Category: Articles

Brothers and Sisters:

Local 17 will be participating in the 2024 Cleveland St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  The event falls on a Sunday so the expected crowd will be large.  Watch this space next month and the Local website, iueclocal17.org, for more information.  

If you are looking stay downtown and make a weekend celebrating Cleveland’s Irish heritage, St. Malichi Catholic Church, 2459 Washington Avenue, will hold its 45th Annual Run/Walk on Saturday, March 16th.  The event benefits its community outreach programs.  Preregistration is required.  For more information go to stmalachi.org.  

Apprentice school is in full swing with Brothers Jerry Reitz, Tim Narowitz, Tom Goggin and Don Knapik teaching RC 100, 200 and 500.  This is the largest apprentice class in recent history with at least two classes going every night Monday through Thursday.

Congratulations to newly elected Local 17 Trustee Jack Finucan and the return of Mike Hogan as an officer in the role of The Warden.

The definition of news is something unusual happening.   By this definition, payroll troubles in the IUEC have fallen off the category of news.  They are continuing at Schindler Cleveland as four probationaries did not receive their six-month increase with four more scheduled soon after for the same increase.  The first four were made whole, and according to the hall the second group was scheduled correctly.  

On a larger note, 400 Schindler modernization workers across the US with 30 of those from Cleveland, had a variety of issues regarding their Thanksgiving week checks.  If you have concerns about your check, contact Business Manger John Driscoll Jr. at the hall at 216-431-8088 or email him at JEDriscoll@iueclocal17.

All 2023 vacation time must be turned in by January 31, 2024.  This is in accordance with Article X, Section 21 of the Local 17 By-Laws.  If you did not turn in your time, expect to be contacted by the Executive Board.

Local 17 has taken a strict approach to reporting and taking time to keep companies honest about giving time off and assuring each member takes off what they deserve.  This also keeps companies from picking and choosing who they give time off as well as maintaining the requirements of the CBA.  Those with five years service must take a minimum of 160 hours of vacation and members with less than five years need to take 120 hours.

Vacation time is paid twice a year, January and July, with the amount in the check based on the number of hours worked the previous six months.  Paid Time Off (PTO) pay can be arranged with the employer based on how much is available for the person based on hours worked.  If you have any questions, contact your superintendent or John.  

Work has continued to be brisk in Cleveland.  The Sherwin-Williams headquarters has topped out and several other larger jobs are manned and in full swing.  Modernization and service work are strong with no let up seen in the near future.

Anytime a team is using a company vehicle to move material from the shop (stake body or pickup) that needs to be returned to the shop at the end of the day, the driver must return the vehicle to the shop by quitting time.  This means, for example, that a mechanic must allow the apprentice to leave the job in time to return the vehicle by quitting time not keeping them on the job and expecting them to return the vehicle on their own time.  

The Brothers and Sisters of Local 17 send their condolences to the family of Honorary retiree Carl Mueller who passed away November 24, 2023.

As of this writing there is one mechanic on the bench and 20 transients working in the jurisdiction.

Until next month,

Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.

Don

DKnapik@windstream.net

Brothers and Sisters:

As this issue of the Elevator Constructor reaches your mailbox, the world will be ringing in the New Year 2024.   The Local has a lot to be proud of moving into 2024.  Membership stands at 213 constructors, our highest number since before 2008.  With the transients that number increases to 233 dues paying members.

As you will see below, work is good in Cleveland.  Schindler has the largest project in town and the most members at 88 while the other signatories are growing their numbers.  In the spring there will be 45 apprentices in the NEIEP program and five eligible for their Mechanics Exam.

This is a good time to be in Cleveland.

Where are they working?

Jim Thompson and Eric Johnson at Cleveland Clinic M Building doing a mod for Otis,

Shane Huff and John Logue at Hillcrest Hospital doing a mod for Otis,

Craig Nolty and Luke Schnitzler at Chesterfield Terrace installing a car for Otis,

Jerry Szmerekovsky Nd Pat McHugh at Apex installing seven cars for Otis,

Deven Shields and Matt Dinko at Easthaven doing a mod for Otis,

Erne Johnston and Mark Thomason at the Federal Reserve doing a mod for Otis,

Dion Yatsko and Mike Hassel at the Diplomat doing amid for Otis,

Pat Pollock and Spencer Adams the Cleveland Clinic L Building doing a mod for Otis,

