The Aqueduct Expansion A Safe Bet for Local 46
story continued on page 9
I
Volume 8 Issue 3
July 2011
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 1
t’’s a rare occurrence to actually leave
a casino with more money in your
pocket than when you arrived, but that
is what Local 46 members are doing every
day. Instead of leaving wads of cash at the
tables, the cash is owing into the hands
of the Lathers who are expanding the old
Aqueduct Race Track into the modern and
extensive casino that will operate there in
the near future.
The project is being developed by
Genting New York LLC, which is a subsidiary of Genting Malaysia Berhad, which
in turn, is a part of the Genting Group, an
Asian multinational corporation. To put
the size of this corporation in perspective,
one need only know that one of their many
holdings is the Norwegian Cruise Line.
They have additional holdings in the hotel,
power generation, agricultural, oil and gas
industries. Worldwide, they employ 58,000
people. It is an organization that knows
a thing or two about how to turn a prot,
and intends to do just that at its new site
in Ozone Park, N.Y. But long before any
croupier spins the rst roulette wheel, there
is a fair amount of work to be done, and that
provides an opportunity for our members to
generate a little prot of their own.
First of all, CGS was needed to provide
ring walls and heavy footings. The walls
were standard double faced walls with
5/8”” verticals and 1/2”” horizontals. The
footings, however, weighed a bit more as
they consisted of 20’’x20’’ mats comprised
of #11s. That’’s not surprising, as it was necessary for them to accommodate the 40 ft.
columns and interlocking beams being set
into place by our brothers from Local 361.
Foreman Stephen Voelker, joined by
the rest of his team, Edward Rodier and Bill
Setters, estimated that, over the past several
weeks and with the help of up to eight man
crews, as of the time of this writing, some
340 tons of steel had been placed.
Also playing an important role in all
of this is Rebar Steel Corporation, who
on a separate phase of the project, and accounting for another 100 tons of steel, is
constructing elevator pits, retaining walls,
and slab on metal deck. Rebar’’s Doug
Symington explained the process that had
been followed there
Inside this issue
to date. The old
2
grandstands were From the Officer’s Desk
Another
View
6
rst
demolished.
10
Then the existing National News
12
structural
steel Labor History Corner
From the Officer’’s Desk
Robert A. Ledwith, Business Manager Financial Secretary/Treasurer
N
OBODY
EVER
SAID IT WOULD
BE EASY
As I write this article, 8
major Building Trades Local
Unions are still in Collective Bargaining
Negotiations. How they turn out is anybody’’s
guess. We, in Local 46, wish them success in
these very difcult economic times. Sadly,
there has been a serious deterioration in the
relationship between the Building Trades
Unions and the Building Trades Employers
Association (BTEA); the umbrella organization for all the Sub-Contractors Associations
and the Construction Managers in New York
City.
The BTEA has embarked on an ill-advised
campaign in the public arena by abandoning
the long standing New York Plan (the Bible
of Jurisdictional Decisions) and have inserted
themselves into Local Union/Contractor negotiations. These moves, among others, have
exacerbated Union/ Employer relationships
in the construction industry and have created
unnecessary turmoil and angst. Now, as we
maneuver through these trying times, it would
be appropriate for us to revisit each of our
roles in our quest to keep Local 46 a vital part
of our lives.
Duties and Roles of the Membership
Many times in the past you have heard me
say that your participation in our Union meetings, picketing, demonstrations and rallies is
all critically important to our future success.
That remains a fact. But in these complex
times, there are even greater challenges that
must be met by responsible Journeymen and
Apprentices.
Each member is our most important asset on the job site. You not only professionally install the work, but are the Ambassadors
representing your Local Union. You have immediate contact with all the tradesmen at the
workplace and the general public at lunchtime
and as you travel to and from your job every
Page 2
day. People notice how we dress, how we
speak, how we behave and how we perform
our work. Mark Breslin, author of ““Survival
of the Fittest,”” a Building Trades motivational
speaker, tells all who will listen that Union
workers have to change their ways. He claims
it is no longer acceptable to go to work unprepared and with a bad attitude. In his mind,
Union Building Tradesmen must have a good
work ethic, must conduct themselves professionally, and must respect their job and the
owner’’s property. He tells us that being on
time, ready to go to work and giving a fair
day’’s work for a fair day’’s pay is critical for
the Union Worker’’s survival. These difcult
times dictate that we can no longer take anything for granted.
Every day we must do our best, stay on
the job for the hours we are being paid and
as the AFL-CIO Building Trades Department
new motto states, we, as Union Members, create ““Value on Display, Every Day.”” We have
to ask ourselves what our $49.52 per hour
taxable wages plus our benets means to us
and our families and how our actions are perceived by our ultimate employers, the Owner/
Developer community. If they are comfortable with our work ethic, our productivity and
our presence on the job, we will enjoy a more
secure future. However, if they think that we
do not care about their nancial risks or don’’t
respect their property; we will effectively
discourage them from using us and encourage
them to go non-union. As you can see, I rmly
believe our work ethic, our attitudes and our
behavior are essential to our survival.
Duties and Roles of the Business Agents (BA)
The role of Business Agent only begins
with the referring of men to jobs from the
Hiring Hall. This role is important to the individual member, but it is only the beginning
of the day for our Business Representatives.
