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Volume 50 • Number 9 • September 2021

For the latest on happenings around Local 669, see our website and page 44

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New Local 669 Diversity Committee getting started

See page 5 for the first report

Don’t be a Hitchhiker

See page 4 for more info

W O R L D T R A D E C E N T E R | P E N TA G O N | S H A N K S V I L L E

SEPTEMBER 2021

2 ROAD SPRINKLER FITTERS LOCAL UNION 669

T he Labor movement has recently lost a prominent leader among our ranks. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

passed on August 5th after a heart attack while camping with his family. Richard was 72 years of age and was due to retire at the next AFL-CIO convention scheduled to take place next spring. He was an outspoken proponent for the working class, having been raised in Western Pennsylvania, where his family toiled in the coal mines. Trumka himself worked in those same mines while working his way through college. Upon graduating with a law degree from Villanova, he served the United Mine Workers of America as a staff attorney, later holding the position of President before moving to the AFL-CIO. With the passing of President Trumka, Liz Shuler (AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer) assumes the role of acting President of the AFL-CIO. Liz, an electrical worker from local 125 in Oregon, becomes the first female to hold the position of President of the AFL-CIO and is also the youngest at 50 years of age. As this NewsLetter goes to print, we are on the verge of an infrastructure bill being passed. The Senate passed the 1.2 trillion- dollar infrastructure bill that now goes to the House for their approval. If passed, this bill will help support future job opportunities, and our industry will undoubtedly benefit from it, if not directly, then certainly indirectly.

Work opportunities in our industry continue to look very strong for the immediate future. Currently, unemployment numbers are at

138 out of work nationwide. This is down from 183 reported last month. The latest hours report also reflects consistency, with 1.5 million hours per month being averaged. I expect this trend to continue through the end of this year. The board of NASI Trustees will have met in Boston by the time of this writing. This will have been the first full in-person board meet-ing since October of 2019. As of this time, investments look to be very positive. Hopefully, we continue with great investment returns for the remainder of 2021. Look for additional information in next month’s NewsLetter. Our Local also continues to do well, and we anticipate continuing to build our reserves for 2021. This economy will not continue to thrive forever, and it’s essential to prepare for a time when we will certainly see a dip in construc-tion. The better prepared we are for the bad times, the better we will be able to navigate them. The second round of Union Meetings is now complete and was conducted in-person. Turnout was slightly down from the last round of in-person meetings. Overall, those that were in attendance seemed to be happy to be once again meeting in-person. We anticipate that the third-round meetings will also be in-person. Expect the meeting notice to hit your mailbox sometime in October with meet-ings scheduled for late October through the month of November. I hope to see you there!

Fraternally,

BRIAN W. DUNN Business Manager

MESSAGE FROM THE BUSINESS MANAGER

MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY-TREASURER

I ’ve recently finished the 2nd round Union Meetings throughout the East. I must admit, the attendance was far below acceptable

considering no Union Meetings were held in over a year and a half. Thank you to everyone who did take the time to attend and hear what is happening within your Local. Your attendance is greatly appreciated. We hope for a better turnout at the 3rd round meetings. The JATC National Committee recently con-ducted its first in-person meeting of 2021 in Kansas City, Missouri. During this important meeting for the apprenticeship program, Director Charles Ketner reviewed the statistical report covering the second quarter of 2021 (i.e. ending June 30, 2021). He summarized that there was a total of 2,770 Apprentices in the program. Class 1-5 account for 1,320 Appren-tices, with the reminder class 6-10 at 1,450 Apprentices. There are 593 minorities (21.41%) and 17 females. The 246 new Apprentices hired include 65 minorities and two females. We have a total of 377 Organizational Apprentices in the program. The veteran population is 236, with 22 from the VIP program. During the second quarter, 91 Apprentices were recommended for Journeyperson status, and 21 Apprentices are currently on active duty for the military. Director Ketner also reviewed the 48-state statistics report of Apprentice’s class 1-10 in each state, the quarterly lesson delinquency report, as well as the statistical report for those who have left the apprenticeship program. JATC Counsel Rebecca Richardson presented a summary of the previous reporting regarding Scholarship Loan Agreement (SLA) enforce-ment. The report detailed the procedures utilized to collect debts owed to the JATC due to breached loan agreements. No new individuals have been referred to IRR for

collection since the last meeting. Reports from the subcommittee meetings conducted on May 21, 2021, from the states of New York, Connecticut, Washington, Nevada, and California were presented to the National Committee. After reviewing, a motion and second for approval was made, followed by a unanimous vote in favor. Under new business, in-person JATC class training has started July 1 with no negative feedback to date. We also reviewed class counts to ensure all the Apprentices are getting the proper attention and training. NFPA has limited the ability to download hand-books. Charles Ketner is talking to NFPA to im-prove our access, but there is no change at present. Everyone can still access the code-books but will not be able to download them. We closed the meeting with a lengthy discus-sion on diversity training. The JATC would like to move forward with creating an in-person class and learn about teaching a course. A sugges-tion was made to reach out to WCC about their diversity curriculum. I believe the JATC is moving in the right direc-tion to better prepare our Apprentices with the skills and knowledge presented to them either through training in the classroom or on the job site to be successful. Our future depends on it.

Work Safe and Smart.

SEPTEMBER 2021

3NEWSLETTER • SEPTEMBER 2021

ROBERT J. COOPER, Jr. Secretary-Treasurer

W e have just recently finished up our round of Union Meetings across the country. While the turnout was

somewhat on the low side, it was great to be back in-person, passing along information, answering questions, and celebrating gains within our industry. We should continue to charge each Member at the meetings the task of bringing along another Member. Does the passage below remind you of someone?

Union Hitchhiker

Have you ever driven down the the road and run upon a hitchhiker? Most of the time, their

thumb is giving a clear message:

“If you furnish the car, the gas, the time and do the driving, I’ll ride with you. But if you think i’m going to pitch in for gas, your out of your mind.

By the way, if you have an accident and I’m hurt. I’ll sue you for all you got.”

We have hitchhikers in our Union too. In one

way or another they’re saying: “If you supply the protection of a contract, negotiate that contract,

protect me at work, get me fair and decent wages, health benefits and hours of work, I’ll ride. But you’re crazy if you think I’m going to

get involved and help make this a better place to work. And by the way, if anything happens

that irriatates me, you’ll hear from me.”

Think about it — Are you just thumbing a free

ride? Or can you do a little more to help us out?

If we are not all doing our part, we are in some way just along for the ride. As we approach 14,000 Members nationwide, it will take each of us pulling in the same direction to make our Union as strong as possible. It is each of our duties to indoctrinate every new Member, whether he is a family member, friend, or someone finally given a chance to be represented in our industry. There is no way this can be put on only the shoulders of the leaders of an organization. Let’s all pitch in and do a small part and make this Organization better for all of us. Training, contract education, and recruitment are things we all do. Fourteen thousand Members, if every Member talked to 1 unrepresented sprink, we would be able to supply every Contractor’s needs. Please enjoy the end of your summer—plan on bringing someone with you to the fall meetings. Be safe.

Fraternally,

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT-ORGANIZER


BRIAN E. FISHER President-Organizer

SEPTEMBER 2021

Your Vote is Your Voice Being Heard

Election Day is November 2nd!

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SEPTEMBER 2021


LOCAL 669 DIVERSITY COMMITTEE

G oreetings Sisters and Brothers from your Local 669 Diversity Committee!

Business Manager Brian W. Dunn has directed the formation of a Diversity Committee. This is an all-volunteer committee tasked with devel-oping new ideals and strategies for outreach to individuals who might not be aware of the opportunities that the Local 669 has to offer and educating our Members on the need and benefits of being a more diverse Local Union. We have volunteers from across the nation that have stepped up to serve on this commit-tee and have already started having monthly meetings via Zoom. Your Diversity Committee Members are: Thomas (Tom) Jarnigan, Merrill Smith, Mike Green, Ana Rigsby, Rita Neiderheiser, Ashley Porter, Roland (Mike) Carmichael, Vitro Hilton, Jerome Coateson, Ray Castillo, Don Combs, and Pat Mills. Our Mission is simple, work together and lead the way to improve the culture and diversity of Local Union 669. We have examined several topics including how we can get our younger Members more involved and educated on the benefits of being a Union Member, and what we can do to get the membership to participate in our elections, fill out wage surveys, and attend Union Meetings. For example, in our last Collective Bargaining Agreement contract extension vote only 3,768 ballots were re-turned and we have over 13,800 Members, so approximately 10,000 of our Members did not vote. We’ve discussed outreach for schools and communities to bring in more diverse applicants and how we can spread the word to more individuals about the opportunities and advantages of a career as a Union Sprin-kler Fitter. We have looked at where we are at as a Local (the numbers) and as we continue

to grow and become more diverse, we will become a stronger organization. We are committed to looking forward and trying new and innovative approaches. The Committee is working on a proposal to present to the NASI Trustees, asking for them to consider a maternity leave benefit for our female Members. We are behind the times compared to other unions in the construction industry. This can be an opportunity to adopt a plan benefit that is comparable to other trade union maternity leave programs. A ma-ternity leave benefit will help with recruiting female Members and increase the likelihood of them remaining in the trade after childbirth. Having a program in place that would assist female Members in continuing their fulfilling career as sprinkler fitters if they become pregnant would seem like a logical option. If we genuinely want to develop the diversity of the Local and tap into a nontraditional Membership pool to grow Local 669 Member-ship numbers, creating a practical maternity benefit program will help make that change. As a committee, we are just getting started and will keep the Membership informed about our progress on issues and new initiatives in upcoming NewsLetters.

NOTICE TO UNEMPLOYED

MEMBERS

669 Employment

Line

UPDATE

EVERY

TWO WEEKS

(800) 638-0997


SEPTEMBER 2021

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

Brothers and Sisters,

Y our Local Union 669 Executive Board held its last monthly meetings on July 11th and 12th in Phoenix, AZ in conjunc-

tion with an organizing drive. During the two days of meetings, we reviewed charge filing forms, hearing officer reports, and requests from Union Officers. The rest of the week was spent canvassing the greater Phoenix area looking for non-union sprinkler fitters to help fill our Contractors’ anticipated manpower needs. Some large projects are coming up in the area, and with work being good and the unemployment list being slim, a coordinated organizing campaign is the best means to solving the labor shortage. Over the course of a few days, we were able to hit over 100 job sites and talk to dozens of open shop sprinkler fitters, some of which have already become Union Members by the time of this writing. One week of an organizing drive can yield enough contacts and data to keep the local Organizer busy for months to come. With September here, school is back in session all across the country. School buses are out safely, bringing the nation’s children

to and from schools each day. Even with how safe the buses are, it’s important that you pay extra attention when you are driving near them. By estimates, 17 million illegal passing incidents occur each school year mainly be-cause motorists are driving while distracted. Thankfully, the safety training of both the drivers and the students prevents the most severe incidents. It’s imperative not to be distracted by our cell phones, and if you have to talk while you’re driving, use a Bluetooth connection or other hands-free devices. As always, work safe and work smart.

Respectfully Submitted,

THOMAS D. JARNIGAN Vice President

LEO F. WALSH III Recording-Secretary

MICHAEL P. LEE BENJAMIN R. HOGAN

BRIAN A. HUNTER

Publication’s Title and number: Road Sprinkler Fitters Local Union 669 NewsLetter Issue date: SEPTEMBER 2021 Volume 50, Number 9 Statement of Frequency: PUBLISHED MONTHLY Authorized organization’s Road Sprinkler Fitters name and address: Local Union No. 669

7050 Oakland Mills Rd, Ste 200, Columbia, MD 21046

1-800-638-0997 • www.sf669.org


SEPTEMBER 2021

REPORT OF FINANCE COMMITTEE

Y Your Local Union 669 Finance Commit-tee held meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, July 7th and 8th, 2021 at the

National Office in Columbia, Maryland. Committee Members from all 4 regions were in attendance along with Secretary-Treasurer Robert J. Cooper, Jr. and Michael Warshaw from Calibre CPA Group, PLLC. Michael is an independent auditor who along with his team, audits our financial statements (everything from assets, liabilities, expenses, investments, etc.). It is Calibre CPA Group’s opinion that our financial statements “present fairly.” They are conducting the sixth month financial state-ment audit late August and once it’s finalized, it will be available online in the ‘Members’ section of the 669 website. We also reviewed Business Agent, Organizer and Officer

expense reports, looked at Industry Advance-ment funds for each District & State, and re-viewed & compared past & present budgets After the Committee’s detailed review and discussion, it was determined that there are zero signs of fraud and all business is in order. Thank you and stay safe!

Respectfully Submitted,

Thomas L. Rambo, Recording-Secretary

Darin W. Crow Randy E. Davis Ryan P. Smith

If you’re concerned about yourself or someone else, please call the Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

We’re available 24/7, and we’re free and confidential.

