IUOE877 Winter Newsletter 2022

Union of Operating Engineers,

WINTER NEWSLETTER 2022

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Robert “Mike” Kowalski Business Agent

JerryConner

Business Agent

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Partner Spotlight

ECOMAINE

LOCAL 877

WINTER NEWSLETTER 2022

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Union Update

Partner Spotlight: ecomaine Celebrating Black History Month

Member Milestones Business update

Member Portal Sign-up Reminder

LOCAL 877 AND LABOR GUILD OF BOSTON STEWARD TRAINING PARTNERSHIP

By Shawn Ballard This January, Local 877, in partnership with the Labor Guild of Boston, hosted a virtual steward training event on Zoom. Roughly 30 stewards attended and the feedback we received f rom attendees was overwhelmingly positive. The Local will be looking to have a follow-up training in the upcoming months as the initial training only scratched the surface of what it means to be a union steward. Even though we covered only the basics of steward training, each person left having learned something new.

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Stewards that were not able to make it to the Zoom have been provided a link to view the training on their own. Please note that when the follow-up training is rolled out, we expect all stewards to have already viewed the initial training.

We strongly encourage all stewards to take part in these training events. These trainings provide you with the opportunity to ask particular questions to the trainer and further develop your skills. As always, feel free to reach out to your representative with any questions or concerns.

UNION UPDATE

ional Union Mike Cannistraro

Brothers and Sisters,

The past year has been a challenging time

I’d also like to congratulate our recent Member

for our union, but it has also been a period of

Portal sign-up contest winners, Denis Maher,

tremendous growth. Together, we have won

Michael Kuehl, and Dean DeFrancesco. Denis

significant gains in contract negotiations and

won our grand prize of a free, brand new iPad,

built solidarity and greater communication with

and Michael and Dean both won brand new

the 877 membership—including the launch of a

third-generation AirPods. Thank you to all who

brand new website and newsletter. Coming into

participated in the contest and signed up for the

2022, we are poised to make even more progress.

Member Portal! We may hold additional contests in the future to encourage member participation.

As we work to rebuild, I have been appointed

by General President James Callahan to the

Thank you all again for your hard work and

position of Assistant Supervisor — a role that

patience as we weather this challenging time. Our

will ensure we are adequately prepared to take

fortunes are only improving, and our membership

over when the time comes. In the meantime, we

will emerge stronger and ready for the days to

appreciate the guiding hand of the International

come. When you show up to work each day to

and of Alan Pero in particular. We would not be

get the job done right, when you advocate for one

where we are today without his wisdom, courtesy,

another at the workplace, and when you give

and professionalism.

back to your communities, you exemplify what it means to be Local 877. Thank you again, and on

We need each and every member on board

to 2022!

for the chapter ahead. If you have not done so already, please sign up for a Member Portal

In Solidarity,

account at IUOELocal877.com/join. Our website allows you to stay informed on important

Mike Cannistraro

member information, pay dues online, and

Assistant Supervisor

receive breaking updates from the union via

IUOE Local 877

email and text. We highly encourage you to take this step to stay informed and involved.

IUOE 877 WINTER NEWSLETTER 3

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Partner Spotlight

ECOMAINE You’ve probably heard of the phrase, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” but some companies take that literally. Portlandbased ecomaine is in the business of converting Southern Maine’s trash into energy. The facility itself is entirely self-sufficient and includes a single-sort recycling center and a landfill for any waste that cannot be converted.

a new Maine law that called for the closing of privately-owned landfills. Its current mission began in 1988 when ecomaine built the waste-to-energy plant in order to greatly reduce the amount of trash it had to send to the landfill. IUOE workers have been supporting that mission since the early 90s when they first unionized.

“I’m a big believer in the idea that you should make the world a better place than you found it,” said Jonny Miller, an ecomaine electrician and assistant steward with IUOE Local 877 and Local 4. “And I believe that most people when you tell them what we do, would rather their waste go to a facility like ours than just go straight to a landfill.”

Although most workers there are union

Together, Local 877 and Local 4 keep the plant’s mercurial boiler and conveyor systems in check, sorting the waste and eventually converting it into ash that returns to the landfill the ecomaine owns. The 40 union members include mechanics, electricians, instrumentation and controls techs, crane operators, truck drivers, and plant operators.