There are many facets to the role that they
play. As Union Delegates their duties include
protecting the cutting and bending of our re-
Robert A. Ledwith
Business Manager
Financial Secretary-Treasurer
Business Agents
Terrence Moore
Fred LEMoine
Kevin Kelly
Ronnie Richardson
John Coffey
President
Brian Gibbons
Vice President
George Fernandez
Recording Secretary
Executive Board
Frank Connelly
Eduardo Rivera
Scott Williams
Billy Dixon
Steve Perez
Bob De Angelis
Sergeant-At-Arms
Bob Carroll
Assistant Sergeant-At-Arms
Trustees
Brian Maine
John Skinner
Vernon Pouncey
Chip Langan
Apprentice Coordinator
Bill Hohlfeld
LMCT Coordinator
Gillian Clarke
Secretary
Melissa James
Secretary
THE LATHER
R OBERT L EDWITH ,
continued from previous page
bar, making sure the benets are paid,
appointing diligent shop stewards, policing jobs so that other trades do not
do our work, and engaging non-union
employers in an attempt to convince
them to sign a Collective Bargaining
Agreement with Local 46 and hire our
Members.
On the job sites they investigate
and adjudicate complaints, maintain
decent working conditions and insure
a fair and balanced treatment for our
Members. A Business Agent, in the
performance of his duties, constantly
has in his mind that he works for the
membership and his decisions should
always be made accordingly. Among
his other tasks, a Business Agent has
to properly interpret and apply the
Collective Bargaining Agreement,
serve as a Trustee on our funds, interact
with other Union Business Agents on a
daily basis at grievances and strategy
sessions, protect and enhance our work
jurisdiction, grow our work opportunities, take on the contractors when necessary, enforce safety and OSHA rules
and, in general, protect the livelihood
of our Members.
The seamless interaction of the
Business Agents, in concert with the
Members, on work related issues, is
critical to how the outside world views
our power on and off the job site. If they
view us as weak, we will be treated as
such; if our adversaries and opponents
view us as united and strong, our reputation will precede the Business Agents
and the Members on the job site and
we will receive the respect that we are
entitled to.
The Duties and Role of the Business
Manager –– Financial Secretary/
Treasurer (BM/FST)
The job of the BM/FST is challenging, complex and daunting. He
must orchestrate the relationship of
the Members, Business Agents, other
Unions, Construction Companies,
the Press and Media, the Contractor
Associations, Financial Advisors and
Trust Fund Employees. He must also
manage the Union Staff, pay the bills,
collect the dues and run the Union on
sound business principles; in essence,
keep our nancial house in order. On
the economic level, in order to create
more work opportunities, he must promote Lathers and their work jurisdiction. Many times late in the day and
night, he must take on the role of good
will Ambassador, talking to contractors, owners and developers and working to convince them to use construction methods and systems that favor the
employment of Local 46 members.
As he participates in the negotiations of PLAs and other important
agreements, the BM/FST serves on the
Executive Board of the New York City
Building Trades Council and orchestrates Local 46’’s agenda in the highest
circles of the Labor Movement. He is
the public face and voice of the Local
Union, always presenting it as a progressive and forward thinking force in
the political and economic world.
The BM/FST fosters new ideas
and innovations for the benet of the
Members and their Families. He, along
with the Business Agents, negotiates
Collective Bargaining Agreements with
7 different Employer Associations and
serves as a Trustee on all our Benet
Funds. As new technology and innovations are developed in the Concrete and
Lathing Industries, he pursues all avenues to protect Local 46 in every way;
not only to maximize our work jurisdiction, but to create new employment
possibilities for the rank and le. At the
end of the day, the BM/FST must make
sure the Union is on a strong nancial
footing and is the master of its own
destiny. He must be prepared to meet
any challenge, problem or obstacle
that he might face in the daily routine
of managing the affairs of our Local
Union.
As you can see, each of us has a vital role in the success and the future of
Local 46. Each part of the Organization
is just as important as the other. We all
have our duties and each of us must do
our best every day. I am convinced that
as we challenge the growing non-union
element, as we face anti-union sentiment among politicians and the media,
as we face all the complex challenges
that lie ahead, the Members, Business
Agents and Business Manager must
work together toward the same goals.
For our common survival, and the good
and welfare of our entire organization,
we have to simultaneously pull our
oars in the same direction. Remember,
nobody ever said it would be easy.
Work safely and have an enjoyable
summer.
REMEMBER. IF YOU, OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW, NEEDS HELP
WITH A SUBSTANCE ABUSE ISSUE, CONTACT:
Friends of 46
(516) 286 4915 •• [email protected]
You don’’t have to go it alone.
VOLUME 8, ISSUE 3
Page 3
Terrence Moore, Business Agent
B
efore I begin
my newsletter article I
would like to remind everyone of the
Labor Day parade which happens on
September 10th. This year’’s parade
is special for two reasons. The rst is
that it is 10 years, almost to the day,
of the World Trade Center attack. It is
also an unprecedented time of attack
on Labor Unions in our country. It is
clear that we need to send a message to
anyone watching that we are together
and strong.
