The Millwright magazine - 2023 issue

Apprentices Sara Hernandez, Stephanie

and Leticia

remove a weld gun from a robot arm at the Arlington, Texas, training center.

House,

Trevizo

UBC MILLWRIGHTS’ STANDARDS OF BEING THE BEST

UBC Millwrights understand the relationship between signatory employers and end-user customers involves a delicate balance. The behavior exhibited by a few, or in some instances, the actions of simply one individual, can threaten whether an employer is afforded consideration for future work assignments which inevitably, as a result, affects the livelihoods of fellow millwrights. Failure to perform an impressionable quality service right the first time, within budget and on schedule may jeopardize future work opportunities.

The work ethic and manner which millwrights conduct themselves while on a customer’s premises reflects not only on the signatory employer, but on the area local union and the UBC as well. Therefore, it remains imperative UBC millwrights are held to standards of the highest level at all times during work-related and non-work-related interaction with others, whether employees of the customer or other site employers.

Should it be determined an individual is unwilling or incapable of satisfying these commitments by demonstrating a work practice or a course of conduct deemed as detrimental to UBC millwrights’ overall interests, then corrective action will be mandated. If warranted, certain disciplinary measures may include probation, suspension, or dismissal.

UBC millwrights shall be in consistent adherence with these standards:

SAFETY

Follow all employer and owner safety practices and guidelines. Use appropriate safety equipment as dictated.

RELIABILITY

Practice punctuality and arrive on time as expected at the designated workplace fit for duty, dressed in appropriate attire and equipped with required tools.

RESPECT

Conduct oneself in a courteous manner that fosters respect for employers, customers and fellow co-workers. Treat the property of others with care.

CRAFTSMANSHIP

Conscientious at all times of the quality and timeliness of the work assignment performed.

ATTITUDE

Work as a team player and display a positive disposition. Follow the directives, rules and policies of the employer and/or customer. Be receptive to constructive feedback.

PRODUCTIVITY

Commit to working in a diligent fashion and avoid any result or performance which could be construed as less than quality craftsmanship.

PROFESSIONALISM

At all times act in a manner which promotes a positive image of the millwright craft. Maintain pace with industry-related technological advances and possess the necessary credentials and certifications expected of a highly qualified “professional” UBC millwright.

TRAINING

Embrace continued education as an integral component of the millwright profession and participate, whether required or voluntary, in the advanced skills and upgrade training programs as offered. Comply with all mandated training prerequisites.

LEADERSHIP

Serve as an example to fellow millwrights. Actively support initiatives designed to promote the millwright trade. Continually offer to share one’s talents, knowledge and experience with those new in the industry.

Address: 2000 Southbridge Parkway, Suite 203 Birmingham, AL 35209

Phone: 855-577-7672

Email: info@southernstatesmillwrights.org On

Training

Executive Secretary-Treasurer: Wayne Jennings Local 1192, Alabama/Mississippi

President: Jimmie Jordan Local 1000, Florida

Vice President: Cliff Tucker Local 1000, Florida

Conductor: Ron Fritzemeier Local 1192, Alabama/Mississippi

Warden: Daniel Mullis Local 2411, Florida

TRUSTEES:

Richard Thomas Local 1421, North Texas

Karl Brooks Local 1263, Georgia/ South Carolina/North Carolina

Daniel Yost Local 1554, Tennessee

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AT LARGE:

James Rowland Local 2232, Texas

Michael Hines Local 729, Louisiana

Rick Halford Local 216, Arkansas/Oklahoma

THE MILLWRIGHT MAGAZINE STAFF:

Editor and Designer: Olivia McMurrey

Copy Editor: Wayne Jennings

WE NEED EVERYONE

With more work on the table than we’ve seen in decades, we need every member’s help to meet our goals and stay relevant in the industries we serve.

BY WAYNE JENNINGS, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY TREASURER, SOUTHERN STATES MILLWRIGHT REGIONAL COUNCIL

Where does the time go? It seems like we just rolled out our 2022 edition of The Millwright, and now you are reading the 2023 edition. I hope you all get information out of the newsletter that is informative, educational, motivational, and that assists you in your career path. You will see that this issue is dedicated to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the opportunities provided through these initiatives.

I would like to inform everyone about the SSMRC goals set for 2023-2024 and how we plan to accomplish these goals by establishing well-thought-out objectives and strategies. Every UBC team member, from our general president all the way down to the first-period apprentice, has a role in accomplishing the goals identified. We all have a part in managing our union. If we expect to capitalize on the opportunities, we must prepare for them better than any other workforce.

You are going to hear from the SSMRC regional directors

2023-2024 Goals

1.) Light Conveyor/Food and Beverage – Increase our work hours by 10% annually year over year.

We worked 644,682 hours in 2022.

Target for 2023: 709,150

Target for 2024: 780,065

Two-year total growth: 1,489,215

2.) Diversity – Improve the SSMRC’s diversity by 2.5% annually year over year. (See the chart to the right.) Our council is 80% white. Our 11-state footprint is 57% white.

Target for 2023: 77.5% white

Target for 2024: 75% white

Two-year total improvement: 5%

3.) Apprentice Retention – Improve our third-year retention by 5% and our fourth-year retention by 3%.

We had 406 third-year and 198 fourth-year apprentices on Dec. 31, 2022.

We lost 52 third-year and 24 fourth-year apprentices in 2022.

4.) Sisters in the Brotherhood Goal – Increase female membership by 15%.

We had 185 sisters in the SSMRC on Dec. 31, 2022. We will need to recruit and retain 28 additional sisters while maintaining existing sisters to meet this goal.

concerning the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. That being said, I want to discuss the overall health of the Southern States Millwright Regional Council and how I believe we can prepare for the future, so we can capitalize on upcoming opportunities. We all have a part in recruitment, retention, and capturing market share. Some of you will agree that it takes all of us to improve, and others will disagree, being content with just having a job. Fortunately, there is a high percentage of you who know that if we want to stay relevant in the industries we work in, it takes effort from everyone. Thank you for your commitment to our labor movement.

For the 2023-2024 goal cycle, the Southern States Millwrights have four distinct goals. (See the box.) With everything going on in the world and the industries we serve, these goals are very important. It’s also important to be aware of a few benchmarks as of April 1, 2023:

Total SSMRC membership – 5,893

YTD work hours – 1,834,604

Arrears – 3.5%

Financial reserve – four years

The goals may seem trivial to some, but I assure you, these goals will be difficult to accomplish. Each goal has objectives related to organizing, retention, training, and civic action. Each objective has related strategies to accomplish the objective and the goal. Whether it is to organize 50 non-union millwrights, develop active retention committees within each local, upgrade training curriculum and training props, or build relationships with the politicians who control the money and initiatives for identified industries, these goals, objectives, and strategies have been thoughtfully designed to benefit the membership of our organization.

EST WAYNE JENNINGS

We see many owners starting to require contractors to have diversity programs just to get on their bid list. This is a challenge for our contractors, and we must assist them with meeting that requirement. We are their diversity program. I have heard my entire career that the UBC must be broad and diverse enough to encompass every carpenter and millwright in the land. Work opportunities are more plentiful than I have ever seen them in my 32-year career. We need every good millwright working for our team. I have also said my entire career that recruitment is every member’s responsibility, but don’t bring someone to the table who can’t keep a job anywhere else. Bring people with great attitudes and the willingness to learn, who are ready to work. This will allow us to multiply our capabilities and capture more market share, providing more opportunities for members to work, support themselves and their families, and have health insurance and a retirement.

Recruitment and retention go hand in hand for growth. It may sound easy to recruit, and honestly to recruit lowlevel apprentices it is. It is harder to retain low-level apprentices, though. It is more difficult to recruit higher-level apprentices or journeymen, but it is easier to retain those members. Much of that comes down to employment opportunities, and that is why we constantly strive to capture more market share. You saw that our industry growth goal is related to light conveyor and food and beverage. This is a great market for apprentices to get plugged into, with plenty of opportunities for employment. In a threeyear time frame, we signed up 2,309 new members. In that same time frame, we lost 1,927 members. Many of these

losses are due to lack of work opportunities, the way we treated them on the job, or simply because they didn’t think the millwright career path was for them. With a net growth of only 382 members during the past three years, we have some work to do.

I ask that everyone assist with recruitment and retention. Recruit individuals who you believe will improve the organization, treat newly recruited members like you want them to be part of our organization, be a coach and a mentor, share your knowledge. Every mechanic has the opportunity to become a safe, professional, productive Southern States millwright. We all started somewhere, and it wasn’t knowing everything. I remember asking the question 32 years ago: “What is a Millwright?”

In closing, there is more opportunity out there for millwrights than I have ever seen. We must prepare to capitalize on every opportunity. If we don’t, there will be no one to blame but ourselves. I ask that you stay current on your training, transfer your knowledge to up-and-coming millwrights, and stay safe, professional, and productive. We all have a bright future ahead of us.

Your

EST,

Allen Wayne Jennings Executive Secretary Treasurer Southern States Millwright Regional Council

Council-Wide vs. 11-State Diversity Comparison

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR RETIRED SOUTHERN DISTRICT VICE PRESIDENT DENNIS DONAHOU

BY WAYNE JENNINGS, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY TREASURER OF THE SSMRC

Iam sure the members of the UBC’s Southern District join me in wishing Dennis Donahou a long, relaxing, and enjoyable retirement. Dennis had an exceptional career through his UBC membership. I first met Dennis when I became the business agent for my home local, Millwright Local 1192 out of Birmingham, Alabama, in September of 2010. I often refer to Dennis as the father of the Southern States Millwright Regional Council, as Dennis was the inaugural executive secretary treasurer for the SSMRC. Under his leadership, the SSMRC went from its infancy to a strong and viable source of labor for the contractors and owners who partner with the UBC.

After leading the SSMRC for five years, Dennis became the Southern District Vice President. Through his tenacity and unique ability to build and improve relationships with the owner and contractor communities, he has successfully led the four councils of the Southern District (Florida Carpenter, Southeastern Carpenter, Central South Carpenter, and Southern States Millwrights). He has improved operational effectiveness throughout the district, resulting in more work opportunities and better working conditions for all UBC members.

Dennis led the initiative for all councils and training funds to work as a unified team to better address and solve issues. A few examples are: standardized training, in which

any member can receive the desired training at any UBC training center throughout the Southern District; the development of the Nuclear Initiative Committee, in which the entire Southern District works as a team to address labor issues in the Southern nuclear industry; the development of a Southern District Wind Agreement and a Southern District Solar Agreement; and the construction of new training centers throughout the 11-state footprint of the UBC’s Southern District. Dennis has been a leader who has positively impacted members across the UBC and advanced the UBC’s labor movements.

That brings me to something that EST Engels (currently serving as Southern District Vice President) and I have had planned for a long time – the grand opening celebration of the Russellville Training Center and dedication of the center to Dennis Donahou. The Southern States Millwrights and the Central South Carpenters are continuing with the planned dedication ceremony, and retired DVP Donahou will go down in UBC history as a leader who instilled an expectation of success – through training and solidarity – in union carpenters and millwrights across the South.

Dennis, we hope you have a long and relaxing retirement, my friend. Thank you for a career of leadership and vision that focused on improving the quality of life for all UBC members.

Former Southern District VP Dennis Donahou and the four Southern District ESTs on the rooftop of UBC headquarters located at 101 Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C.

The dedication plaque for the new Russellville, Arkansas, training center

NEW SDVP APPOINTED

Jason B. Engels has track record of improving member benefits, looks forward to delivering on goals

Jason B. Engels has been appointed Southern District Vice President for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Prior to this appointment, Engels served as an Executive Secretary Treasurer (EST) within the UBC for more than 18 years. Most recently, he served as EST of the Central South Carpenters Regional Council.

During his time as EST, Engels was instrumental in growing the Central South Council by creating work opportunities for members through collaboration with construction professionals on multiple levels within the industry. The result was increased work opportunities and major wage increases throughout the council.

Members of the Central South Council received benefit improvements. Engels consolidated multiple trust funds, and this resulted in decreased professional and management costs, increased market leverage, and better benefits. Among the healthcare benefit improvements Engels oversaw during his tenure as EST was the expansion of benefits for women and children.

Engels has been a champion for equal rights. He ensured staff was diverse and multilingual. In 2022, Engels received an Excellence in Leadership Award at the International Sisters in the Brotherhood Conference for creating opportunities and improving healthcare for women. Under his leadership, significant training advances were made across the Central South Region through the construction of multiple state-of-the-art training centers.

DVP Engels looks forward to collaborating with leaders throughout the Southern District to deliver on goals centered around infrastructure, renewable energy, and the CHIPS and Science Act to further enhance opportunities for our members.

Engels is an amazing leader. Major initiatives he has spearheaded have been successful time and again because he listens to members, then gets to work making sure their needs are met. We are fortunate he is guiding the Southern District forward.

Kavin E. Griffin has been appointed interim EST for the Central South Carpenters Regional Council.

Message from SDVP Jason B. Engels

It is with immense honor and great pride that I take on the responsibility of Southern District Vice President of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC). As a career carpenter, I have dedicated my life to promoting growth and prosperity for our members in the South. I am committed to continuing my efforts to ensure that our members are present on every jobsite we target, and that they are equipped with the best tools and knowledge to excel in their fields.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the trust you have placed in me to lead our members toward achieving our shared goals. This is indeed an exciting time for the construction industry, as the Biden administration is making significant investments in infrastructure, clean energy, and worker protections. It could be the largest investment in the middle class that work-

ing households have ever seen.

UBC leadership has put us in a great position to take advantage of the many opportunities and growth across all specialties. As your Vice President, I am committed to ensuring our members benefit the most from this growth. I will work tirelessly to promote contractor and political outreach, all while working together toward the same goal of safe, efficient projects staffed with professional millwrights, carpenters, and pile drivers.

I hope you will join me in working toward these goals, as it will take all of us to effect change within the industry. We must come together as one and work with a common goal: good jobs with fair pay, benefits, and safe working conditions. If we unite for a common cause, I am confident we can make a difference, obtaining greater market share and more jobs for ourselves, family, and friends.