DJ Spring and Ellaina Harris at Fairview Hospital doing a mod for Otis,

Ric Supinski, Dave Adrian, Joel Reyes, Joe Simcic, Scott Daugherty, Lee Barkschat, Nacho Badillo, Del Gay, Juan Rodriguez, Jeremy Sesma, Nick Bowlen, Cory Oldham, Paul Verga, Cody Dempster, Marcus Luxenburg, Kyle Drnak and Fran Farhm at the Sherwin Williams Headquarters installing a bunch of cars for Schindler,

Andrea Rodriguez and Jason Mays at Clifton Plaza doing a mod for Schindler,

Tom Peska and Todd Ault ant Great Lakes Manufacturing for Schindler,

Joe Sumph and Tito Mike at the Leader Building doing a mod for Schindler,

Shawn Yatsko, Lucas Janke, Herb Fouts and Tom Hollan at the Justice Center doing a five-car mod for Schindler,

Brian Bond and Mike Gallagher doing a mod at UH Main Campus for Schindler,

Brandon Light and Dan Varga at CMSD Data Center installing a freight car for Schindler,

Matt Carlton and Sean Kelly doing amid at Rockside Medical for Schindler,

Don Yoho and Ryan Bissell installing six cars at Ashtabula Hospital for Schindler,

Jason Barnett and Adam Klein installing several cars at Sherwin Williams Tech Center in Brecksville,

Dave Gnagy and Jay Carlson doing a two-car mod at Sacred Heart Nursing for Schindler,

Gary Thompson and Kyle Meyer doing amid at Medina Hospital for Schindler,

Ryan Todd, Andy Mesko, Rob Timko, Jarrett Adams, Ricky Kemp and Nick Seaman doing a mod at 45 Erieview for Schindler,

Todd Ross, Russell Barrows, Joe Gouker and Jake Driscoll installing six escalators at the Convention Center for KONE.

James Hirz, Brendan Hyland, Eric Schaffran and Kyle Fallon at Van Aken District Two installing cars for KONE,

Drew Williams and Bob Savnik at Shaker Villa doing a mod for KONE,

Kenny Bowles and Sasha Vojkovic replacing machines at Bratenhal Place for KONE,

Tim Narowitz and Vince Smrdel doing a mod at Judson Park for TKElevator,

 Bill Dudas and Dave Ford at Stratton House doing a mod for TKElevator,

Jason Fredrick and Brad Skotko doing a mod at Judson Manor for TKElevator

Kevin Thomas, Matt Ramser and John Smith installing cars at City Club for TKElevator,

Sean Canning and George McDonald installing a car at Mayfield Center for TKElevator,

Chris Sipos and John Ranney at Crestview doing a four-car mod for TKElevator,

Anthony Metcalf and Christian Thompson at Scranton Castle doing a four-car mod for TKElevator,

Jim Ehrbar and Dan Quigley at Lakehouse Condos doing a mod for 3Phase,

Marc Carollo and Brian Owens at Lakewood Cliffs doing a mod for 3Phase,

Wing Lui and Tino Chabai doing a mod at Luckman Building for 3Phase.

The Brothers and Sisters of Local 17 send their condolences to the families of Honored Retirees Jim Batteiger, Todd Keating and Wilbur Wilhelm.

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

Until next month,

Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.

Don

DKnapik@windstream.net

Brothers and Sisters:

On November 5, 2023, IUEC Local 17 celebrated the 120th anniversary of its founding.  The Local was established to “encourage a higher standard of skill among its members, cultivate a feeling of friendship among the craft, obtain and maintain a fair standard wage, assist each other in securing employment, protect the jurisdiction of the craft, engage in cultural, civic, legislative, fraternal, educational, charitable, welfare, social and other activities which further the interests, directly or indirectly, of the organization and its membership.”   

In commemoration, over the course of the next year, the Local 17 website, iueclocal17.org, will feature galleries of photos taken over the course of its history.  The first gallery is a reimagining of the advertisement in the International book from the most recent convention.  If any member, past or present, has photos they would like to share they can be emailed to webadmin@iueclocal17.org.  The photos can be from union events, parties, work sites or anything that speaks to the founding objectives of the Local.

The Local 17 Children’s Christmas Party is scheduled for December 9 at 1 pm at the hall located at 3250 Euclid Avenue.  There will be entertainment and a visit from Santa bearing gifts for children 12 and younger.  Members are encouraged to bring baked goods.  Soft drinks will be provided.  This is a great opportunity to meet and mix with other members and their better halves.