We are a team. If we work together
and stand together we can get through
anything. It is clear in our everyday
life both on and off the job. As an individual, all of us need to take pride
in ourselves and strive to do the right
thing. With that, each and every one of
us needs to be mindful of the role we
play and exactly how we t in.
On the job we all have a role.
Whether we are working in a gang, a
Deputy Foreman, Foreman, or Shop
Steward, we all are a part of a team.
Work well together and everyone
shines. When the team fails, we all get
a black eye. If a gang misses a concrete
pour, it’’s then that you know about
those who work around you. Did the
team fail, or is someone pointing the
nger at everyone else. If someone
gets hurt, watch everyone around you.
Fingers are pointed and everybody immediately looks for the scape goat. It
seems that some of us are always looking for someone to blame when things
go bad.
Generally speaking, when times
are as tough as they were last year, the
same thing happens. Many were quick
to place the blame of a sour economy
on those giving out the jobs. As a
Business Agent, I knew I had inuence
over the situation because of my role.
I went months wherein NO ONE was
sent to work. I watched and listened to
how unfair the system was. I listened
to the bickering, the backstabbing, and
accusations of people who were there
for the membership EVERY day and
on a Picket Line, yet were supposedly
not doing their jobs. I questioned myself every day. I also felt the politics of
the beast.
I dealt with the situation the best I
could and believe I have become a better man for all that has happened. When
the economy went into a recession I
believe all of us suffered. Some had it
harder than others, but we didn’’t give
up and we faced hard times as a team.
It’’s why you won’’t hear me say all I
did for you. It’’s the reason you won’’t
hear me brag about all of the things I
accomplished for you. I view myself as
a part of the team, it’’s our team. If good
things happen for our members and I
had some part in it, I believe we were
successful.
I believe we have come out the
other end of the recession much stronger, we did this together. We have a
better pension and more competitive
outlook on how to deal with the nonunion situation. We are tougher and
no worse off for the wear. We need to
remind ourselves that in every cloud
there is a silver lining. If we work together we can continue to accomplish
great things, but only as a team.
Fred LEMoine, Business Agent
I
wish all of our
members and their
families an enjoyable summer. This, no
doubt, will depend on whether or not
our partners in the Building Trades are
able to reach agreements with their respective Contractors and Associations
before July 1st. These have not been
your typical negotiations; we have seen
positioning, posturing and numerous
attacks in the newspapers. We have
always supported our brothers and
sisters in the other trades and this year
will be no different. We must always
remember an attack on one of us is an
attack on all of us. Hopefully, rational
heads prevail so that agreements can be
reached and we can continue to build
our city and state through public and
private development.
In recent months many of our
members and I have been working on
a proposed development called the
West Farms Project. This $500 million
affordable housing project is being proposed by a development group by the
name of Signature Urban Properties
LLC. The project consists of at least ten
buildings up to 15 stories high, spread
over 11 blocks and 6 zip codes in the
Crotona Park East/West Farms sections
of the Bronx. In order for the project to
be built as designed, the New York City
Council has to vote in favor of rezoning
the land to allow for the taller building
heights.
Our position is very clear; if
Signature agrees to use the Building
Trades we will support it. If they do not
agree we will oppose it.
We have attended and stated
our concerns at numerous meetings,
and hearings at the City Planning
Commission and at Community Board
3, and 6. Gifford Miller, the main
spokesman for Signature met with the
president of the Building Trades, Gary
continued on next page
Page 4
THE LATHER
F RED L E M OINE ,
continued from previous page
LaBarbera after we started applying
pressure by attending these meetings.
After a great deal of testimony from
myself and other members of the
trades, Community Board 6 passed a
motion to recommend approval of the
zoning change with the understanding
that Signature continues dialogue with
the Building Trades to include us on
the project. Community Board 3 then
passed a similar motion at their public
hearing. The next step will be to attend
the Borough President’’s public hearing
and then to the City Council for another
hearing and then the nal vote. Many
of these meetings and hearings are held
at night and demand sacrice by those
who attend. ““Thank you”” to the many
members who have attended. Make no
mistake about it. This is a difcult up
hill battle. Hopefully, our hard work
now will pay dividends in the future.
Work Safely and have a Nice
Summer!
Kevin Kelly, Business Agent
I
am hopeful that
by the time you
receive this letter
every afliate in the
New York Building Trades has come to
terms with their Collective Bargaining
Agreements. We, the members and ofcers of Local 46 have always supported
other trades through difcult times and
this year will be no different. Working
people are under attack like never before. We have watched what has taken
place in Wisconsin, and other parts of
this country, including New York.
There are people that would like
you to believe that all manufacturing
jobs have been shipped overseas because America doesn’’t want those jobs.
We can do the jobs and do them well,
but we want a living wage and health
coverage. That is just too much to ask
from a greedy bean counting owner.
We continue to work with contractors
and developers alike to nd real solu-
tions to the many problems we face in
the Construction Industry.
Job opportunities look very good for
the rest of 2011 into 2012. Long Island
City continues to grow before our eyes.