With such high demand at the facility, the work never stops.

members, Jonny explained that some temp jobs remain non-union, and his hope is to continue building solidarity among the workforce.

“Not everyone understands the power that a union has to improve your life,” Jonny said.

“Not just your job, but with legislative goals, too. When one person writes a letter to their Congressperson, they may just get ignored.

But when 40 people write a letter once a week, they have to start paying attention.”

As ecomaine’s services continue to expand, we look forward to building a better future together!

The plant works on a 24-hour basis,” Jonny explained. “There’s always trash coming in, always work to be doing.”

Ecomaine, originally called Region Waste Systems, was founded in 1976 by the municipalities of Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, and South Portland in response to

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IUOE 877 WINTER NEWSLETTER 5

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH Carter G. Woodson Black History Month is an important time to remember those who fought for their rights and brought forth a new era of progress. This February, IUOE Local 877 celebrates Black History Month by honoring historian and scholar Carter G. Woodson.

Carter G. Woodson played a significant role in documenting, researching, and educating people on the history of Black Americans. Born to a family of illiterate former slaves, Woodson spent most of his young life working on his family’s farm. Yearning for education, Woodson taught himself nearly all common school subjects by the age of 17, began to attend high school at the age of 20, and earned his diploma in less than two years. He continued his education and received his doctorate degree at Harvard University in 1912, becoming only the second African American to earn a doctorates degree after W.E.B. Du Bois.

Woodson believed that young African Americans were not learning enough about their heritage and started “Negro History and Literature Week” Woodson believed that young African Americans were not learning enough about their heritage and started “Negro History and Literature Week” through Omega Psi Phi, his Harvard fraternity. Over time, more and more schools and organizations joined the “Negro History Week”

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initiative until eventually, in the 1940s there was a push to expand from just one week into the month-long celebration we have now. Despite existing in some form for decades, Black History Month did not become officially recognized until 1976, on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement.

The way we celebrate Black History Month has changed throughout the years, but we would not have what we do now without the amazing contributions of Carter G. Woodson.

IUOE Local 877 is passionate about advocating for justice and equity for not only our members but for workers as a whole. Year-long, we use our voices to fight for equal pay, safe working conditions, and life-sustaining wages and benefits for all, and it’s through this advocacy that we build a more equitable future.

MEMBER MILESTONES 25-Year Members

35-Year Members

Stanley Bosse

Brian Bayliss

Michael Shaw

Stephen Haswell

Antonio Vardaro

Daniel Brainard

Michael Rockwood

Glen Fiore

Robert Rockwood

Ernest Soberanis

John Noel

Christopher McGovern

Alan Arruda

Donald Farren

Robert Fulcar

Robert Kuhn Edward Trout

30-Year Members

40-Year Members

Peter Goucher

Carlos Guillen

Clinton Lane

James Smith

Paul McGann Mark O’Rourke

BUSINESS UPDATE

We are also currently in talks with Curry College and will talk with St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center

By Brian Curran, Business Representative

about future agreements. Some of the other

We have been very busy working on the

Metro West Medical Center, South Shore Hospital,

membership’s behalf, negotiating multiple

and BMR Cambridge University Park.

contracts since we last met in December. One of our contracts has been ratified by the members of the Moakley Courthouse, and our agreement with Cambridge Health Alliance has been negotiated and will be voted on by the members in the coming days.

upcoming contracts for negotiations include

I want to take this opportunity to thank our stewards for their dedication and help setting up proposal meetings and delivering input during negotiations. Without them, our workers would not have a voice at the bargaining table.

IUOE 877 WINTER NEWSLETTER 7

IUOE Local 877 89 Access Road, Unit 4 Norwood, MA 02062

Member Portal Sign-up Reminder A friendly reminder to sign up for our Member Portal on the Local 877 website. The member portal gives you easy access to all of the union resources and information you need. You can even pay your dues online!

To sign up: 1. Go to IUOELocal877.com 2. Under the “MEMBERS” tab, hit “MEMBERS PORTAL” 3. Fill out your information under “CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT” 4. Submit!

Create your account today!

We’d also like to recognize the three lucky winners of our Member Portal sign-up contest. Congratulations to Denis Maher, Mike Kuehl, and Dean DeFrancesco! Each member won a brand new iPad or AirPods.