supportive and helpful while we transitioned through the personal and company loss of Big Mike (Schaffer).  You will never fully understand how much that meant to me but I assure you it did not go unnoticed.”  Big Mike Schaffer passed away last year.

Local 17 is left with six signatory companies:  the four majors (Kone, Otis, Schindler and Thyssen) and two independents, Maximum and Ross.

According to a letter from State Representative Sandra Williams there will be no further hearings on House Bill 151 and House Joint Resolution 5 the legislation designed to turn Ohio into a RTWFL state.

As of this writing there are 15 mechanics and four apprentices out of work.

 This is just a reminder that the first Labor Day Festival will be held at Euclid Memorial Park on August 31st from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.  This is a family oriented event and everyone is encouraged to attend.

July ’13 Labor Citizen

Brothers and sisters:

IUEC Local 17 is accepting applications for its apprenticeship program.  To be eligible applicants must be at least 18 years old, hold a high school diploma or GED, pass a written test and an oral interview given by the IUEC Local 17 Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee before being slotted for the list.  Those interested in becoming an apprentice must request an application from NEIEP Area Coordinator Jeff Burns, 433 Little Canada Road East, Little Canada, MN 55117.  All requests must be postmarked no later than July 10th.  If you have any questions, call Business Agent Tim Moennich at 216-431-8088 or email him at TMoennich@iueclocal17.org.  Good Luck.

There are still openings for the welding class to be held at the world headquarters of Lincoln Electric, the leading manufacturer of welding equipment and supplies located in Euclid, Ohio.  This is a two-week, 40 hour class that offers the welding student the opportunity for 3G (vertical up) and 4G (overhead) certification.  Do not miss this chance to learn or hone a valuable skill that can make you more employable.  For more information or to sign up, contact Tim at the hall.

The IUEC lost two brothers to fatal on the job accidents in June.  The first was Brother Don White a 63 year-old mechanic with Local 8 (San Francisco).  He was killed when a counterweight struck him while working on a ladder in the pit of a car at the new football stadium for the San Francisco ‘49er’s.

The second fatality was Brother Ron Zimbro from Local 10 (Washington DC).  He was on a late night/early morning callback where all the cars in a building were out of service.  He was somehow crushed between two cars while working on a divider beam.  He, too, was 63 and had 37 years in the business.  Both of these brothers worked for Schindler Elevator.

As a result of these tragic accidents, during the week of June 17th, Schindler performed a safety stand down in all US and Canadian offices to refocus its emphasis on safe work practices.  This included safety walks by superintendents, area and district managers as well as vice-presidents and concluded with presentations at each Schindler office the week of the 24th.

In the trades, accidents happen.  Each of our trades has their own unique set of dangers that we accept as real and respect for the damage they can inflict.  We become aware of them and learn the necessary steps to keep them at bay from the journeymen who apprentice us.  This is why it is vitally important that every journeyman that has a probationary takes the time to teach them the safe way to ply their trade.  We are the ones that they will reference as their careers grow, so give them a solid foundation of safe practices and reinforce them on a regular basis.

It does not matter whether you are an elevator constructor, iron worker, electrician, bricklayer, pipefitter or anyone working in the trades, one thing is true:  being a fatality is not the way to be remembered.

At the last meeting, Tim reminded all members that whenever they are on a job lasting longer than two day, start a new construction or modernization job or work out of town, they must call the hall to report where they are working.  They must also call in when starting a job that has a hydraulic cylinder hole dug or any other work being done by elevator constructors.

Also at the June meeting, Tim advised that no one at KONE should sign any form or volunteer for a drug test.  This has not been agreed to or approved by the IUEC.

Business Agent Tim Moennich was also a guest on 1490 AM WERE’s America’s Workforce Radio hosted by Ed “Flash” Ferenc.  During the interview they talked about the requirements for the apprenticeship program and the newly completed Medical Mart.  If you are interested in hearing Tim’s interview, go to iTunes and search for American Workforce Radio and download the May 31st podcast.  The show airs Monday through Friday from 4 to 5 pm.