There are two Hi Rise buildings going
up in Queens West with a third foundation to start this summer. The Crescent
Street project should be on the way this
August. This was the biggest job to date
where nonunion forces were threatening to build. The Building Trades, your
Union and Union Contractors pushed
hard to make sure we were successful in
achieving our goal, a one hundred percent Building Trades PLA. Thanks to all
who supported us in this effort. Difama
Concrete will use approximately sixty
members of this local to build 750,000
sq. ft. of poured in place concrete. We
continue to work on other projects in
Brooklyn and Queens, and here is a list
of several of them:
•• Gowanus Expressway
•• Belt Parkway
•• Hamilton Avenue Waste Transfer
Station
•• Grand Central Parkway
•• Tallman
Island
Sewage
Treatment Plant
•• College Point Waste Transfer
Station
•• JFK Delta Airlines
•• Police Academy, College Point
•• Aqueduct Racino
It is the great to see so many of our
members going back to work. Let’’s
remember that more jobs will start,
and we need to cover them by working
hard, smart and safe.
Everyone is watching how we handle our business. The Union Contractors,
the Non Union Contractors, Public
Ofcials, friend and foe alike. Be smart,
be on time every day and be proud that
you are a member of the Lathers Union.
Enjoy the Summer with your Family.
See you soon.
Ronnie Richardson, Business Agent
W
ith
nice
weather
and summer just about here,
what a difference a year makes. At
this time one year ago many Lathers
were not working and hoping to get
enough hours for medical coverage.
Employment is good now, but we still
have obstacles. First and foremost,
many trades are negotiating contracts
that expire July 1 and we must hope
they reach agreements, because Local
46 will be directly affected by any
strike or work stoppage.
We are fortunate that we have a
signed agreement until 2014, but we
might be faced with similar issues
down the road. After a downturn in the
economy and a recession (and I’’m not
so sure we are out of it) it is not a good
time to to negotiate any contract.
In the political arena, hearings
continue on Long Island regarding the
Nassau Coliseum and the surrounding
areas. Charles Wong, who owns the NY
Islanders hockey team, is committed to
continued on next page
VOLUME 8, ISSUE 3
Page 5
R ONNIE R ICHARDSON ,
continued from previous page
keeping the team on Long Island and
building a state-of- the- art facility. The
estimated cost of such a facility is $500
million. The building of this stadium,
along with a minor league ball park,
and adjacent commercial development
would be a tremendous boost to Long
Island’’s economy and would put many
building tradesmen to work.
We can see that intelligent planning
and mindful development can have a
dramatic effect on the Building Trades.
Another good example of this kind of
cause and effect would be Governor
Cuomo’’s recent introduction of the NYSUNY 2020 bill. The Assembly and the
Senate each have similar plans under
consideration, but whichever one comes
to pass, it should mean more union
construction jobs on New York State
college campuses.
According to the governor’’s
plan, the Empire State Development
Corporation will issue $80 million in
bonds for capital funding. An additional
$60 million dollars would be raised by
instituting modest annual increases in
tuition over the next ve years. Under
this plan, the students who are currently
eligible for the maximum TAP grant
would not be subject to the tuition hike.
The entire $140 million would be used
for economic development projects.
These projects create thousands of
construction jobs at prevailing wage
rates on the front end, as well as spurring the type of regional economic
development that creates badly needed
permanent jobs. And, one of the jewels
in the crown of the SUNY system is
Stonybrook, so it stands in the enviable position of receiving a good portion of these funds once they are made
available.
Our job, in the meantime, is to show
up and man the jobs we have, do our
best, and most importantly... Work Safe!
Another View
A Morally Corrupt System
T
by Jim Hightower
his will seem like a fairytale
now, but not so long ago, it was
actually possible for CEO pay
to constitute ““an embarrassment of
riches.””
How quaint. Today, the riches
are massive, but the embarrassment
gene seems to have been completely
bred out of corporate chieftains. They
have DO shame at producing negative results and ofng thousands of
underlings, then wheeling in a frontend loader to haul their ovm pay to the
bank. The headman at EsteeLauder,
for example, recently cut 2,000 employees but grabbed a huge salary increase and new stock payments worth
more than $24 millioD.
Are there no adults to supervise
these corporate playgrounds and
teach such concepts as humility and
shar:ing,? Well, technically, the board
of directors is supposed to provide
corporate governance, including the
setting of CEO pay. But who’’s on these
boards? Mostly other members of the
corporate brotherhood who want to
keep executive pay levels rising. And,
of course, the chiefs themselves sit on
their boards, usually chairingthem.
The tale of boardroom coziness
between directors and the bosses they
supposedly govern v .. as vividly revealed in the Wall Street crash of 2008.
Far from providing any reasonable
restraints, few board members even
questioned the casino games the banks
were running, and fewer yet objected
to giving reckless bankers billions of
dollars in unwarranted bonuses.
Now after the collapse, what has
changed? Nothing. One survey of nine
of the big banks we taxpayers bailed
out shows that two-thirds of their
failed board members are still there,
and, once again, they’’re shoveling
inexplicably-huge bonuses at the same
old CEOs.
A system that enriches executive
elites while crushing the middle class
is worse than an embarrassment —— it’’s
morany untenable.
—— Jim Hightower is a nationally
syndicated radio commentator and the
bestselling author of Swim Against
the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go
With the Flow. For more information
visit www.jimhightower.com
INTERESTED IN A
SUNY DEGREE?