UBC and council leadership work every day to find the right political candidates who support millwright and carpenter politics and policies that support middle-class families. The next political cycle is just around the corner, and it is important for everyone to get involved in our local union activities by attending monthly meetings and asking our business reps what you can do to support our common goals. We will need help with organizing, political canvassing, event volunteers, mentoring new members, and recruiting apprentices. It will take all of us to achieve success. Every member of our team is important.

Let us come together and become an unbreakable team; together, we will make a difference. We are stronger together! Let us work toward achieving our shared goals and building a better future for ourselves, our families, and our communities.

UNION MEMBER RIGHTS AND OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE LMRDA

The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) guarantees certain rights to union members and imposes certain responsibilities on union officers. The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) enforces many LMRDA provisions while other provisions, such as the bill of rights, may only be enforced by union members through private suit in federal court.

UNION MEMBER RIGHTS

Bill of Rights - Union members have:

• equal rights to participate in union activities

• freedom of speech and assembly

• voice in setting rates of dues, fees, and assessments

• protection of the right to sue

• safeguards against improper discipline

Copies of Collective Bargaining AgreementsUnion members and non-union employees have the right to receive or inspect copies of collective bargaining agreements.

Reports - Unions are required to file an initial information report (Form LM-1), copies of constitutions and bylaws, and an annual financial report (Forms LM-2/3/4) with OLMS.

Unions must make the reports available to members and permit members to examine supporting records for just cause. The reports are public information, and copies are available from OLMS.

Officer Elections - Union members have the right to:

• nominate candidates for office

• run for office

• cast a secret ballot

• protest the conduct of an election

Officer Removal - Local union members have the right to an adequate procedure for the removal of an elected officer guilty of serious misconduct.

Trusteeships - Unions may only be placed in trusteeship by a parent body for the reasons specified in the LMRDA.

Prohibition Against Certain Discipline - A union or any of its officials may not fine, expel, or otherwise discipline a member for exercising any LMRDA right.

Prohibition Against Violence - No one may use or threaten to use force or violence to interfere with a union member in the exercise of LMRDA rights.

UNION OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES

Financial Safeguards - Union officers have a duty to manage the funds and property of the union solely for the benefit of the union and its members in accordance with the union’s constitution and bylaws. Union officers or employees who embezzle or steal union funds or other assets commit a federal crime punishable by a fine or imprisonment.

Bonding - Union officers or employees who handle union funds or property must be bonded to provide protection against losses if their union has property and annual financial receipts that exceed $5,000.

Labor Organization Reports - Union officers must:

• file an initial information report (Form LM-1) and annual financial reports (Forms LM-2/3/4) with OLMS

• retain the records necessary to verify the reports for at least five years

Officer Reports - Union officers and employees must file reports concerning any loans and benefits received from, or certain financial interests in, employers whose employees their unions represent and businesses that deal with their unions.

Officer Elections - Unions must:

• hold elections of officers of local unions by secret ballot at least every three years

• conduct regular elections in accordance with their constitution and bylaws and preserve all records for one year

• mail a notice of election to every member at least 15 days prior to the election

• comply with a candidate’s request to distribute campaign material

• not use union funds or resources to promote any candidate (nor may employer funds or resources be used)

• permit candidates to have election observers

• allow candidates to inspect the union’s membership list once within 30 days prior to the election

Restrictions on Holding Office - A person convicted of certain crimes may not serve as a union officer, employee, or other representative of a union for up to 13 years.

Loans - A union may not have outstanding loans to any one officer or employee that in total exceed $2,000 at any time.

Fines - A union may not pay the fine of any officer or employee convicted of any willful violation of the LMRDA.

The above is only a summary of the LMRDA. Full text of the act, which comprises Sections 401–531 of Title 29 of the U.S. Code, may be found in many public libraries, or by writing the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Room N-5616, Washington, D.C. 20210, or at www.dol.gov.

HISTORIC OPPORTUNITIES

Three new federal laws could mean high-quality jobs for a decade – if their labor standards are protected and enforced

Three laws Congress approved in the past two years promise an investment in American infrastructure that has not happened since the New Deal under President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s. On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law). On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act became law. And the CHIPS and Science Act followed on August 9, 2023.

BY RICK HALFORD, SSMRC POLITICAL DIRECTOR

With the passing of BIL, federal agencies and departments including the Transportation and Energy departments were tasked with implementing the law, setting up programs, and getting money to state and local officials. Those officials, along with utilities and developers, are charged with designing and building the new assets or needed upgrades to existing infrastructure. Of the $470 billion in new-program spending directed to state and local levels, approximately 38% will be awarded through a competitive-grant process in which state and local governments and others applying for funds will have to explain how their projects will support good-paying jobs, registered apprenticeships, and opportunities for workers to join unions. The law is creating millwright work at power-generating facilities, airports, water-treatment plants, and more.

BIL will distribute funding over a 10-year period, and two years’ worth of funding has already been awarded. As of May 2023, $57.2 billion in funding for 3,085 projects in our 11-state jurisdiction has been announced (see the chart for state-bystate numbers).

Some work funded by BIL must be conducted under project labor agreements because President Biden signed an executive order in 2022 requiring PLAs on federal construction projects worth more than $35 million. PLAs are collective bargaining agreements between building trade unions and contractors that determine wages, employment conditions, and dispute-resolution processes. The executive order does not apply to work funded by BIL grants to nonfederal entities.

Thanks to the CHIPS and Science Act, approximately $280 billion dollars is in the system for semiconductor research and construction and expansion of semiconductor plants. This has long been needed to pro-

tect America from supply-chain issues.

The law also will provide work for our members. Companies seeking funding through the CHIPS and Science Act will be required to submit workforce development plans for workers who will build their facilities as well as operate them. Those plans must include strategies for meeting the Commerce and Labor Departments’ Good Jobs Principles, which ensure projects create high-quality jobs. Applicants also are strongly encouraged to use project-labor agreements.

The Inflation Reduction Act, which will fund a range of clean-energy projects, is offering $270 billion in tax benefits to companies that ensure Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wages are paid to workers and that registered apprentices are utilized.

The SSMRC is part of a UBC Southern District committee that is working to ensure our members gain substantial job opportunities through programs funded by the BIL, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act. The committee is identifying funding pathways and awarded projects and educating state and local officials, facility owners, and our partnering contractors about opportunities. The committee also serves as a watchdog, holding project owners accountable for meeting labor requirements attached to the funding they received.

What does all this mean for Southern States Millwright Regional Council members? More job opportunities in the future.

Communities are receiving the money needed to expand and upgrade their airports, where our members will build the baggage-handling systems, and watertreatment plants, where millwright work will be crucial as well. Our partnering contractors also are bidding on equipment-installation jobs at power plants, semiconductor, battery, and solar-panel manufacturing facilities, wind-turbine farms, and more.

Your skills will be needed as our union is called upon to perform this work – work that has the potential to bring millions of Americans into the middle class. Your voice also will be important in the upcoming election cycle. Some federal, state, and local officials are attempting to roll back the laws providing this work. Others are trying to ignore or dismantle the labor requirements in the laws. Please keep this in mind when you do your research on candidates in next year’s elections.

Council News

Staff, members recruiting through multiple channels

Withrecord-breaking amounts of millwright work ramping up, our business agents, training staff, and members have attended as many recruiting events as possible during the past year.

These events include high-school, technical-school, and community-college career fairs, job fairs in areas where large employers are closing facilities, open houses at training centers, and more. If you learn of an upcoming career event where the millwright trade should be represented, reach out to your business agent.

Grants provide workwear, tools for Military Veterans Program graduates

TheTexas Workforce Commission presented tools to graduates of the UBC Military Veterans Program in April, and apparel-maker Carhartt awarded a $25,000 grant in November to support the program, which helps service members transition from the military to civilian careers as millwrights and carpenters.

The MVP program will use the Carhartt grant to provide workwear for 2023 MVP graduates. “We appreciate Carhartt recognizing the value of America’s greatest heroes and making this investment in the UBC MVP program,” said Mark

ABenacquisto, executive director of UBC millwright/pile driver labor management.

In the South, we have two training centers that are part of the MVP program. The Clarksville, Tennessee, center serves soldiers at nearby Fort Campbell, and the MVP program also operates at Fort Hood near Killeen, Texas.

For the third year in a row, the program received a U.S. Labor Department grant that is administered by the Texas Workforce Commission and provides program graduates at Fort Hood with $1,500 each to purchase tools.

SSMRC leadership enhances skills through biennial Millwright and Piledriver Conference

fter being canceled in 2020 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the biennial Millwright and Piledriver Leadership Conference brought together hundreds of UBC business agents, millwright and piledriver contractors, and facility-owner representatives from across the United States and Canada at the UBC International Training Center in Las Vegas Jan. 23-25, 2023.

“The 2023 MW/PD Conference was the best one to date in my opinion,” said SSMRC Executive Secretary Treasurer Wayne Jennings. “We had great speakers, and I felt the interaction between labor and management was better than ever. It is a true testament that when we work together, we move in the right direction to service our industries’ needs.”

During the conference, business

agents from each district developed and improved relationships with partnering contractors and owners from their areas. In district breakout sessions, business agents and partnering contractors put their heads together to identify the strengths and weaknesses from their district, new ideas, and membership in-

centives. Executive secretary treasurers from each district spoke on their efforts to improve recruitment, retain membership, and grow market share.

Representatives of partners including General Motors, Ford, Kiewit, Offshore Wind, and APM spoke about innovations and plans to expand their operations.

Send your questions to EST Jennings

Do you have a question about your union you would like answered? The “Ask Your EST” program, which the SSMRC launched at the beginning of the pandemic, is back. Periodically, Executive Secretary Treasurer Wayne Jennings will dive deep into answering member questions and providing information about opportunities in our council and the UBC. Scan the QR code to submit your question.

Millwright apprentice Catherine Nelson shows high school students around the training center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, during National Apprenticeship Week.

The Texas Workforce Commission presented individuals in Fort Hood’s 22nd Military Veterans Program class with tool sets on April 20.

SSMRC director promotes our workforce to auto-industry leaders in Tennessee

SSMRC

Central Region Director Jeff Smith promoted our recruitment and training capabilities in April when he met with leaders of the Tennessee Automotive Manufacturers Association and Ford’s BlueOval City project under construction near Memphis.

The meeting took place during TAMA’s Spring Conference. Smith talked with Rick Youngblood, executive director of TAMA, and Vanessa Preston, human resources manager for Ford BlueOval City.

“Finding and growing a local workforce with the right skillsets within the Stanton area was a major concern for Ford’s Vanessa Preston,” Smith said.

He added that Preston and Youngblood were impressed with the SSMRC’s initiative and plans for a new training center near Memphis that will help in recruiting and preparing the local workforce. The facility was acquired in May and is being remodeled.

Machinery installation at BlueOval City, which will produce electric F-Series pick-

FROM LEFT: Jeff Smith, Central Region director for the SSMRC; Vanessa Preston, human resources manager for Ford BlueOval City; and Rick Youngblood, executive director of the Tennessee Automotive Manufacturers Association

ups and advanced batteries, will require hundreds of union millwrights. BlueOval City is the largest auto-production complex in Ford Motor Company’s history, and the company committed to building it with union labor.

A good showing by our members at BlueOval City will guarantee not only continued work at that facility but at many other EV and battery plants set to be constructed in the South.

New Nashville-area training center targeting millwright skills needed in middle, western Tennessee

Construction of a 25,000-square-foot millwright and carpenter training center in La Vergne, Tennessee, near Nashville, is complete, and millwright training is targeting skills needed on jobsites in the middle and western regions of the state.

Millwright classroom instruction began the week of May 15, and some hands-on classes started in May as well. Two robot stations and eight welding booths were installed in July. A conveyor prop will be installed in November.

“This facility will allow our millwright members to be a better trained workforce in a faster time than ever before in the Nashville area,” said Rickey Moore, executive director of the Mid-South Carpenters Regional Council Training Trust Fund. “The millwright shop area is around 10,000 square feet, which gives more room for props. The number of welding booths increased from two to eight, which will help get more members welding practice and

certifications. The bigger facility also has more classrooms, which will allow multiple classes to be held at one time.”

Rigging qualifications are now being handled locally and more welding certifications will be granted locally as well. At the previous training center, welding tests couldn’t be conducted when classes were underway due to space constraints.

The new training center replaced a 7,000-square-foot facility with 5,000 square feet of training space. By contrast, the new building consists of 20,000 square feet of training space and 5,000 square feet of office and administrative areas.

SSMRC members learn to be better leaders through UBC training

Congratulations to the 145 SSMRC members who reached leadership milestones in June and July by attending Strong Journeymen and Third-Year Apprentice classes at the UBC International Training Center in Las Vegas.

In the Third-Year Apprentice program, members learn how professionalism, productivity, skill, and attitude contribute to their and their employers’ success. Through UBC Journeymen: Building Leadership for a Strong Future, members develop leadership, mentoring, coaching, and communication skills. To see the names of members who completed the courses, scan the QR code.

TOP: July 2023 Third-Year Apprentice class BOTTOM: June 2023 Strong Journeymen class

Receive text reminders about expiring training credentials

The Carpenters International Training Fund has announced a text-notification option that became available Aug. 1. This functionality allows members to opt-in to receive text notifications for qualifications or certifications due to expire in 90 days, 60 days, and 30 days. Members may opt-in any time. To subscribe to the training text notifications, text “TRAIN” to (844) 949-2702. The SSMRC encourages all members to take advantage of this new service.

Civic Action News

The past year has brought some great news for union members and workers in the construction and manufacturing industries in general, but we must remain vigilant to prevent setbacks. Scan the QR code to read more about the topics covered here and about other developments that could affect you and your family.

SSMRC, UBC Southern District working to ensure members benefit from historic investments

The SSMRC is part of a committee that is working to make sure our members gain substantial job opportunities through programs that will funnel billions of dollars into infrastructure, technology, and cleanenergy projects during the next decade.

Requirements and incentives in recent federal legislation including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act were designed to create good-paying jobs for workers without college degrees. Many projects these programs will fund will be built in rural areas, and contractors who pay fair wages and benefits and participate in registered apprenticeship programs should have a strong advantage when bidding on these projects.