Strike Update

As of this writing, three Canadian locals (Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa, Ontario) are still on strike as talks have broken off with Thyssen, Otis, KONE and Schindler and no new talks are expected.

Our brothers and sisters to the north need our support and a strike relief fund has been established to aid members walking the picket lines.  Any individual or local can send a contribution to the Ontario Strike Fund, C/O IUEC Local 50, 400 Westnery Road, Ajax, Ontario, Canada, L156M6.

IUEC Local 17 would like to send its condolences to the familiy of Brother Jim Moore who passed away in late April and to Brother Doug LaFontaine whose father Jim LaFontaine also passed away.  Jim LaFontaine was the past president of Emco Elevators.

As of this writing there are 14 mechanics and five apprentices out of work.

May ’13 Cleveland Citizen

Brothers and sisters:

The National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP) is happy to announce they are now offering an OSHA 10 class to IUEC members through their website, neiep.org.  OSHA 10 is the ten-hour course that many construction sites require in order to be able to work onsite.  It covers the history of OSHA and basic safety procedures every elevator constructor must know.  The course requires little or no computer experience and can be self-paced.  There is a refundable fee of $72 to enroll.  For more information on this and other opportunities for advanced education, go to the NEIEP website.

There is a sign-up sheet for the welding class offered in conjunction with Lincoln Electric at their world headquarters on Euclid.  This is a 40-hour class that leads to G3 and G4 certification.  If you have any questions contact Business Agent Tim Moennich at 216-431-8088 or email him at TMoennich@iueclocal17.org.

There is still time to get in on the IUEC Local 17 Golf Outing.  The two-man scramble will be held June 1st at Mallard Creek Golf Course, 34500 Royalton Road, Columbia Station.  The festivities kick off at 9:00 AM and feature a full day of golf, food and prizes.  The cost is $100 for the day.  Please get your name into Entertainment Chairman Mike Hogan or Business Agent Tim Moennich.

Lessons Learned

Congratulations to the Strongsville Education Association on ending their eight-week long strike against the Board of Education with their first contract in two years.  While many looking in from the outside might see spoiled public servants attempting to grab as much as they can at the expense of the students they say they care so much about, the issues go so much deeper than that superficial statement.

Strongsville, like many school systems, requires that teachers advance their education over and above the basic bachelor’s degree and compensates them for the time and effort.  The belief is that teachers with advanced degrees bring more value to the classroom and give a more complete and better education to their students.  In other words, if the system is loaded with masters and PhDs, their pay scale is going to be closer to the top than if most of the teachers were holding masters and below.

Strongsville has consistently ranked high in their state evaluations and the community at large supports the good work the teachers do.  The most current report card put out by the state ranked the system 97th out of the 610 public systems in Ohio and gave it an Excellent with Distinction ranking.

Unfortunately for the school system they were hit with a double whammy as decreased state aid by Governor Kasich and a decrease in property values cut into their operating budget.  State aid to the system peaked in 2010 at $21.6 million after increasing from $16.4 million in 2007.  The system took a $700,000 hit in 2011 but bounced back in 2012 with a $2.1 million increase for a total of $22.9 million in state aid.  The local revenue received peaked in 2009 at $53.1 million but decreased to $48.1 million today which is $500,000 above the 2006 levels.  Federal aid to Strongsville is off by $2 million versus the 2010 numbers.  While this looks bleak, the system is still operating with a budget that is $6.5 million over their 2007 revenue.

There are many out there that will use this as a lever to revive SB5, the failed attempt to limit public-sector collective bargaining rights, but the broader issue is union busting by the GOP lead statehouse and turning Ohio into a “Right-To-Work –For Less” state.  As has been reported previously in these pages, there are groups gathering signatures to place a measure called the “Workplace Freedom Act” that would turn collective bargaining back to the pre-NLRB days.

It is ironic that two Republican legislators , Ron Maag of Lebanon and Kristina Roegner of Hudson, introduced sister bills to turn Ohio into a Right-To-Work-For-Less state on May 1st, or as our friends in the former Soviet Union refer to it, May Day.  A day set aside to honor the working man and woman.