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL BILL HOHLFELD
@ (718) 267-0468
Page 6
THE LATHER
2011 Scholarship Winners
John H. Lyons, Sr. Scholarship
Bridgit Hohlfeld, daughter of Bill Hohlfeld
Matthews/Sheehan Scholarship
Sydney Blackburn, daughter of Glen Gonzalez Ashley Bodenstein, daughter of Robert Bodenstein Jeidar Cole, daughter of Western Cole
Michelle Dixon, daughter of Billy Dixon
Shannon Donohue, daughter of Brian Donohue,
Bridgit Hohlfeld, daughter of Bill Hohlfeld Zachary Malone, son of Ed Malone
Dorothy Morgano, daughter of Mike Morgano Eddie Rafferty, son of Richard Rafferty, Jr. Sean Rogers, son of John Gogatz
John Tierney Scholarship
Jeffrey Clack, son of Jeffrey Clack
Colleen Galvin, daughter of Tim Galvin Patrick Tierney, son of .Tames Tierney
Sacks / Cashman Scholarship
Ashley Bodenstein, daughter of Robert Bodenstein Michelle Dixon, daughter of Billy Dixon
Ashley Edwards, daughter of Ryan Edwards Steven Ferriolo, son of Jerome F. Eckert
Gerald Finn, son of Gerald J. Finn
Connor Gibbons, son of James Gibbons
Bridgit Hohlfeld, daughter of Bill Hohlfeld
Stephaun James, son of William Leroy James Padraic Kennedy, son of Joseph Kennedy
Zachary Malone, son of Ed Malone
Dorothy Morgano, daughter of Mike Morgano Jonathan Nero, son of Jose E. Neto
Bridget Rodriguez, daughter of Mark Rodriguez Sean Rogers, son of John Gogatz
Patrick Tierney, son of James Tierney
V O L U M E 8 , I S S U E 3
Page 7
Words to Ponder
The Union Man
An old man going a lone highway Came at the evening, cold and gray To a chasm. vast and deep and wide. The old man crossed at twilight dim-­
The sullen stream had no fears for him.
But he turned, when safe on the other side, And built a bridge to stem the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near, You are wasting your time with building here.
Your journey will end with the closing day.
You have crossed the chasm deep and wide, You never again will pass this way Why build you this bridge at evening tide?
The builder lifted his old grey head;; “Good friend, in the way I have come,” he said,
“There followeth after me today
A youth, whose feet must pass this way This stream that has been as naught to me, To the fair-­haired youth might a pitfall be;; He, too, must cross in the twilight dim, Good friend,
I AM BUILDING THE BRIDGE FOR HIM.”
By: Anonymous, Bridge Men’s Magazine, March 1926
Page 8
T H E L A T H E R
Chip Lanagan, Apprentice Coordinator
I
would like to
congratulate the
32 graduating apprentices and trainees.
Good Luck; work safe.
SUMMER SAFETY:
90% of our membership works outside, so summer safety should always
play a big part in how we go about our
day in and day out lives on the job.
Heat
The combination of heat and humidity can be a serious health threat
during the summer months. If you work
outside you may be at increased risk for
heat-related illiness. So, take precautions. Here’’s how:
•• Drink small amounts of water
frequently.
•• Wear light-colored, loose tting,
breathable clothing-cotton is good.
•• Take frequent short breaks in cool
shade.Eat smaller meals before
work activity.
•• Avoid caffeine and alcohol or large
amounts of sugar.
•• Work in the shade if possible.
•• Find out from your health care provider if your medications and heat
don’’t mix.
•• Know that equipment such as respirators or work suit can increase
heat stress.
Sun
Sunlight contains ultraviolet (UV)
radiation which causes premature aging of the skin, wrinkles, cataracts, and
skin cancer. There are no safe UV rays
or safe suntans. Be especially careful in
the sun if you burn easily, spend a lot
of time outdoors, or have any of the
following physical features: numerous,
irregular, or large moles; freckles’’ fair
skin; or blond, red, or light brown hair.
Here’’s how to block those harmful rays:
•• Cover up. Wear loose tting, long
sleeved shirts and long pants.
•• Use sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30. Be
sure to follow application direc-
tions on the bottle or tube.
•• Wear a hat. A wide brim hat, not a
baseball cap, works best because it
protects the neck, ears, eyes, forehead, nose and scalp.
•• Wear UV absorbent sunglasses
(eye protection). Sunglasses don’’t
have to be expensive, but they
should block 99 to 100 percent of
UVA and UVB radiation. Before
you buy sunglasses, read the product tag or label.
•• Limit exposure. UV rays are most
intense between 10:00 a.m. and
4:00 p.m.
There are three kinds of major heatrelated disorders- heat cramps, heat
exhaustion, and heat stroke. You need
to know how to recognize each one and
what rst aid treatment is necessary.
You can still sign up for our
Journeyman Upgrade Classes by calling
the Learning Center at (718) 267-7500.
REMEMBER, SAFETY IS NOT
JUST A WORD, IT’’S A WAY OF LIFE!
