HAPPY NEW YEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS

Let us keep the momentum moving in a positive direction for each and every member in 2024.

Your Leadership Team, with your support, has achieved so many goals in the past year but we cannot rest on our laurels. We must continue to support political leaders who have our best interest at heart, from school committees to the president of this great country. Please band together for what is right for us when it comes to putting groceries on the table for our families and paying our bills. Get involved and help with some of our endorsed candidates, we endorse them for a reason: for jobs and the well-being of society.

2024 promises to be a rewarding year for our membership with a large backlog of projects underway and many more on the horizon. Your Leadership Team continues to support projects that are in the planning stages so that we continue to see opportunities for our membership for years to come.

Since my last report to our membership, I have continued to broaden my scope of education by recently attending an educational program that covers many of the day-to-day concerns of our trusted funds such as vendor agreements, money manager selections, and compliance along with an in-depth look at securities fraud litigation and monitoring. Your Labor Trustees take continuing education and its impact on the decision-making process very seriously.

I am pleased to report that a stop wage theft symposium was held here at DC 35. Our Organizing Department hosted the program in conjunction with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. The well-received educational forum that featured panel-style participation was well-received by Attorney Generals from throughout the country. It was truly a national event. One of the key elements of the symposium was a contractor that was pursued by your DC 35 Leadership Team which resulted in disbarment and over five hundred thousand dollars in fines and restitution here locally. This opened the eyes of many of the Attorney Generals in attendance from across the country. Clearly, this is another reason we need to vote for candidates that have our labor interests at the forefront.

Recently I had the opportunity to address our membership that works in the residential market. I am pleased to report that your Leadership Team has worked tirelessly on developing market share in this arena of ever-growing work opportunities. Our commitment to recruitment and our ability to properly fulfill the labor requirements of this segment of the industry has grown substantially. Our contractor base has continued to grow, and our Business Manager Chris Brennan has had successful discussions with our employer partners on project searches, bidding processes, and respectful employment opportunities for our members who are aggressively putting their trade skills to work.

On behalf of the entire staff here at the District Council, I congratulate Finishing Trades Institute Instructors Jim Sullivan and Mike Moreschi on their recent retirement. I know that they have made a difference in so many of our members’ lives, from health and safety to trade techniques and beyond. All the best to Mike and Jim for the next chapter of their lives, thank you.

Speaking of retirements, our Management Co-Chairperson of The Finishing Trades Institute of New England Robert Ayers has retired from his post. All the trustees of the FTI/ NE held Robert in the highest regard and his commitment to our programs and the industries in which we all work was second to none. Thank you, Robert, for all that you have done for our educational programs and the Membership of District Council 35.

Over the holidays I had the opportunity to see a substantial portion of our membership at the various Local Union Holiday Meetings. I always enjoy seeing so many friends at the meetings and I believe I have gotten to know so many of our members on a personal level. Another opportunity was to meet with local mayors and other area political leaders at these events and that truly shows that our commitment to our communities is being recognized. I thank all the Local Unions for the hospitality, the invite to your holiday events, and the support that you have given our District Council.

As part of your Leadership Team, I wish you all a safe, healthy, and prosperous 2024!