As a Strongsville High School graduate of too long ago to count, I think about the lesson plans that a returning striking teacher would prepare for their first class in eight weeks.  I would spend the week talking about the history of labor relations, collective bargaining and why it is as important today as it was in 1935 when the National Labor Relations Act took effect.  Then I would talk about the collective bargaining process and why it is still the best model for management-labor relations and finally using strikes as a last measure.  A lesson plan like this would put the collective bargaining process in perspective and teach a real life lesson the kids will not soon forget.

March ’13 Cleveland Citizen

Brothers and sisters:

There is a lot going on in IUEC Local 17 with education for our membership.  I am proud to report that IUEC Local 17 has thirteen members in its apprenticeship program.  This is the largest apprentice class the local has had in years and they are lucky enough to be instructed by Jerry Reitz.  Retired Brother John Taylor is currently teaching a mechanics class in the mysteries of solid-state motor control.

IUEC Local 17 is once again offering, in cooperation with NEIEP, the highly popular welding class taught at Lincoln Electric, the world leader in welding equipment and supplies.  The 40-hour class is geared to certifying the constructor in 3G (vertical up) and 4G (overhead) positions.  The class runs for two weeks and is four hours a night.  If you are interested in the welding class or any other educational opportunities offered by the local, please contact Business Agent Tim Moennich at 216-431-8088 or at TMoennich@iueclocal17.org.

Please watch this space and the local’s website, iueclocal17.org, for information on an upcoming apprentice recruitment.  Dates and times have not been announced, but if you or anyone you know would like to enter this challenging trade then this is your time.

Sunday, March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day and once again IUEC Local 17 will be taking part in the annual parade honoring Ireland’s favorite son.  This is always a well-attended family oriented event and everyone is encouraged to attend and march.  The route travels down Superior and we usually set up near the Plain Dealer building about East 20th Street.  This is a great opportunity to create memories and friendships that last a lifetime.

On Friday, April 19, 2013 IUEC Local 17 will honor our retired members at Frank Sterle’s Slovenian Restaurant, 1401 East 55th Street.  Refreshments will be served at 5:30 and dinner will begin at 6:30.  As always, this is a members only event.  The cost at the door is $30 per person and includes the family-style dinner.  All retired members attend for free, but a reply should be sent in for a reservation.  Please contact Business Agent Tim Moennich at the hall for your reservation.

Saturday, June 1st is the date for the annual IUEC Local 17 Golf Outing to be held again this year at Mallard Creek Golf Course, 34500 Royalton Rd., Columbia Station.  It is a two-man scramble format over one of the best public courses in Cleveland.  Please watch this space for times and costs.

At the Tri-State meeting Local 17’s former organizer and recently appointed regional director, Jim Chapman, reported that Oracle Elevator, the Florida-based non-union elevator contractor, recently lost the highly lucrative contract at The Ohio State University.  This brings the total number of employees in their Columbus office down to four.  Oracle was started in 2004 by former Otis Elevator NA president Bill Miller and former NAES president Mark Boelhouwer.

It is no secret that Right-to-Work-For-Less is a top priority for the Republican-led statehouse. Their greatest ally in the struggle to drive down wages and benefits to workers is the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), an anti-union group based in Alexandria, Virginia.  The ABC’s agenda is to spread false information about union contractors and attempt to push anti-worker legislation like RTW through statehouse after statehouse.  To counter this movement, the AFL-CIO is looking for volunteers to work phone banks to educate the public about the issues relating to RTW and its consequences.  If you can give a couple of hours, please contact Tim at the hall for further information.

It seems as though Article IV work, or our work jurisdiction according to our contract, is constantly under assault by the companies.  Over the years there have been attempts to erode the work, mostly due to advances in technology like plug and play, we as elevator constructors perform in the field.  Remember when every push button box was hard wired?  Remember when making cross connects on construction or mod meant pulling a series of multi-cords between controllers?  Remember when controllers actually had relays?  These are all examples of how the industry has changed and our work has been given away in the name of progress.