WE ALL CAN HELP

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NEWS FROM THE JOINT APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING COMMITTEE

CHARLES W. KETNER JATC Director

SEPTEMBER 2021

I n July, we returned to in-person training. Everyone has been very energetic with our return to the classroom. Thanks to all of

our Instructors and Apprentices for following the classroom rules so that we can remain as safe as possible and provide training. The JATC is cautiously optimistic that we will be able to continue in-person training as spikes and variants of COVID arise. Be sure to stay in close contact with your Instructor for the most

current information regarding your training lo-cation. Viking and Victaulic have recently provided training and information that are beneficial for all Members to access. These manufacturers have links/apps that are designed for use by installers. Below are the links and/or apps.

Stay safe,

SEPTEMBER 2021


Greetings from the Eastern Region. Work in the Region remains steady; if you find

yourself out of work, contact your Business Agent and remember to add your name to the out-of-work list at the National Office. You can do that by either calling 410-381-4300 or online at www.sprinklerfitters669.org.

We started to get this pandemic behind us, but with the new “delta” variant, it looks like it’s going to hang around a while longer. We are doing in-person meetings and JATC classes again. Please protect yourself and your families by doing everything you can, including wearing a mask when needed and getting vaccinated if you haven’t already. We are seeing more and more companies require vaccination by their employees as a term of employment. That will start to include our Contractors soon if it hasn’t already. The Federal Justice Department ruled that em-ployers can require vaccination of their employees as a

condition of em-ployment. If you haven’t been vac-cinated yet for whatever reason, you might want to reconsider.

With our pen-sion plan coming out of the “Red Zone” earlier this year, the Trustees have made pen-sion improvements for the Member-ship. Every current

retiree before January 1, 2021 has received an extra pen-sion check. Members who retire on January 1, 2021 and beyond, the pension accrual rate for years 2005 forward are increased from $110 to $135 per credit year. These are significant changes to our pension, and I thank and ap-plaud the Trustees for making them for us, but I also want to thank prior Trustees who made the tough decision to put us in the red zone as part of our recovery plan. Our Business Managers are the chairman of the pension plan,

and they make the hard decisions from which we are now bearing the fruit. Thank you, John Bodine, Sr., Shawn Broaderick, Brian Dunn, and all our former Business Man-agers who have overseen our pension plan. I know there are a few that feel they just missed out. Still, when we have made pension improvements in the past, we have never gone back and changed the accrual rates of those that have already retired. It is too cumbersome, too expen-sive, and would not allow for the level of improvements we just received. The Trustees also appointed a pension sub-committee to look at future improvements for pensioners.

I have been traveling around the Region attending Union Meetings. I made it to everyone in the Region this round except for District 30, 35, and 17. I’ll do my best to make sure to make it to those in the next round. The meetings in the East have been lightly attended, which is normal for our summer meetings, but you would think that since we haven’t had a Union Meeting in over a year, the Members would make sure to get to this one. Hopefully, they will come to the next round in October/November. District 10 and 41 each had over 40 Members at their meetings, being the highest attended in the Eastern Re-gion. This is YOUR Union, and we need your participa-tion to make it better. Member apathy is nothing new. We have had around 30% vote in our elections, on our con-tract, and in raise allocation in the past. I’m not sure how we get more participation. We have giveaways at the meetings with some great gifts, and recently we’ve given away guns and coolers. If you have any ideas that would help get Members to participate, please let us know. What would it take to get YOU to come to a Union Meeting?

Your Business Agents and Organizers are actively working on organizing campaigns in each District. If you are interested in how you can help, please reach out to them and see what contractor(s) they are looking for in-formation on. When you see the non-union, take a few minutes to talk to them, they are sprinklerfitters just like you and me. The only difference is they probably haven’t had the opportunity to join a Union like you and I did. Let your BA or Organizer know when you see them and where they are working if you can get that in-formation. We are all Organizers in Local 669. It is what we must do to continue to grow OUR Union and make it better. We are closing in on 14,000 Members. We hope to reach that milestone by the end of the year. But growth like that doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen without the assistance of our Member-ship. You are what makes us the greatest Union in the UA and all the building trades, and we need your con-tinued support in helping us continue to grow and make us stronger.


Timothy J. Skinner Assistant Business Manager Eastern Region Telephone 419-225-9051 Serving the states of Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,Vermont and West Virginia

REPORTS FROM THE ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGERS

“Please protect yourself and your families by doing everything you can, including wearing a mask when needed and getting vaccinated if you haven’t already.”

Greetings from the Central Region. As I sit and write this article, we have just finished our

first in-person round of Union Meetings since the pan-demic-related travel restrictions were applied. I must say that it was great to get out and spend a little time face to face with the Members and the Central Region staff. We have been very busy since the restrictions have been lifted.

Last June, we held a Central Region staff meeting in Minnesota where reports were given from every District throughout the Region. We also received updates regarding the many organizing campaigns that are happening all over the mid-west. I am happy to report that the Region has an excellent unemployment rate (less than 1%). Many large projects reported are either just beginning, in the permit stages, or on the near horizon that will carry our Member-ship through the winter and well into the next year, and in several cases, projects that will employ Fitters through the next several years. The only thing that can get in the way of this progress is material shortages and the refusal of people to get vaccinated, leading to further shutdowns and restric-tions. I would hope that anyone reading this article is intelli-gent enough not to play political games with this pandemic and are willing or has already been vaccinated. Our coun-tries wellbeing depends on this happening.

As I traveled around the Region sitting in on District Meetings, I was happy to see that we had pretty good turnouts in attendance. There was a lot of information at the meetings. We needed to catch up on so many issues ranging from the 2021 contract extension to the new pen-sion improvements and explaining how and why these re-cent changes were implemented.

Not every Member was thrilled over the pension im-provements. As some chose to retire before the improve-ments were implemented and, therefore, are ineligible for them. It’s always hard to have Members miss out on any good improvement, and this one really hurt a few. While we definitely sympathize with anyone that missed out, I hope everyone understands that any time there are changes to our pension plans, there will be people that pulled the trigger just before becoming eligible for the improvement. That is certainly nothing new as we are a progressive Organization that is always looking to the future and will always strive to make gains for our Membership. If you think about it, the guys that became terminated vested certainly weren’t happy with that turn of events. Still, it was a necessary action that contributed to our plan to recover to the green zone earlier than expected rather than later. When the pension credits

increased from $70 per credit to $110 per credit, some guys had also retired too soon to capitalize. Every Member is re-sponsible for their own decision to retire and at what point they do it. All we can do is keep the flow of information going so that, as a Member, you have the information to make the best decision possible for yourself and your family. In the end, you need to stay plugged into Union Meetings, NewsLetter articles, and your Business Agent before you make the final decision. There have been countless refer-ences made in our NewsLetter articles and at Union Meet-ings informing the Membership. We were indeed getting close to the ability to move our pension fund from the red zone to the green over the past 2 to 3 years.

I appreciate the retirees who were upset by this circum-stance coming to the meetings and voicing their opinions and grievances like gentlemen. Missing out on this improve-ment was a gut punch for sure and couldn’t have been an easy pill to swallow, but any and all that spoke up at the meetings were complete gentlemen about it, and that was good to see.

I want to mention something else that occurred at one of the meetings. I was sitting at the table before the meet-ing, reviewing the reports to be given at the meeting, when I overheard a Member discussing his recent divorce with another Member. This guy was a retiree, and I guess it caught my attention that it is fairly uncommon for a guy his age to get divorced. Without wanting to butt into his conversation, I felt compelled or obligated to make sure that he had changed his beneficiary cards so that his bene-fits would reflect the changes in who he may wish his ben-efits to be awarded to. As it happened, he had not changed his cards out, and if something would have hap-pened to him and he had passed away, his ex-wife would have inherited his pension, SIS fund, and death benefit, which is not the outcome that he would have preferred. I only mention this story to remind each of you to be sure to change out your beneficiary cards whenever you have a major change in life, as a divorce or new marriage is. Pro-tect your loved ones by paying attention to how your ben-efits are managed.

I’ll close this article with a thank you to each and every active, working Fitter out there. At our meetings, we reported a 1.5-million man-hour per month average re-porting rate throughout the pandemic, including during the shutdown period. This would not have been possible if you, the working Fitters, were not willing to go to work each day and struggle through the hassle of performing sprinkler work while wearing masks and tolerating the other countless new job safety rules as you did. You han-dled this like true professionals, and your Agents received nearly zero complaints from Contractors and from the Members. It could not have been easy. I want you to know that your National Officers, Agents, and Assistant Business Managers all appreciate the extra efforts and sacrifices that you made to keep us all going. I’m once again beyond proud to be affiliated with this great Organization made up of such great people. For a nation Local, we genuinely are a tight-knit group. Thank you all.


Robert D. Johnson Assistant Business Manager Central Region Telephone 269-660-1774 Serving the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin


I’m starting this NewsLetter after completing the first round of Union Meetings that I have been able to do in-person since November 2019. I can’t tell you how great it was to be out talking to sprinkler fitters, listen-ing to your concerns, and going over the progress that has been made since we last got together. It is exciting to see things opening back up and returning to some-thing like normal used to be.

The news at the national level gives me great concern as to how long this will last. The COVID-19 variant seems to be raging out of control in pockets across the country. Even if you’re not in a hotspot, things are ticking up, and more people are arriving at the hospitals every day. The things that turned the ini-tial COVID-19 disease around and got things back to normal are the same things necessary to prevent the variant spread. It is just that people don’t seem to be willing to do them now.

The Trustees have been able to make several improvements to our benefits. Shortly after our pension fund was declared fully funded, the Trustees made a substantial improvement of $25 a month for every year vested from 2005, moving forward if you retired January 1st, 2021, or after. If you retired before that, you received a 13-month check. They have also set up a subcommittee to look at the future basic living costs in-creases for all 669 retirees. It may take some time before we hear back on this issue, but I’m sure we all wish them the best of luck.

Even with all the craziness of the last couple of years, our Local has continued to grow and work record-breaking hours. This is something that not very many UA locals have been able to accomplish. Your hard work and professionalism play a huge part in the success we’ve seen in the last several years. We will more than likely break the 14,000 active Member account by the end of this year. Since I’ve been a Member of this Local, I believe we have more than doubled our active Members. That is an amazing accomplishment that every one of us should be very proud of.

669 has seen a lot of turnover within the ranks of Business Agents, Organizers and Committee Members in the last few years. The Western Region has seen four new Business Agents come on, two new Organizers, and one new Committeeman. It has been challenging with COVID-19 travel restrictions and differing state man-dates to get everyone together until recently. We did have our first in-person Western Region meeting in July.

Everybody was finally able to meet in-person. It’s just not the same on a video screen. We had a very success-ful meeting, and work continues to look good through-out the Western Region.

If you are laid off for any period of time, you should let your Business Agent know and get your name on the national out-of-work list. You can do that by calling 1-800-638-0997. Remember, you need to update the Na-tional Office every 10 working days to keep your name on the unemployment list. There will be travel opportu-nities, so please help us out and keep your name up-dated.

Work safe!

Greetings from the Southern Region. Our Signatory Contractors have a lot of work on the

books in most Districts across the South. Our Contrac-tors have put bids in on several very large projects in Texas, and if they are awarded these projects, we will need over 100 sprinkler fitters - which is an excellent problem. I can’t think of one project that we haven’t been able to supply manpower to. With the help of the Members and our Business Agents & Organizers work-ing together, we have been able to supply the manpower needed to get projects completed.

We were able to have the second round of Union Meetings in-person, and I have to say it was nice to see everyone that attended. I hope the 3rd round of meet-ings will also be in-person. Still, with so much uncer-tainty surrounding COVID-19 and the inevitable variants to come, things could change, especially as we move into fall/winter. Any changes or updates are al-ways posted to the 669 website. You will also receive a text if you’re signed up.

I want to go over a good practice you should get into before working for a new Contractor. As a Journeyman, you can solicit your job, which is fine, but you should al-ways talk to your Business Agent to ensure that the Contractor you’re planning to work for is currently pay-ing the Member benefits to NASI. If you have a Con-tractor wanting to pay you cash, that’s a red flag, and you need to call your BA immediately. There are no cash payments in our Agreement. If a Contractor wants to pay you in cash, more than likely, the Contractor isn’t planning on paying your benefits. There will be no record of your hours worked, so the Union can’t prove

William R. Puhalla Assistant Business Manager Southern Region Telephone 706-654-3052 Serving the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia

Darrin A. Parsons Assistant Business Manager Western Region Telephone 509-255-9355 • [email protected] Serving the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming

what you are owed to the funds. Also, by working “under the table,” you are working against the CBA and are subject to have internal Union charges filed on you. And this is just covering the problems you’ll bring on with the Union...Uncle Sam has his own punishments for you. It’s best to steer clear of these situations altogether.

The UA Convention in San Diego is going to be here very soon. I believe it will be a great Convention with no major issues as the UA requires that all atten-dees have proof of vaccination.