Bill Hohlfeld, LMCT Coordinator
T HE A QUEDUCT E XPANSION ,
members which remained standing were
wrapped in 1/2”” bands
holding #8 verticals in place. Finally,
new Q-decking was installed and mats
laid for reinforcing. The purpose of the
redesign was to provide level oors (as
opposed to the old stadium-type sloped
ones) and increase the overall square
footage.
Last, and certainly not least, is the
crew working for PAL Environmental
Services. PAL, a new member of the
Local 46 family of contractors had never
before hired Lathers directly, but are apparently pleased that they have. This became obvious when job superintendent,
Joseph Lourenco, went out of his way to
VOLUME 8, ISSUE 3
continued from front page
comment on that Lather Foreman, Rich
Paskett and his gang are doing ““a really
great job for us.””
The mission for Local 46 on this
phase of the project is to facilitate the
encapsulation and reproong of old
concrete slabs that have been coated
with lead based paint. Approximately
75% of the surface area had already
undergone the abatement process, but
the conventional abatement process was
considered unacceptable for the rest of
the area as it would prove to be to high
a contamination risk to adjacent areas.
Therefore, encapsulation was required
for the remaining 25% of the surface
area.
As was often the case with structures
of that period, the original concrete was
poured in the old ““wafe”” slab design.
As a result, the underside of the slab was
comprised of a series of 2’’ x 9’’ cells. In
fact, there were 3,300 of them in all callcontinued on next page
““The Track”” gets a new face
Page 9
B ILL H OHLFELD ,
continued from previous page
ing for encapsulation.
Easier said than done, some ve different powder actuated tools were tried
out, and none seemed capable of making the proper penetrations. Eventually,
through the process of trial and error, an
electric hammer drill was agreed upon
that could do the job and allow for the
1/4”” x 1 1/2”” hammer nails that would
ultimately be used to fasten over 5,000
sheets of diamond mesh metal lath.
The lath would serve as a substrate that
would receive the reproong and complete the encapsulation process.
The extensive work being done at
Aqueduct has given Local 46 members
an opportunity to demonstrate their
wide range of talents, their willingness
to adapt to rapidly changing eld conditions, and their ability to do what it takes
to get the job done. With traits like those,
we can’’t help but go home ““a winner.””
Diamond mesh is forever
The National Scene
Labor Board Flexing Muscle for Worker Rights
After years of being either irrelevant or a roadblock, the National Labor
Relations Board continues to exercise
its newly revived muscle on behalf of
workers’’ rights.
In mid-April the NLRB sued
Boeing for moving an assembly line to
a right-to-work state to retaliate against
unionized workers in Washington state
who struck the company in 2008. And
later in the month the Board announced
it was going ahead with plans to sue
Arizona and South Dakota to invalidate
their efforts to prohibit private sector
workers from choosing a union through
card check.
““Federal labor law is clear,”” said
IAM Vice President Rich Michalski
about the Boeing case. ““It’’s illegal to
threaten or penalize workers who engage in concerted activity.””
““Workers have a right to join a
union, and companies don’’t have a
right to punish them for engaging in
legal union activities,”” added Tom
Wroblewski, president of Machinists
District Lodge 751 in Seattle, which
represents Boeing workers.
In the card check case, months of
negotiations with four states proved
fruitless. Arizona, South Carolina,
South Dakota and Utah last November
passed constitutional amendments
against card check, a procedure in
which an employer must recognize a
union if a majority of its employees
sign cards declaring their desire to
unionize.
The amendments were pushed by
conservative groups trying to pre-empt
the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA),
which would have denied employers
the ability to block workers from choosing that method of organizing. Under
EFCA, workers still could have chosen
a secret-ballot election if they preferred
that route. Although the issue became
moot when Congressional Republicans
killed EFCA, the constitutional amendments were approved in last Fall’’s elections and the NLRB––which may sue
South Carolina and Utah later —— says
those actions are pre-empted by federal
labor law.
Protected: Celebrating a Century of Union Apprenticeship Programs
A
lthough the practice of learning a trade by working alongside a master craftsman has
been around for centuries, modern
registered apprenticeships have only
been recognized in the United States
for 100 years. U.S. Labor Secretary
Hilda Solis brought together industry
and union leaders on the National Mall
in Washington, D.C., June 6 to help
celebrate a century of registered apprenticeship programs.
Page 10
““The electrical apprenticeship
program is the reason I’’m here in
front of you today,”” said participant
Kevin Burton, an instructor with
Washington, D.C., IBEW Local 26’’s
Joint Apprenticeship and Training
Committee. ““It provided me a skill set
that has given me a rst-class ticket to
middle-class America.””
““Joint apprenticeship is one of
America’’s best kept secrets,”” said U.S.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.
Mark Ayers, president of the
Building and Construction Trades
Department, AFL-CIO, told the crowd
that of today’’s approximately 470,000
apprentices in the United States, 75
percent are in the construction eld.
Of those, 70 percent are enrolled in
a union-sponsored training program,
making union apprenticeships vital to
growing the supply of skilled labor.
THE LATHER
The National Scene, continued
Labor Educators Targeted by Right-wing Provocateur
Right-wing provocateur Andrew
Breitbart —— best-known for his selectively-edited videos attacking ACORN
in 2009 —— is now going after labor
educators and has already cost one his
job.