Now the current ploy is to say that our company does not have anyone “qualified” to do the work.  Whether it is cab work, setting machine beams, boxing out cable holes, welding jacks or laying flooring if it goes in an elevator it is our work.  The only way to protect it is to stand up and say “this is work we claim under Article IV and according to the Standard Agreement signed between the union and companies it is to be done by union elevator constructors.”  Sometimes a boss will make excuses about giving it away.  Even though your boss did not sign the contract, someone higher than him did.  Remind him that when he gets to make decisions about the content of the contract and its approval, he can comment, otherwise he is as bound by it as we are.

It is, after all, a two-way street.

February Cleveland Citizen

Brothers and sisters:

John Taylor is currently teaching a course in solid state motor control.  This is a 20-hour class over five nights and started February 5th.  While many were not able to get in on this class, Local 17 in association with Lincoln Electric is once again offering their popular welding class.  This is a 40-hour class that meets for four hours a night for two weeks and offers the opportunity for a 3G and 4G certification.  The class is taught by the instructors of Lincoln, the world’s leading manufacturer of welding equipment and supplies, at their world headquarters in Euclid.  This is a rare opportunity to learn or refine a valuable skill at a world-class facility in our backyard.  If you are interested, please contact Business Agent Tim Moennich at the hall at 216-431-8088 or by email at TMoennich@iueclocal17.org.

It is my sad duty to report that Charles Buchanan of Local 5 (Philadelphia), a Schindler mechanic, lost his life on December 29th.  The accident happened while he was working on a dumbwaiter at a Philadelphia area casino.  He was 54.  While the specifics of the accident are being investigated, this should be a reminder that ours is, at best, a dangerous occupation so vigilance about safety is not only important, but crucial to our going home every night.

IUEC Local 17 maintains an email list for immediate communication with members, both active and retired, in the event of a death, accident or important events.  You can get on the list by contacting Tim at the hall.

New York City (Local 1) and Houston, Texas (Local 31) are looking for help.  If you are willing to travel or know of someone who would be, please have them contact Tim at the hall.

Buffalo, New York Local 14’s Vice President Bill Schaber was featured on the Union Sportsman Alliance TV program Brotherhood Outdoors which originally aired Sunday, January 13th.  The episode featured Schaber bowfishing Asian carp in Illinois.  For more information and showtimes you can go to unionsportsmen.org.

IUEC organizer Jim Chapman reported that effective January 1, Thyssen-Krupp purchased non-union Amco Elevator in Indianapolis (Local 34).  This is a large gain for the local because it brings eighteen new members into the fold and adds 2000 units to Thyssen’s portfolio.  According to Chapman the acquisition happened because the members of Local 34 reached out to the Amco employees and convinced them that joining the IUEC was the best thing to do.  The sale to Thyssen came about after it was clear the employees wanted union representation.  Moving forward, this approach can be a model for all the trades.

There will be a vote at the February meeting on International resolutions to make a three trustee board to regularly audit the books of the International and add two vice-president positions.  While this is not a mandatory meeting, it is important that all members be present to hear and vote on the resolutions.

The entire Local 17 family sends their condolences to the families of Brothers Tom Kelly and Mark Carollo who both lost their fathers and Brother John Patton who lost his mother.

 

 

December ’12 Cleveland Citizen

Brothers and sisters:

There is a lot going on so let’s get started…

There is a signup sheet for an OSHA 10 class.  The class leads to a receiving an OSHA 10 card which is vital to gaining access to many construction job sites.

NEIEP has recently partnered with Goddard College to offer elevator constructors the opportunity to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree.  Goddard, a liberal arts institution based in Plainfield, Vermont recently assessed the NEIEP curriculum and recognized the apprenticeship program as the equivalent of 52 credits towards the 120 credit hours needed for a BA degree.  NEIEP students can also apply to transfer credits from previously completed college studies toward their degree.  If you are interested in looking into this unique opportunity you can visit the Goddard website at goddard.edu or call Business Agent Tim Moennich at the hall.

The State of Ohio is doing a survey of the building trades to update their information of prevailing wages across the state.  As you know, union and non-union contractors bidding on prevailing wage jobs have to pay the prevailing wages in the area.  In the last four years the number of cases brought up by the Obama administration for prevailing wages has dramatically increased and that trend is expected to continue.