The UBC Southern District Infrastructure Committee is identifying funding pathways and awarded projects and educating state and local officials, facility owners, and our partnering contractors about opportunities. The committee also plans to serve as a watchdog, holding project owners accountable for meeting labor requirements attached to the funding they received. Scan the QR code to read more about the laws that are funding this work.

Council’s bipartisan relationships produce res lts for RC members

SSMRC leaders successfully advocated for our members on two fronts during June meetings with a U.S. senator from Georgia and a Florida district secretary of transportation. “The bipartisan relationships we’ve built here in the South help us get a lot accomplished,” said Rick Halford, political director for the SSMRC.

The meeting with Florida Transportation Department District 7 Secretary David Gwynn ended a twoyear delay in construction of a new training facility in Tampa, Florida. The holdup involved a requirement that the training trust fund build an unnecessary feeder road before the commission would grant permits for the new facility.

“We told the secretary the road drastically affects our ability to build a center that will provide four years of free job training for the community,” said Wayne Jennings, executive secretary treasurer of the SSMRC. Gwynn provided a waiver for the project.

In Georgia, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock visited the Savannah training center. Halford and Eastern Region Director Logan Brown advised Warnock of the need for oversight to ensure labor standards in new federal laws are followed, and Warnock said he would take those recommendations to the appropriate agencies and officials.

ictory for fair pay, benefits and nioni ing rights

During the Trump administration, the National Labor Relations Board tried to hurt unions and their members by claiming construction workers and others, like millwrights, who do irregular work are not employees but small businesses, or independent contractors. Independent contractors cannot join unions, and those who hire them do not have to provide benefits or workers’ compensation insurance or pay the employer portion of federal and state taxes, leaving those burdens on the worker.

the right to join a union.

The victory came in a case called Atlanta Opera. Knowing the importance of this case, our Southern States Millwright Regional Council filed a legal brief in support of the commonsense approach. In the decision, the board specifically mentioned the work our council did, along with the UBC and other UBC councils.

But in June, the National Labor Relations Board, with new board members appointed by President Biden, reinstated the commonsense position as to who is a worker. Of course construction workers and millwrights are workers – and have

This is a win in the battle against misclassification of workers as independent contractors and shows another way we are working for our members. Our efforts to ensure fairness in the workplace extend past the jobsite, and it’s important for members to get civically involved as well. The president determines who leads the NLRB, which makes these important decisions affecting all our lives.

FROM LEFT: SSMRC Eastern Region Director Logan Brown, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, and SSMRC Political Director Rick Halford

RC, C fighting ta fra d

Regional councils and locals that make up the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, our parent organization, participated in hundreds of events and initiatives across the United States and Canada during construction-industry Tax Fraud Days of Action, April 12-18, 2023.

The SSMRC’s 2023 Tax Fraud Days of Action campaign targeted state legislators and their staffs with geofence ads at all 11 state capitols in the UBC Southern District. We let legislators and staffers know about the $8.4 billion problem of construction-industry tax fraud and how it harms our members and partnering contractors. We also demanded action. Between April 4 and April 21, our ads were viewed 609,994 times and garnered 3,744 click-throughs to our campaign landing pages.

SSMRC leaders also met with bankers to educate them on the red flags of construction-industry tax fraud, and the council ran a social-media campaign.

n ation Red ction

ct prompts solar panel man fact ring e pansion in eorgia

Union millwrights are racking up work hours at solar-panel manufacturing facilities in northwest Georgia, thanks in part to the Inflation Reduction Act.

When a $2.5 billion expansion of Qcells’ Dalton, Georgia, facility was announced in April, SSMRC members were already working at the site. Those millwrights and others will be needed at the Dalton factory during the next year, and opportunities for SSMRC members to work at a similar Qcells factory in Cartersville, Georgia, are likely, said Robert Strickland, business agent for Millwright Local 1263.

Strickland was present at the Dalton site when Vice President Kamala Harris and leaders of Qcells, the solar-panel manufacturer, and Summit Ridge Energy, the largest U.S. owner-operator of community solar assets, announced the expansion in relation to a deal between Qcells and Summit Ridge that the vice president called the biggest community solar order in American history. The Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits for domestic energy production and manufacturing incentivized Qcells’ investments in Georgia. Strickland met briefly with Harris and company leaders. He said he anticipated having to explain the SSMRC organization and what millwrights do, but Harris was already aware.

“It’s easy to say high-level politicians see everyone as a number,” Strickland continued.

“After our conversation, I can attest the administration’s team cared enough to educate themselves about who we are and our association with the project.”

wo new laws e pand wor er protections

Two pieces of federal legislation the president signed into law in late 2022 expand protections for pregnant and nursing employees.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers to provide reasonable

accommodations for pregnant workers who need lighter duty or other work arrangements. The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act increases protections for those who need private lactation spaces and certain break times during shifts.

RC staff networ with elected officials at automotive summit

SMRCleaders networked with elected officials, contractors, and manufacturers at the 2023 Auto Focus Summit hosted at our training center in Charlotte, North Carolina, March 1-2. The Southern States Automotive Contractors Association, an organization the SSMRC was instrumental in creating, held the event.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein and North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Machelle Sanders toured the Charlotte training center.

“They were fascinated with the investment in North Carolina and excited to witness the opportunities their constituents have for great-paying careers and accessible skill training,” said SSMRC Eastern Region Director Logan Brown.

Diverse union recruitment could mean more wor for all our members

The percentages of women and Black and Latino workers signing up for union-affiliated registered apprenticeships are significantly higher than the percentages of those workers joining non-union apprenticeships, according to a study by the independent Institute for Construction Economics Research.

The study, which is the first of its kind, analyzed data on construction apprenticeships in 34 states between the years of 1999 and 2019. Study results indicate that staffing projects with union workers can help meet diversity standards SSMRC partnering contractors tell us they are encountering as part of many bidding processes. This means the union’s ability to recruit a diverse range of candidates can increase work opportunities for all members.

Local 2232 member Dwight Murrah (right) at an event at the San Antonio, Texas, City Hall

Vice President Kamala Harris met with Millwright Local 1263 Business Agent Robert Strickland before speaking at an event announcing Qcells’ expansion in northwest Georgia.

Millwright Local 1554 member Breanna Collins works on a generator rotor.

WESTERN REGION

CHIPS and Science Act to increase American manufacturing, provide millwright work in all our states

BY JAMES ROWLAND, WESTERN REGION DIRECTOR

In the ’60s and ’70s, the United States began to see a trend of major manufacturing facilities moving to South America and eventually East Asia. Cheap labor, lax regulations, and welcoming government incentives assisted in the offshoring of millions of American jobs.

Studies, including one from the Economic Policy Institute, estimate that from 2001 to 2011 we lost approximately 3 million manufacturing jobs to offshoring. After the recession of 20082009, economic policies led to modest increases in manufacturing jobs. The bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act signed into law by President Biden on Aug. 9, 2022, will spur that growth to new levels by promoting investment in the construction of manufacturing facilities across the United States.

Together, these projects represent more than $1 billion of construction.

Going north into Arkansas, a company called Power Technology Incorporated, based just outside of Little Rock, is looking at ways to utilize the CHIPS and Science incentives to expand its operations in building semi-conductor lasers. In Oklahoma, USA Rare Earth, based in Stillwater, is expanding its materials operations to supply the critical minerals like lithium and graphite to chip and electric-vehicle manufacturers. These are just a few examples of how this landmark legislation is bringing work back to the United States and our members in the SSMRC.

Semiconductor chips were invented in the United States, but today the country only accounts for 12% of semi-conductor manufacturing, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association September 2020 Report. The CHIPS and Science Act will provide more than $280 billion in funding for American semiconductor research, development, manufacturing, and workforce development.

Every state in the Western Region will benefit from the CHIPS and Science Act. Several corporations have already planned or started major expansions. Special incentives for rural areas are included in the CHIPS and Science Act and are opening possibilities for projects across the South. From education and research to facility expansions and new construction, more opportunities are developing every day.

Several projects that will provide work for our members are underway or in the planning stages across the Western Region. Samsung and Texas Instruments are both expanding in Texas. ExxonMobil has plans for projects in Louisiana to support domestic chip and battery manufacturing with the needed base materials such as ultra-pure isopropyl alcohol, resin, and carbon. Also in Louisiana, Koura will be building an electric-vehicle-battery materials facility and Origin Materials will invest in a major facility.

These projects are primarily conveyor installation and machine setting in a clean-room environment. In some cases, large facilities might have on-site power generation or large HVAC plants that could also provide more job opportunities for SSMRC millwrights.

While our current training programs address much of the skills needed, our training departments and the SSMRC are always expanding or improving to remain at the forefront of training in the industry. To meet the demands of these projects and continue to support our current need for millwrights, we are developing relationships with manufacturing organizations and educational institutions so we can recruit apprentices who already possess a foundation of skills while incorporating the latest training into our own programs.

The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 could change the environment of manufacturing in the United States for decades into the future. We will continue to work diligently to support the re-shoring movement by building relationships with industry and political contacts, chasing new projects, and organizing new members so we can take advantage of every opportunity possible.

Manufacturing jobs were once the foundation of this country, and strong union jobs in manufacturing built the middle class. Every step we take to bring manufacturing back to the United States is a step in the right direction for our hard-working, bluecollar American families who make up the UBC and SSMRC.

CENTRAL REGION

Central Region members to benefit from federal laws that will create jobs, strengthen labor protections

BY JEFFREY B. SMITH, CENTRAL REGION DIRECTOR

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is crucial for developing and maintaining essential physical structures and facilities that support economic growth in the United States. These structures include transportation systems such as roads, bridges, and airports; public utilities such as power-generation, water, and sewage systems; public buildings like schools, hospitals, and community centers; and communication systems. BIL-funded projects to build and maintain these structures will employ union members, including union millwrights.

The law was designed to create and support good-paying jobs, and will provide our members with a decade’s worth of work. According to a White House fact sheet, BIL will create, on average, 2 million jobs annually over 10 years. BIL will protect our labor standards by applying to federally funded and assisted projects Davis-Bacon requirements that ensure contractors pay fair wages while protecting jobs and labor markets.

Local 1554

Local 1192

The Buy America Act, which is part of BIL, requires that all federally assisted infrastructure projects use materials made in America. This includes iron, steel, manufactured products, and other construction materials. The investment will accelerate economic recovery while putting our union members to work, boosting regional wages.

BIL will grow wages within the clean-energy industry that includes solar, wind, and carbon capture by ensuring funding for these projects and setting high labor standards. The law will also invest nearly a billion dollars in modernizing and repairing natural gas pipelines, reducing methane emissions, and making our communities safer.

In addition, BIL supports our members who work in automotive plants by encouraging American production of zero-emission vehicles and their components. The law invests in grants to support battery and battery-component manufacturing, manufacturing facilities, retooling, and retrofitting existing facilities. This alone is a massive investment for our members and their families. It will provide long-term employment within the automotive industry, including within new electric-vehicle battery and manufacturing

facilities. One significant regional opportunity is the Ford Blue Oval project and related SK battery plants in Stanton, Tennessee. Other projects that will receive BIL funding include an $809 million lithium hydroxide plant in Etowah, Tennessee. Construction is set to begin in July 2024. In October 2022, Novonix announced it was selected for a $150 million grant to expand its production in Chattanooga, Tennessee, of synthetic graphite anode materials that will be used in the production of EV batteries. These projects should put union members to work long term.

In summary, BIL will strengthen American manufacturing and support supply chains within our region, putting more members to work while allowing our locals to grow their membership.

The Bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act aims to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research in the United States. It provides roughly $280 billion in new funding for American semiconductor research, development, manufacturing, and workforce development. The Act will lower costs, create jobs, and strengthen supply chains, allowing Americans to be more self-sustainable. It includes $39 billion in manufacturing incentives, $2 billion for legacy chips in automobiles and defense systems, $13.2 billion in research and development and workforce development, and $500 million for communications technology security and semiconductor supply chains.

The CHIPS and Science Act also requires funding recipients to demonstrate significant worker and community investments, including opportunities for small businesses and disadvantaged communities. The law requires that recipients of the funds do not build facilities in China and other countries of concern. It also supports union-paying construction jobs by requiring the DavisBacon prevailing wage rates for facilities built with CHIPS funding.

In conclusion, our members will benefit from these new laws through job creation, job security, and supply-chain demand, which can lead to an increase in the workforce (membership growth), new working opportunities, and an increase in wages and benefits.

EASTERN REGION

Be prepared and help us recruit as projects funded by three new laws get underway in the Eastern

Region

This issue of The Millwright is focusing on upcoming work that will be provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act. The current administration has launched major investments in our economy that are bringing projects to our area that will provide plenty of opportunities for our members to work. These work opportunities are so vast that we also need a robust recruitment campaign.

BY LOGAN BROWN, EASTERN REGION DIRECTOR

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is a total investment of $1.2 trillion to repair our nation’s infrastructure. Of this total investment, millwrights will have opportunities to benefit from the $21.5 billion allocated for clean-energy demonstrations such as Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and regional hydrogen hubs. Florida has been identified as a location for a hydrogen hub, and Local 1000 will have work on this upcoming project. There is $6 billion available for the existing nuclear fleet, to keep those facilities up to code and operating. We have 12 nuclear plants in the Eastern Region of the SSMRC, and this money will ensure these plants remain operational and the outages we work on will be there in the future. The infrastructure law also includes $700 million for upgrading existing hydroelectric plants. Local 1263 has partnered with contractors to take advantage of this funding. We have already worked on two hydroelectric projects in 2023, and we are monitoring several more upcoming opportunities. The BIL provides $55 billion for upgrades to water-treatment facilities as well. Given the language of the funding, it will be easier for our partnering contractors to bid on upcoming work inside these facilities. Lastly, the BIL sets aside $5 billion for upgrades to airport terminals. Our district has already been notified of projects inside the Atlanta airport. We are tracking upcoming projects at most commercial-carrier airports and are sharing these opportuntunities with our contractor partners.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), like the BIL, allocates an enormous amount of funding to projects that we millwrights will ben-

efit from. Its $369 billion in funding includes tax credits to spur construction of electricvehicle battery plants and encourage development of and upgrades to hydroelectric facilities. Our millwrights are currently benefiting by working on a a Qcells solarpanel-manufacturing facility in Dalton, Georgia. Qcells is going to build another plant in Cartersville, Georgia, that we expect to capitalize on as well. The combined investment between these two plants is $2.5 billion. Local 1263 also is working with contractors pursuing opportunities related to a Toyota battery-manufacturing facility in North Carolina that will receive IRA funding. According to early estimates, approximately 50 to 75 millwrights will be needed for this project.