International Organizer Steve Simpson was in attendance at the the October general meeting to discuss organizing activities across the International and in our area.  The major push of the night was to pass a series of organizing resolutions which align the resolutions passed by Local 17 during its Gable campaign with those across the International.  They passed without objection.

Fall semester is scheduled to end the week of December 11 and the Spring semester will begin the week of January 22.  Business Manager John Driscoll Jr will be sending out notices of class assignments and dates as soon as the finals from Fall are received.  If you have any questions or concerns, contact John at the Hall at 216-391-8088 or email him at JEDriscoll@iueclocal17.org.

Those mechanics who passed their Exam after July 9, 2022 must take the continuing education courses offered on the NEIEP website in order to get their January 1 pay increase.  All mechanics are eligible to take CE courses and are paid eight hours by NEIEP for their time.  For more information go to the NEIEP website, neiep.org, and cursor to the Continuing Education tab on the right side of the home page.

The Local 17 By-Law Committee is in the process of creating a safety liaison for jobs with five or more constructors.  Since there is no provision for a steward, the liaison would be a primary contact of a large job and report to the Business Manager to resolve safety related issues on large job sites and speak about those issues at the quarterly safety meetings with the signatory companies.

The Ohio Board of Building Standards wanted to remove mine and wind turbine lifts from the Ohio elevator licensing law.  Prior to the meeting, the Board withdrew its request after reviewing the comments and concerns raised during the pre-meeting discussions.  There is no further timeline on implementation of licensing at this time.

Schindler has the largest part of work in Cleveland but, the other majors (Kone, Otis and TKElevator) have all picked up in the past few months.

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

Until next month,

Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.

Don

DKnapik@windstream.net

Brothers and Sisters:

There is a lot going on so let’s get to it.

For those whose September issue of the Elevator Constructor did not have the report for Local 17, that article and all articles from 2011 through today are on the IUEC Local 17 website, iueclocal17.org.  I encourage everyone to read this very special piece.

The November 10th meeting has been moved to November 17th to accommodate the observance of Veterans Day.  The November 17 and December 8, 2023 and January 12, 2024 meetings are Special Called Meetings for the nomination, election and installation of officers.  All members are required to attend.  Those not attending without a valid excuse will be fined by the Executive Board. 

Where are they working…

Jim Thompson and Matt Dinko at Cleveland Clinic M Building doing a mod for Otis,

Shane Huff and Pat Pollock at Chardon High School doing a mod for Otis,

Craig Nolty and Luke Schnitzler at McGregor Senior Living installing two cars for Otis,

Jerry Szmerekovsky, Craig Nolty, Luke Schnitzler, Pat McHugh and Mike Janson at Apex installing seven cars for Otis,

DJ Spring and Devon Shields at Fairview Hospital doing a mod for Otis,

Ric Supinski, Dave Adrian, Joel Reyes, Joe Simcic, Scott Daugherty, Lee Barkschat, Josh Lowe, Del Gay, Juan Rodriguez, Jeremy Sesma, Nick Bowlen, Cory Oldham, Paul Verga, Cody Demster, Marcus Luxenburg, Kyle Drnak and Adam Farhm at Sherwin Williams HQ installing a lot of cars for Schindler,

Andrea Rodriguez and Jason Mays at Clifton Plaza doing a mod for Schindler,

Tom Peska and Todd Ault at Space Storage on Brookpark installing a car for Schindler,

Joe Sumph and Tito Mike at the Leader Building doing a mod for Schindler,

Shawn Yatsko, Lucas Janke, Jack Corrigan and Tom Holian at the Justice Center doing a mod for Schindler,

Brian Bond and Mike Gallagher doing a mod at UH for Schindler,

Brandon Light and Dan Varga at CMSD Data Center doing a freight car mod for Schindler,

Matt Carlton ad Sean Kelly doing a mod at Rockside Medical for Schindler,

Jason Yoho and Ryan Bissell installing a car at Vitalia Solon for Schindler,

Jason Barnett and Adam Klein installing car at Sherwin Williams Tech Center in Brecksville for Schindler,

Dave Gnagy and Jay Carlson doing a mod at Regency Towers for Schindler,

Gary Thompson, Rob Timko, Kyle Meyer and Herb Fouts doing a mod at Medina Hospital for Schindler,

Ryan Todd, Pat Kelly, Andy Mesko, Jarrett Adams and Nick Seaman doing a mod at 45 Erieview for Schindler,