At the Tri-State meeting organizers from the International reported that non-union Oracle Elevator is in trouble.  They recently lost the lucrative Ohio State University contract after two of their best mechanics were placed with Local 34 (Indianapolis) and are having a hard time doing any business in Columbus.

Also at the meeting, General President Frank Christensen reported that the supervisors are continuing to give away our work.  He advised that if you see “work by others” on a print and you know it is work we claim, just do it.

The International advises that nobody should sign the Schindler vehicle policy.  There is a DMV form which has been approved by the International.  If you have any questions, as always, call Tim.

We are very fortunate at IUEC Local 17 to be at full employment with many out-of-towners in our ranks.  A quick survey of six locals (Boston, Akron, Baltimore, Louisville, Toledo and Columbus) shows that out of 2037 members represented 244 are out of work.  Boston leads with 192 of the total unemployed and 1258 of the total members.

Another quick tidbit… in 1996 there were seven working constructors for every retiree.  In 2012 the ratio is two to one.

Congratulations to everyone that came out and voted in the November general elections.  Your vote did make a difference!  Organized labor came out large for President Obama and Senator Brown to help them retain their seats.  Unfortunately we lost friends in Dennis Kucinich and Betty Sutton, both of whom were caught in gerrymandered district fights.

I have been following politics since I was knee high to a grasshopper and have always considered myself a junky.  I lived for the next election night victory high and feared the crash of a loss.  For years politics was my opium and I chased the dragon.

It seems to me that every election cycle presents worse attacks than the previous iteration.  This year was no exception.  The fear porn and outright lies extolled by the Right made me sick.

Days before the election I received a call from a woman in a Republican call center in Cincinnati.  After she spent five minutes trying to scare me into voting AGAINST Obama I asked her why I should vote FOR Mitt Romney.  Her main reason came down to “he’s not Barack Obama.”  I then went through her whole script and pointed out where fear porn AGAINST something is not a reason to vote the other way.  After some prodding she said her main fear was that America was going socialist and I told her we were too far along that road to go back to the democracy we were taught about in school.  But that is a conversation for another time.

The one thing I’ve learned about election night is that more times than not, the electorate make the correct decision.  Like them or not, in our lifetimes men like Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Bush 41 and 43 and even Nixon, Ford and Carter all defined the times they lead in.  Barack Obama is no exception.  My most sincere hope is that as he moves forward in a second term, we see the leader we so expected in the first.

Where is my methadone?

November ’12 Cleveland Citizen

November article for IUEC Local 17

 

By Donald Knapik

Correspondent

 

Brothers and sisters,

First off, congratulations go out to Brothers Ed Gimmel, Ryan Foley, Nick Meyer and Chris Wyant for passing the mechanics test.  As I have said before, and every mechanic will tell you first hand, the easy part is over.  Now it is your responsibility for the job being done right and the safety of your partner and the public at large.  Remember, you do not have all the answers, no one does, so pick up the phone and call someone you trust.  That simple act could save a whole lot of head and heartache.

Please note on your calendar that the November 11th, December 14th and January 11th meetings are mandatory meetings for the nomination, election and installation of officers.

At the October meeting there was a first reading of the amendment to the local by-laws  increasing the dues $10 every January 1 as long as deemed necessary by the local trustees and treasurer.  Any amount over the $10 will need a two-thirds vote in order to pass.  The trustees and treasurer are recommending an additional$10for a total of $20.  This will be voted on at the December 14th meeting which will also be a mandatory meeting for the election of officers.

Last month, Business Agent Tim Moennich attended a national meeting of the business agents of the IUEC to discuss and get updates on a variety of issues facing the International.  At the meeting NEIEP director John O’Donnell gave an overview of the programs the organization will be rolling out over the next few years.  There is a new four-unit course on automated people movers and virtual troubleshooting and escalator labs that are being rolled out now.  In the works is a cab work class covering the topics of flooring, woodworking and working with glues and glass.  NEIEP is also partnering with Pellee and this year will come out with a freight door lab as well as a line starter lab.