In late April Breitbart began posting highly-edited video from a labor
studies class being taught by Judy
Ancel, Director of the Institute for
Labor Studies at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and Don Giljum,
Business Manager for the International
Union of Operating Engineers Local
148 in St. Louis. The IUOE subsequently demanded —— and received ——
Giljum’’s resignation and the University
of Missouri-St. Louis informed Giljum
that he will not be rehired as an adjunct
instructor of labor studies.
Breitbart patched together carefully edited short video clips purporting to reveal taxpayer funded educators
advocating ““the occasional need for
violence and industrial sabotage”” as
well as ““outlining specic tactics that
can be used.””
““Breitbart is a master of taking
quotes out of context, deletion of what
doesn’’t serve his purpose, and remixing
to achieve totally different meaning,””
said Ancel. For example, Breitbart’’s
video showed her saying ““Violence is
a tactic and it’’s to be used when it’’s
the appropriate tactic”” and omitted
her previous sentence and the context:
““After students had watched a lm on
the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers’’
Strike and the assassination of Martin
Luther King, they were discussing nonviolence,”” says Ancel, who then said to
the class ““One guy in the lm ... said
‘‘violence is a tactic, and it’’s to be used
when it’’s the appropriate tactic’’ The
class proceeded to discuss and debate
this.””
Breitbart’’s chop-shop videos usually wind up being largely discredited.
Shirley Sherrod, who was red from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture after
Breitbart posted misleading excerpts of
a speech at a 2010 NAACP fundraising
dinner, won an apology and offer of another job from Secretary of Agriculture
Tom Vilsack after the complete 40-minute video of the speech set the record
straight. Still, the Ancel-Giljum videos
set off a urry of emails among labor
educators concerned that the videos
will be used to undermine and attack
labor education. ““The oldest trick in
the right-wing playbook is to conjure
or exaggerate fears of violence by
workers (and) unions....which usually
justies (if not deects attention from)
extreme action (including violence) by
anti-union, anti-worker groups and/
or the authorities,”” wrote BCTGM
Director of Research & Education Ray
Scannell.
Ancel called the videos ““an attack
on the rights of working people and on
anything that is public, including public universities. The right of workers to
have a voice in their workplaces and in
their economic lives is a human right
recognized by freedom-loving people
around the world ... These attacks on
me, my colleague, and the students in
my course are an affront to democracy
and must be challenged by citizens,
workers and students, or else they will
continue.””
UPDATE (5/11/11): ““Contrary
to some reports, Don Giijum has not
been red from the campus faculty,””
said the UMKC administration on May
9. Giljum ““is completing the course;
he remains eligible to teach at UMSL.
We sincerely regret the distress to him
and others that has been caused by
the unauthorized copying, editing and
distribution of the course videos.””
The UMKC administration concluded,
after reviewing the class tapes, that
the Breitbart excerpts ““were denitely
taken out of context, with their meaning
highly distorted through splicing and
editing from different times within a
class period and across multiple class
periods.”” Instructor Judy Ancel says
that the immediate and extensive support she and Giljum received ““renewed
my commitment to labor education and
the labor movement.””
Flight Attendants to Choose One Union
C
offee, tea, the IAM or the AFA?
Flight attendants at the United
Continental airline will bave
to choose next month between the two
unions.
United and Continental merged
tast fall and now some 25,000 ight
attendants will choose between the
VOLUME 8, ISSUE 3
Association of Flight Attendants
(AFA), which represents ight attendants at United, and the International
Association of Machinists (IAM),
which represents Continental ight
attendants.
The vote, set to run May 17 to
June 29, will be conducted under the
International Mediation Board’’s new
voting guidelines, which determine
the outcome by a simple majority of
ballots cast, rather than the former
practice of assigning a ““NO”” vote for
any voter who did not cast a ballot.
Page 11
The National Scene
T
White House Number Crunchers Organize
he White House number
crunchers want a union. Not
because they want more money, but for a voice at work.
The nearly 400 civil service
workers at the Office of Management
and Budget —— the office responsible for devising and submitting the
president’’s annual budget proposal
to Congress––are organizing with the
American Federation of Government
Employees (AFGE).
““They work long hours, they
work weekends, they have crunch
times when there are budget debates
going on,”” AFGE deputy director of
field services and education Peter
Winch told GovemmentExecutive.
com. ““They don’’t mind being called
in for that, but they’’d like more appreciation for the fact that they get
the work done quickly. Not monetary
appreciation, but ... that we appreciate the work getting done.””
The OMB workers want the same
kind of input into reorganizations and
labor policy changes that workers at
other federal agencies now have.
““The administration is a strong
supporter of the right of workers
to organize,”” OMB communications director Kenneth Baer told
GovemmentExecutive.com. An election could be held as soon as August.
