Ensuring Workers’ Safety by Tony Hernandez

My family and I would like to wish all our DC 35 members and their families a Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous 2019. Happy Holidays! (Mi familia y yo queremos desearles a todos los miembros de DC 35 y sus familiares una Feliz Navidad y un saludable y próspero 2019).

Mark Burdick and Brandon Castro take out a quick deck platform on the Whittier Bridge Working for Atsalis Brothers.

It is a privilege and an honor to work for all of you. 2018 has been an incredible year with increased man-hours for our membership. Atsalis Brothers is finishing the Springfield Viaduct with many of our members working between 2,500 to 3,300 hours, as well as the Whittier Bridge in Amesbury where they work 7am-12pm. We are working six days a week on the maintenance of the Longfellow Bridge, Liberty Bridge, and Tobin Bridge. We signed JF White to a one job agreement on the Tobin Bridge and we have six members setting a Safespan system on site. In New Hampshire, we worked on 17 bridges this year.

Working with the Organizing Department, I continue to monitor, investigate and request certified payrolls from any non-union company that comes into the area.

Reynaldo Vargas and Edward Hernandez working for Bouchard Painting in Haverhill at the Portable Water Treatment Plant.

This has been a full-time job, to make sure that the companies play by the rules and follow the law with regard to workers’ safety, appropriate training, environmental stewardship, and wage protection.

We will not rest until our signatory contractors are no longer put at a competitive disadvantage by companies who choose to mistreat workers and violate environmental and wage laws. I’m looking forward to 2019 with the start of the second phase of the Tobin Bridge viaduct improvement. This is a $169,371,939 project awarded to Skanska-McCourt; a joint venture with work projected to start in February 2019.