By letter dated March 20, SMART General President Joseph Nigro has requested that the National Mediation Board (NMB) proffer arbitration to SMART Mechanical Workers on New Jersey Transit.
The request was done in concert with other unions in the New Jersey Transit Rail Labor Coalition. The Coalition represents 88% of the overall union membership on New Jersey Transit and was formed over the past several months. A decision by the NMB is expected in about a month.
If the National Mediation Board proffers arbitration, which SMART and the other coalition unions will reject, a Presidential Emergency Board will then be appointed. “This coalition has one goal, a fair contract for our Transportation and Mechanical Brothers and Sisters at New Jersey Transit”, said SMART’s Railroad, Mechanical and Engineering General Chairman John McCloskey. He added that “negotiations were at a complete standstill, this request for release is a necessary one.”
If the National Mediation Board agrees to release the coalition unions, it will proffer binding arbitration to the unions and NJT. When either side notifies the NMB that they reject binding arbitration, that starts a process that could take as long as 270 days if no voluntary agreement is reached, including two Presidential Emergency Boards (PEBs). The first PEB would be appointed within 30 days of either side’s rejection of the proffer of arbitration. At the end of the 270 days, both sides can resort to self-help. The Coalition elected to seek release after it became clear that NJT would not make a reasonable offer. The Coalition has proposed a settlement patterned after the contracts achieved at the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North in New York. New Jersey Transit insists on concessionary contracts, with employees with families paying more than four times what they pay now for health benefits.
Click here for a copy of the NJ Transit Unions’ Joint Statement
Author: paul
President Barack Obama vetoed a measure passed by the Republican-run Congress blocking the National Labor Relations Board from streamlining the process for union elections.
The NLRB rule, set to take effect on April 14, would shorten the amount of time between when an election is called and when it is held by eliminating a 25-day waiting period. Usually, during this 25-day window, workers are barraged with a series of captive audience meetings and one on one meetings in front of management where they are interrogated about their allegiances prior to the election.
Republicans and anti-union groups oppose the rule, arguing that it would limit the ability of businesses to prepare for representation elections. Opponents also said workers wouldn’t have enough time to make “informed” decisions about whether to join a union.
Obama called the labor board’s changes “common sense” and “modest” before he vetoed the measure.
“Unions historically have been at the forefront of establishing things like the 40-hour work week, the weekend, elimination of child labor laws, establishing fair benefits and decent wages,” the President said. “One of the freedoms of folks here in the United States is, is that if they choose to join a union, they should be able to do so. And we shouldn’t be making it impossible for that to happen.”
The new NLRB rules also update election preparation to the new digital age by finally allowing documents to be filed electronically instead of solely by mail. The rule will also require employers to supply union organizers with workers’ contact information in order to allow more adequate time for the union to campaign on its side of the issues.
The anticipated demand for skilled, certified welders in the U.S. in the next five years is staggering. The American Welding Society projects that by 2020 there will be a deficit of 290,000 skilled welders, which includes instructors, inspectors, and engineers. The opportunities for skilled craftsmen will be there, but will you be ready?
“We are looking at a deficit, as the average age of welders is around 55,” said Steve Kowats, who runs the International Training Institute’s South East Concentrated Welding Program. “We expect the demand for new certified welders to grow because of attrition and because of expanded work opportunities in the energy sector.”
Kowats has been working with JATCs around the country to help train members and trainers to fill the demand. “The demand is there, and we have the infrastructure in place. Now, we need our members to realize that if they get these certifications the opportunities are endless.”
“Our craft is not traditionally thought of as a welding craft,” says Kowats. “We need to change that perception. If we don’t, we’re giving up the chance to do the work. And ultimately, the work could go to a non-union contractor if we don’t step up.”
As the energy boom takes hold, welders are needed at sites like Plant Vogtle, located near Waynesboro in eastern Georgia near the South Carolina border. The plant is one of Georgia Power’s two nuclear facilities. Kowats and Sheet Metal Local 85 are placing members trained through the Concentrated Welding Program at Vogtle. The program is designed to run six days a week, ten hours a day, over a three-week period, but can be modified to fit a local’s schedule. The participants learn how to properly weld pipe, sheet, and plate and are, when done, prepared to pass multiple welding certifications.