I do my best to keep my NewsLetter articles brief and to the point – no personal opinions, no political rhetoric, no topics outside of what’s affecting our mem-bership and the work we do but watching the numbers of new COVID cases skyrocket in most states has me concerned. COVID-19 hit our family especially hard last year (as it did many families), and I feel the need to encourage anyone “on the fence” about vaccination to shut out the hysterics and misinformation and get your information from credible sources, not social media. I nearly lost my wife the second time she was hospitalized with COVID, and our two toddlers were also severely af-fected by the virus. Knowing that almost all current cases of COVID hospitalizations and deaths have been people who haven’t been vaccinated (99.5%) should be reason enough to consider vaccination. I know there are many different opinions/fears about vaccines, and ulti-mately, it’s your choice, and I respect that choice, but please consider that many people have NO choice but to rely on herd immunity. The decision to vaccinate may save your life, that of a loved one, or that of a stranger. If that isn’t motivating enough, consider that vaccination also decreases the chances of more variants popping up and disrupting our lives in the future. Schools and businesses remain open as of August 10th, and hopefully, that continues. Stay safe and healthy, everyone. Would you mind following all CDC guidelines to protect yourself and your families? I sincerely hope to see you at the next Union Meeting!

After it was determined that the antifreeze solution

in the fire sprinkler system caused an explosion during a fire in 2009 in Truckee, California, the Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF) conducted widespread testing to measure the combustibility of antifreeze solutions in fire sprinkler systems. Findings from the FPRF testing resulted in major changes for new and existing fire sprinkler antifreeze systems.

For requirements on existing fire sprinkler systems, we refer to NFPA 25. NFPA 25-2020 Section 5.3.4 requires that a sample of the antifreeze solution be tested every year before the onset of freezing weather. Section 5.3.4 also lists the procedures for testing exist-ing antifreeze systems and specifies the conditions for when those systems can and cannot remain in service.

Additionally, NFPA 25-2020 Section 5.3.4.4.1 al-lows for unlisted antifreeze in systems installed before September 30, 2012, under the following conditions:

(1) The concentration of the antifreeze solution

shall be limited to 30 percent propylene glycol by vol-ume or 38 percent glycerine by volume.

(2) Antifreeze systems with concentrations in ex-

cess of 30 percent but not more than 40 percent propy-lene glycol by volume and 38 percent but not more than 50 percent glycerine by volume shall be permitted based upon an approved deterministic risk assessment pre-pared by a qualified person approved by the authority having jurisdiction.

Also, note that beginning September 30, 2022,

NFPA 25 will require listed antifreeze solutions to be used in all antifreeze systems.

I can be reached at [email protected].


Rita Neiderheiser Technical Advisory Tel 303-548-5554

It is August 9th at the time of this writing. Here in the northwest, we are still experiencing higher tempera-tures than normal, and hopefully, it will be cooler by the time you are reading this. Stay hydrated and look out for your co-workers! Thanks to those who attended, we had a decent turnout at our Union Meeting in Eugene last month, and congrats to Kenny Lemon for winning the Rifle!

We continue to have some success filling manpower needs with our Contractors through organizing new Members. Getting out and talking with open shop work-ers helps clear up some of the rumors that get spread out there. Most of the time, these workers are simply unin-formed about the wages and benefits, especially what the benefit side looks like and how it works.

Now that restrictions are loosening up some, we

have done more sweeps around the west, visiting job sites and talking with workers. Hopefully, the uptick of the COVID virus will not slow these efforts. These sweeps are valuable for getting contact info for the local Organizers and Business Agents and informing workers about who we are and opportunities that are out there. New and Veteran Members

Please be familiar with the NASI website and the 669 website. A lot of your questions can be answered here: www.nasifund.org and www.sprinklerfitters669.org. For new members, remember that you will have to pay your monthly dues after the three months you paid, along with the initiation fee, which can be done on the Local 669 website. If you have questions on that, please reach out to Steven Purdy or me.

Keep up the excellent work!

Ryan P. O’Malley • District 1 Organizer Western Oregon & Western Washington

Tel 971-330-3594


REPORTS FROM OUR ORGANIZERS

WA

OR

David Bax, Spencer Burnett, Keith Ligatich, Alex Vasquez, Tyler Staudamire, Doug Grugett, and Brennon Quinones were working for the Western States in Portland, OR.

Work across District 3 continues to stay steady, with several local Contractors anticipating growth over the next year and the potential of outside contractors look-ing to set up shop here and capitalize off the growing economy in the southwest. We have had several sweeps of our area since travel restrictions began lifting and continue to get support from 669 Reps across the coun-try to help find non-union workers ready to make the change, give the Union a go, and help provide qualified workers to our Signatory Contractors.

Not all workers are as skilled or mechanically in-clined as others, and finding good help is getting in-creasingly hard. We usually recommend to organized Members to sacrifice about half their work experience to be better trained and have less pressure out the gate to perform at a high level. Often that puts them in an ap-prenticeship classification level too low for them to pay their bills. Even though they may get insurance and re-tirement benefits that they didn’t have before, their cost of living remains the same. Often, workers with families can’t afford to take the necessary steps back to succeed in the Union.

It’s not uncommon to find a non-union fitter with 2 to 3 years of experience in a truck running work and paid anywhere from $20.00 to over $30.00 per hour. Some of these workers already have CSA Certification and NICET Certifications. It isn’t easy to get these workers to come over as they are often paid better than most of their coworkers and feel like an integral part of the company they work for. When we get them to come over to the Union, it’s important that we realize that these workers did not have the same training, and some things they do are different from our Union practices.

As Coworkers and Members, we need to make sure we are helping and training these Fitters and Apprentices to work the way we do and not shame them for coming from different backgrounds and practices.

When workers decide to make a change and join a Union Contractor, they often join because of our con-tract. They are often tired of fighting with their boss over overtime hours they worked and providing their own PPE, personal tools, and personal vehicles for con-tractor use, often without compensation. They come to the Union looking for a change. As Members, we need to look out for organized hands and help ensure they are being treated fairly and have the proper tools and sup-port to succeed. The other option for these Fitters is to go back to the non-union, often with a negative opinion of the Union. Instead of helping us grow and take on more work, they will compete against us and have a neg-ative attitude towards the Union, keeping others away.

With the construction going strong all over the country, we don’t have the ability to bring in travelers like before, and there are still too few Reps to make a big enough difference even with all the sweeps and or-ganizing drives. We need our Membership more than ever to reach out to friends, family, and former cowork-ers working in the non-union sector, introduce them to the Union and help bring them over. I think the future will strongly favor those Contractors that can consis-tently find and keep their workers. Our Union Contrac-tors provide the best wages and benefits out there, and if we are going to take advantage of our growing market, it is going to require all of us to do our part and continue to be reaching out to unrepresented Sprinkler Fitters.

Stay safe, stay hydrated, and I’ll see everyone at the next Union Meeting.


Nathan R. Green Western Region Organizer Tel 623-412-2347

AZ NM

RESEARCH THE ISSUES Know the facts, the candidates stance, record and make sure to

VOTE Nov. 2nd


Chase M. Siegele District 4 Organizer Colorado & Wyoming

Tel 303-981-1065

WY

CO

Build, build, build. Everywhere in this District, from

Colorado Springs to Jackson, WY, there is work. And lots of it. Talking with other Organizers around the country, it sounds the same everywhere—everything from big jobs to small gas stations to apartments and townhomes. Nowadays, there are fire sprinklers in most of these buildings. In my estimation, in this District, we, as 669 Union Members probably do 50-60% of the work. This is a good portion of the market share, but obviously can be improved. How can you, as a Member help im-prove this in the field? I don’t know if there is a single correct answer. It can be many things at once. There are obviously wrong answers, but I know you all know what those are.

Some small details that might help are helping with new and organized Members that you are working with. Especially the organized guys. They don’t typically know the ins and outs of what it means to be a Union Member in 669 or know what they need to do to do their part. As Organizers, we try to give them as much information as possible, but it is a lot to start out with. Having some-one on the job they are working with every day to help teach them the dos and don’ts is a huge advantage. Pro-motes the Brother/Sisterhood and makes them want to continue to be a 669 Member. In lots of cases, it makes them want to reach out to their old coworkers and tell them to make the jump too. This goes from everything to what the CBA is and what it means to go to Union Meetings and to on-the-job training of putting in sprin-klers. This is YOUR Local; we all need to do our part to improve it and continue to let it grow.

I have had a few Fitters express interest in attending a COMET class, hoping to put on one here in the Dis-trict soon, but we need to have a good chunk of people interested in attending before that can happen. If you

are interested, please reach out, and we can get one set up.

I’ll see you guys out and about on job sites. Stay safe and always ORGANIZE!

District 4 Member Luigi Griego at the Golden Gloves, 201 lbs weight class. Brother Griego made it to the National Tournament in Tulsa, OK.

Stay ahead on your lessons

Start Today!

Remember to submit and complete your 12 lessons on line through the Washetenaw Community College Testing Website.


Chris Zamora Southern Region Organizer Tel 817-789-8211 Email: [email protected]

Greetings Brothers and Sisters,

First and foremost, I would like to thank those who have continued to work through this pandemic. I know many of us have risked hours working through these conditions, and many of us followed the rules and guide-lines we were instructed. Not only did it make it harder for us and our job but our family and friends. We all work to make a living and sacrifice every time we put our boots on, so to all those men and women, I want to thank you for your service in Local Union 669.

Hopefully, everyone had a great Independence Day weekend and stayed safe. We had a great turnout at our first District 5 Union Meeting this year with over 47 in attendance. Would you please help spread the word as many of us may not receive our notifications about our meetings on time or may not think it’s important to at-tend? There are many discussions and topics that we would love to hear your input and opinions and if there are any areas of improvement that can be worked on to strengthen our Union. We would also like to hear any feedback from our Members. Again, please help remind those who forget or please help emphasize that it is im-portant to attend. This year, as a friendly reminder, we will be having our picnic on October 2nd at Shiloh on the lake at 14638 Travis Parkway, Caney City, TX 75148.

As an Organizer, I have learned a lot over the past eight months about our Union. What non-union work-ers are told and how they are misled. I have spoken with many non-union hands and informed them of the cor-rect information. Thankfully, most have been open to meet and speak with me further. I have traveled with the Southwest Pipe Trades to learn more about organiz-ing and the different tactics used in different scenarios. I’ve also traveled with our Officers and learned a great deal from them as well. There is much to learn, and there is much to take in, but the process has been great with amazing peers leading the way. We have the 669 seminar, Nasi seminar, and our Organizer seminar in up-coming months, so there will be a lot of information that we we’ll have and that we will be able to share with our Members.

District 5 has continued to be steady, with the out-of-work list still being less than 10. With that being said, companies are steady enough for our Members but not for organized new hires trying to get in the Union. I have a couple of great hands that will be assets to our

Local and our District. As work picks back up, we will begin the process to get them in as quickly as possible. Always try to remember that these ladies and gentlemen who come into the Union may not know how the Union works. Would you please help us make the transi-tion smoother by helping them or providing the infor-mation on who or how to contact the right personnel? If any Member knows anyone in the non-union side and has a slight idea that they might be interested, don’t hesitate to call me and give me their information or vice versa. Even if they don’t come into the Union, they at least have our info for the future, or they might have had some questions that could be answered. Positive things can come out from just one business card.

Hope to see you all at the picnic!!!!! AS ALWAYS, STAY SAFE AND UNION STRONG!!

PRIDE!


Brothers Andre Amir and Claude Ladnor, winners of the 669 cooler.

Tracy L. Owens District 7 Organizer Alabama & Mississippi Tel 205-625-6693

MS AL

As we begin to head into the fall of the year, work

within the District is wide open. There aren’t any Mem-bers on the out-of-work list, which is always a good thing. Everyone seems to be staying as busy as they want. All the Contractors within the District are bid-ding and securing a lot of new work to keep busy well into the year’s spring. We have had several Contractors from other areas performing work in the District. We need to be doing these Contractors a good job so that they will continue to bid work for us all to work on. By any chance anyone was to get off work, please remember to give Brother Beckham a call. I believe he can proba-bly get you right back out with a new Contractor. A few weeks back, I know we had a Member out of work for a couple of days and was back working the following week. Please remember to keep a check on your Union dues and your Brothers & Sisters working next to you. These have been trying times lately, and it’s so easy to forget that you need to send a years’ worth of dues in, so try and keep an eye on them.

We have just finished our Union Meetings up within District 7, and it was great to get to see so many of you at the meeting we had in Huntsville, Alabama. We had several new faces in the room, and Brother John Schmuck won the Grizzly 669 cooler given away. At the meeting we had in Hammond, Louisiana, we had a pretty good turnout. Brother Andre Mir won the 669 cooler and turned around and gave it to Brother Claude Ladner, congratulations Brothers. We all had a wonder-ful time at the meetings and are hopeful that we get to continue having get-togethers in the future.