NEIEP is pushing the need for more constructors to take the rigging, signaling and scaffolding classes offered through their website, neiep.org, and at the local level.  Nationally, laborers are taking this work because of the lack of certified constructors.  And do not forget about the OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 certifications needed to even walk on some worksites.  All of these continuing education opportunities are being paid for by the 23,000 members on the International.  That means you and me and everyone else.  Having a unique skillset could mean the difference between working now and continuing to work later.

The Elevator Industry Work Preservation Fund (EIWPF) gave an update on their efforts to secure work on the windmills that are springing up over the nation.  In July, Work Preservation and NEIEP met with Siemens at their gearbox manufacturing plant in Illinois and a wind farm in LaSalle, IL.  The effort is to not only secure the installation of the elevators in the larger windmills but also of the equipment housed in the nacelle, the “machine room” of the windmill.  These structures contain unique hazards like 12,ooo volts of electricity and high rescue training in the event of an accident.

The one thing the IUEC has in its favor is that we are already familiar with the equipment present in a nacelle, generators, gearboxes and brakes, and we would be able to supply a national workforce to the windmill owners.  There is also a move in several AHJs to cover the windmills under A17, the code covering elevators.

This is a potentially very important addition to the work we claim which could secure good work for many constructors for a long time.

New General President Frank Christensen addressed the gathering to encourage the International to pull together and move forward, putting any bad blood behind us.  He also echoed the need to increase the continuing education opportunities for mechanics.

At the Ohio Building and Construction Trades Convention, one of the big issues was a resolution to raise the per capita paid by member locals by three cents per hour per member until 2015 and then raise it to five cents per hour per member.  This would quadruple the per capita paid by Local 17.  Some of the increase would go toward a fund called ACT Ohio which does lobbying and public relations on behalf of the OBCTC.

Finally, GET OUT AND VOTE.  If you do not vote you lose the right to complain.

 

Personal Notes on Leadership

 

I have been watching the presidential debates and looking at both Governor Romney and President Obama and wondering to myself which one I feel more comfortable leading the United States for the next four years.  This has not been an easy task.

President Obama inherited what could be very kindly called a mess.  The litany of problems he faced on January 20, 2008 was huge.  We are all well aware of them so I will not even attempt to itemize the incredible list for fear of missing one or two.

Four years ago I was genuinely torn between Obama and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.  I went in the voting booth, for the first time in my life, conflicted over whom to cast my ballot for.  It took a flip of a quarter and two heads to cast my ballot for Obama.  I watched as the Republican herd was thinned to Senator McCain for the nomination.  My mind was still not made up.  I watched each of the candidates very closely during the interceding months to see exactly where they stood on the different issues that faced the nation.

There were two factors that swayed me to believe that Obama deserved my vote.  The first came during the debates as I watched each of the men and their seconds face off on the critical issues of the day.  I was not so much interested in what they said but how they said it.  Senator McCain was a “maverick”, whatever that meant, and he took every opportunity to tell you how much of a maverick he was.  Then Sarah Palin picked up on the theme and beat that horse right into the ground.  What I got out of the debates was that the McCain/Palin team was all over the map and unpredictable on their stance on any issue from day to day.  Conversely, Obama projected an air of confidence and placing a steady hand on the ship of state.  We do not want leaders that are all over the map.  We want predicable.

The second came in a series of CBS News interviews where both candidates were asked the same questions and their unedited responses were aired during the broadcast over the course of a week.    The interviewer asked both candidates how they could relate to the average American.  McCain’s response was garbled at best and he seemed taken aback by the question.  Obama responded by telling a story about how before his book “The Audacity of Hope” started to sell well he and Michelle would sit down at the dinner table to pay their bills and often times they had to make tough choices on who got paid that month.  In that moment I felt that he got it.  He understood how the vast majority of Americans felt at the end of the month.

In that moment he got my vote.

During the last four years I have not always agreed with the positions or policies that President Obama has put forth, but the overall effect has been positive.  The economy is getting stronger and people are going back to work, Osama Bin Laden is dead, the troops are back from Iraq and Afghanistan is winding down.  Unfortunately the deep recession we are coming out of has given the conservatives canon fodder to try and unseat him.

