The Heat’s On in Albuquerque
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AFL-CIO Community Services Director Will Fischer sends us this report:
Members of the Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 412 Plumbers and P ipefitters (UA) Local 412 held their 20th annual Heat’s On program in September. As a service provided free of charge to low-income seniors, Heat’s On volunteers service furnaces, winterize swamp coolers, install smoke alarms and change out batteries. This is a joint project among UA Local 412, Mechanical Contractors Association-New Mexico, United Way of Central New Mexico and the City of Albuquerque’s Office of Senior Affairs.
This year, more than 80 volunteers serviced 114 homes on a Saturday morning. Volunteers met for coffee and donuts at 7 a.m., split up into groups of two crews and serviced four homes. They are dispatched from the union hall at 8 a.m. and return after their projects are completed in time to enjoy lunch at the union hall. Heat’s On coordinators are business agent Dan Beavers and Dan Glass, an organizer.
Tom Montano, business manager of IUOE 412, UA Local 412, says, “Heat’s On is a great way for our members to join other community partners in providing a vital service to people who couldn’t otherwise afford it.”
Plumbers and Pipefitters Members Give Michigan Park a Facelift
Scott Brink, business agent for Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) Local 85 lets us know about union members who helped give a facelift to a community park in Saginaw, Mich.
When UA Local 85 were asked to help out upgrading the facilities at Deindorfer Woods Park in Sagina, Mich., members quickly and eagerly agreed.
Local 85 members, primarily apprentices from the training program, provided the labor each day for a week for a series of projects including constructing a 16 x 24 pavilion, upgrading the trail system and installing work out stations and new park benches along the trail system. We also installed a new 12 x 12 flower box, fixed parking post and added crushed limestone to the parking lot. We even replaced the gate at entrance of park.
Steamfitter Searches for Striped Bass on Tonight’s ‘Brotherhood Outdoors’
The next episode of “Brotherhood Outdoors,” the unique hunting and fishing series of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA), features Jay Rodriquez, a steamfitter with Plumbers and Pipe Fitters (UA) Local 638 in New York City. He takes show host Tom Ackerman to his favorite fishing spot, Montauk Point on Long Island, to fish for stripers, blues and false albacore.
But there was one catch that didn’t have fins. Hurricane Earl was heading up the East Coast. Says Rodriquez:
It was kind of nerve racking. I felt like we had to go out right before it came. It had the ocean stirred up and brought the fish to the top and I guess that’s why we had such great fishing.
The show, which airs July 28 at 8 p.m. EDT on the Sportsman Channel, puts union members in the spotlight, giving them the opportunity to join Ackerman for a quality outfitted North American trip of their choosing or, as Rodriquez does, act as his guide, taking him to their favorite hunting or fishing location.
New: Finish Your Degree Online at Labor College
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Whether you need one more class to get your degree or two years’ worth, now is the time to look into the National Labor College’s (NLC) online bachelor’s degree programs. This year NLC is offering a new degree program just for union members and their families.You can earn a degree in Labor Studies, Business Administration, Construction Management or Emergency Readiness and Response. Register today for the fall semester at www.nlc.edu/new-students/degree.
These new programs offer union members the convenience and flexibility of online study. Union members get a big discount on tuition and Union Privilege also sponsors a number of scholarships to help with tuition. By taking advantage of the special union member rates and scholarships, NLC students can complete their degrees for less than $10,000 in two years. Additional learning from work experience and apprenticeships can earn union members credits toward completing their degrees.
55 Students Graduate From National Labor College
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Bridget Benjamin was unemployed for the entire two years she attended the National Labor College (NLC) and wasn’t sure from day to day where the money was going to come from for tuition. Dennis Miller balanced a full-time job, a family of four and traveling across country for classes at NLC.
Despite these obstacles, Benjamin and Miller are now college graduates. Last weekend, they joined 53 other union members who received degrees during NLC’s 13th commencement.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka paid tribute to the graduates, saying:
Today, the labor movement confronts challenges everywhere we turn.
