BIG PROJECTS AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES
It’s an exciting time to be a member of DC 35! With so many great things going on it’s hard to know where to begin. First, I’d like to thank BM/ST Brennan for appointing me to the Director of Servicing position and congratulate Ray on his new position. It’s an honor to serve our membership in this capacity and this is not a duty I take lightly. This team of DC 35 Business Representatives is the most dedicated and driven labor leaders I’ve ever met and is fighting like hell for our members. Together, we’re going to keep accomplishing great things for DC 35.
Parcel 12 is in full swing with about 50 DC 35 members working on the project. I like to report on this project often because it has been one of the top generators of hours for our members for the better part of three years and because of that it has seen its fair share of issues. The latest issue was a report of one of our members being inappropriately harassed by a member of another trade, which is something we take very seriously. Sensitive issues like this are never easy to navigate and every step must be taken to ensure the safety and protect the privacy of our members. In this case, we represented the member during interviews and meetings with the contractor and general contractor. Because this member had the courage to speak up, others felt comfortable coming forward and we were able to have the offending party removed from the job site. As Union workers, we have a responsibility to make our industry safer, more accessible, and more appealing to as many working people as possible. Behavior like this has no place on a Union job site or any site and leaves an ugly mark on the beautiful projects that we build.
The DC 35 Steward Program is more active than ever after our second New Stewards Training in March and Assigned Stewards Meeting in April. Because of the interest shown by the membership, the Steward Program was one of BM/ST Brennan’s top priorities when he was elected. Since then we have grown the program to have the most and best trained Stewards that DC 35 has ever had. We have more than doubled our Steward roster, more than doubled our number of active appointed Stewards, and established a schedule for our Steward trainings and meetings. Business Representatives are a vital component to the Labor Union and it’s important to choose people we trust and can rely on, and the exact same thing can be said for our Stewards. It’s a huge responsibility and the members who are appointed are the people who truly want to serve the membership, understand our Collective Bargaining Agreement and who will be the boots on the ground that keep this union marching forward. I’d like to thank every DC 35 Steward for stepping up to the plate and standing up for what’s right.
Lastly, DC 35 has officially started the first glazing pre-apprenticeship in the country at Madison Park High School. This is something we have been working on for years and is finally officially up and running. A big thanks to IUPAT John Doherty who worked closely with DC 35 and Madison Park to help get this accomplished.
On top of all this hard work, over the past year and a half DC 35 has signed 15 new companies across the glass, paint, and drywall industries and we’re currently in the thick of a promising organizing campaign with the housekeeping division at the University of New Hampshire. There’s a lot of great things happening for DC 35 and our membership is growing. Good luck to all the Locals of DC 35 in your upcoming elections!