The $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act is providing $39 billion in incentives for chip manufacturing in the United States plus investment tax credits for manufacturing equipment. Four facilities are planned for our region. In Covington, Georgia, a $600 million Absolics plant will manufacture materials for chips. A 445-acre, $5 billion Wolfspeed Semiconductor plant will be built in Siler City, North Carolina. Rock Hill, South Carolina, will host a $443 million Pallidus semiconductor plant. And SkyWater will be building a $37 million semiconductor plant in Kissimmee, Florida. We anticipate union contractors to be awarded portions of these projects, providing many work opportunities for SSMRC members.

In conclusion, the future of our work looks extremely promising. It has never been a better time to be a union millwright. We need you to assist us with recruiting individuals who will bring great credit to our brotherhood and help staff these projects. This is emerging work that will be in addition to the normal work we have done in the past.

Please renew your expiring qualifications such as rigging and welding. Spend a little time in the training centers brushing up on optical layout and leveling. Moreover, maintain the great levels of safety, professionalism, and productivity on our jobsites that make us union millwrights the best choice to perform this work.

UPDATES FROM OUR LOCALS

With projects related to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act taking off across the Southern District, we asked business agents to tell us about regional efforts related to recruitment, retention, and goals. Here’s what they had to say.

LOCAL 216: GOALS

The light-conveyor and distribution markets have been growing at exponential rates since the COVID-19 pandemic. The SSMRC’s Western Region achieved more than 10% growth in this market over the last two years, and we are looking at growing more than 20% over the next two years. Our partnering contractors need SSMRC members to continue training and performing on the job so they can continue to capture marketshare. The work that Walbridge and CCC Construction Company have been performing in Arkansas and Oklahoma are good examples of how our commitment to skills training and professionalism on the jobsite leads to growth for our locals and work opportunities for our members.

Walbridge has been installing new automated conveyor systems for Walmart in both Arkansas and Oklahoma. Our members have performed exceptionally well, meeting the challenge of keeping these projects on schedule and the equipment

BY MATTHEW NOWLIN AND DONNIE NEWTON, BUSINESS AGENTS

performing efficiently. More than 40 members were employed on projects with Walbridge, and these projects have been a great opportunity to organize new members and introduce them to the SSMRC and the union way of life. For them, it has also been a chance to earn a good wage, obtain benefits, and receive top-notch training.

The Westrock Coffee build-out and expansion is another project that has developed into a major work-hour producer for Local 216 and our partnering contractor CCC. Westrock has a 15% growth target for 2023, and as Westrock Coffee continues to grow, Millwright Local 216 is prepared to support its project needs with skilled millwrights. By outperforming our non-union competition in this market, we will continue to open up new opportunities for SSMRC members and our partnering contractors.

These projects show just how important the relationship between the facility owner, the contractor, and labor is in securing

mnowlin@ssmrc4070.org

dnewton@ssmrc4070.org

additional opportunities. Through professionalism and hard work on the jobsite, our members help foster, maintain, and improve these relationships.

The light-conveyor industry is bursting with opportunities. With partners like CCC and Walbridge expanding throughout our jurisdiction, we are positioned to capitalize on these opportunities because of the safe, professional, productive work our members have shown in the past. We want to thank everyone for their dedication, hard work, and desire to advance our labor movement.

Local 216 Business Agent Matt Nowlin and Western Region Director James Rowland at a job fair sponsored by the Cheyenne and Arapaho Department of Labor in Oklahoma.

LOCAL 729: RETENTION

mhines@ssmrc4070.org

Retention of members is an age-old question. We know how to recruit. I don’t believe there is a labor group that recruits as well as the UBC and the Southern States Millwrights Regional Council. But how do we keep from losing the people we recruit?

At Local 729, we sat down and looked at the whole picture. What are we doing right? What are we doing wrong? We looked at every aspect of recruitment, training, and retention of members. We believe education is one of our best tools. We came up with a plan to deliver as much information as we could to new applicants prior to them starting a career in the UBC, the Southern States Millwrights, and Local 729.

In 2019, we developed a program that is a required part of the application process. Applicants interview with the business representative and someone from our training staff. This allows us to gain a better understanding of their experience and verify work hours. Anyone with less than 1,800 verifiable millwright work hours must attend an applicant class consisting of: UBC history and heritage, UBC constitution, SSMRC bylaws and work rules, new member orientation, how to register on the out-of-work list, apprenticeship requirements,

BY MIKE HINES, BUSINESS AGENT

millwright code of conduct, travel for work and reciprocals, TWIC, DISA, BASIC+, and valuable skills training.

Each week there is a different instructor, and each instructor provides an independent evaluation of every applicant. The two-week program is split between the classroom and the shop, where applicants are evaluated on: attendance, tardiness, ability to follow directions, attentiveness, respectfulness, proper PPE, interactions with others, overall knowledge of the trade, performance, and improvement.

After the two-week course, these applicants must interview with the Apprentice Labor Management Advisory Committee (ALMAC). In this interview process, the members of the committee are given copies of instructor evaluations, resumes, and any work hours provided by the applicant. The committee interviews each applicant for placement in the program. If the applicant accepts, they are then put on 90-day probation and dispatched to work. The applicant will then be evaluated by the employing contractor. By utilizing this procedure, we have been successful at identifying the applicant’s skill set and bringing them into our membership at the appropriate level of apprenticeship or even perhaps as a journeyman.

Through these efforts, we have managed to retain more individuals, improving our overall retention rate.

LOCAL 1421: GOALS

tbrown@ssmrc4070.org

Several upcoming projects have given Local 1421 and our partnering contractors new opportunities to recruit and grow the membership while providing more local work prospects for our current members.

Local 1421 is currently negotiating a project labor agreement with a potential new contractor that has been awarded a portion of the work on the new Texas Instruments facility in Sherman, Texas. If we are successful, there is potential for 20 to 50 millwrights to be working there for the next six to eight years.

The expansion consists of a $30 billion investment, slated to be up to four wafer fabrication plants and larger than 24 football fields, with 15 miles of automated track to move the wafers. Production is expected to begin in 2025. This will bring thousands of construction jobs to the area and will give many millwrights opportunities for long-term, steady employment. They also will be able to work on maintenance outages in the future.

Local 1421 has also been involved with the new Samsung expansions in both Austin and Taylor, Texas.

Our local Austin contractors have been performing small projects for Samsung and have picked up more work as

BY THOMAS BROWN, BUSINESS AGENT

Samsung continues with its expansions. Samsung is expected to invest nearly $200 billion into expanding existing facilities and building new facilities to add 11 new manufacturing lines.

We have also been able to build new relationships with local educational institutions, manufacturing groups, and facility owners. These relationships will help provide Local 1421 and the SSMRC with quality applicants to fill our employers’ needs and increase work hours for our members.

One of the major contributing factors for these opportunities is the CHIPS and Science Act, a law signed by President Joe Biden in August 2022. It’s a $280 billion law that promotes domestic production of semiconductor chips used in modern technology.

There will be many companies with projects vying for federal money from the CHIPS and Science Act. Because of the labor requirements tied to funding for these projects, there will be new opportunities for the SSMRC to grow in the light-conveyor and manufacturing market. We currently have a goal to increase our light-conveyor work hours and recruit new members from this industry.

Our goals all tie into more work for our employers, more work for our members, and more opportunities for people in north Texas to maintain long, successful careers as part of Local 1421 and the SSMRC.

LOCAL 2232: RECRUITMENT

Recruiting experienced millwrights can be a challenge, but it is necessary. We are currently using multiple strategies, including organizing on jobsites, geofencing, job fairs, social media, and more.

One of the best ways to recruit experienced millwrights is by organizing on jobsites. These sites are full of experienced workers who are already employed in the industry. Some of these individuals may be passive job seekers, unhappy but employed. The union’s ability to support them with contractually guaranteed working conditions, great wages, and benefits can be extremely appealing.

At the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, we have a large conveyor project underway. There are both non-union and union contractors working on this project. This has been a great opportunity to organize seasoned millwrights, giving us a chance to see their work ethic and personality. We have recruited more than 20 members from this site and retained 99% of them.

vsanchez@ssmrc4070.org

mthompson@ssmrc4070.org

In addition to targeting jobsites, we are recruiting experienced millwrights by using online job boards and social-media platforms. These platforms allow us to reach a bigger audience and attract candidates from all over the country.

Another tool we use is geofencing. This allows us to choose a specific area and send out targeted advertisements. For instance, we could pick the parking lot of a jobsite where we know there are millwrights working and send targeted advertisements to the people who enter the parking area.

Aside from the other recruiting tools,

LOCAL 1192: GOALS

The Central Region team would like to take a few moments to share how our region’s leadership intends to increase Local 1192 and Local 1554 work hours and opportunities in the light-frame conveyor and distribution industry. The council has a goal to capture 10% more work hours year over year for 2023 and 2024. With SSMRC members working a total of 644,682 hours in the light-frame conveyor and distribution industry during 2022, we have our work cut out for us.

Ask yourself: how can I assist in accomplishing this goal? You can be ready to work when called upon, and you can brush up on the skill sets required for light conveyor/food-and-beverage work. We will need all hands on deck, and our millwrights will need the skill sets to perform layout, rigging, assembly, installation, field modification, welding, and more. With a goal of a 10% increase, we are looking at working 709,150 lightframe conveyor and food-and-beverage hours in 2023 and 780,065 in 2024.

Opportunities in the Central Region include:

Griffin Industrial Contracting Company has been awarded construction of a Walmart distribution center project in Brookhaven, Mississippi, plus two additional phases in the future. The first phase of the project began March 2, 2023. The project will run approximately 17 weeks, with members working 60 hours a week.

Our millwrights will be installing robots and conveyors. Excellent safety practices, comprehensive job knowledge, and stellar performance have impressed the project management team for Walmart and have led to additional opportunities for Griffin Industrial Contracting Company in Alabama, Texas, and the Carolinas.

Also in Local 1192’s jurisdiction, we have a new Smucker’s plant being built in McCalla, Alabama. This is a $1 billion project that will have several contractors installing equipment to make the

BY VICTORINO SANCHEZ AND MONTE THOMPSON, BUSINESS AGENTS

we also attend job fairs at local colleges, technical institutes, high schools, and other workforce-development programs. This gives us the ability to talk about the union and educate individuals on what a millwright is and does. We also discuss what the union provides to the membership: collectively bargained agreements that set working conditions, wages, benefits, and much more.

In conclusion, recruiting experienced millwrights is an important aspect of building a strong union. Experienced millwrights who have the skills necessary to install and maintain equipment are in high demand. To attract these workers, we offer a competitive wage and benefit package, provide training opportunities, and ensure that our members are represented by a force that is much larger than a single individual. Recruitment is everyone’s responsibility. Send quality recruits to your local business agent and let’s get the process started.

BY CLINT SMITH AND LES ROBERTS, BUSINESS AGENTS

csmith@ssmrc4070.org

lroberts@ssmrc4070.org

Uncrustable Sandwich that I’m sure our kids and grandkids enjoy. I am certain a few millwrights carry them in their lunch boxes as well. Western Industrial and McAbee Construction have been awarded work.

This is just the beginning of our lightframe conveyor and distribution projects. We have other partnering contractors bidding work all across the South. It will take a lot of millwrights to make these projects successful. Safe work practices, great attitudes, and a willingness to learn will lead us to the forefront in this industry.

LOCAL 1554: RETENTION

wcondon@ssmrc4070.org

jbeilig@ssmrc4070.org

Millwright Local 1554 is recruiting new members and preparing for the manpower needs of tomorrow. Our goal across the Southern states is to develop and maintain a recruiting process that attracts individuals who possess the best attitudes and willingness to learn. This ensures that all participants are committed to investing in themselves by attending the apprentice training and journeyman upgrade classes offered.

Recruiting new members can be a challenge. Working with our partnering contractors, local trade schools, and our membership, we have been very success-

ful. Together with Walbridge, the general contractor for the Ford Blue Oval project in west Tennessee, we have attended multiple career fairs at Tennessee College of Applied Technology campuses across the state, recruiting not only as the union but as the employer and union in one. We have a great partnership with Lincoln Tech in Nashville. Our partnership has allowed us to sit on their advisory board and attend career fairs for each graduating class. Peer-to-peer recruiting is highly encouraged within the SSMRC, with our members being our best recruiters.

Once we have recruited membership, we must retain those individuals. We must educate the newly recruited members on what’s in it for them, the skills education offered, and the importance of attending skill-enhancement classes. As an apprentice, it is important to not only attend your class hours but to learn on the job. Have that questioning attitude, and be committed to the apprenticeship program. If you are a journey-level millwright, you are

LOCAL 1000: GOALS

Our Eastern Region goal was to sign one new contractor for light conveyor and increase conveyor work hours by 30,000 during 2021-2022. With a benchmark of 128,600 work hours, our targeted goal was set at 158,600 hours.

We have signed two new contractors. JKF Maintenance has signed Local 1000’s collective bargaining agreement, and Griffin Industrial has signed Local 1263’s CBA. By fostering relationships with these two contractors and working together to chase this industry, the Eastern Region is set to not only accomplish the goal, but accomplish it eight times over.

ctucker@ssmrc4070.org

We worked 406,155 hours in the light-conveyor and foodand-beverage industries. That is 247,555 work hours over our targeted 158,600.

We have been identifying facilities that are utilizing nonunion contractors and partnering with our union signatories, working to get them on the bid lists for these sites. We have met with Atlantic Equipment, Epperson Company, Evans Group, and Premier Mechanical, to name a few.

Our existing partnering contractors have capitalized on several opportunities across our region. Gulf Coast Industrial (GCI) has obtained a contract with Amazon to perform maintenance work, and Walbridge and Western Industrial have

BY WILLIAM CONDON AND JESSE BEILIG, BUSINESS AGENTS

also encouraged to continue your education with step-up or refresher classes, especially when new technology becomes available.

