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Hello from New York & New Jersey,
At the February meeting, Brother Ed Krull was elected to the vacant position on the Board of Trustees. Congratulations to Brother Krull, he has already proven to be an asset to the Board.
Brother Legotte has invited a speaker for the March meeting to speak about the benefits of a college savings plan called 529. After hearing the information on the plan, I am sure you will agree it is worth investing in for your children's college education. If you were unable to attend the March meeting, call the hall for more information.
Political: Every year when the Senate and Assembly meet, new bills are introduced on a state level that will affect our ability to earn a living. There is a bill that is expected to be introduced in the State Legislature that is completely unacceptable. All members are urged to make the Governor and their representatives in the Senate and Assembly aware that we are very much opposed to this bill.
The bill would affect Section 220 of Article 8 of the labor law. First, the bill would eliminate collective bargaining agreements as the source of the prevailing rate of wages and supplements. Second, the bill would eliminate the traditional geographic jurisdictions for determining the local prevailing wage rates. Third, it would raise the number of workers from 30% to 75% in these reconfigured geographic jurisdictions, who must be members of labor organizations in the trades for the wages they are paid to be considered the prevailing rate.
April is the month of the Legislative Conference in Washington D.C. With so many issues facing labor and an Administration that is not on labor's side, we will have our work cut out for us. The rising cost of health care, PLA's and attacks on Davis -Bacon are sure to be a few of the issues that will be addressed. This will also be a time for the I.U.E.C. locals from around the country to get together and discuss concerns of our own. I am sure heath care will be one of those issues. With the change to Blue Cross Blue Shield there are bound to be some problems. Most of the problems are minor and the members seem to have a problem getting through to someone to help them. Perhaps a phone number to call where a person answers who can either solve the problem or point us in the right direction for the first six months of the transition would be helpful.
Retirees Corner: We have six retirees to add this month. Don Gerrity, Bill Gooly, Terry McCollum, Tom Penfield, Tony Podesto and Joe Rivera. Don and Tony had their retirement party together, as did Joe and Bill. Terry and Tom celebrated at separate parties of their own. The problem was there were four retirement parties on the same night. This made it difficult on the Brothers and Sisters who would like to celebrate with more than one retiree and it was even harder on the officers of the local. It is almost impossible to make four parties in one night. I say almost impossible because five officers made it to all four parties that night. Until a better solution is found, call the hall when you are planning a retirement party. If there is one scheduled for that night, the second party can be scheduled for another night. This will allow everyone in the local the opportunity to celebrate with our retirees. Pictured below are photos from the parties that night. I would like to thank Joe Nolan and Ed Kilkenny for the pictures of Tom and Terry at their retirement parties.
Brothers Don Gerrity and Tony Podesto with Brother Green
Brothers Bill Gooley and Joe Rivera
Brother Tom Penfield with Brother Green
Brother Terry McCollum with Brothers Fred McCourt Jr., Lenny Legotte, John Green and Tony Orrigo
Sick/Hurt: John Mitchell (active) and Gene Herbert (retired). At the time of this writing, Gene is very ill and his family would appreciate it if we remember Gene in our prayers.
A donation for $150 to the Local One Pipers was made by Ed Buckley in memory of Artie McNally.
The officers and members of Local One offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the following departed Brothers: Edward Walsh (active) and Owen Carr (retired).
On behalf of the McQuillen family, the officers and members of Local One would like to thank all those throughout the country for their prayers and support, especially Ken Greenling and the members of Local 71.
Quote of the Month: "Nobody is perfect. The best we can do is learn from our mistakes and not repeat them." - Unknown
Fraternally,
Mike Duffy
www.iuec1.org
Posted Online March 4, 2003