Enter Mitt Romney.  As the GOP candidate he has changed his mind several times on many key issues mostly to appeal to different constituencies during the campaign.  His own words, used here and elsewhere in the media, have proven that he really is not consistent in his policies and is condescending towards those below him.  I do not doubt that he truly believes what he says, but does he say what he believes?  I don’t know. And that is the pebble in my shoe that keeps me from accepting him at face value.

Many believe that this election is a choice between the lesser of two evils and the lesser is still evil.  I believe that it is the choice between someone who has a steady hand on the ship of state and someone who is disingenuous with those he wishes to lead.

I will not have to flip a coin in the voting booth this time.

October ’12 Cleveland Citizen

Brothers and sisters:

My bicycle Murray and I made it to South Bend, Indiana.  Along that 242 mile journey I learned a couple of things about heading west: there is a reason the winds are called PREVAILING westerly’s, America is primarily made up of corn and soybeans (with the occasional fruit orchard thrown in for flavor), even on places that on the map look desolate, there are farm houses, every one of those farm houses has a dog and every one of them thinks they are a Rottweiler.  Anyway, it was an interesting adventure that I will be sharing soon enough with a much wider audience.  Stay tuned for further information.

There is a lot going on so I will get right to it….

IUEC Local 17 currently has nine probationary apprentices added to the local, seven by Otis and two by Schindler.  They joined the apprentices waiting for the mechanics exam in classes on Wednesday night.  Seven of the fourth –year apprentices that were eligible to sit for the mechanics exam took the test.  To those I have to say that the mechanics exam is the only unbiased measure of your knowledge you will ever have on this business.  Most of what others perceive we know comes second or third hand and is rarely accurate.  I will have the names of those that passed next month.

Sign up is available for an OSHA 10 class.  Most people working construction or mod know that often times the general contractor requires at the very least an OSHA 10 card.  Soon, many sites will require the advanced OSHA 30 card in order to work on site.  The OSHA 10 class is a ten-hour class covering the history of OSHA and touches on all aspects of construction site safety.  Please contact Business Agent Tim Moennich for dates and further information.

I am also encouraging everyone to go to the NEIEP website, neiep.org, to participate in the online continuing educational opportunities that NEIEP has available.  Classes like rigging and signaling are available as well as interactive labs of all descriptions.  I recently had the pleasure of visiting the NEIEP headquarters and can tell you first hand that they are ramping up several new online and lab-oriented offerings.

The continuing education offered is how we keep our work.  Get educated and keep working.

The Elevator Industry Work Preservation Fund has a video about its Qualified Elevator Inspector Program (QEI).  Work Preservation is the organization that works on safety-related issues for both the IUEC members and its signatory companies.  There is an opening for a QEI inspector in Hawaii and the State of Ohio is looking for two inspectors for the Northeast Ohio area.  For more information, contact Tim at 431-8088.

Frank Christensen, International Vice-President out of Chicago’s IUEC Local 2, was elected by the General Executive Board to fill the vacancy created by the resignation and retirement of Dana Brigham.  Congratulations to Brother Christensen and may he lead in example and wisdom.

The new contract requires that we take 20 vacation days a year.  Even though there was a 15-day requirement at the start of this year and through the first half until the new contract took effect in July, the new contracts 20-day requirement takes precedence.  Be sure you have all of your time in or be prepared to visit the Executive Board.

The November 9, December 14 and January11 meetings are required mandatory special meetings for all members for the nomination, election and installation of officers.  There will be no excuses accepted for non-attendance.

In case you have not noticed, this is a political year.  Starting August 1, IUEC members can voluntarily contribute to the National Elevator Constructors Political Action Committee (NEC-PAC).  You can contribute as little as five or ten cents per hour or any amount you would like.  There is an authorization form in the back of the new contract book.  If you have any questions, again, please contact Tim.

IUEC Local 17 sends its most sincere condolences out to the families of Joe Udovic and John Sutter, also known as Santa, both of which passed away in July.  Both of them will be missed.

As of this writing there are nine out-of-towners working in IUEC Local 17.