We discuss with members the importance of our fringe benefits and how they work and how taking work opportunities benefits them and their families, now and especially when they reach retirement. Mentoring and stewardship is what drives our union. At the end of each day, we all need to be good mentors, teaching our brothers and sisters the benefits of our organization, answering questions, and guiding them along a solid path to a healthy and prosperous career.

With the number of current and upcoming projects across the Southern states, recruiting new talent and retaining existing, knowledgeable millwrights have become increasingly important. If you want to get involved with recruiting and retention, contact your business representative about upcoming recruiting events and mentoring opportunities.

BY CLIFF TUCKER, BUSINESS AGENT

capitalized on new construction opportunities at several Amazon and WalMart distribution centers. By holding open houses at our training centers, we are showcasing our capabilities to potential contractors, end users, politicians, and members. We have showcased our facilities to thousands of students from tech and high schools and multiple politicians, including county commissioners and senators.

We sit on nearly 30 advisory boards for tech schools in our jurisdiction. This is a great platform to gain access to our future workforce. Having these relationships has been instrumental in our apprentice intake process.

We are engaged in an aggressive organizing campaign at non-union light-conveyor and food-and-beverage facilities, where we have been hand-billing recruitment material to nonunion millwrights. Our efforts have resulted in organizing several conveyor millwrights and stainless-steel welders. We are using social media and job posting platforms for our recruitment efforts. We must recruit and retain in order to provide a labor resource to our partnering contractors for the lightconveyor and food-and-beverage industries. We will continue our efforts to advance the labor movement and provide employment opportunities for our membership.

LOCAL 1263: RETENTION

Retention is a crucial part of the continued growth and success of our local union and regional council. Making sure we pursue all avenues in retention efforts is not the responsibility of just one person or group; it is the responsibility of everyone.

Retention Efforts

Using our established intake process has gone a long way in vetting potential members and ensuring they are a good fit for our organization. Relying on member mentors to help nurture and bring along members works as well. We must encourage our membership to lead by example, always do the right thing, and share responsibility as well as accountability. Share your success stories with new members. Your experiences might help them grow as individuals. Local office personnel do weekly wellness checks with members. Our team helps assist members with any questions they have or refers them to the local business representatives or training department to gain clarification.

rstrickland@ssmrc4070.org

clsmith@ssmrc4070.org

Sisters in the Brotherhood

The recent endeavors of the SSMRC to bolster membership and involvement in the SSMRC SIB Committee have gone a long way in helping retain new sisters. The SIB Committee stays in communication with local representatives for outreach and community events and works to involve sisters in local activities. The SIB Committee also has initiated a mentorship program for all sisters.

Industry Partners

Maintaining existing relationships with in-

BY ROBERT STRICKLAND AND CHARLES SMITH, BUSINESS AGENTS

dustry partners and fostering new relationships is a useful tool for member retention. As business representatives, we can talk with our industry partners about their current or upcoming workload. We can then report upcoming opportunities to the membership, keeping them informed about their ability to work and generate health, welfare, and pension benefit contributions.

Member Engagement

We believe the best method of member engagement is not only during our monthly meetings, but also in the field, where we conduct jobsite visits to observe conditions and interface with our partnering contractors and facility owners as well as members. This allows business representatives the opportunity to address any potential concerns and inform the membership of mentoring opportunities. Keeping members informed and involved assures everyone of their importance to the local and growth of our great union.

LOCAL 2411: RECRUITMENT

Local 2411, like many other locals, has been on an active recruiting path. Multiple new grassroot projects as well as projects with active facilities have come down the pipeline. We are looking to provide millwright labor for those projects. Recruiting landscapes have changed, and we are constantly looking to change the ways we recruit. Consistent jobsite visits to ensure that active members are doing their part on jobsites to recruit new membership has been working well in our area. We just had our biggest intake to date, with 17 new apprentices interviewed. Fifteen of those interviewed are currently working with a contractor.

rjeffers@ssmrc4070.org

The federal infrastructure bill has provided states with the opportunity to receive funding for projects in our area. Many projects, like airports, water-treatment facilities, and other infrastructure projects will provide opportunities for all members to have job placement. Working with city councils to ensure apprenticeship language is in contracts and keeping our wages updated with the U.S. Labor Department (so prevailing wages are paid under the Davis-Bacon Act) also will provide our members with good-paying work opportunities. Involving ourselves in local-level politics gives us the voice that needs to be heard to support work-

BY ROBERT JEFFERS, BUSINESS AGENT

ing families, which in turn gives the union and our partnering contractors the upper hand. Providing our partnering contractors with UBC tools and leads on projects they are capable of bidding gives us the opportunity to help them succeed and put our members to work.

Partnering with local workforce committees, technical institutes, and high schools has provided us with opportunities to get our branding in front of many potential recruits. Involving ourselves with graduations and career fairs gets our branding in front of the next generation of potential millwrights. We can recruit seasoned workers from different industries to help protect our trade and craftmanship. Members doing their part in assisting the agents have been a huge help. I send a gracious thank you to our members for getting out there and letting others know who we are and the type of lifestyle and future the union has provided for them. With the task of growing our membership council wide by 5%, it is imperative that we work as a family organization. To meet these goals, it is our obligation to grow and support our organization by recruiting new members and holding one another accountable. This should promote and sustain steady growth.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

As part of our Member Spotlight Program, the SSMRC features outstanding millwrights in our e-newsletter and on social media. The members on these pages were highlighted during the past year. Learn more about them in the news section at www.southernstatesmillwrights.org.

Levi Gleason

“The Local 1554 community is a fantastic group of millwrights. It’s a diverse community coming together to complete tasks to improve our trade. That is something special.”

– Levi Gleason, Local 1554 member

“Levi graduated the MVP program last year and has since capitalized on the training opportunities the apprenticeship has offered and comes to work and class with a great attitude and willingness to learn.”

– Jesse Beilig, business agent, Local 1554

Ethan Neville

“The millwright trade has so much to offer. They teach you everything you need to know, and if you still need help, there’s always someone in your corner when you need them.”

– Ethan Neville, Local 1000 member

“From the day we interviewed Ethan for our apprenticeship program, he has shown great potential. He will be an asset to the trade for a long time.”

– Cliff Tucker, business agent, Local 1000

Jeremy Kastberg

“Local 1192 is a brotherhood of my family and friends. As a fourth-generation millwright, it’s tradition. I want to continue growing and contributing to the craft that has provided for my family for many generations.”

– Jeremy Kastberg, Local 1192 member

“Jeremy is a very dependable member of Local 1192. He has proven himself as a leader on and off the job repeatedly. He always gives his best effort when called upon to either be a member of the crew or the general foreman. I am proud of this step he has taken in his career path.”

– Clint Smith, business agent, Local 1192

Zoey Illingworth

“Being a millwright is a very respectable career path that pays off. I hope to someday become a supervisor or mentor. I want to prove that women can do the same things a man can do.”

– Zoey Illingworth, Local 1421 member

“Zoey’s energy and willingness to do new things is what sets her apart from everyone else.”

– Thomas Brown, business agent, Local 1421

Drew Ohorodnyk

“The opportunities that Local 1263 has given me to take care of my family are amazing. However, the people I have met and had the pleasure of working with are my favorite part of Local 1263.”

– Drew Ohorodnyk, Local 1263 member

“Drew has a huge heart and a lot of care for Local 1263 and all its members. He has been and continues to be a very vocal advocate for union millwrights in his community and the Charlotte area.”

– Charles Smith, business agent, Local 1263

Marvin Carter

“I want to encourage prospects to keep a positive attitude, learn from your mentors, and share the benefits of the trade with others.”

– Marvin Carter, Local 729 member

“Mr. Marvin is an individual who believes in helping people and volunteering. He’s helped so much in so many ways in our local.”

– Mike Hines, business agent, Local 729

Jacob Gatlin

Jeremy Gonzales

“I am thankful for the career that I have. Being a millwright is a team effort, and I like the relationships that I have been able to build.”

– Jeremy Gonzales, Local 2232 member

“What stands out most about brother Gonzales is that on every job he is dispatched to, he steps up and takes on the role as the jobsite union steward.”

– Victor Sanchez, business agent, Local 2232

“Get up every day and work hard to achieve the goals you have set for yourself.”

– Jacob Gatlin, Local 2411 member

“Jacob’s skill set and want-to mindset are setting a precedent for future and upcoming apprentices.”

– Robert Jeffers, business agent, Local 2411

Austin Bryant

“I decided to take this career path because of the wide variety of opportunities this trade has to offer. There will always be a need for millwrights.”

– Austin Bryand, Local 216 member

“Austin is the kind of member who, if he is given the opportunity, excels. He is a great role model of what can be achieved by hard work and a great attitude.”

– Donnnie Newton, business agent, Local 216

Millwrights avert forced shutdown by spotting leaking pipeline during outage at Sequoyah Nuclear Plant Good Catch

BY OLIVIA MCMURREY, COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

The vigilance of two UBC millwrights working at Sequoyah Nuclear Plant near Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, prevented an emergency shutdown of a unit at the plant, which supplies electricity to approximately 1.3 million homes.

Employed by Siemens Energy in spring 2023, millwrights John Wolfe and Joe Bailess were part of a team inspecting and maintaining a low-pressure turbine during a scheduled outage at the Tennessee Valley Authority plant when they reported significant corrosion and a leak on equipment adjacent to the work area.

“The fact that it was noticed early and brought to the plant’s attention allowed TVA to make the repair and start the system without delay to operations,” said Richard Mason, Siemens Energy TVA Nuclear Alliance manager. “Had it gone unnoticed until scheduled system startup, it would have become emergent work.”

And if the leak, which occurred on the seal oil cooler reversing heads, had resulted in a ruptured pipeline while the unit was running, it would have forced a shutdown of the unit, said Steve Williams, nuclear representative for the SSMRC. “With that good catch while that unit was down, the problem was repaired so there wasn’t even a chance that it could have created a forced outage or shut down,” Williams said. (Read more about the ‘good catch’ in the box on page 27.)

Work Scope

Unit 2’s “Alpha” low-pressure turbine. These tasks included removing, dust blasting, and resetting a 225,000-pound rotor, replacing the exhaust hood, reheat valves, and intercept valves, disassembling, inspecting, and reassembling two throttle valves, and inspecting and performing necessary repairs on the turbine’s auxiliary system.

Millwrights critical to project

While Siemens put together a team of craftspeople, including pipefitters, ironworkers, welders, and laborers, 54 millwrights performed the majority of the work. Official project dates were March 17-April 13, and SSMRC millwrights were on site from March 18 to April 15.

“Every trade provides a specific skill set on our jobsites, and each of them is just as important as the others,” Mason said. “However, the millwrights provide the skillset to disassemble, inspect, measure, and reassemble with precision some of the most important equipment inside the power plant and, at nearly 200 tons for the generator rotor, some of the heaviest equipment as well. They perform these tasks very well and very safely.”

Challenges

Sequoyah Nuclear Plant is one of three nuclear power plants that are part of the Tennessee Valley Authority system, which serves all of Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. The Sequoyah plant consists of two units. In spring 2023, TVA conducted a refueling and maintenance outage of Unit 2. Three low-pressure turbines and one high-pressure turbine are part of that unit.

Siemens Energy Generating Services was charged with a slew of inspection and maintenance tasks focusing on

Like all projects, this one had its hurdles. Staffing challenges were chief among them, Williams said. With 17 projects in the SSMRC’s jurisdiction, the spring 2023 nuclear outage season was one of the busiest in recent history. This provided opportunities to fill positions with apprentices, and TVA encouraged an apprentice percentage as high as one third. In other industries, our partners tend to ask for apprentice percentages of up to 10% or 20%, Williams said.

“For TVA to say, ‘Hey, we will allow you to go up to a third’ was good for us,” he said. “We had some apprentices who had never been in the nuclear field. They’re now in line to continue on that path of nuclear work. So it helps us tremendously for future manpower requests in the nuclear industry.”

TVA staff could foresee benefits for their organization as well. TVA President Jeff Lyash stated last year the federally

Low-pressure Alpha turbine steam inlet pipe (T-piece) installation

What’s a ‘Good Catch’?

According to The Ohio State University Environmental Health and Safety Program, a good catch is “recognition of an event or circumstance that had the potential to cause property damage or injury/illness, but did not occur thanks to a corrective action and/or timely intervention following the reporting.” It’s sometimes confused with a near miss, which is “an incident that took place without property damage or personal injury/illness, but where given a shift in time or position, damage or injury easily could have occurred.”

Steve Williams, nuclear representative for the SSMRC, further defines a good catch in the millwright world as: “When someone catches something ahead of an event or possible event. It could be a safety issue, and the good catch prevents an injury or fatality. A good catch might also prevent a shutdown or forced outage that could cost a significant sum of money for the facility owner, possibly millions. It could be a catastrophic failure that would cause damage to other equipment in a plant.”

owned utility corporation plans to construct more than a dozen small modular reactors in its seven-state region. TVA has a goal of operating a carbon-free grid by 2050.

“TVA realized that unless we allow apprentices into these areas, manning them could get to a critical point,” Williams said. “Twenty-six percent of the nuclear millwrights in the Southern States are over the age of 55. So there’s a lot of opportunity for apprentices to join those ranks because

every year we’re going to have people retiring.”

Wolfe, a third-year apprentice with Millwright Local 1554 who had never worked at a nuclear site before, said he plans to specialize in nuclear work going forward. He’ll do other work, too, since nuclear jobs aren’t available all the time.

“I really liked how everyone worked well together and how I felt like I was part of a team,” Wolfe said. “It makes me want to follow the nuclear line.”

At the all-hands meeting before the Sequoyah outage began, Williams challenged journey-level millwrights to become mentors. “And then the challenge to the apprentices was to become a much better apprentice and to learn as much as they could from those journeymen,” Williams said.

Even though he had worked on gas and steam turbines, Wolfe said there was a significant amount to learn on his first nuclear job. Journey-level millwrights, craft labor superintendents, and Siemens personnel were all patient and informative, he said.

“They really made sure that you had an understanding of what you were doing,” Wolfe said. “And they didn’t make you feel stupid if you didn’t know something.”

Wolfe said he was particularly impressed with how safetyoriented the project was.