We have our annual picnic in North Alabama com-ing up and are looking forward to a good turnout this year since we had to cancel this outing last year. As most of yawl know, Amazon has a warehouse in Besse-mer, Alabama and the workers there have been trying to unionize this facility with a lot of backlash coming from Amazon. The retail, wholesale, and department store union has filed several objections to the recent election. After a hearing with the National Labor Relations Board, it would appear that they will have another shot at unionizing.

We have been taking some key people from the open shop contractors in our area and putting them to work with our Signatory Contractors. We have had a couple of guys looking to get back into the Local that a representative asked a Contractor within our District to drop out of the Local. Hey guys, think about this before letting someone talk you out of building your retirement for you and your family. In the past, we have had several guys go into the office at different contractors. They took jobs in the office while being Union Members, so don’t be intimidated by office staff to get out of the Local Union. Hope to see you all real soon. Take care, if you need anything, give us a call.

If you are unemployed

please call the

Local 669 Employment line. 1-800-638-0997


669 Breakfast in Horn Lake, Mississippi.

Brothers working for IFP in Florence, Alabama.

Winner of the cooler drawing.


Jonathan “Jon” Reynolds District 8 Organizer Georgia & South Carolina Tel 850-377-8642 Email [email protected]

GA

SC

Greetings 669 Members!

At the time of this writing, it is the beginning of

August, and we just had our first in-person Union Meet-ing in a long time in Atlanta, Georgia. I want to thank all the Members that were able to make it. It was nice seeing everyone in-person again. Congratulations to the winner of the drawing for the cooler. We had a very in-formative meeting, and everyone was very involved with plenty of great questions.

As for the organizing front, we have been very busy trying to meet the manpower needs of our Contractors in every corner of our District.

Lately, we have had specific needs for local service type work for a couple of different locations. We have a current need for an additional four foremen in Columbia for some local work there. For that call-out, I will be fo-cusing on our non-union competitors from that same area—one being a fairly large outfit that I have had an ongoing campaign with. We have been very successful with this campaign in the past, especially out of their other locations in Atlanta, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina. In Columbia, where their headquarters is based, they have pushed back hard. They have in-creased their rate of pay substantially. They have added a new insurance plan for their employees that was never available before. They now offer a 401k program, and they even give out sign-on bonuses along with moving

reimbursements if you will relocate. All of these things they are trying to do to maintain the workforce they al-ready have increased their cost of doing business sub-stantially and has helped to level the playing field so our Contractors can secure more work.

This has not gone unnoticed by the company or its employees. Many have thanked me and said they know they only got raises because of the Union. As far as the company, they were not thankful and are upset they can no longer take advantage of their employees. They have had a pact with the other non-union companies to keep benefits and wages down, and now the newest pact is to keep the Union out. They have agreed not to hire any-one Union-affiliated or caught talking with a Union Or-ganizer.

This is in no way an ideal campaign. The main com-pany is massive and has very deep pockets, but you can’t always choose your targets. Sometimes they choose you, and this was one we could not ignore. We are gaining ground, and I feel we will continue to. So, I will be fo-cusing on stripping more of their manpower in the fu-ture to man the jobs that we were also able to get from them.

All of this goes back to market share. Market share is extremely important to us as Union Members and af-fects us in many ways. When we increase our market share, we increase our power to influence our industry. Our market share growth is what brought about the change in working conditions. The increase in our mar-

District 8 Union Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.


James “Jimmy” Merriman Southern Region Organizer Tel 423-710-6406

Hello, fellow 669 Brothers and Sisters from the South.

It seems that we are all not out of the woods yet

when it comes to the pandemic. They say the number of cases is rising once again. At the time of this writing, the southeast is still one of the lowest vaccinated areas in the country because people are skeptical about get-ting a shot or two. I personally know people who were skeptical and ended up getting COVID, resulting in being in the hospital for weeks and having other com-plications from it. So please, get the vaccine & let’s try to end this craziness!

Work throughout the south continues to be boom-ing, and manpower needs for Contractors have been

non-stop. I’m attempting to be everywhere I can and talking with unrepresented workers every single day. Even if the guys I talk to don’t see the benefits of our Union right away, I’ve noticed that in some cases, they contact me later after giving it more thought and end up joining our ranks. Believe it or not, positive word spreads fast among non-union workers just from an in-formative conversation. I sincerely thank those who have passed along the info to the workers who have contacted me.

The District 9 picnic in Lenoir City, TN was a suc-cess. It was good to catch up with those I haven’t seen in a long time and meet new folks. Everyone left with either a raffle prize or a full stomach and good memories. Thank you to all who were able to make it!

ket is what caused them to increase their pay and add a 401k. As we continue to grow our market share, we will continue to keep changing our industry for the better.

We have one new Contractor coming into District 8 very soon and may have another coming right after. We have a meeting set up next month for a contractor com-ing to Myrtle Beach and another meeting with a con-

tractor in Charleston that wants to sit down and go over the benefits of being a signatory contractor. I will report more in my following NewsLetter as things progress.

Thanks for taking the time to read my NewsLetter, and please stay safe. I hope to see you at the next Union Meeting. As always, if anyone needs me for anything, please don’t hesitate to call.

Members being officially sworn in by Vice President Tomas Jarnigan at the Charlotte Union Meeting.



As I write this NewsLetter, we are fast approaching

the end of the summer season. We just wrapped up our second round in-person Union Meetings. It was great to finally get to see everyone again after such a long time. We had a pretty good turnout at some of the meetings but not the turnout I expected after such a long time of not having one. I hope to see you and your Apprentice at the next round of meetings.

Work in the area seems to be steady with our Con-tractors, and they seem to have a good backlog going into the end of the year. If you find yourself out of work, make sure you have your name updated on the unemployment list so when a Contractor has a call for manpower, you don’t miss that call. With work being so good right now, the non-union companies are also busy and are having a real hard time finding help. I have spoken with numerous

men on these job sites and they don’t have the manpower to keep up with the pace of the job. I was informed that the GC on some projects has called in other companies to help these guys get caught up. Bob Fique and I went on these job sites and spoke with the Superintendent with hope our Contractors will get a chance to pick up some of this work. They were very open to talking with us, and they wanted a list of our local Contractors. I hope this will help us get some of this work from these General Con-tractors that typically use the same open shop companies.

If you come across any non-union jobs in your travels or know of any non-union fitters looking to have Union representation, please don’t hesitate to call me or text me. All your help is much appreciated.

In conclusion, I want to wish all my Union Brothers and Sisters a Happy Labor Day. I hope everyone has a great holiday. Stay safe, and keep up the great work.

God Bless America!

Daniel Reynolds Eastern Region Organizer Tel (302) 463-0093 Email: [email protected]

MDNJ

PA

We also had a good turnout for our 1st Union Meet-ing in over a year in Charlotte, NC. Participation was good during the meeting, with most everyone pitching in with ideas and conversations about how to advance our Local and make it better. It was very much appreci-ated. COMET classes are in the future, and I will keep posted on when we can have one and where.

It’s the “dog days” of summer right now, and as you know, the heat, along with the extreme humidity, is at dangerous levels outside. Please stay safe out there on the job site; drink enough water, and watch out for those around you.

UNITED WE BARGAIN

DIVIDED WE BEG

Brother George DeWees receiving his 30-year UA Continuous Service

Award from Vice President Tom Jarnigan.

REMINDER Keep your dues current

3 Months + 1 Day = $50 Reinstatement Fee + Dues

OUR DUES ARE THE FUEL FOR THE UNION ENGINE

6 Months + 1 Day = $200 Reinitiation Fee + Dues


Greetings 669 Members!

It was great to see everyone at the July District 12 & 13

Union Meetings! Thanks to all who attended for making that effort to keep current on the news from Local 669. Dur-ing the July Union Meetings, my Organizer’s report covered updates on the NLRB hearing pertaining to Johnston Fire Services (JFS). The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) gave us a favorable decision! JFS discriminatorily discharged two employees/Union supporters. The judge ruled that they must reinstate one of the employees and backpay both workers. One of the worker’s backpay begins September 18, 2021. The clock is still running until JFS pays the employees or an appeal is filed. JFS must also cease and desist from discharg-ing or otherwise discriminating against any employee for supporting the Union. They were given rules they must fol-low going forward.

1. Do not harass employees by saying that they are disloyal or bring harm to employees that support the Union.

2. Stop threatening employees about Union support or Union activities.

3. Refrain from making promises of increased bene fits relating to terms and conditions of employment during a Union organizing campaign.

4. No physical acts of violence against employees or their property because they are engaged in union picketing, or other Union activities will be tolerated.

5. Do not lay off, discharge, refuse to hire, or reinstate employees because they engage in Union activities.

This ruling addressed everything we were fighting for!

The campaign started in December 2019, and we are still plugging away at it. Jeremy McDaniel worked tirelessly spearheading this organizing drive and did an excellent job! We had several other 669 Members who helped in various ways and other Organizers from the Kentucky Pipe Trades Association who helped us on the picket line. Thanks to each of you for your help!

We had an organizing blitz in Louisville, Lexington, Elizabethtown, Northern Kentucky, and Southern Indiana the first week of June. We visited approximately 100 job sites, spoke with 89 workers, and visited 17 non-union con-tractor’s offices. We had Organizers, Business Agents, Busi-ness Managers, UA International Reps, and a Training Coordinator to assist us. They were from Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. We spoke to un-represented sprinkler fitters from Kelley Fire Protection, LeGrand Fire, Koorsen, and Ranger Fire. It was nice to also run into several of our 669 Members on some job sites. If you know of any jobs where unrepresented workers perform UA work, please talk to them. Let them know how good the Union has been for you. Tell them about your wages and the benefits you receive. Then, please let me know what job site they are on or where you ran into them.

Todd L. Johnson District 12 Organizer Kentucky Tel 270-926-7580

KY

Andrew L. Meyers Indiana Organizer Tel 317-678-6327IN

EDITOR’S NOTE: Please look for Andrew Meyers’ articles to

return in future editions of the NewsLetter.

Be Great

Give 8 for 8


Ray Scharrer Ohio Organizer Tel 330-472-4151OH


As I am writing this, it is almost August. It seems as if

summer just started. We have begun in-person Union Meet-ings, and it is good to see everyone. I have been traveling around the state, and it looks like for the most part, masks are no longer the “trend.” It feels good to get back to nor-mal, and hopefully, this continues throughout the summer and into the future.

We have been organizing a campaign in and around Pittsburgh, PA with a non-union shop that runs around 35 sprinkler fitters. The majority of these workers are in support of being Union Members and working as Union Members at the same company. We have been meeting cordially with their management in hopes of agreeing to a contract and signing them. The company has a lot of work and needs manpower which means another home and more piles of pipe for our Members. We have continued negotiations with RWJ Corp, reaching a tentative agreement that was agreed upon with our Members working for RWJ. I have been talk-

ing to workers from two different companies in Northern Ohio with hopes of bringing the Union to these workers and their workplaces in the future. I met with workers on a job by Marietta, whose company is out of Columbus, OH and discussed the benefits of our Local to the workers and their company. This company is new to sprinkler install, mostly dealing with security and alarm systems in the past. The en-tire sprinkler division is supportive of bringing the Union to their company. This will help the workers with the knowl-edge and training of our craft, it will help the owner become more profitable down the road with a skilled workforce, and it will give our Members another company to generate work from in this area.

As we continue with our Union Meetings throughout the upcoming months, I hope to see everyone there. During these hot months, remember to stay hydrated. If anyone has any information about non-union jobs in the area, please call. I hope to see everyone here soon at the remaining Union Meetings coming up. Stay safe on and off the job site, and remember, as Union Members, we are all Organizers!


Nicholas Magnus Michigan Organizer Tel 810-923-0247

MI

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

I hope everyone is healthy and doing well. Since my last

NewsLetter, things have been going well in Michigan. We have organized a few new Members to help with a few man-power needs within the District. I am continuing daily to hit job sites and talk with workers all around the state. In the last couple of months, my main focus has been covering the West side of Michigan from Lansing over to the greater Grand Rapids area. My main focus has been on De Lau Fire out of Lansing and then Total and Brigade out of Grand Rapids. I have spoken with many of the workers at these shops, and there is definitely some interest. Most of the workers I speak with are not anti-Union at all but like working close to home, and there is a lot of work in West Michigan. I am pushing the workers I speak with to stand up for themselves and organize the contractor they currently work for. Signing just one new contactor would be a massive boost in our market share in West Michigan. I know for a fact the workers there would love

our wages and benefits. We just finished up our first round of in-person Union

Meetings since the pandemic, and man, it was great to see everyone again. Thanks to all the Members who attended. As Organizer, I try not to stop on Union jobs if I know we already have it, so I look forward to meetings and functions where I get to spend time with everyone.