That’s why it’s important that we have graduates who understand the world that we live in and how to effectively respond to these challenges.
With Union Volunteers, Rebuilding Continues in New Orleans
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AFL-CIO Community Services Director Will Fischer sends us this report from New Orleans.
In the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Southeast Louisiana Building and Construction Trades Council and the Greater New Orleans AFL-CIO have regularly pitched in to repair and rebuild the community.
Last week, union members joined with the St. Bernard Project’s Rebuilding Program to work on a house in New Orleans East at the home of a retired disabled Electrical Workers (IBEW) member from the embattled Avondale Shipyard. The work included re-wiring the electrical of the entire home and plumbing. Volunteers included members from IBEW Local 130, Plumbers and Pipe Fitters (UA) Local 60 and United Steelworkers (USW) Local 13-447.
After inspections are passed, volunteers will hang sheetrock and paint. Says Tiger Hammond, president of the Greater New Orleans Central Labor Council:
We’re always ready to extend a hand to someone in need. This last project was especially important, though. Any time we can help one of brothers or sisters out, we’ll always be there…that’s what the union is all about.
Newspaper Guild Ratifies Contract with Associated Press—and More Bargaining News
Members of The Newspaper Guild-CWA (TNG-CWA) ratified a new contract with The Associated Press, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,400 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
TNG-CWA, The Associated Press: Members of The Newspaper Guild-CWA (TNG-CWA) ratified a new contract with The Associated Press that expires in August 2013. The 1,200 workers will receive a 4.5 percent raise over the term and maintain their current health benefits.
Green Bay Union Members Help Build Home for Injured Vet
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AFL-CIO Community Services Director Will Fischer sends us this report on Green Bay, Wis., union volunteers helping make life more accessible for an injured war veteran.
Green Bay union volunteers are working alongside community groups, Heroes at Home and Rebuilding Together of Greater Green Bay, to build a new home for retired Army Staff Sergeant Forrest Perez.
Perez, a former 82nd Airborne paratrooper, served both in Iraq and Korea, and aided in the clean-up efforts following Hurricane Katrina. Last September, Perez was seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident in North Carolina, and now has to spend much of his time in his hospital bed and a specially designed wheelchair.
His home wasn’t designed to accommodate the needs of someone in a wheelchair. It was demolished, and in its place the volunteers are building a new custom and accessible home for Perez.
Pipeline Project Creates Thousands of Skilled Construction Jobs
More than 13,000 American workers will build the U.S. portion of a 2,000-mile oil pipeline running from Alberta, Canada, to Port Arthur, Texas, under a project labor agreement (PLA) signed this week by four U.S. unions and pipeline builder TransCanada Corp.
Mark Ayers, president of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD), says:
At a time when corporations and industries are seeking to ensure maximum efficiencies and a proper return on their investments, America’s building trades unions are pleased that TransCanada Corporation has recognized that a project labor agreement is a valuable tool to assist them in achieving those important objectives.
PLAs are pre-hire agreements between labor and management. The agreements require all construction jobs to be filled by local workers, include diversity requirements, establish wages and work rules covering overtime, working hours and dispute resolution and ensure that safety guidelines on the job site are enforced.
Union Support Helped Win ‘Open Fields’ Hunting and Fishing Access
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Union sportsmen and all hunters and fishing enthusiasts will soon find tens of thousands of new acres of land to explore, thanks to a new Open Fields program that union support on Capitol Hill helped push to the finish line.
Last week, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the release of $50 million for the Open Fields program, which provides states with federal funding to create or enhance voluntary hunter-access programs that encourage private landowners to open their lands to the public for hunting and fishing. Says Vilsack:
This program will not only help achieve conservation goals, but also increase opportunities for hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation by providing greater access to privately held lands for wildlife-dependent recreation.