Joe Gauker and Jake Driscoll at Avon Library installing a car for Kone,

James Hirz and Eric Schaffran at Restoration Hardware installing a car for Kone,

Todd Ross and Russell Barrows at the Bulkley Building tearing out cars for Kone,

Drew Williams and Bob Savnik at Shaker Villa doing a mod for Kone,

Kenny Bowles and Sasha Vujkovic replacing a machine at Bratenhal Place for Kone,

Dave Ford and Vince Smrdel at Westwood Meadows doing a mod for TKElevator,

Tim Narowitz and Christian Thompson doing a mod at Judson Park for TKElevator,

Bill Dudas and Jon Ranney at Lake West doing a mod for TKElevator,

Jason Fredrick and Brad Skotko doing a mod at Judson Manor for TKElevator,

Kevin Thomas and Matt Ramser installing cars at Valor Acres at TKElevator,

Sean Canning and George McDonald at Parma Self Storage installing a car for TKElevator,

Jim Ehrbar and Dan Quigley at the salt mines doing a mod for 3Phase and,

Marc Carollo and Brian Owes at Lake House Condos doing a mod for 3Phase.

The Brothers and Sisters of IUEC Local 17 send their condolences to the families of Brother Scott Daugherty on the passing of his mother Margaret on August 28, retired Brother Corey Sanchez on the passing of his daughter Katie on August 26 and the Hess family on the passing of their mother and grandmother Lois on September 2.

As of this writing there are one mechanic and one assistant mechanic on the bench. 

Until next month…

Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.

Don

DKnapik@windstream.net

Brothers and Sisters:

I would like everyone reading this to take a moment and turn back to the title page ( the page with the International officers ) for a moment and scan the names, which part of the union they work and their titles.  

As you scan the names, from Frank Christensen through the other General Officers, the vice-presidents, department directors and regional directors, Organizing and Work Preservation, NEIEP, CEIEP and the finally the benefits office realize that every single person on that list has something in common:  they all started their careers as probationaries.

They stacked rails, set machines, assembled jacks, cabs and counterweight frames.  They pulled motors and generators as well as miles and miles of wires, travel cords and cables.  They wired controllers, cars and hall fixtures.  They adjusted compounding and valves for the smoothest possible ride.

They spent countless hours on call troubleshooting why the right hand car won’t answer the top floor hall call and doing so in less than secure situations.  They injected barrels of grease into bearings and changed hundreds of light bulbs.

Each one went through the NEIEP program, angsting over the mechanics exam and felt the relief and celebration when they found they passed.  

Every single one of them has done our job.  Every single one of them knows what we do everyday as well as we do.

What is different about them is that at some point each and every one of them made a decision to become involved in their local.  That decision was the spark that set them on the path to where they are today.

My moment came when I received my first issue of the Constructor.  Local 17’s correspondent was John Goggin.  I read his article as well as those from other locals and knew that this was a job I could do well.  My background in college as the editor of the newspaper, minor in Journalism and lifelong interest in publishing gave me enough credibility to ask for members support.  I won by one vote.  

John is a very good writer and I hope he takes it back up in retirement.

Along the way I’ve had the honor of being a part of and documenting a lot of Local 17 history.  Since 2007, parades, golf outings, Christmas parties and union events have been a constant part of my calendar.  I took part in our VOC and truly enjoy my time in the classroom as a NEIEP instructor.

This trade is not just about plumb, square, straight and level to 1/64th of an inch.  It’s about taking part and becoming part of the ongoing conversation we all have as a Local, International and trade union movement.  

The monthly meeting is where that conversation takes place.  It is where the members can ask questions of their officers and speak up when they feel there is a wrong being done.  The conversation in Local 17 has been going on for almost 120 years and keeping up on what is going on and understanding why something happens comes through participation.

Your time as an elevator constructor is not defined by your company.  This is not your superintendent’s career, this is not your mechanic’s career, it is not your apprentices career. This career belongs to you.  

Own it and leave the Local, IUEC and the trade union movement better for you having been here. 

In the August issue of the Constructor, I printed a photo I took at the NEIEP Training Center in Warwick, Rhode Island and asked if anyone could identify what it represented.  The winner would get a mention in these pages.  Well, we have two winners.  First is Brother Ryan Foley who guessed gearless machine.  The second is Charlie Reitz, the son of Brother Jerry Reitz, who wrote naming it as a synchronous motor. Good job to both of you!

Until next month…

Work smart, work safe and slow down for safety.

Don

DKnapik@windstream.net