I have also helped on a couple organizing blitzes since my last NewsLetter. I spent a week in Northern Indiana helping the Indiana State Pipe Trades, hitting jobs from Fort Wayne up to South Bend. I also spent a week helping out in and around Indianapolis. Both of these weeks were successful as we talked to and educated workers about the benefits of work-ing for a signatory contractor.

In closing, I want to say keep up the good work and stay safe. And again, thanks to the Members who reach out to me when they see non-union activity. I appreciate all the extra info I can get. I hope everyone has a great month in September and looking forward to seeing everyone at the next round of meetings!!

Greetings Brothers and Sisters: We have just completed the first in-person Union

Meetings in Districts 18 and 35 in well over a year. While it was great to see those who attended, less than 10 per-cent of our Membership in each District took the time to participate in the meetings. Apprentices accounted for less than one percent of the total number in attendance. Participation is extremely important in having a strong, viable Union. Please don’t sit on the sidelines and be a spectator while others make the decisions that affect you and our Union. Take the time to attend meetings and be an active participant in your Union. Only those who par-ticipate will have a voice to determine where we are headed and how we will get there.

In my previous article, I reported that I was helping in negotiations with RWJ Corporation in District 14. I am happy to report that we were able to reach an agree-ment with RWJ Corporation. The agreement provides

substantial wage and Supplemental Pension increases while providing protective language covering future in-creases to the Metal Trades Welfare and Pension Funds. Just as important, we were able to negotiate language into the agreement stating that Union Members will perform visual inspections. We are incorporating the changes into the agreement and hope to have a copy of the agreement in the hands of our Members working for RWJ shortly.

Eastern Region Organizer Dan Reynolds and I have been collecting information on two contractors in District 35. We have been visiting their job sites and talking to their employees during work hours while making house calls and meeting with some of their employees at night. We plan to continue visiting their job sites, talking and meeting with their employees, generating interest in the Local among their work forces, and seeing where it takes us. I will let you know how we make out.

Once again, I would like to thank our Membership for electing me as a Delegate to the 40th UA General Con-vention and giving me the opportunity to participate in

Robert C. Fique Districts 18 & 35 Organizer Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia Tel 410-371-7422 • Email: [email protected]


Greetings from the Western Region

It is the beginning of August as I begin to write this

NewsLetter. Washington state and other parts of the country have been hit with record breaking high temperatures, which has caused some problems throughout the western region. Wildfires are raging, salmon are dying, and drought conditions have begun. Hopefully, all of you made it through the in-clement weather without incident.

On July 26th, we had our first Union Meeting since the COVID pandemic had begun. It has been over a year or more since we have been able to have in-person meetings safely. This was my first meeting as a new Organizer, and I met some of the people there for the first time. That being said, some of the other Members there I have not seen in a long time. It was good to get together with District 21 Brothers. I especially enjoy getting together with the retirees. They have a wealth of Union knowledge and experience in the trade that cannot be surpassed by younger Members in the room. I guess that’s where that saying comes from (respect your elders). I would like to personally thank each and every one of them for taking the time out of retired life to join us. Your input and atten-dance at these meetings are greatly valued.

Congratulations to Daniel Cardenas (Apprentice for cas-cade Fire Protection) for winning the 270-caliber rifle donated by the Union Sportsman Alliance. Daniel plans on taking the hunters education course and begin hunting this year. I would also like to congratulate the five new Members that took the UA oath led by Business Manager Brian Dunn. It is always lovely to see District 21 growing by gaining new Members. Other congratulations are in order to David Ogren for receiv-ing his 30-year UA Continuous Service Award. I know that one day, David will also be one of the valuable retirees at the Union Meeting in the near future.

The workload across the western region remains strong, with many of our Signatory Contractors still looking for man-power. At the current moment, there is no one in District 21 on the out-of-work list. The UA and Local 669 have been stepping up their organizing efforts across the western region. I recently returned from Phoenix, AZ (District 3) on an or-ganizing blitz to find manpower for some upcoming jobs in District 3. A similar blitz took place in Sacramento, CA (Dis-trict 2), and another will take place in Montana the second week in August. The continuing need for manpower and the

desire to grow our market share is the purpose of this ongoing and upcoming organizing blitz.

During the Union Meeting, I passed out some wage cards for every Member to carry in their wallet should the opportu-nity present itself to pass out to the non-union. I also made the statement that everyone in the room is an Organizer, just like me. Don’t ever miss the opportunity to change someone’s life for the better. At the beginning of my career, I spent the first 13 years non-union before I was rescued from the intimi-dation and manipulation of an un-organized non-union career. I cannot thank Organizer Mitch Smith and Business Agent Rick Tolland enough for setting me on the path to success. So, pass those wage cards out every chance you get. Remember, divided we beg, but united we bargain.

Until next time, stay safe, stay strong, and stay Union.

Mark A. Avey Western Region Organizer Tel 509-668-3015 Email: [email protected]

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this historic event. If you come across any non-union sprinkler jobs in

your travels or know of any non-union sprinkler fitters that are interested in our Union or unhappy with their

employer, please take the time to call me or send me a text. Your help is invaluable and most appreciated.

Please work safe, and I hope to see you and your ap-prentice at our next union meeting.

E V E R Y D A Y B E

PROUD!

NEWSLETTER • SEPTEMBER 2021

David Ogren received his 30-year UA Continuous Service Award, given to him by Business Agent Greg Watts.

Apprentice Daniel Cardenas filling out paperwork with Business Manager Brian Dunn after winning the gun raffle at District 21 Union Meeting.

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New Members taking the oath led by Business Manager Brian Dunn. Left to right: Mike Loye, Vitaliy Busev, Donald Baze, Bailey West, and Kasey Olson.


John M. Cataline Southern Region Organizer Tel 405-590-1112


As I start my NewsLetter, I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy.

We have started in-person Union Meetings again. Our first one was in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. It was good to see our Membership getting back together again. Thanks for the excellent turnout.

During this period of COVID, us Organizers have been getting additional training from the UA on salting, taking companies to an election, ULPs (Unfair Labor Practices), how to set up a picket, and hand billing.

I continue to hit sites in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Arkansas, we have run into a company out of Louisiana, Mid-South Fire Solutions. We have talked with their work-ers. Telling them about the benefits of being a Member of the Local: pay, insurance for the whole family, and the pen-sion. We continue to talk with them. Another company I have talked with is Norred Fire Systems. They are also out of Louisiana. I found this open shop looking for guys on Face-book. They were looking to put guys to work in Arkansas. I have called the owner (Clayton Norred) and talked with him about becoming a contractor of 669. Our talk went very well. He has asked for additional information on our Union. I have put together a proposal of the things our Union has to offer and sent it to him. I will follow up with a meeting with him in the future. I have been talking with guys from VSC also. These guys have taken my information. I am talking with a couple of them now.

Oklahoma, I continue to hit sites and talk with guys. I have been talking with guys from Firetrol, Frazier Fire, Sun-belt Fire. I have also run into a company by the name of Poole Fire Protection out of Kansas. This guy was in town to look at work. He has worked in the trade for ten years and making $20.00 an hour. I went over our trifold with him. He said he was very interested and would get back to me. I have talked with Gen-2 Fire Protection (owner Bryan Drinnon). I reached out to the owner about supplying manpower. He asked about getting some information on the Union. I have sent him information on what we have to offer as a Contrac-tor for Local 669. In addition, I have sent him information on a one job agreement. Sunbelt Fire Protection (owner Tom Wright). They got a job in downtown Oklahoma. I have talked with two guys on this job site. Both took my in-formation. I reached out to the owner before and we talked over the phone. He asked if I would not talk with his guys due to how hard it is to get guys. At this point, I told him I was more than happy to clear my schedule to have a meeting about supplying him with manpower. He said he was not in-terested and hung up. If you guys run into this company on the road. Would you please talk with these guys about our Union and the benefits?

I continue to check building permits in both areas and add them to my Google maps. I use these permits to keep up with the building that’s going on in both areas.

In closing, thanks to you guys that have called me with information on job sites and guys you run into from the non-union. Watch out for each other. Be safe out there.

Please get vaccinated so we can all get through this together

The COVID-19 Vaccination: As essential as you are!

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Brothers and Sisters:

By the time you are reading this NewsLetter, sum-

mer will be winding down. I hope everybody had a great Labor Day Holiday. The weather should still be excel-lent in most places but will start to cool down soon. Re-cently it was nice to attend and be a part of 3 Union Meetings in-person. Hopefully, it stays that way. When we have these meetings, you should all come all the time. If you are going, bring a Brother or Sister with you!! We should push and encourage each other to be active and involved in Union functions. We all reap the benefits of the Union, so we should all participate as well. Thank you to everybody that showed up at the meetings!! It is appreciated. Just remember, we are STRONGER in numbers!! As for the apprenticeship classes, they are back in-person as well. The majority of the Apprentices I have talked to are happy to be back in-person and would rather it in-person than online. If you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, you can still utilize the O.I.L.S. classes to earn credit for the program. I’ve at-tended an apprentice class in both Districts 22 and 25. The turnouts were good but can always be better. Ap-prentices, do your LESSONS!!! There were several delinquent Apprentices in both Districts. If any of you need help with anything pertaining to your schooling, get a hold of your Instructor, Business Agent, or myself.

We are all willing to help; reach out to us. As far as organizing goes: In District 22, our Con-

tractors have been in need of Apprentices. We have or-ganized several Apprentices here. We are constantly meeting these unrepresented workers and developing re-lationships with them. This is both journeymen and ap-prentices. We will continue to do this everywhere!! District 22 work is busy for the most part, and the em-ployment outlook is good as well. In District 25, some of our Contractors are in between work. The need for addi-tional manpower is not there right now. There is some chatter about some bigger projects starting up here. Hopefully, this is accurate. We still hit job sites and make contact with these non-union workers. The major-ity are receptive to the Union and what we are doing. One of the biggest keys to Union market share is OR-GANIZING!! The more we have, the stronger we are!! We can all communicate and help organize these work-ers. If you see them, talk to them. Education is key with them. Some of them are misinformed or lied to about the Union. They will appreciate this in the long run.

A lot of the District 25 Members have asked about a golf tournament and a family picnic. We would really enjoy having both. As I write this, the guidelines for COVID are changing, so as long as what we are doing falls in the guidelines, we should be good. If any of this changes, we will go in the direction that 669 tells us to go. I’ve reached out to a few Members who have offered

Christopher “Grizz” Grizzle Western Region Organizer Tel 702-803-0198 Email: [email protected]

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Apprentices getting sworn in by Business Manager Brian Dunn.



Work in the Central Region remains to be growing at an alarming rate, with projects currently projecting to break ground much earlier than anticipated. With the bench empty and the workload full, I believe we are headed in a great direction. After the South Dakota blitz, we have learned that several of these companies are running low on workloads. Several sprinkler fitters have been working in other trades within their compa-nies to keep them busy. There will be several organized guys coming on board from the Sioux Falls area. So, please keep in mind that as Members, we need to be sure that we are communicating with new hires and organ-ized workers alike and make sure they know what it will take to be successful as a worker and as a Member of this Union. We cannot afford to lose potentially good work-ers due to a lack of training them. I understand and can relate that we like those next to us to be as skilled and well trained as ourselves, but we cannot train fitters as fast as our Contractors need them. We must find help outside the Union, and you know as well as I that some fitters are better than others. If we are to continue to grow and keep pace with the construction market’s growth, we must organize. I am grateful to be part of this Organization and have access to the resources offered whenever needed.

A plan of action has also been taken to prevent non-union companies from growing any larger and in-vading any more territories than they already have. I have learned that they do not have the manpower to fill the demand necessary for their current workload. The employees are disgruntled and highly exhausted from being overworked and underpaid. This is an opportunity for us to apply pressure and create a change of large magnitude. I have acquired information that said the company is currently hemorrhaging money and has caused three floods in the last nine months with their biggest contracts. Their crews are extremely uneducated and undertrained to say the least. Moving towards a

brighter future, I would love to see another Union con-tractor in that area. Once again, let’s keep an open mind to any of these individuals who may come abroad.

I look forward to seeing all of you in-person, moving forward, at our Union Meetings and hopefully, more outings. I will gladly disclose the name of said company as soon as our operation with them is complete.

In your travels, please continue to look for non-union projects and workers. Your calls, emails, and texts have played a huge role in helping our Union grow. It is my sincere hope that you and your family remain safe and healthy during these trying times.

Kyle M. Cihal Central Region Organizer Tel 402-979-3748 Email: [email protected]

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to help plan and set these up. More info will come as we get it. If anybody is interested in helping, reach out to Business Agent Ron Kincheloe or me. Thank you in ad-vance, and we look forward to seeing everybody.

In closing, we hope everybody stays safe and healthy out there. We all need to look out for our families and our Brothers and Sisters. This is the most important

thing by far!! If you aren’t working, make sure to get your name on the unemployment list. Call your Business Agent or me. We will always try to help you find work. As a 669 Member, you can and do solicit your own work. Again, if any of you need anything, give us a call.

Stay ahead on your lessons

Start Today!