Mason said Siemens’ focus is always on safety first, especially when dealing with the challenges most nuclearturbine projects present, from stuck coupling bolts, galled studs, and tooling issues to the rigging and lifting of major components. “The professional and highly skilled and trained

Inspections after LP rotor resetting

See something, say something

Millwrights

John Wolfe of Local 1554 and Joe Bailess of Local 1607 weren’t responsible for inspecting the seal oil cooler reversing heads while they were working on a low-pressure turbine at Sequoyah Nuclear Plant’s Unit 2, but when they saw corroded and possibly leaking pipelines, they notified a supervisor.

“We dealt with the oil seal valves, which are right next to these pipelines,” Wolfe said. “The valves pump fluid into the pipelines.”

The corrosive seal oil leaking from one pipeline had dripped onto another, seriously damaging it.

“In our union training, the instructors stress the fact that if something doesn’t look right, you should call a work stoppage and notify someone,” Wolfe said. “We didn’t have to stop what we were doing, but we did notify a supervisor right away.”

TVA employees were there within 15 minutes.

“The plant investigated the issue and did indeed find that the reversing head had corroded to the point it had a throughwall leak,” said Richard Mason, Siemens Energy TVA Nuclear Alliance manager. “The fact that it was noticed early and brought to the plant’s attention allowed TVA to make the repair and start the system without delay to operations.”

If the millwrights hadn’t made this “good catch,” TVA likely would have had to rely on backup systems or divert power from another source, said Steve Williams, nuclear representative for the SSMRC. Some customers might have even lost electricity.

TVA supervisors recognized Wolfe and Bailess and presented them with challenge coins at a morning safety meeting attended by all craft personnel and Siemens staff.

“It was fantastic to be called out, especially for me, being new,” Wolfe said. “I really felt like I did something.”

This kind of recognition benefits individual millwrights, the SSMRC as a whole, and partnering contractors, Williams said. “People like to feel appreciated,” he said. “That makes them better millwrights down the road, creates better crews, and puts us in a good light to get more work because the customer realizes we possibly saved them millions.”

UBC millwrights who work for Siemens Energy on these projects are our biggest asset to completing the work scope in a very safe, quality manner and on or ahead of schedule,” he said.

Contractor relationship

Siemens and the SSMRC have a broad, long-running relationship.

“We work hand in hand on not only nuclear-power generation, but also gas turbines, steam turbines and wind turbines,” Williams said. “They’re one of the top contractors in North America not only for the SSMRC but the UBC, so we have a very good working relationship.”

In recent years, the two organizations have worked together to improve retention and recruitment, Mason said. “We’ve seen and discussed the attrition among not only the craftspeople but our Siemens Energy personnel as well through retirements, career path changes, and the pandemic, which stopped many from traveling,” he said. “We have all made changes to attract motivated and enthusiastic personnel so that we may all continue to be the service provider of choice in the nuclear-turbine-generator service business.”

Wolfe said Siemens staff seem to genuinely care about workers and listen to what they have to say. The Sequoyah outage was Wolfe’s first experience working for Siemens, and he worked for the company again later in the spring, at the WA Parish Gas Fired Steam Turbine Power Plant in Texas.

Future outlook

Siemens Energy’s goal with the TVA nuclear plants is to modernize the turbines as much as possible in coming years so the utility can reliably and affordably generate every possible megawatt through improved design and efficiency, Mason said. “There will be no shortage of work for the skilled tradesperson, in my opinion,” he added.

Joe Bailess

John Wolfe

LP turbine reheat stop valve installation

Iilding in ence and the brotherhood in North Carolina

Millwrights in the Eastern Region are seeing increased opportunities thanks to a collaboration with contractor SilMan Industries on a UPS facility.

BY MISTY MATHEWS

n the next year or two, the appearance of a fully operational UPS facility will have residents of Alamance County, North Carolina, asking, “What can Brown do for you?”

But the more important question they should be asking now is: What can union millwrights do for us?

That’s because members of the Southern States Millwright Regional Council are leading the way in laying out and installing much of the equipment that will allow the facility to run smoothly.

“This is a UPS sorting facility,” said Local 1263 Business Agent Charles Smith. “The members are installing automated conveyor distribution systems, both elevated

and at ground level. Installing these systems involves layout, fabrication, welding, bolting, belt lacing, vulcanizing, and belt tracking.”

About 40 millwrights are currently working on the project, with an additional 35 expected to join before completion, Smith said. Ground was broken at the site in late 2021, and millwrights began working in January 2023. Millwright work is expected to wrap up in late 2023.

Once complete, the 1-million-square-foot UPS facility is expected to add nearly 500 jobs to the local community and output around 30,000 packages per hour, according to the Triad Business Journal.

The partnership between the SSMRC and SilMan Industries for work on a UPS distribution center in Alamance County, North Carolina, is expected to expand the council’s footprint in the area.

ilding

in ence in the region

The project came to the SSMRC and Local 1263 through a new collaboration with SilMan Industries, a UBC signatory contractor based in California.

According to Eastern Region Director Logan Brown, the partnership is a win-win because SilMan Industries frequents the SSMRC footprint, doing work at sites including Toyota, Jack Daniels, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, FedEx, Amazon, and now UPS.

Brown and other SSMRC representatives met with SilMan Industries leaders more than a year ago to discuss the project.

During that meeting, Brown assured SilMan that the project would be staffed with safe, professional, and productive millwrights.

“Our team has delivered on that promise,” Brown said. “Our members have shown up to this project and have performed.”

Local 1263 member Terry Sykes, who has been on the project since February, said the partnership with SilMan Industries has allowed him to use his expertise in vulcanizing belts, a process of lapping the ends of a belt and melting them together to produce a seamless product. He said the collaboration has made for a smooth project.

“We’ve had a good experience with SilMan Industries and look forward to finishing the project safely and on time,” he said.

The partnership with SilMan Industries and the work done by Sykes and his fellow millwrights has enabled what Brown calls an expanding footprint in the region.

“This project represents the hard work of the council and staff to recruit members in the state, to get them trained, and convince our partnering contractors to pursue these opportunities,” he said. “This project marks the beginning of an increasing presence in the Carolinas.”

Smith said the project has experienced only a few minor hiccups and SilMan Industries has proven to be an excellent partner.

“Working with SilMan Industries has been awesome,” he said. “From their executive team to their project managers and site superintendents, they have been welcoming and collaborative with Local 1263.”

A demonstration of excellence

Work on the UPS facility could be termed a display of millwright capacity, adaptability, and excellence. Smith said it provided a key recruiting opportunity for Local 1263.

“It not only gave us the ability to put current local members to work,” Smith said, “but we can also use the project as a recruiting tool for new apprentices and non-union journeymen.”

SilMan Industries representative Jeff Porter said the project took on a unique flavor due to the use of new technology that allowed foremen to work more efficiently, with just a small learning curve.

“SilMan Industries has gone completely paperless on this job,” he said. “The drawings are all digital, and the foremen are working off of iPads. It’s actually pretty nice because instead of having 500 drawings in rolls that

get dirty, you just grab the iPad and swipe until you find your drawing.”

Porter said he thinks more work could come in the region thanks to the UPS project.

Growing the millwright brotherhood

Ultimately, the success of the project relies heavily on the ability of Local 1263 to deliver, and Brown said he truly believes the members and staff have gone above and beyond.

“I am extremely proud of the whole team,” Brown said. “Charles Smith has done a fantastic job recruiting and preparing for this project. The members have shown up to the jobsite and performed every day.”

Brown said ultimately the excellent work would result in more work, echoing Porter’s sentiment. “We are strengthening our relationship with SilMan Industries,” he continued. “All these factors are the ingredients that help grow our market share in a region that has been void of union millwright activity for years.”

Even more than that, Brown said, the collaborative project paints a perfect picture of how the council is excelling and how it could prosper in the future. “This effort is an excellent example of what it takes to grow our brotherhood,” he said. “It takes all parties doing their part. This project is an example of the fruits of that labor.”

Millwrights working for SilMan are installing both ground-level and elevated conveyor distribution systems at the UPS center.

SSMRC members move belting into place in advance of installation on the conveyor bed.

Hunter Soto, a Local 1263 member from Lexington, North Carolina, welds conveyor sections at the UPS facility.

WEINGARTEN RIGHTS

Weingarten rights guarantee an employee the right to union representation during an investigatory interview. These rights, established by the Supreme Court in 1975 in the case of J. Weingarten Inc., must be claimed by the employee. The supervisor has no obligation to inform an employee that s/he is entitled to union representation.

What is an Investigatory Interview?

An investigatory interview is one in which a supervisor questions an employee to obtain information which could be used as a basis for discipline or asks an employee to defend his/her conduct. If an employee has a reasonable belief that discipline or discharge may result from what s/he says, the employee has the right to request union representation.

Examples of such an interview are:

1. The interview is part of the employer’s disciplinary procedure or is a component of the employer’s procedure for determining whether discipline will be imposed.

2. The purpose of the interview is to investigate an employee’s performance where discipline, demotion or other adverse consequences to the employee’s job status or working conditions are a possible result.

3. The purpose of the interview is to elicit facts from the employee to support disciplinary action that is probable or that is being considered, or to obtain admissions of misconduct or other evidence to support a disciplinary decision already made.

4. The employee is required to explain his/her conduct, or defend it during the interview, or is compelled to answer questions or give evidence. It is an obligation of the union to educate bargaining unit employees about their Weingarten rights BEFORE an occasion to use them arises. An employee must state to the employer that he/she wants a union representative present; the employer has no obligation to ask the employee if she/he wants a representative.

Weingarten Rules

When an investigatory interview occurs, the following rules apply:

Rule 1 - The employee must make a clear request for union representation before or during the interview. The employee can’t be punished for making this request.

Rule 2 - After the employee makes the request, the supervisor has three options. S/he must either:

a. Grant the request and delay the interview until the union representative arrives and has a chance to consult privately with the employee; or

b. Deny the request and end the interview immediately; or

c. Give the employee a choice of: 1) having the interview without representation; or 2) ending the interview.

Rule 3 - If the supervisor denies the request and continues to ask questions, this is an unfair labor practice and the employee has a right to refuse to answer. The employee cannot be disciplined for such refusal but is required to sit there until the supervisor terminates the interview. Leaving before

this happens may constitute punishable insubordination.

Union Representatives’ Rights Under Weingarten

You are not required to merely be a ‘silent witness.’ You have the right to:

1. Be informed by the supervisor of the subject matter of the interview;

2. Take the employee aside for a private conference before questioning begins;

3. Speak during the interview;

4. Request that the supervisor clarify a question so that what is being asked is understood;

5. Give the employee advice on how to answer a question;

6. Provide additional information to the supervisor at the end of the questioning.

You do not have the right to tell the employee not to answer nor, obviously, to give false answers. An employee can be disciplined for refusing to answer questions.

A standard statement to suggest to members is:

“If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or discharged, I request that my union representative be present at the meeting. Without representation, I choose not to answer any questions.”

The employer will be ordered to cease and desist and to post a notice. Discipline that is imposed for insisting on Weingarten rights will be overturned. Discipline will not be overturned if the discipline was for reasons other than insistence on Weingarten rights, although information gained by the employer from the employee in a meeting during which a breach of Weingarten rights occurred may be excluded from a hearing on the matter.

An employee has NO right to the presence of a union representative where:

1. The meeting is merely for the purpose of conveying work instructions, training, or communicating needed corrections in the employee’s work techniques.

2. The employee is assured by the employer prior to the interview that no discipline or employment consequences can result from the interview.

3. The employer has reached a final decision to impose certain discipline on the employee prior to the interview, and the purpose of the interview is to inform the employee of the discipline or to impose it.

4. Any conversation or discussion about the previously determined discipline which is initiated by the employee and without employer encouragement or instigation after the employee is informed of the action.

Even in the above four circumstances, the employee can still ask for representation. Most employers will permit a representative to attend even when not required to.

Millwrights help bring GM’s electric Cadillac Lyriq SUV to life Made in Tennessee

BY REBECCA DOBRINSKI

In 2020, General Motors committed to renovating its Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant to produce more electric vehicles like the Cadillac Lyriq. GM’s $2 billion investment solidified this plant’s standing as the company’s largest American facility.

As Gov. Bill Lee explained to The Tennessean, “There’s a reason that they [automakers] have stayed and continued to invest. It’s because of the men and women who are putting those vehicles together in this plant.” Among these men and women who make a difference in the plant and in Tennessee are the millwrights who enable the assembly

and manufacturing teams by ensuring the production equipment is installed and running smoothly.

With GM’s goal to stop producing conventional gas-powered vehicles by 2035, millwrights working at the Spring Hill complex are at the forefront of the company’s EV plans – especially in the Ultium automotive-batterycells plant under construction.

The new Ultium factory is a joint venture between GM and South Korea’s LG Energy Solutions. This facility will incorporate some of the most advanced and efficient battery-cell-manufacturing processes while including the flexibility to adapt to future advances in technology.

The Spring Hill manufacturing complex also features production plants for GM’s flagship SUVs, including the Cadillac XT5, XT6, and the all-electric LYRIQ as well as the GMC Acadia. The vehicle assembly, metal stamping, engine, and EV battery cell plants combine to make Spring Hill the largest GM facility in North America. The workers at this

These SSMRC members are working at GM Spring Hill for several different contractors: International Industrial Contracting Company, Commercial Contracting Corporation, Lee Machinery Movers, and Barton Malow.

Conceptual rendering of Ultium Cells LLC battery cell manufacturing facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee

site have built more than 4.5 million vehicles since the campus opened in 1990. The complex also includes 700 acres dedicated to farming and 100 acres for wildlife. GM received a gold recognition and certification from the Wildlife Habitat Council for its wildlife projects at Spring Hill.

Battery-cell-plant work with IICC

Millwright Local 1554 members are working for International Industrial Contracting Corporation (IICC) on installing the process equipment and factory-automation conveyors at the battery-cell plant. The equipment our members work on spans the entire process of battery production and all areas of the factory.

allowed Local 1554 and its members the opportunity to grow in membership and man-hours within its jurisdiction while giving members the opportunity to work at home.”

IICC provides a wide range of services, from installation, relocation, and demolition to project management, shipping, and warehousing. The SSMRC’s partnership with IICC helps the company provide a full range of millwright services to its clients.