“But they don’t just have to pass the welding tests. Applicants at these energy plants need to be prepared to pass stringent background checks and general education tests,” Kowats warns. “It isn’t just about having the welding skills necessary to do the job. A lot of these positions require federal security clearance.”
New construction starts in the month of February grew by 16 percent over the previous month due to some large scale projects that took off in Texas, Louisiana and California. According to Dodge Data and Analytics, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis were up 34% from the same two month period that started 2014. The $724 billion in new work is expected to serve as a boost to a construction industry that have limped through the years following the 2008 recession.
The three projects include an $8.4 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Louisiana and a $1.2 billion solar power facility in California. A $3 billion petrochemical plant in Texas rounds out the list of major projects that came online in February and make be serving as an omen to what is expected to be a year that will see a surge in new construction.
The United States House of Representatives March 4 overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation that will provide critical investments in our nation’s passenger rail system.
H.R. 749, the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 (PRRIA) will ensure that our national passenger rail system continues its mission to connect communities – both large and small – across the country. The legislation passed 316-101.
The bipartisan legislation was sponsored by the top leadership of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, including Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Chairman of the Rail Subcommittee Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) and Subcommittee Ranking Member Michael Capuano (D-Mass.).
“In every region of the country, including the Pacific Northwest, passenger rail investments boost local economies and create thousands of family-wage construction, engineering, and manufacturing jobs. This bill isn’t perfect—but it was a bipartisan effort that ultimately provides critical investments and system wide improvements to increase capacity and make our railways safer. I’m glad that we were able to pass this legislation in a bipartisan way,” said DeFazio.
The legislation includes important reforms that will increase the number of loans issued to States, local governments, railroads, and shippers to finance the development of railroad infrastructure. The legislation includes strong Buy America provisions that ensure these loans are used to buy American steel, iron, and manufactured goods, boosting American manufacturing and created needed manufacturing jobs.
Retired former United Transportation Union Insurance Association Field Supervisor Thomas R. Anziano Jr., 73, of Local 1373 at Philadelphia, died Mar. 26 after an extended battle with cancer.
Anziano began his railroad career with CSX Transportation and worked as a conductor and yard foreman. He was a member of the UTU since 1972 and held several offices in his local including chairperson, legislative representative and delegate before working as a field supervisor for the UTUIA, a position from which he retired in 2005. He was also a member of the UTU Alumni Association. He was a veteran of the United States Air Force.
“Tom was always known as a kind, generous man who was loved and admired by everyone who knew him. Tom always put his family, friends and especially the UTU membership ahead of himself,” UTUIA Field Supervisor Art Rayner (Local 1374 at New Castle, Pa.) said. “I will always be forever grateful and indebted to Tom for all he had done for me after I replaced him as a UTUIA field supervisor. I will truly miss him.”
Anziano is survived by his wife, Barbara, and numerous family members.
A viewing is scheduled for Monday, March 30, at 8 a.m. at Cavanagh Family Funeral Homes, Inc., at 301 Chester Pike, in Norwood, Pa., with funeral mass to follow at 11 a.m. at St. Gabriel Church, Norwood, Pa. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Taylor Hospice Residence at P.O. Box 147, Ridley Park, PA 19078.
Joseph J. Nigro is retiring as General President of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART), effective April 30. He is stepping down in order to fully focus on recovering from a series of recent surgeries.
The SMART General Executive Council on March 12 unanimously voted to name General Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Sellers, Jr. to fill the position of General President and Chief of Staff Richard McClees to fill the position of General Secretary-Treasurer.
Nigro, a career sheet metal worker from Local Union 17 in Boston, served as General President since July, 2011. In a letter to union leaders across the U.S. and Canada, he explained that, “I have committed my heart and mind to accomplishing the goals we have set, but my health has taken me in a direction I did not anticipate. Unfortunately, I have been unable to recover to a level I expect of myself as your General President—the level of effort the members deserve.”
Noting the succession plan put in place during his tenure, Nigro added, “Joseph Sellers, Jr. and Richard McClees possess the leadership and management skills that will benefit the union for generations to come. I leave with a great deal of confidence, ready to improve my health and enjoy my family and friends for many more years.”