Remember to submit and complete your 12 lessons on line through the Washetenaw Community College Testing Website.


Tony Leal • Southern Region Organizer Telephone 713-702-0091 Española 844-669-6694

Email [email protected]

Greetings from the Southern Region,

Greetings to all in the state of Texas. At the time of

this writing, COVID cases are surging at an astonishing rate. Recently, things were looking pretty good, but now things have changed. In Texas, there were almost 90% more cases in the first week of August than in the last week. Hospitalizations are also increasing. A big reason for so many new cases and hospitalizations is new vari-ants of Coronavirus, like DELTA, that are easier to transmit. Another factor is the number of unvaccinated people. Would you please follow CDC guidelines to pro-tect yourself, your family, and others?

On the Organizing front, I continue to talk to un-represented workers throughout the state of Texas. As I write this NewsLetter, we are scheduled to hold a mini blitz in Austin, Texas. We will have about 10 Local 669 representatives visiting job sites throughout Austin and surrounding areas. They will help us gather the names and contact information of potential new members. During this blitz that we will have in the Austin area, we should cover a lot of ground to hand out literature on the benefits of being a Member of Local 669. This will help add information to our database that will help us supply manpower to our Signatory Contractors. There is a lot of construction going on in Texas and mainly in Austin and San Antonio.

Any information you can give me when you see a job site that the non-union is doing would be greatly appreciated. If you can talk to the non-union sprinkler

fitters on these projects, let them see your pay stub, tell them about your SIS pension, or how your whole family is insured and it doesn’t come out of your check. Try to get their contact information and give them my contact info also. Thank you for calling me about any non-sig-natory contractors which you see. Would you please continue to do this? Your eyes and ears are some of the most important tools we have in labor’s toolbox.

I recently attended the Union Meeting in District 5 and District 26. I want to say thank you to all of you that attended. We had nearly 50 Members show up at each of the meetings. This was a very good turnout. We gave out Union promotional items and raffled off a Grizzly Cooler at each of the meetings. There were some important issues discussed, and many questions that our Members had that were answered.

Stay safe, work hard and remember to attend your next Union Meeting. Changes are coming. Be involved and help make it be a better Local.

P.S. Local Union 669 Texas State-Wide Picnic

District 5 & 26 Save the Date: Saturday, October 2, 2021 From 11 AM to 6 PM Location: SHILOH ON THE LAKE

14638 TRAVIS PKWY CANEY CITY, TEXAS 75148

EVENT HELD IN AIR-CONDITIONED PAVILLION**

We encourage anyone who has a drug or alcohol problem or is having trouble coping with a potential problem to utilize the HOT‑LINE number listed here. If you need help, please call. SUBSTANCE ABUSE HOT-LINE

866-602-0669

If you think you have a problem with drugs or alcohol, call:

We will try to help. All calls are strictly confidential.


Samuel W. Kissinger District 27 Organizer Central California Tel 559-846-5600

CA

By the time you get this, it will be September, and the

weather should start cooling off a bit. Work has been hold-ing up well and should continue to do so. Not sure where we will be with this virus. Positive cases seem to be on the rise again.

Organizing sweeps are going strong, I helped with one in Phoenix a couple of weeks ago, and I am leaving for Mon-tana next week for another one. Also, this month I will be attending the UA Convention. This is where every local in the United Association sends Delegates to represent their Local Union. There will be approximately 3,500 Delegates, and I believe 669 has 113 attendings. This Convention hap-pens every five years, and if you think you would like to at-tend, make sure you send in a petition next time to get your name on the ballot.

ABE Fire continues to do the wrong thing. They were awarded the library project in Stockton with a community stabilization agreement. He sent in his DAS 140 without any information other than the project and its location. With some research, I found out that his fire sprinkler li-cense was revoked by the state license board, only to be reis-sued due to a clerical error. I got a call a few weeks ago from

one of his employees complaining that he was paying the la-borer’s wages while installing the underground. This em-ployee has since quit and went to work in the bay area. We met with the general contractor last week, and it seems that they are not happy with them either. They should start on the overhead piping around October, and we will see how it goes. We have gone by his office to meet with him in the past. The building is covered in every ‘no trespassing’ sign made, the window is mirror tinted, and the doors are locked. According to his employees, he is living in Michigan now.

I want to thank the Members that took the time to at-tend the Union Meeting in San Luis Obispo. This was the first meeting we have had since February 2019. The San Luis meeting was well attended; 8 guys from the valley took the time to travel over. We were also able to have a retiree breakfast again. With what is going on now, it might be a while before we can have one again. It is always nice to talk to the retired guys and hear the stories and how much they are enjoying retirement. Thanks to the re-tirees that attended. With that, I would like to thank you all for what you do. If you need help with anything, let us know. 559-908-2274.

Greetings, Brothers & Sisters from District 28. As I write this NewsLetter article, it’s the beginning of

August. It’s been hot, and we are in need of rain. Make sure that everyone on the job is staying hydrated. Please do your part and watch out for your co-workers on the job, as we all need to be able to come home when the day is over. It’s sum-mertime, and we need to be healthy enough to enjoy our families and friends.

I want to thank the Minnesota State Fire Marshal for re-moving the non-union workers from Sioux Falls, SD work-ing in Mankota, MN for not having a permit for the job or anyone onsite with an MN sprinkler fitters installers certifi-cate. They also didn’t let them back onsite, and now the project is being done by one of our Signatory Contractors. Hopefully, we will continue to see this enforcement from the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division.

American workers have been losing power since 1980, but now the tables are turning. The number of unfilled jobs continues to grow, the size of the workforce is stagnating, and workers are flexing their muscles whether or not they have formal Union representation because they know they have many opportunities right now. While I am doing job site visits, I make sure to remind them about this and that the ball is in their court right now, and they better be joining the Union or be demanding more money and benefits from their boss. The non-union workers finally see this, and we have been able to organize 8 unrepresented workers since my last NewsLetter in District 28. Organizing the non-union employees stings them more now than ever. Like many of you, I have noticed that "labor quality" is the top overall biggest concern, and I don’t just mean the quality of work but a worker who can show up every day and on time. I had recently read that almost 40 percent of new hires resign within a year. Of which, two out of three often do so within the first six months. Turnover is very costly. Just think about

Carl J. Westby District 28 Organizer Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota & Wisconsin

Tel 507-459-2882 • Email: [email protected]


the expensive processes behind recruiting, hiring, and train-ing, not to mention the time spent behind each phase of on-boarding a new employee. When an employee leaves, the company not only has to redistribute duties to other co-workers who are undoubtedly reaching their own frustrations with the non-union company but now they have to increase their wages and benefits to keep him from leaving also. Then the company must start the whole hiring process all over and retrain a new worker to replace the valuable em-ployee we just organized. When we organize this worker, he knows that he enjoys being a sprinkler fitter and wants to make a career out of it, and that’s why the turnover rate for hiring organized workers is really low compared to new ap-prentice hires.

If you have friends or family of any trade that are unrep-resented, please remind them the time is now and that in Section 7 of the NLRA, Employees shall have “the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organiza-

tions, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted ac-tivities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mu-tual aid or protection.”

The changes that are being made within the NLRB will continue to help us be successful with organizing. Hopefully, the PRO ACT will get passed through the Senate. Unfortu-nately, it lacks republican support right now. If passed, it would finally level the playing field that is unfairly tilted to-wards corporate and give workers more of a voice.

Work is staying strong and should continue that way for the future across District 28 and also across the nation. So, if you are out of work and willing to travel, there are many job opportunities out there. With this infrastructure bill proba-bly being passed by the time you read this, that will also cre-ate many union jobs across America.

When spiders unite, they can tie down a lion.

Brandon J. Buechter MINK States Organizer Tel 573-408-0347

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

I want to start personally thanking every Member

that took the time out of their personal lives and came to this round of District Meetings. It was really good to see familiar faces and to also get the chance to meet some new ones. I attended District 23, 32, and 39’s meeting at the beginning of July. The turnout at the meetings was pretty good, and I know that some Members might still be a little leery to get together with the pandemic still going on.

Speaking of the pandemic, we see a massive surge in Southwestern Missouri. The new Delta Variant of COVID-19 has hospitals full and healthcare workers back on their heels. Missouri is now one of the leading states in two categories. One is the rate of new infec-tions and hospitalizations, and the second is the low vaccination rates in rural Missouri. Unfortunately, these two variables are not coincident but have a corre-lation to each other. I think I can speak for everyone that I want this pandemic rid of our country.

However, as I travel around the United States help-ing other parts of the country with manpower needs, it does seem like we are getting back to normal. The Organizers and Business Agents that work for Local 669 don’t spend time in our home states. At the direc-tion of the President-Organizer Brian Fisher, we are sent to help fellow Organizers and Agents blitz in a region needing manpower. In the last couple of months, I have met some incredible people on the job site, and I

can’t help but think why they aren’t Union. We have been told that each of us is unique and one

of a kind. I sometimes have to remember this when speak-ing with an unrepresented worker and understand why he is afraid to make the switch to come and work with us. There are countless times that I have been told, “I can’t leave, I’m way too loyal, my boss/owner treats me way too good.” When a person feels like they are cared about and treated well, it is hard to get them to do anything. Our job as Organizers is to tell them that if you were cared about, your owner would sign a collective bargaining agreement with the Local today. For us Organizers, we might have to talk to the same unrepresented guy and lis-ten to him multiple times before we can even get the chance to sit down with him. Change and the unknown for many of us are intimidating.

Union Members should be speaking not just with unrepresented sprinkler fitters but every trade on the job and our family and friends. I know politics play a huge role in about any subject there is anymore. Being a Union should not be a political issue. It’s a human rights issue. The ability for the American people to make a good living, have respectable healthcare, and have a de-cent retirement is what everyone should be striving for. Since the founding of this country, the purpose has been to “create a more perfect Union.” Being Union does that!

Good Luck in the Bow Stand.


There have been some recent happenings that may

help organize more Sprinkler Fitters to the Local. Many of these non-union companies have their employees signing non-compete agreements with them. Quite a few really wanted to come with us, but they would owe money if they stayed in the same trade and worked for another company due to these agreements. The 669 lawyer said that he wants to take some of these on in court and is sure that we could do these for the workers. As much I or oth-ers have explained this to these unrepresented workers, many of them would still get cold feet and not come over. Even after showing them, our lawyers would represent them with no cost to them—the new executive order signed by the Biden Administration stating that they are non-binding agreements. We may not have to be con-cerned about these unfair agreements ever again. As I am typing this NewsLetter, the Biden Administration is push-ing to strengthen the Federal Government “Buy Ameri-can” rules. Doesn’t that make sense? This will take some time to take full effect, and the push for goods purchased with tax dollars must be 75% up from the current thresh-old of 55% by 2029. This is one of the numerous reasons you want a PRO- LABOR Candidate in all elected of-fices.

It’s been interesting talking to unrepresented Sprin-kler Fitters recently. They seem to have become more ded-icated to their employers than in the past. This may have had something to do with the employers keeping them

busy during the pandemic. I guess I can understand that to a certain point. If they can make more money, better ben-efits, and retirement for themselves and their families and live a more comfortable life, why not better themselves? Sometimes I guess they get caught up in the present and don’t look toward the future. Although, I have had a few Ex-Members realizing their mistakes and wanting to re-turn to the Union. I am more than willing to help them due to us needing Sprinkler Fitters and Apprentices cur-rently.

What a booming economy we have right now. We have Contractors screaming for Sprinkler Fitters and Ap-prentices because they have so much work available. This work is available virtually anywhere you want to go. Al-though, the big challenge is keeping them in the pipe, fit-tings, or just plain material. We are not just seeing this with the larger Contractors, but also with the smaller ones as well. Truthfully, if you are a Sprinkler Fitter and are out of work, it is challenging to understand why? As with every other boom that has happened, we also need to pre-pare for the slow times that may come. I believe and hope that is far out in the future. The Contractors that I have spoken to say they have a large backlog of work.

There are no problems we cannot solve together and

very few that we can solve alone.

- Lyndon Baines Johnson

Dennis G. Pry Pennsylvania Organizer Tel 724-794-8292 Email: [email protected]

PA


Wayne J. Roderick, Jr. New England Region Organizer Tel 860-941-9386

Greetings Brothers and Sisters:

As I write this NewsLetter, the weather has been

great, and work has been plentiful for all of us. We just completed our second round of Union

Meetings here in New England. (Our first in-person meetings in over a year). I want to thank everyone that took the time to attend the meetings. It was great to see everyone in-person again and to get back to some nor-malcy.

Here in New England, we have some great things happing and working hard to make sure all sprinkler work is bid competitively. We want to make sure all Sprinkler Fitters are paid a fair living wage.