“This project was monumental for our members in affording us the opportunity to be a part of building GM’S new fully electric SUV, the Cadillac Lyriq,” explained

Over the years, IICC and the SSMRC have enjoyed a good working relationship. Through effective teamwork, collaboration, and mutual support, Local 1554 and its members have achieved long-term growth and success, Smith said. “IICC has been active in pursuing working opportunities within the industry,” he continued. “Our members are proud to be a part of their team.”

Local 1554 member Daniel Christian echoes Smith’s positive experience with IICC. “This is my first time working

Our council’s banner hangs on a fence at the site.

Ultium Cells facility under construction in September 2022

They communicate very well and help resolve any issues that may arise. Everyone works well together.”

Roy Gunther, vice president of IICC’s Southern Division, appreciates what millwrights are bringing to this project. He explained the project has its challenges, with multiple teams working in multiple areas. “The millwrights have been flexible, being able to adapt and build in areas which are ready even though this is not the best sequence,” Gunther said.

He also appreciates his relationship with SSMRC millwrights: “The work is seamless. The teams excel in everything from unloading and staging laydown yards to loading and transferring and installing equipment.” He said his partnership with SSMRC Business Agent Jesse Beilig is fruitful in finding the skilled labor needed to perform this work.

The future is exciting as well. Gunther and IICC expect to see process improvements at GM Spring Hill continuing well into 2025.

production line, a

and leveling

He now manages a crew of nine that includes millwrights, iron workers, and an operator, providing overall guidance and planning for the installation of the equipment.

Staton said he continues to learn with his team. “I enjoy working with the millwrights from other locals to learn from their experiences as they sometimes do things a different way that is easier with the same results,” he said.

Production-line work with CCC

SSMRC millwrights at GM Spring Hill also are working with Commercial Contracting Corporation (CCC), Lee Machinery Movers, Barton Malow, and Norris Brothers Company. CCC, based in Detroit, Michigan, has served the automotive industry since 1946 by working on plant construction and renovation projects.

“Days at the Spring Hill plant are always interesting,” said Local 1554 member Jon Staton, general foreman for CCC since January. Staton has worked with crews doing layout and installation of double-rack systems for all stages of

The work often brings challenges as well. One of the more interesting challenges has been correcting manufacturing flaws and shipping damage that happens during the equipment’s voyage from Korea. Staton’s team works with the contractor’s and OEM’s translators and engineers to find the best solutions for modifications and repairs.

“CCC is an easy contractor to work with,” Staton said. “The project manager and superintendent consistently check in with the general foreman and employees to see about job progress as well as general well-being. They are easy to approach and work diligently to correct any deficiencies.”

Staton also appreciates that the team starts its days with a focus on safety. “Every morning we start with a safety meeting with our safety representatives before we walk back to the jobsite,” he said.

Christian enjoys a variety of things about the project as well, including working side by side with his union brothers and sisters and people from other trades. “Meeting new people and getting to work with new equipment and learn new things is one of my favorite aspects of this project,” he said.

the

stocker crane,

rails.

The all-electric Cadillac Lyriq

Get ready for infrastructure work by ens ring yo have necessary certifications

BY ERIC KASTNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TRAINING, CENTRAL SOUTH CARPENTERS & MILLWRIGHTS TRAINING TRUST FUND

As funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) expands into more and more millwright work, the Central South Training Fund is ramping up our efforts to prepare SSMRC members by providing up-todate and high-level training and certifications. These skills and upgrades will be needed for upcoming jobs. BIL, along with The CHIPS and Science Act, will provide billions of dollars in our area for vehicle manufacturing, nuclear-energy infrastructure, hydropower, wind energy, and large manufacturing jobs. Millwrights will play a huge part in this expansion.

To prepare our members for upcoming opportunities, we will be offering more classes like automation familiarization, lockout-tagout safety, and machinery alignment classes. Safety training will be a requirement for all upcoming opportunities. Additional OSHA 10 and Millwright 16 classes also will be offered. As SSMRC signatory contractors prepare to fill jobs created by BIL, our apprentices and journeymen need to be prepared for those contractors. Training helps our signatory contractors compete. It’s what sets union millwrights apart from our

non-union counterparts.

Journeymen, you are already the most highly skilled in the industry, but are your certifications up to date? You can check this by scanning your training verification card.

Apprentices, you are still gaining skills through the apprenticeship, but have you looked for opportunities to better yourself? If there is a time you aren’t working, look for classes you can take to advance your knowledge.

The jobs BIL creates will require safety certifications like OSHA 30, Millwright 16, First Aid/CPR/AED, Forklift and Welding. I encourage you to start preparing now to make sure you have these certifications and they are up to date. To find upcoming classes or sign up for a class, visit www.centralsouthtraining.org. If you don’t see a class you need or if a signatory contractor wants to set up specific training or certifications, contact the coordinator at your nearest training center. The training program is here to provide you with the skills you need to do more work in less time.

In my years of service in the training program, I can tell you there are two things that come up for members on a regular basis: “I don’t have my OSHA card” and “I don’t have my training verification card.” Start preparing now! OSHA cards, if lost, can be re-issued if you have taken the course within two years. Training verification cards are required by our signatory contractors to verify training and certifications. If you have lost your card, it’s not scanning, or you don’t have a picture on your card, you will need a new one. Contact your local training center for help with replacing these.

2

Apprentices

3

Apprentices Michael Braddock and Leticia Trevizo are learning to use the teach pendant for the Fanuc Robots.

Instructor Richard Thomas is showing apprentices how to rig a robot arm.

Apprentice Sara Hernandez is moving the robot to the maintenance position.

Sara Hernandez, Stephanie House, and Leticia Trevizo are removing a weld gun from the robot arm.

Staff leveraging federal infrastructure laws for aggressive recruitment and retention campaign

Across the United States, contractors are capitalizing on the billions of dollars available from the federal government for infrastructure projects of all shapes, sizes, and industries. Thanks to several recently enacted, infrastructure-related laws, there is potential for nearly unlimited work opportunities in the construction industry.

In Florida, we are leveraging a key rule found in nearly all of these laws: At least 10% of the project’s workforce must be from a registered apprenticeship program. Our union apprenticeship programs hold that designation. Florida’s statewide millwright training coordinator, Guy Carter, and the millwright training staff have launched an aggressive recruitment and retention program to attract and retain millwright apprentices.

The goal: Get a pipeline of millwright apprentices in place while our signatory contractors bid for key projects, such as a semiconductor plant in Kissimmee, airport construction in Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale, water treatment facilities throughout the state, and many more.

The millwright training staff has established relationships with high schools, technical schools, and job-fair vendors to push our message to young people throughout the state.

We partner with The Future Career Academy, which exposes Hillsborough County high school seniors to the trades. We attend events to talk one-on-one with students. We also market our program to guidance counselors. We found that most have never heard of millwrights and don’t know what millwrights do.

Millwright instructor Matt Bartles focuses on technical schools

that offer welding programs. He is currently working with 26 schools to get their best students into the trade. Bartles also sits on several tech school advisory boards.

We host open houses at our Tampa Training Center for students and politicians. More than 200 students, contractors, vendors, politicians, school board members, and technical school staff attended our most recent open house. We discussed with students what we offer and how to apply. We encourage visiting politicians to support registered-apprenticeship and union-workforce laws.

BY JIMMIE JORDAN, TRAINING DIRECTOR, FLORIDA CARPENTERS TRAINING TRUST FUND

While we welcome every candidate, we highly value our existing apprentices and are working hard to support and retain them. A key strategy is one-to-one communication. Every month, training instructors call every apprentice to check on them and their family, make sure their work status is current, help problem-solve any issues, and give them a heads-up about training classes that will help them become even more employable.

Florida will get a healthy portion of federal infrastructure projects. When our signatory contractors gain the work, we will be ready to fill that 10% percent apprenticeship requirement with safe, skilled apprentices.

Training Coordinator

Guy Carter and Local 1000 Business Agent

Cliff Tucker speak to tech and high school open house participants about the variety of training provided by our registered apprenticeship program. SSMRC EST Wayne Jennings and Training Coordinator

Jimmie Jordan and SSMRC Political Director Rick Halford discuss our apprenticeship program. 3

Guy Carter discuss millwright training with Hillsborough County Commissioner Pat Kemp.

SSMRC SIB Committee making an impact with

efforts to recruit and mentor members, serve their communities, and improve our union

BY OLIVIA MCMURREY, COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

During its second year, our council’s Sisters in the Brotherhood (SIB) committee has expanded rapidly with members, activities, and goals important to the overall health of our union.

Written SIB Committee goals, along with strategies for achieving them and methods for measuring results, were established in early 2023. Read about goals for 2023-24 in the box on page 37. The committee has established subcommittees related to the goals and encourages sisters to join those subcommittees by filling in the “interests” section of the form you can access using the QR code below.

“Being part of the SIBs is inspiring,” said Jessie Patterson, chair of the SSMRC SIB Committee. “We help each other grow, and we look out for each other. We know we can’t make changes alone; that’s why together we are so strong. We are paving the way for the next sisters to come, so everyone is included and everyone is viewed as a valuable member of our trade.”

Organizing and recruiting

SIB Committee members have been encouraging non-union women of various trades on jobsites to join the SSMRC and have been handing out flyers about the SIB Committee to these women.

Committee members also have represented the SSMRC at recruiting events and job fairs in Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi, showing female attendees that women can earn high wages and excellent benefits as professional millwrights.

In October 2022, SIB Committee members gave a virtual presentation about the millwright trade to participants in the Moore Community House Women in Construction Program in Biloxi, Mississippi. They then helped select a participant in the program for the third annual tool scholarship the SSMRC and DEWALT bestowed in December. Three SIB Committee members – Donna McKinney, Heather Pratt, and Jessie Patterson – traveled to Biloxi to help present the scholarship. While there, they also recruited WIC participants to the millwright apprenticeship.

Retention and mentoring

The elected SIB board that took office in the summer of 2022 includes a mentorship coordinator (in addition to chair, cochair, secretary, treasurer, and communications coordinator). Heather Pratt, mentorship coordinator, has created a framework for a council-wide sisters mentorship network and has been recruiting mentors and mentees. As of June 2023, 34 members had signed up to be part of the network. A mentorship training program will be rolled out soon.

The committee also mentors and supports sisters through a Facebook group that has grown to 112 members.

Education and development

An aim of the mentor network and Facebook group is to assist SIB members in sharing knowledge and helping each other become better millwrights and communicators. SIB Committee members also attend conferences and workshops to build their skills.

The first SSMRC SIB Conference is scheduled for Sept. 4 in Birmingham, Alabama. The conference will focus on recruitment and retention. An apprentice and a journey-level sister are slated to represent each of the council’s nine locals. Our

JOIN THE SIB COMMITTEE!

To learn more about the SSMRC’s SIB Committee, fill out an interest form, and request to join our SSMRC SIB Facebook group, click the QR code below.

FROM LEFT: Members Jessie Patterson, Heather Pratt, and Donna McKinney helped present a tool scholarship from the SSMRC to Alisha King [second from right], a participant in the Moore Community House Women in Construction Program in Biloxi, Mississippi.

SSMRC sisters and EST Wayne Jennings participated in a banner parade during the 2022 Tradeswomen Build Nations Conference in Las Vegas. Holding the banner, from left, are Heather Pratt, Donna McKinney, Breanna Collins, and Yvonne Dolloff

EST, three regional directors, UBC SIB representative Shanta Prude, and the SIB Committee’s council point of contact also will attend.

In March, two SSMRC members – Jessica Cross and Heather Pratt – attended Catalyst: A Women in Industry Conference. Hosted by Manufacture Alabama, Catalyst aimed to address important and prevalent issues facing women working in manufacturing and industrial settings in the Gulf Coast region. “We were greeted and immediately asked what we did for work because our name tags didn’t mention it,” Pratt said. “We proudly said we’re union millwrights, and we were just happy to be there with the other 370 women in attendance.”

Eight SIB Committee members and EST Wayne Jennings represented the SSMRC at the Tradeswomen Build Nations Conference Oct. 28-30, 2022, in Las Vegas. Our members helped create a millwright presence at the event and learned from speakers and workshop sessions.

The 2023 Tradeswomen Build Nations Conference will be held the first weekend in December in Washington, D.C. The SIB Committee encourages all sisters to attend. Learn more and register for the conference at nabtu.org/twbn.

Meetings

Using emails and texts, the council notifies all female members of SIB Committee meetings that are held three times a year via Zoom. These meetings include keynote speakers, information sessions about recent and upcoming activities, and breakout sessions to discuss issues of importance to sisters.

“We have our EST, regional directors, and business agents in our all-member meetings so they can hear what we need help with,” Patterson said. “They support the SIB Committee.”

Recent keynote speakers were Donna Griffin, president of Griffin Industrial Contracting (July 2023) and Wendy ChunHoon, director of the U.S. Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau (January 2023). Chun-Hoon talked with members about

how they can be part of political action aimed at positive change in the realms of affordable childcare for women in the trades and ensuring Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding means more union jobs and more high-paying trade jobs for women.

SIB Committee officers and steering committee members meet monthly to conduct business and plan initiatives.

Community involvement

The SIB Committee held a food drive in November 2022 and a toy drive in December, collecting donations at locations across the South and distributing them to charities including soup kitchens, homeless shelters, Toys for Tots, Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, Crossroads Community Outreach in Florence, Alabama, and a women’s and children’s shelter in Pasadena, Texas. The committee is planning similar food and toy drives for 2023, along with a school-supplies drive and efforts to collect donations and put together hygiene bags for women’s shelters.

Committee structure and how to join

SIB Committee goals for 2023-24

ORGANIZING

• Increase sister membership by 15%

• Monitor SIB participation at local union meetings in 2023; in 2024 increase SIB participation at local union meetings by 20%

• Handbill nine non-union jobsites to recruit new union members

RETENTION

• Utilize our SIB Mentorship Program

• Increase SIB engagement by 20%

• Quarterly wellness checks on all SIB members with interaction of at least 75% for each year

• Retain all newly recruited members from hand-billed jobsites

TRAINING

• Ensure all new members understand their training schedule

• Monitor each newly recruited sister and ensure they stay on course

• Have 90% of newly recruited sisters complete the 101 Constitution course

POLITICAL

• Have 100% of newly recruited sisters registered to vote

SIB Committee officers are elected by female SSMRC members every two years. Six officers – a chair, vice chair, secretary, treasurer, mentorship coordinator, and communications coordinator – took office in July 2022. In May and June of 2024, board nominations and elections will be held again. The council will notify sisters in advance.