Labor History - July, 1903
Labor organizer Mary Harris
““Mother”” Jones led the ““March of the
Mill Children”” over 100 miles from
Philadelphia to President Theodore
Roosevelt’’s Long Island summer
home in Oyster Bay, New York, to
publicize the harsh conditions of
child labor and to demand a 55-hour
work week. It is during this march,
on about the 24th, she delivered her
famed ““The Wail of the Children””
speech :
We want President Roosevelt to
hear the wail of the children who
never have a chance to go to school
but work 11 and 12 hours a day in
the textile mills of Pennsylvania;
who weave the carpets that he and
you walk upon; and the lace curtains
in your windows, and the clothes of
the people. 50 years ago there was
a cry against slavery and men gave
up their lives to stop the selling of
black children on the block. Today
the white child is sold for two dollars a week to the manufacturers. 50
years ago the black babies were sold
C.O.D. Today, the white baby is sold
on the installment plan.
In Georgia, where children work
day and night in the cotton mills, they
have just passed a bill to protect song
birds. What about the little children
from whom all song is gone?
I shall ask the President in the
name of the aching hearts of these
little ones that he emancipate them
from slavery. I will tell the president
that the prosperity he boasts of is the
prosperity of the rich wrung from the
poor and helpless.
’’
Roosevelt refused to see them.
A Few Quotes of ““Mother”” Mary
Jones:
*** Pray for the dead and fight
like hell for the living.
*** My address is like my shoes.
It travels with me. I abide where
there is a fight against wrong.
*** The employment of children
is doing more to fill prisons, insane
asylums, almshouses, reformatories,
slums, and gin shops than all the
efforts of reformers are doing to improve society.
*** I asked a man in prison once
how he happened to be there and he
said he had stolen a pair of shoes. I
told him if he had stolen a railroad
he would be a United States Senator.
IN MEMORIAM
PLEASE REMEMBER THESE BROTHERS IN YOUR PRAYERS
4/30/2011
FRANCIS “BUDDY” LEAHY
Page 12
4/27/2011
WILLIAM MURPHY
4/4/2011
CLINTON SULLIVAN
THE LATHER
Dollars & Sense at the Learning Center by Bill Hohlfeld
W
e’’ve all heard the pseudo
wisdom that ““you can’’t
teach an old dog new tricks,””
and maybe that statement is true for
dogs. But Lathers are people, not dogs,
and have shown not only their ability
to absorb new concepts, but their love
of learning as well. The initial class
of Labor Studies students currently
studying economics twice a week at
the Learning Center have clearly demonstrated that fact.
For those of you not familiar with
the program, Local 46 has reached an
agreement with the Harry Van Arsdale
Center of Empire State College of
State University of New York. Rather
than make our members travel to their
facility, they have conceded to use our
Learning Center as a satellite campus.
This exciting new program is not only a
wonderful opportunity to stretch mentally, but an economic boon in and of itself, in that anyone participating in the
program will not only receive college
credit, but be reimbursed for 50% of
the tuition costs upon successful completion of the course. At present, there
are 7 Local 46 members deeply immersed in the economic theory laid out
in Dr. Moshe Adler’’s text, Economics
And Lathers share theirs
VOLUME 8, ISSUE 3
for the Rest of Us,
being taught by Dr.
Adler’’s assistant and
colleague, Professor
John West. Dr. Adler,
however, took the
time one evening to
drop by and meet
the students. The
course generated such
a level of interest
that Administrative
Assistant
to
the
Apprentice program,
Sheila
Rosenberg
is auditing the class
Professor West shares his knowledge
alongside our guys.
They meet twice a week
ing class people the opportunity to
from 4 until 7 to explore the economic enjoy middle class life styles.
policies of the day that, while they
John has a story of his own he likes
might be classied as theory, have a to tell. It is about a group of Local 46
very real and signicant impact on Lathers who came to class one night.
working people and their families.
They were all badly sunburned after
Professor West is a PH.D. candidate being outside all day in our recent
and instructor at Columbia University, early heat wave. After seeing what
who received his Master’’s degree in the guys had been through that day he
Urban Planning from the University was amazed once class began. John
of Illinois, in Chicago. As ne an aca- remarked, ““they were prepared and endemic pedigree as that may be, John, as gaged, and able to analyze and discuss
he prefers to be called, is no stranger economic utilitarianism in a material
to the ranks of labor. Hailing originally way.”” They brought with them a real
from the Pittsburgh world insight and perspective that only
area, his dad was a a Lather could bring to a conversation.
telephone
lineman At Columbia, the students are certainly
and a CWA union very bright, but, John continued, ““bemember who would cause so many of them have been in
often share stories of school their whole lives, they tend to
his day at work, the see things in the abstract.”” As we all
dangers, the hard- know, there’’s nothing abstract about a
ships, and of course #11 bar or the ““two day cycle.””
the stories of the
So congratulations to our rst
people with whom SUNY students and congratulations to
he worked. Most im- Professor John West as well, for putting
portantly, he passed himself out there to be part of this new
on the key concept experiment in education. Let’’s all hope
that Trade Unionism that this is the rst of many classes to
plays an important come.
role in giving work-
Page 13
We’’re on the web
www.ml46.org
Page 14
Front Runners at Aqueduct
“The injury of one is the concern of all.”
THE LATHER
1322 TH I RD AVEN UE @ EAST 76TH STR EET, N EW YOR K , N Y 1 0 0 2 1
““ I n a w o rl d o f u n i ver s al decei t , t el l i ng t he t r ut h i s a revolutionar y act.””
—— G eorge O r wel l –– 1984