We have several ongoing campaigns now, and they are starting to gain some traction. I was recently con-tacted by an unrepresented worker that I have been try-ing to meet with over the past three years. This Gentleman always told me he was all set and happy where he is at. When this worker contacted me, he said, "when you left the job the other day, you pointed out some things that caught my attention. I then started looking around and said, ‘this guy’s right. We are in-stalling subpar systems because my boss wants to cut cor-ners. This is going to give me a bad name, and I take pride in my work.’" We have a meeting scheduled, and I hope we can help these workers.

When we visit job sites regularly, this shows the non-union contractors that we will educate their work-force and make sure they are getting paid the proper rates and have safe working conditions. As we meet with these workers, we can educate them on what we see and how we can better their lives. Unfortunately, a

lot of these workers have the blinders on because they have been brainwashed over the years and were told things like All-Union guys are lazy. They will take you in only for the dues money and you will sit on the bench. The Union workers will only look at you as a Rat. Unfortunately, this misinformation is out there, but we will gain their trust and show them differently. I’m willing to go out on a limb and say I bet a quarter to half the Members in New England were organized into the Local, which has greatly helped the Members them-selves and their families. If you are working with a newly organized Member, PLEASE HELP THEM AND SHOW THEM THE UNION WAY.

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of your summer and have a great fall!

5 new Members getting sworn in by Secretary-Treasrurer Robert Cooper, Jr. at the District 20 Union Meeting July 2021.

17 new Members getting Sworn in by Secretary-Treasrurer Robert Cooper, Jr. at the District 41 Union Meeting July 2021.


Jeffrey E. Iwan New York Organizer Tel 518-410-7719 Email: [email protected]


As I write this, the month of July is at its end, and

the summer feels like it’s almost over. Here in New York, we have seen a rollercoaster effect with the weather as the temperatures have ranged widely and rain and storms have been frequent. I hope you all have had some chances to enjoy time with family and friends. As Labor Day and the start of the school season approaches, I ask you to be safe. With the increases in COVID cases due to this new Delta strain, we must all be careful to pro-tect ourselves and our families.

At this point, most if not all of the District Meet-ings have come to a close. While turnout at the New York meetings was not as large as we hoped, we are thankful for those of you who took the time to attend. Hopefully, we will see an even greater number of our Members at the next round. Forman and Fitters, please encourage your Apprentices to attend so information at these meetings can be understood and any questions they may have can be answered.

As this summer slowly comes to a close, I have been spending time getting more familiar with the areas of Binghampton, Ithaca, Rochester, and Buffalo. I con-tinue to visit open shop job sites and speak with non-union employees to share the benefits of joining the Local. Sharing the health and welfare, wages, and retire-ment options with these workers has produced a few candidates. I am also looking at a few targets to attempt campaigns to grow our Membership further as I continue visiting job sites in as many areas that are new to me.

I look forward to any help the Members can offer, information about open shop job sites in your area or the area you are working in, non-union employees you may know or meet when you are out there working. This could help me tremendously as I continue working throughout New York State.

In October, I will be attending in-person new

Organizer training in Annapolis, MD. With my fellow new Organizers and Business Agents. I look forward to learning as many tactics and strategies from Organizers who have accomplished great things throughout the country. I hope the information and training I gain will give me a greater understanding and ability to work within our Local to help me continue gaining market share and building the membership.

As Always, please feel free to call or text me at 518-410-7719 with any information you may have about open shop jobs and non-union workers.

REMINDER Keep your dues current

3 Months + 1 Day = $50 Reinstatement Fee + Dues

6 Months + 1 Day = $200

Reinitiation Fee + Dues

OUR DUES ARE THE FUEL FOR THE UNION ENGINE

They help us maintain:

Higher Wages • Better Benefits • Job Security

PLEASE PAY THEM PROMPTLY!

Your Business Agent and the National Office need your correct, up-to-date phone number. Furnish your current contact info to the National Office, 1-800-638-0997 or online at www.sf669.org☎


NEW JOURNEYMEN

The following Local Union 669 Members were recently turned out as Building Trades Journeymen. Congratulations!

Blockley, Alexander R. Dayton, NV Brennan, Ryan A. Laramie, WY Brooks, John D. Houston, TX Carlson, Stuart J. Rockford, IL Carrillo Arias, Moises Burke, VA Castillo Robles, Victor H. Denver, CO Cazares Velazquez, Manuel A. Austin, TX

Conklin, Clayton P. Charleston, WV Curtsinger, John B. C. Bardstown, KY Elsen, Mark T. Dakota, MN German, Bud A. Pasco, WA Gunning, Nathan J. Lansford, ND Heminger, Damian M. Fremont, OH James, Paul J. Montgomery, AL

Littner, Tyler T. Middletown, NY McCumber, George R. Amsterdam, NY McPherson, Timothy O. Greenfield, IN Miano, Ricky M. Bardonia, NY Nitkiewica, Dustin A. Erie, PA Opozda, Matthew J. Hegins, PA Perry, Matthew A. Sand Springs, OK

Pisco Yong, Kenny R. Parkville, MD Rolley, Nicholas A. Rhodes, MI Sharpe, Tyler W. Haltom City, TX Walker, Ryan L. Moorhead, MN

Bilodeau, David V. EL Cajon, CA Bohlander, Edward J. Cincinnati, OH Bradley, Gerald Essexville, MI Cosby, Carlton W. Vici, OK Fowler, Randall D. Oregon City, OR

Darroch, Kendall G. N. Las Vegas, NV Gifford, James Lakeland, FL Gregoire, Daniel M. Hamburg, NY Hott, Donald L. Pittsboro, IN Jimerson Jr., Arthur H. Franklinville, NY

Jones, Steven D. Brigham City, UT Macaulay, Bruce A. Datil, NM Puckett, Gregory D. Mayfield, KY Read, Kevin M. San Diego, CA Schweitzer, Joseph Loveland, CO

Thompson, Daryl D. Boone, IA Wilkinson, Kevin D. Boardman, OH Wolfe, Joseph J. Camby, IN

NEW RETIREES

The following Local Union 669 Members had pension applications approved recently. CONGRATULATIONS!

REPORT YOUR

V IA THE UNEMPLOYMENT LINE AT 800-638-0997 OR ON THE

LINK THROUGH OUR WEBSITE

WWW.SPRINKLERFITTERS669.ORG


Did you know?In order for your family to qualify for the UA burial benefit upon your death:

1. To the beneficiary listed on the beneficiary card (beneficiary cards are optional and kept on file at the office of the member’s Local Union).

2. To the funeral home if there are additional or unpaid

amounts owed for burial expenses. 3. To repay the person who paid the burial expenses for

the member or the person who is responsible for the payment of these expenses. The designated beneficiary, or the person who paid, or is responsible for the burial benefits, may include the member’s estate or a trust.

4. If none of the above apply, or the member’s designated beneficiary is not living at the time of the member’s death, or the person who would receive payment above dies before receiving payment, any benefit will be paid to the first person(s) in the following order, who is living at the time of payment. The member’s:

1.) Spouse 2.) Children 3.) Parents 4.) Brothers & Sisters 5.) Personal Representatives or the member’s estate

An application for the Burial Expense Benefit Life Insurance claim must be received by the United Association within twelve (12) months of the member’s death.

Time period for filing claims

Did you know?

If two or more persons become entitled to payment of the benefit, the benefit will be divided equally among them.

Burial Expense Information U.A. protocol for U.A. burial expenses

• You must be a continuous member of the United Association for at least 6 months.

• You must be a current member in good standing for at least 6 months after you pay the $50 delinquent/reinstatement fee.


ALVEY, Dylan T., of Grantsville, Utah, died on July 31, 2021. BAASCH, John A., of Gahanna, Ohio, died July 20, 2021. BARNES JR, Glen L., of Central City, Pennsylvania, died on July 4, 2021. DEMARANVILLE, Tom G., of Omaha, Nebraska, died on August 3, 2021. Brother Demaranville was a 50-year member. GERIS, Thomas L., of Hartwood, Virginia, died on August 10, 2021. GIROD, Kent L., of Decatur, Indiana, died on July 24, 2021. HENRICHSEN, Shawn M., of Des Moines, Iowa, died on August 13, 2021. LASTER, Jerry F., of Waterloo, South Carolina, died on August 8, 2021. Brother Laster was a 50-year member.

OBITUARIES

The Officers and Members of Local Union 669 would like to offer their sincere condolences to

the family and friends of the following Members who recently passed away.

MILLER, John M., of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, died on August 4, 2021. PARKER, Casey J., of Walterville, Oregon, died on August 9, 2021. PETTY, Harold P., of Marietta, Georgia, died on June 7, 2021. Brother Petty was a 50-year member. SMITH, Martin P., of Rainier, Oregon, died on July 22, 2021. STOUDT, Lloyd L., of Vancouver, Washington, died on July 16, 2021. SWITZER, Robert R., of Geneva, Indiana, died on June 2, 2021. TITSHAW, Rufus C., of Douglasville, Georgia, died on June 21, 2021. Brother Titshaw was a 50-year member.

Indicates U.S. Military Service

AT T E N T I O N • AT T E N T I O N • AT T E N T I O N $27.00 Monthly Dues

3 Months + 1 Day = $50 Reinstatement Fee + Dues 6 Months + 1 Day = $200 Reinitiation Fee + Dues

Make checks payable to: Road Sprinkler Fitters Local Union 669 or LU 669

The address is: 7050 Oakland Mills Road, • Suite 200

Columbia, MD 21046

PLEASE USE A BLACK BALL POINT PEN (as our processing equipment picks this up the best)


INCORRECT ADDRESSES

The following Members have incorrect addresses according to Local 669’s records. If you see your name or the name of someone you know, please call or have that person call the National Office with the correct address.

Abrahamson, Devin T. Adames, Elias R. Adams, John C. Aguilar, Alexander N. Alexander, Zachary P Allen Jr., Herbert F. Alvarez, Richard Thomas Anderson, James E. Antoszyk, Mikael L. Arriaga, Richard A. Baker, Rexie R. Ball, Nicholas B. Basile, Joseph G. Bates, James D. Bearsheart, Bradford W. Beasley, Derek W. Berra, Andrew J. Bickford, Randal W. Billings, Dennis S. Bishop, Andrew J. Bishop, Michael A. Boh, Tyler M. Boland, Liam Bonjour Iii, James D. Bowers, Wayne C. Braden, Theodore E. Bradford, Derek R. Bradley, Richard T. Brady, Kenny B. Brookins, Christopher I. Brown, Joseph A. Brown, Roger J. Bull, Larry W. Bungard, Joseph L. Burdge, Peter J. Burnett, Charles Bush, Ronnie Callahan, Christian A. Capps, Shawn J. Caretto, Tom Caridad, Leovigildo Carpenter, Elton L. Carr, Chris B. Carrillo, Rene J. Childers, Jonathan Clark, Thomas J.

Clayton, Ralph D. Clemons, Mark A. Cole, Edward L. Coley, Terrell R. Comstock, Joseph W. Conley, Edward G. Connolly, Joshua T. Conville, Patrick N. Corvin Jr, Roy L. Couch, Timmy D. Craig, James R. Crook, Lonsford C Cross, Jennifer M. Crowe Jr., Antoine E. Curtiss, Clifford W. Cypret, Johnny S. Daniele Jr., Vincent J. Davis, Jason N. Day, Michael E. Deangelo, Louis J. Dehn, Richard O. Deperalta, Andrew D. Depoy, Harry D. Devera, Ramon J. Drown, Chad A. Duckworth, Tedd A. Duncan, Dustin H. Dunlap, Darious Duran, Francisco E. Elie, Louis S. Evans, Carl Lorin Fajardo, Jorge L. Fee, Jonathan L. Ferguson, Pierce A. Feroce, Thomas A. Foor, Ethan J. Force, Paul H. Forster, Sean Foster, Richard L. Fredrich, Thomas R. Fuentes, Cipriano I. Fuller, Anthony B. Fuller, Cody D. Ganelin, Paul R. Garcia, Greg G. Gardner, Ryan L.

Garvey, Brian M. Geyer, Blake Gibson, Travis B. Gifford, James C. Gill, Raymond A. Gillespie, Chris M. Gonzales, Zachary L. Gonzalez, Blake P. Gorosave, William E. Graziano, David F. Green, James E. Grim, Robert V. Grizzard, Billy J. Gurrola, Jose P. Hackett, Bryan T. Hanley, Richard M. Hanlon, Corey J. Hare, Joseph A. Harris, Dennis R. Harrison, Douglas Harrison, Shawn C. Hartman, Lyle D. Hasenzahl, Erik M. Heindel, Adam J. Herman IV, Michael E . Hernandez, Carlos A. Hinson, Bobby R. Hobbs, Tyler T. Hollister, Carley R. Hood, Christopher A. Hooker, Ted J. Horner, Calvin J. Howe, Andrew R. Hoyt, Joseph L. Huezo, Esteban Hunt, Jason A. Hunter Jr., John M. Hurtado, Walter J. Isbell, Lucas A. Jimenez, Arturo Johnson, James M. Johnson, Jody L. Johnson, Joshua A. Johnson, Quinton D. Johnson, Robert C. Jones, George H.