• Educate sisters on the where, when, and how to vote

• Educate sisters on UBC stance on politicians and the importance of relationships with them

• Get sisters involved in their local city council meetings

A business-agent-appointed steering committee is in place as well. Starting in June of 2024, two steering committee members from each local will be selected every two years. The business agent or agents will appoint one member and the sisters in that local will select one member. Sisters will be notified in advance of these elections as well.

An interest form on the SSMRC website allows members to join the SIB Committee and express interest in helping with various SIB activities and our SIB goals. Scan the QR code on page 36 to access the form. Business agents and training directors are letting new members know about the SIB Committee and are including a committee flyer in new-member packets.

“We’re asking sisters to get involved, and we have lots of places for them to utilize their influence and make sure their voices are heard,” said Je Ann Will, communications coordinator for the SIB Committee.

Wendy Chun-Hoon, director of the U.S. Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau, was the featured speaker during the January 2023 SSMRC SIB Committee meeting on Zoom.

Local 2411 member Yvonne Dolloff and Robert Jeffers, business agent, deliver toys collected during a SIB toy drive to Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.

Staff Announcements

Wooten hired as SSMRC’s new administrative assistant

Jacob Wooten joined the SSMRC team in late February 2023 and serves as our administrative assistant, working at the Birmingham, Alabama, headquarters. He graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in applied math and music and also holds an M.Ed. in secondary education. He has worked in the financial industry and as a teacher and is dedicated to using his diverse background to assist in daily office operations.

“I’m proud to be here. I look forward to serving the council and its members. I have enjoyed getting to meet new people and experience a little bit of what the brotherhood is about.”

–Jacob Wooten

Bonds retires as SSMRC president, nuclear representative

SSMRC President and Nuclear Representative David Bonds retired in April 2023 after nearly 45 years of service to the UBC. Bonds started his career in 1979, when he joined Millwright Local 2070 in Roanoke, Virginia. He transferred his membership to Millwright Local 1421 in 1987, and later served as business agent for the local and training director for the North Texas Carpenters and Millwrights Training Trust. When the Southern States Millwright Regional Council was established in 2010, Bonds was appointed a council committee member and later elected president. In 2016, he became the council’s first nuclear business agent.

“David has served the members of the UBC, SSMRC, and Local 1421 in every capacity from ran and file to president of his local and the Southern States Millwrights. He has always proven to be engaged, knowledgeable, and to have the best interest of the body in mind in every position held. I commend and personally thank David for everything he has done to advance the labor movement.”

–Wayne Jennings, SSMRC executive secretary treasurer

Williams promoted to nuclear representative

Steve Williams transitioned from Local 1554 business agent to SSMRC nuclear representative in January 2023. In his new role, Williams coordinates the staffing of nuclear-outage and other projects, working closely with our members, partnering contractors, and other UBC locals. Williams replaces David Bonds, who retired in April.

“I am very excited to be the SSMRC’s new nuclear representative. While I was on my tools, I worked several nuclear jobs, so this feels like home for me. I get to reconnect with individuals sed to wor for and with have some very big shoes to fill as r onds enters retirement. He has been a great mentor, friend, and deserves all the happiness in retirement.”

–Steve Williams

Beilig becomes business agent for Local 1554

In January 2023, Jesse Beilig assumed the role of Local 1554 business agent covering middle and West Tennessee. Beilig has been a member of Local 1554 for eight years and spent the beginning of his career gaining experience in the automotive and power-generation industries. He also teaches at the UBC International Training Center in Las Vegas. Beilig said he wants to help others build a debt-free career that will be life changing for them and their families.

arly on co ld see the benefits of getting involved in the local and too f ll advantage of the training the UBC has to offer. Through hard work and training, I was given the opportunity to work for one of our larger signatory contractors. While working in an office s pport role, gained e perience in pro ect management, cost trac ing, and bidding pro ects, as well as managing manpower across the co ntry

–Jesse Beilig

Kastner named executive training director

Eric Kastner began serving as executive director of training for the Central South Carpenters and Millwrights Training Trust Fund, covering Texas and Louisiana, in January 2023. His union journey began in 1989 in St. Louis, Missouri, and has included working as an apprentice and journeyman with a UBC floorlayers’ local, an instructor in a flagship union high school program, and a coordinator with the St. Louis Carpenters and Floor Layers Training Center and the Arlington Carpenters and Millwright Training Center.

“I look forward to working with training staff as well as union staff to help our training programs grow in providing quality training for our future millwright journeymen. If there is one piece of advice I could offer an 18-year-old coming into the trades as I did, I would encourage them to take all the training they can take.”

–Eric Kastner

SSMRC Organizational Chart

Community Contributions

Unions have a long history of contributing to communities and helping members who have fallen on hard times. Below are some of the projects that our members, locals, the SSMRC, and the UBC have supported during the past year. Read more at southernstatesmillwrights.org/community.

Carpenters’ Helping Hands provides grant for Local 1192 member who lost home to fire

Our union is made up of people who have each other’s backs, especially during times of need.

On Jan. 11, 2023, Local 1192 member Chad Collins and his family lost their home to a fire. After hearing the news, Local 1192 rallied. Business agents and SSMRC Executive Secretary Treasurer Wayne Jennings applied for assistance through the Carpenters’ Helping Hands program, which is funded by United Brotherhood of Carpenters locals, business partners, and councils, and provides grants to members facing adverse circumstances.

Member represents UBC Military Veterans Program in parade, helps with multiple volunteer projects

Local

Representatives of the council and local presented a $10,000 check to Collins. “These guys have stepped up and have helped me and my family get a place to stay while we get back on our feet,” Collins said. “They have made it a lot easier for us and we are so grateful.”

Local 1263 participates in annual Labor Day Parade in Charlotte, North Carolina

It was a rainy 2022 Labor Day, but that did not stop members of Local 1263 from participating in the Labor Day Parade in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The parade route stretched nearly four miles through the heart of downtown. SSMRC Eastern Region Director Logan Brown made the trip from Aiken, South Carolina, to participate in the parade with local members.

“There was a strong feeling of pride on the parade route,” Brown said. “It’s a great feeling knowing the organization we belong to helped start this event and 140 years later we are able to keep the tradition alive. There have been so many before us who have paved the way in blood and sacrifice so that we can enjoy the benefits we have as working-class

SSMRC sponsors event benefiting Recovery Resource Council

For the third year in a row, the SSMRC and Local 1421 sponsored the Unity Run held in Whitney, Texas, and benefiting the Resource Recovery Council, a nonprofit that provides mental and behavioral health care to those recovering from alcohol and substance-use disorders and trauma in 19 North Texas counties. The April 22, 2023, event was organized by Survivors M/C Clean & Sober of N.E. Texas.

2232 member Dwight Murrah regularly volunteers in his community. Three notable projects during the past year were representing the UBC Military Veterans Program and the U.S. Space Force in a Veterans Day parade, clearing trash as part of an Adopt a Highway project, and collecting donations for animal shelters.

For the Veterans Day parade in New Braunfels, Texas, Murrah purchased UBC Military Veterans Program magnets and attached them to his Jeep, which he drove in the parade, as part of a larger Jeep enthusiasts’ group.

“The parade organizers wanted a member or veteran from each branch to follow the grand marshal with that branch’s flag on the vehicle, in the order the branches were established,” Murrah said. “No one was available to represent Space Force, so I volunteered. I bought a flag and attached it to the Jeep.”

As part of the Jeep group, Murrah also rounded up and delivered pet supplies to two animal shelters: Canyon Lake Animal Shelter and New Braunfels Humane Society. The group contacted suburban neighborhood home-owner associations to request donations, then used their Jeeps and trailers to pick up the supplies and deliver them to the two shelters. While they were there, volunteers took dogs on walks outside.

Chad Collins and his wife, Octavia Collins

Parade participants included [from left] Instructor Jessie Patterson, Business Agent Charles Smith, Bryce Andrews, Brian Allen, Regional Director Logan Brown and family, and Drew Ohorodnyk and his granddaughter.

Representatives of Survivors Clean & Sober NE TX M/C present funds to Recovery Resource Council CEO Eric Niedermayer.

Member Milestones

Congratulations to the following members, who became journey-level millwrights or reached 50 years of service between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023.

New Journeymen

Local 216

Julian Bayas

Christopher Cantrell

Grant Denham

Christopher Erdelyi

Levi Holt

Dylan King

Joel Larnard

Misty Merchen

Garett Meredith

Derek Morris

Codey Myers

Brent New

Randy Newell

Shery Ragsdale

Vangie Riley

Jett Rogers

Franklin Sims

Seth Smith

Clint Vaughan

Local 729

Billy Atkinson

Jennie Bailey

Jacob Benoit

Mark Boothe

John Bridges

Ethan Buckelew

Wanzell Carter

Brian Dubuc

Arthur Dupre

Jay Dupuy

Thomas Hart

John Laine

Cody Naquin

Emerson RomeroMartinez

Holden Sedotal

Corey Thibodaux

Juan Velazquez

Lionel Wilkins

Austin Williamson

Daniel Wilson

Local 1000

Gregory Berrios

Maximillian Bossa

Joseph Clement

Marvin Delgado

Carlos Dilone

Michael Gualtiere

Andrew Hampton

Tyler Jackson

Jan Johnson

Coleman McDonough

Justin Muller

Joseph Piccone

Austin Piechocki

Cristopher Roman

Garrett West

Local 1192

Casey Hardin

Andrew Hoyt

Christopher Jones

Baily Laborde

Kenneth Long

Gavin McIver

Travis McIver

Scott Millikan

Adrian Moore

Patrick Patterson

Bryant Petty

Garry Powers

Donald Shoffner

Eli Swinney

Michael Taylor

Willie Thompson

Ryan Turner

Austin Waid

Dexter White

John Young

Local 1263

Aaron Burke

James Burkett

Joshua Coleman

Jarrod Deen

Anthony Franklin

Teresa Hall

Zachery Henington

James McNair

Gregory Meadows

Frank Miller

Kory Price

Randall Rampley

Tyler Smith

Blaine Valentine

Erron West

Ryan Westmoreland

Gregory Witt

Local 1421

Peter Brown

Gage Coleman

Jody Cook

Jamie Danford

Jose Garcia

Marina Hernandez

Jarrod Hill

Jackson Khamphanh

Ryan Mock

Jason Restani

Servando Salazar

David St John

Robby Stinnett

Kendrick Stokes

Saul Talavera

Clay Wimberly

Local 1554

Rex Ayers

Matthew Bell

Cohen Bennett

Aaron Bowser

Jeremy Boyce

Joshua Butler

Christy Davis

Joe Esmeyer

David Heady

Dylan Hensley

Rodulfo Johnson

Justin Junge

Joseph Keefer

Bobby Kilgore

Jameson Kitzler

Jessica Mills

John Munoz

James Oetjen

Nicholas Reed

Thomas Runkle

Logan Rutledge

Isiah Seals

Justus Walker

James Weiny

Cody Wilkins

Local 2232

Truman Blazek

Martin Boudreaux

Steven J. Brown

Ismael Castillo

Timothy Chancey

Eduardo Colima

Edward Cooper

Jacob Davis

Wesley Delecia

Florencio Delgado

Arturo E. Galvan

Chad Gangstad

Francisco Gomez

Perez

Emilio Guerrero

Aaron Hall

Triston Hamman

Johnny Harville

Trenton Hatcher

Scott Heggood

Daniel G. Hill

Richard Hillhouse

Anthony Jarosz

Cody Johnson

David R. Kelley III

Steven Kindle

Bradley Kinney

Christopher Kliesing

Chad Ladner, Jr.

Hunter Lawler

Justin Lybyer

Mario Madrigal

Joseph Montina

Joseph Moore

Anthony Morse

Fabian Morvant

Matthew Odom

Jonathon Odom

Jacob Pedersen

Rogelio Quiroga

Jamayall Richard

Samuel Smith

Robert Thompson

Victor Vela

Chris Vorner

Bryan J. Weischedel

Jarrod White

Peter Wiebe Banman

Robert Wood

Ryan Wortman

Birthon Young

50 Years of Service

Local 216

Gary Gardner

Larry Ennis

Local 1000

Marlon Bearry

Stephen Cothron, Sr.

David Casper

George Elder

Sam Mortellaro

Eddie McRae

Teddy Wise

James Royal

Arthur Payne

Ronald Flott

Charles Walker

Local 1263

David Miller

Local 1554

Gary Ashley

Richard Hogan

Local 2232

William Blackwell

Daniel Fortenberry II

We are mourning the loss of the following members, who passed away between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023.

Local 216

William C. Bird

Ray Breazeale

Larry W. Hargis

Ricky Lee Legan

Murray S. Rice

Orville L. Watson

Local 729

Jerry L. Adkins

Ernest M. Cather

Peter C. Dimaggio

Local 1000

Charles W. Brooks

Joseph Gerald Campion

Paul R. Kirk

David Moralez

Andrew Stephen Polk

Sean Douglas Sill

Paul W. Tanguay

Local 1192

Cedric LaDon Corn

Charles Eugene Day

Thomas Lee Harris

David Eugene Holland

Jason A. Kornegay

Jimmie C. Morgan

Local 1263

Joseph D. Anderson

Curtis Troy Collins

Granger Sidney Howell

Fronice Edward Kneece

Edwin M. Lashley

Robert Lee Tanner, Sr.

Local 1421

John S. Boone

Weldon Noel Clark

Herbert W Kratz, Jr.

Randy R. Twigg

Local 1554

Crystal Michelle McPherson

Albert F. Warren

Local 2232

Thomas Ray Burchfiel

William C. Devening

Justin R. Grissom

Johnny T. Head

Vernon Ray Jones

Jesse D. Kliesing, Sr.

Kevin D. Payne

Shelton Drew Price

Southern States Millwright Regional Council

2000 Southbridge Pkwy., Ste. 203 Birmingham, AL 35209

STAY IN THE LOOP WITH

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