 

Percentages

 

Obama-Romney, Brown-Mandel, Rennaci-Sutton… it does not take a lot of insight to realize that this is a political year.  The slings and arrows flying back and forth in this carousel of outrageous fortune make even the most ravenous political junkie long for a methadone clinic.  All of them are playing a game of percentages.  Please read on and I will explain.

What everyone involved in politics knows, and is immediately transferable to your daily life, is there are three types of people you will meet.  There are those that will follow you to the Gates of Hell and thank you for taking them there, there are those that would not spit on you if you were on fire and, finally, everyone in between.

Think about this for a moment.  If you break it down in simple math, one out of every three people falls into one of those categories, but on a finer examination we discover that instead of the few that may fall into the extremes, most everyone falls closer to the middle.  When a political campaign begins, there is an extreme effort to identify those on both ends and tailor the message to maximize those in the first group and enough of the last to counter the influence of the second.  This is the struggle every organization faces.  A practical and very timely example is Apple and their release of new products.  There are people that will sit outside for hours waiting for the doors to open to be the first to buy the iPhone 5, for example, and those that will wait until their current contract is up to upgrade.  There are those that are sufficiently upset with Apple’s privacy policies or have a negative view of the company in general to never buy an Apple product ever.  Apple does not need to reach these people, their minds are made up.  This is why they keep advertising to convince the rest of us to pay $300 for the 32 Gig version.

Throughout the current campaign, Governor Romney has steadfastly refused to release any more tax returns than for the 2010 and 2011 tax years.  He recently released his 2011 tax return and claimed an income of $13.7 million and paid $1.9 million in taxes, an effective tax rate of 13.8%.  He also claimed $2.25 million in charitable deductions.  Had he claimed the full $4.0 million he and his wife donated his effective rate would have been about 9 percent.  For 2010 Romney’s income was $21.7 million and he paid an effective rate of 13.9 %.  The accounting firm of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, who handle the Romney’s taxes, released a statement that his annual effective tax rate for the past 20 years is 20.2%

I don’t pay more than are legally due and frankly if I had paid more than are legally due I don’t think I’d be qualified to become president. I’d think people would want me to follow the law and pay only what the tax code requires.
–Mitt Romney, interviewed by David Muir of ABC News, 7/29/12

Over the years the Hispanic population of the United States has risen dramatically, particularly in the southwest because of the proximity to Mexico, Central and South America.  In 2010 the Pew Research Center did a study of the Latino electorate.  They found that nationally they are 16.3% of the population and 10.1% of the eligible voters but only seven percent of the actual voters who come to the polls.  Over the years many presidential candidates and presidents have courted the Hispanic vote by promising everything from immigration reform to amnesty for illegals.

In 1986 Ronald Reagan granted amnesty to 2.9 million illegal immigrants provided they entered the country prior to 1982.  He even presided over a swearing-in ceremony for several hundred largely Latino illegals.  The hoped for result was for these newly minted Americans to vote Republican like the emancipated blacks after the Civil War.  This did not stop Hispanics from moving to the Democratic side of the aisle.  In a recent Pew study on Hispanic voting trends, 68 percent of registered Hispanic voters preferred Obama over 23 percent for Romney.

“My heritage, my dad, as you probably know, was the governor of Michigan, was the head of a car company, but he was born in Mexico. Had he been born of Mexican parents, I’d have a better shot of winning this.  But, he was unfortunately born to Americans living in Mexico; they lived there for a number of years. I say that jokingly, but it would be helpful to be Latino.”

–Mitt Romney to a gathering of Latinos on his Mexican heritage.

So what does this all mean?  Well, based on his comments, Governor Romney has a lot of explaining to do to the Americans he hopes to lead as President Romney.  First he needs to explain why being Latino would be an advantage for him to those that already are.  He then needs to explain why he did not take all the charitable contributions he was allowed to take on his 2011 taxes.  Since, by his own words, he is not qualified to be President because he paid more taxes than were legally due.

And when he is done explaining all this to the American people, he can turn to his donors and explain to them why he will only garnered 47 percent of the vote and who those voters were.

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.— Mitt Romney at a private fund raising gathering.

 

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