L.U. 53 (lctt,o,rts&u), KANSAS CITY, MOThrough the combined effort of
Pres./Organizer Steve White and Bus. Rep. Bob Stuart, Local 53 signed ESI, a
local contractor, to a Letter of Assent in January 2003. Local 53 welcomes owner
Carl Meinhardt and his employees on board.
Bus. Rep. Tarry Younghans reports that we are still in negotiations with
SE-MA-NO Electric Cooperative of Mansfield, MO. A tentative agreement reached
with KMBC Channel 9 was rejected by the membership; negotiations will resume
shortly. There isnt any progress to report with KQTV Channel 2 in St. Joseph,
MO, at this time.
Dont forget about our annual Crappie Tournament to be held on May 17, 2003,
at the Truman State Park in Warsaw, MO.
Local 53 will hold its annual picnic on June 7, 2003, at Longview Lake,
Shelter House No. 4. Maps and directions are available from the union hall.
L.U. 77 (lctt,mt,o,t&u), SEATTLE, WATransmission construction is on the
front burners. There are many jobs in Washington state in the planning stages.
We will need many steel transmission tower construction hands in the near
future. New "never seen before" tower configurations will also appear in some of
these jobs. Training may be available. Please call Construction Dispatch at
(206) 323-0585 before you come. We are monitoring the progress of these many
projects.
The general work picture continues to be moderately slow. Most utilities are
still regrouping after the "market frenzy" of 2000-2001, so not much spending is
going on. Some generation projects, mostly combustion gas turbines, have been
mothballed because of natural gas price increases. Wind generation is growing
slowly.
L.U. 97 (u), SYRACUSE, NYConstellation Nuclear Nine Mile One unit began a
25-day refueling outage on March 10, 2003.
St. Lawrence Gas members ratified both office and operating contracts for a
27-month term.
PSEG has extended all major projects for a year. The Bethlehem Energy Center
is now expected to go on line in June 2005, instead of 2004.
Wage re-openers for PSEG, Constellation Nuclear and Reliant Energy will be
negotiated between now and July 1, 2003, and full-blown contract negotiations
for NRG should be completed by September 2003.
At the Albany meeting, Willard C. Rapp and Kenneth LeFevre, (on behalf of his
father, Raymond LeFevre, who was out of town enjoying his retirement) were
presented Certificates of Appreciation. They spent over 50 years as officers
dedicating their time and efforts to their respective locals.
On behalf of Bus. Mgr./Pres./Fin. Sec. Thomas Primero, staff and members, I
would like to express our sincere appreciation for all that Bill and Ray have
done.
L.U. 99 (govt&i), PROVIDENCE, RIAmbrose Redmoon once wrote, "Courage is not
the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more
important than fear."
On February 21 a horrific fire erupted at a West Warwick nightclub. Our
Brother Everett Tommy Woodmansee was there with his lady, Ashley Poland, the
daughter of another member. Within 30 seconds of the fire starting, life
decisions had to be made. Tommy first tossed Ashley through a window to assure
her safety. Then, when he could have easily saved himself, he returned to the
inferno to help others, and was killed.
It is unknown how many others Tommy Woodmansee saved, but what is known is
that his heroism and valor are what men like me can only hope to measure up to
if the time ever comes. There were other heroes in the club that night, and
Tommy walked among those giants. Although Tommy now soars with the angels his
story and ideals will guide the lives of our members forever here at home.
L.U. 103 (cs&i), BOSTON, MAOn an extremely cold evening on Jan. 18, 2003,
more than 1,200 people, made up of family and friends in the labor movement,
gathered to pay tribute to one of the most effective labor leaders of our time,
Rich Gambino. For 22 years Rich served in various leadership positions within
Local 103, most recently as business manager. He negotiated the largest wage
increase in the locals history, signed over 100 new contractors and made
unprecedented gains in our market share.
The membership thanks him and wishes him the best in his new position as
assistant trust fund administrator.
For the time being, we have been successful in defeating Republican Governor
Mitt Romneys attempts to eliminate the prevailing rate and change construction
laws. Thanks to the many members who came forward by contacting their
representatives and senators to voice their concerns.
The work picture still remains healthy in spite of the downturn in the
economy and the recent state budget problems.
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