“I am grateful to our members for the steadfast support they have given me in merging our two great organizations,” Nigro said. “I have every confidence we have collectively built a team of International and Local Union leaders who can get the job done for the membership.”
Sheet Metal Local 105 members in Los Angeles, CA are profiled in this video by Kelly Candaele, author of “A League of Their Own.” These members are working on the Wilshire Grand Tower which will be the largest skyscraper west of the Mississippi when it is opened in 2017. These members, working for ACCO Engineered Systems, talk about what it takes to be a skilled sheet metal worker and the value they bring to the jobsite. Click here to view the video.
Across the country, Republican legislators are pushing legislation to repeal or drastically alter prevailing wage requirements for publicly funded construction projects. The effort is being coordinated by the all-powerful right-wing lobby ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) and its coalition of hard core right wing anti-union collaborators.
We Party Patriots reported on a recent piece from the Center for Media and Democracy some details about ALEC’s allies. It found that some of the major ALEC backers behind this effort are the State Policy Network, the Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC), the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the Michigan-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and the Wisconsin-based MacIver Institute for Public Policy.
CMD focuses on the coordinated efforts of these organizations to push anti-worker legislation in states that were former union strongholds. Labeling the midwest as “ground zero for the assault on wages,” they notes that the GOP’s victories in recent elections have provided the opportunity for the right to push its agenda in the region.
PR Watch breaks down the relationships between the organizations and politicians and how they have affected new legislation. To read more about ALEC, big business, and the return of the robber barons visit PRWatch.org.
An icon among airports worldwide, St. Louis’s Lambert International Airport rose to international prominence in the twentieth century, thanks to its association with Charles Lindbergh and his Spirit of St. Louis, as well as its position as the hub of Trans World Airlines (TWA). One other important feature of this airport—recognizable for years to the millions of travelers who visit St. Louis by air—has been its iconic terminal and signature copper roof. Designed by Minoru Yamasaki in the 1950s, the building and its copper roof inspired the design of other terminals, such as some at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France.
Tragedy struck in April 2011, as a category E3 tornado hit the St. Louis metropolitan area with 135 mile per hour winds. The tornado left a trail of destruction along its path, including extensive damage to the airport’s iconic terminal that left the copper roof in tatters.
Due to budget constraints that have been a reality for public transportation authorities nationwide, St. Louis airport officials found it more economical to replace rather than repair the cooper roof. They selected Missouri Builders Services, Inc. from Jefferson City to perform the roof replacement.
The roof was torn down to the concrete decking, then a new vented nail base was installed with the metal on top. The roof and flashings material made up approximately 125,000 square feet total, covering approximately 77,000 square feet of roof. The roof was constructed of .0216 CopperPlus by Heyco Metals. There was an extended lead time because the panels required a 30” coil, and Heyco only stocks 24” coils in the USA. The 30” coils had to be shipped over from Germany to complete the project. The entire roof system is vented through perforated stainless steel venting at the center parapets and perimeter walls. Missouri Builders Service, Inc., employed an average of 17 sheet metal workers throughout this project.Sheet Metal Local 36 and the contractor Kozney Wagner performed the work, honoring the St. Louis Agency of Training & Employment’s goal of using apprentices, women, minorities, and city residents on this project.
Heyco Metals’ CopperPlus features two outer layers of 100% copper bonded to a core of stainless steel. The resulting product offers the increased strength and reduced thermal properties of stainless steel. It can be soldered just like copper, only more easily. The lower thermal conductivity allows a worker to quickly soft-solder it, using smaller, cooler irons.
The product, which was first introduced in the 1960s, can be cut to any desired length and formed into virtually any shape. Much stronger than copper at a thinner gauge, it is widely used in tornado-prone areas across the Midwest.
According to Sheet Metal Local 36 Business Manager David Zimmermann, “The new skin will have the shine of raw copper like it did back when the terminal was built in the 1950s. The roof will slowly transform in color over the course of time, while always staying true to its historic origins that make it a unique landmark for travelers coming to the Midwest.”