Jones, Scott B. Jorgensen, Erik A. Juarez, Christopher E. Kaiser, Gregory J. Kaiser, Stan C. Keshishian, Serjik Kessinger, Billy C. Kilburn, Justin W. Killam, Nolan R. King, Michael R. Klapp, Douglas E. Klatt Jr, Peter E. Knudson, Richard S. Koenig, Michael V. Korpi, Tyler J. Koschorreck Jr., Walter L. Kutil, Kyle A. Lacoe, Ryan K. Ladanyi, John C. Lecompte, Michael K. Lewis III, Robere L. Lindsey, Kenneth V. Lisbony, Daniel J Lloyd, John M. Lombardo, Nicholas J. Long, Daniel Chad Lopez, James Loudin, Gerald B. Lucas, Justin Malek III, David J. Manderscheid, Daniel S. Martin, Barry C. Martin, Chad E. Martinez, Armando Mathis, Christopher B. Mccay, Gene A. Mcdaniel, Duane T. Mcmullen, Michael K. Mcmurrian, Jason L. Meda, Pablo Medley, Duane F. Michalides, Christos A. Mitchell, Aaron K . Mitchell, Jesse L. Mitchell, Zazhary V. Moore, Brendon T.

UPD

ATEYOUR

ADDRESS ANY TIME

YOU MOVE!


Moreno-Gonzalez, Miguel Morgan, Jason E. Morgan, Robert K. Morrissey, James J. Muro, Jesus I. Myszkowski, Thomas A. Neal, John O. Nguyen, Nam Van Norton, Richard J. Nylander, Caleb D. O’brien, Christopher J. Oconnor, Jason H. Odom, Patrick W. Olson, Brett A. Osborne, Michael E. Pacada, Polani K. Pamperien, Brett Patrick, Mark W. Peacha, Evrin N. Pearson, Tyler B. Pengra, James R. Pere, Cordel L. Popham, Brian J. Popp, Brent R. Ralston, Rich Ramirez, Gabriel I.

Ramirez, Jose R. Ramirez, Raul Redman, Michael P. Rendon, Mark J. Reyes Jr, Luis Reyes, Paul A. Rhett, Joseph W. Robbins, Jerod J. Roberts, Shane R. Robinson, James R. Roe, Timothy L. Romero, Joseph A. Rupp, Steven T. Ruzicka, Delmar F. Saenz, Jose L. Saldana, David R. Sanford, Craig A. Sarabia, German E. Schaller, William J. Schott, Steven A. Scott, Joston L. Sheffield, Donald W. Sheldon, Brock O. Shephard, Ben Shutt, Paul Slaughter, Nicholas B.

Smith, Colton W. Smith, Garrett R. Soverns, Charles L. Soza, Nicolas W. Sperry, Hagen A. St.Hilaire, Greg T. Stevens, Daryl D. Still, Ryan A. Stinnett, Jimmy C. Stolan, Daniel E. Stroud, Andrew D. Suenkel, Justin R. Sullivan, Michael L. Sullivan, Thomas M. Surby, William B. Switzer, James M. Tarmon, Logan S. Terrell, Caleb O. Thomas, Edgar Thomas, Kyle J. Thornton, Cody A. Tisdale, Gary B. Toruno, Jorge A. Toulson, Trevor L. Trevino, Xavier A. Tristan, Sergio

Turner, Michael O. Veilleux, Andrew Z. Villa, Rodolfo Villacis, Carlos F. Vique-Vega, Anastacio Wade, Kalin M. Walker, Anthony F. Walker, Jeremy W. Wallace, Lewis D. Warren, Bernard O. Watt, Trevor Wear, Jack G. Webb Jr, Richard G. West III, Harold C. Wheeler, Willis L. White, Larry Williams, Jordan C. Wilson III, Douglas E. Wilson, Justin L. Wise, Dale E. Woodward, Nicholas R. Worthington, Rondale T. Wright, Dante York, Steven M. Young, Richard F.

Is the Member ID number on your NASI Gold Dues Pension card rubbing off making it difficult to read? If so out fill out the information below and mail it to the main office to get a new replacement card sent to you.

CUT HERE

Road Sprinkler Fitters Local Union 669 7050 Oakland Mills Road, Suite 200 • Columbia, MD 21046

Name: ______________________________________________________________ UA ID#: ____________________________________________________________ Cell Phone: __________________________________________________________ Email Address: ______________________________________________________

Mail completed form to:

NASI GOLD DUES PENSION CARD REPLACEMENT REQUEST

GOLD DUES PENSION CARD

Member No. 669052


If I were running a fire sprinkler company, I would choose to have unionized employees for several reasons. Just to name a few, unionized em-ployees receive quality training, on-site experi-ence, and show great dedication to their employers. This in itself is a great benefit, since hard workers can sometimes be hard to come by. Not only are union workers efficient at getting the job done, but their compensation plan is laid out ahead of time, allowing contractors to plan ac-cordingly. For example, apprentices start out at a reduced wage. Businesses can benefit from this by using apprentices on the job to save money (Stein-berg & Schwartz, 2014). The great part is that in this case, saving money does not result in acquir-ing poor workmanship.

While on the job, union workers are keen on safety techniques and will demonstrate high stan-dards for professionalism. The combination of hands-on training at the job site and textbook in-struction in the classroom result in well-educated workers, who have not only a quality work ethic, but a professional presence about themselves as well (“The Benefits of Being a Union Contractor”). The dedication union workers have for their career helps explain why they are flexible with scheduling and projects. This, in turn, is beneficial for employ-ers because it allows them to adjust the com-pany’s agenda in a way that results in cost-effective project management (“The Bene-fits”). Speaking of cost-effective project manage-ment, because union workers come ready to work with good experience, they prove to be competent when it comes to completing projects in a timely manner. In fact, recent data confirms this impres-sive positive relationship between unionization and productivity in the construction industry (Manzo 2015). Unionized workers are skillful at success-fully implementing resourceful ideas and methods that ultimately result in strong building techniques. These quality skills, once again, can be partially contributed to the unique hybrid learning environ-ment used to deliver excellent education and training (“The Benefits”).

Now, what are the other benefits aside from cost-effective and skillful labor? Well, research concludes “[t]hat organizations with labor unions experience less employee turnover,” (Hart 2017). This is a huge benefit, as constantly training new employees can get expensive and drastically re-duce productivity in the workplace. This reduction in turnover could be due to the “[b]etter pay and benefits negotiated through the collective-bar-gaining process” (Hart 2017).

Likewise, apprentices are more likely to remain loyal to companies that invest in them (Steinberg & Schwartz, 2014). Furthermore, unions give employ-ees the opportunity to feel like they can make a difference in the workplace by having their voice heard. This may seem small, but in reality, it can reduce feelings of frustration and anger that could lead to higher turnover rates (Hart 2017). By en-couraging a work environment where voices are heard, union workers in return put forth extra effort into keeping a positive relationship with contrac-tors. Showing cooperation and respect for con-tractors and other labor-management already comes easy to unionized workers, so by cultivating an open communication line in the workplace, it allows this respect to flourish (Hart 2017). In the workplace, communication and respect are vital for keeping both employees and employers happy. When everyone is happy, turnover rates tend to re-main low.

If cost-effective skilled labor with low turnover rates still is not enough to convince you that unionized workers are the way to go, then listen to this. Using union labor will bring fairness and con-sistency to the table for employee compensation. As an employer, you will not need to worry about one employee finding out about another em-ployee’s salary. “Salary schedules typically are spelled out clearly in union contracts,” (Hart 2017). This means that union shops and employers do not have to face the demands for increases in salary from employees because “[t]he union will negotiate salaries for the entire group of member-employees,” (Hart 2017).

2021 Scholarship Essay Winners Safety and Skill:

How Fire Sprinkler Unions Positively Impact Both Workers and Businesses

BY RACHEL COMITO


Additionally, when using a labor union to com-plete a job, that labor union generally will help or-ganizations choose vendors for benefits (Hart 2017). Not only that, but some larger state and na-tional unions will offer their own benefit plans for organizations or individual employees to purchase. Union contracts have their benefits defined for many years at a time, which means that benefit administrators will not need to spend significant time or effort researching alternate vendors and plans annually (Hart 2017). This is also beneficial to employers because commonly, their contracts with labor unions are for three to five years at a time. Hence, employers and organizations will be able to construct comprehensive and accurate budget predictions because they know how much they will be spending on salaries and benefits for their employees (Hart 2017). In comparison, there are very few non-union organizations that can plan this well because they usually do not know what their labor costs will look like that far out in advance (Hart 2017).

One more great benefit to hiring unionized workers is that the discipline rules are already set. It can be challenging to discipline employees in a way that seems fair, but union contracts take care of this task. Union contracts “[c]odify the discipline process and create a series of rules and steps that are deemed fair by both the union and the em-ployer,” (Hart 2017). In fact, in a case study com-pleted on the Internal Revenue Service and its staff union, it was found that “[w]hen employers and unions work together on disciplinary proce-dures, the end process may be seen by employees as more consistent and equitable,” (Hart 2017). When employees see the discipline measures as consistent and fair, that helps keep a work envi-ronment from becoming hostile over conceived no-tions of unequal discipline amongst employees.

In summary, union labor and apprenticeship programs are a “[t]ime-tested approach to training and developing skilled labor,” (Steinberg & Schwartz, 2014). The investment into unionized workers truly pays off, as the loyalty displayed by these workers is unmatched.

Financially, hiring unionized workers allows an employee to plan several years ahead because union contracts have benefits and salaries defined that far in advance. Unionized employees show professionalism in their work ethic and ability to communicate effectively to their contractors and project managers. Union workers also have a pre-defined discipline process, which is generally re-garded as fair by both the workers and the employers. So, if I were running a fire sprinkler company, the decision to hire union workers for the job is clearly the best, as the benefits to doing so are invaluable.

Works Cited

Hart, Kevin. “Labor Union Advantages to an Employer.”

Bizfluent, Leaf Group Ltd, 26 Sept. 2017, bizfluent.com/about-5435574-labor-union-ad-

vantages-employer.html. Accessed 20 January 2021. Manzo, Frank. “Unions Increase Productivity in the

Construction Industry.” The Illinois Update, Illinois Eco-nomic Policy Institute, 2 June 2015, https://illinoisupdate.com/2015/06/02/unions-increase-productivity-in-the-construction industry/. Accessed 25 January 2021.

Steinberg, Sarah A. Schwartz, Ben. “The Bottom Line: Ap-

prenticeships Are Good for Business.” Center for American Progress, 14 July 2014, www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2014/07/14/93768/the-bottom-line apprenticeships-are-good-for-business/. Accessed 25 January 2021.

“The Benefits of Being a Union Contractor.” The Benefits

of Being a Union Contractor I Interior Finish Contractors As-sociation (IFCA), ifcassociation.com/content/benefits-being-union contractor. Accessed 18 January 2021.

MEET THE SCHOLARSHIP WINNER – Rachel Comito Rachel is the daughter of Local 669 Member Eric T. Garner

of District 23. Rachel is currently a student at Drake University working towards her doctorate in pharmacology and a concentration in Spanish and Diabetes. In addition to her courses she is a member of several professional pharmacy organizations and spends countless hours volunteering in her community.Member Eric Gardner, daughter Rachel Comito,

and wife Gigi celebrating winning a Local 669 Scholoarship!


Please RSVP to Kris Winget by September 6, 2021 via email at: [email protected] or 803-807-939

Local 669 District 40 • 2021 Golf Tournament

When:

September 18, 2021 7:30 a.m. start time

Where:

Bountiful Ridge Golf Course 2430 S. Bountiful Blvd.

Bountiful, UT 84010

Format: Shotgun start and scramble

Cost:

$52.00 per person Fees must be paid by September 6th

Additional Info: Lunch will be provided

bounti fulr idgegolf.com


Local 669 District 13 Trap Shoot & Family Picnic

September 25th, 2021

8am - 1pm - Trap Shoot You must bring your own guns, ammo, hearing protection

and safety glasses

1:00 pm - Picnic Lunch will be provided by City Barbecue

Location:

Cedarland Park (www.cedarland.org)

3989 South 525 E Columbus, IN 47203

Camping sites available • Fishing • Putt-Putt

and several additional activities available RSVP to Chad Scott 317-771-3822


STEAK FRY

24th Annual Sprinkler Fitters

Districts 34 & 36

When: Saturday, October 2nd, 2021

Time: 2pm-???

Where: The War Vets 3431 Fluvanna Ave. Jamestown, NY 14701

Cost: Local 669 will be covering the cost of the steak dinner this year. We ask that you consider give a donation that will be used to help a Brother in need or a local charity.

Name Number of People Attending

**Please pass this information along to all members**

It is VERY important to RSVP as only those

who do will be guaranteed a steak

RSVP by September 1st to: Charley Myles P.O. Box 28 Gerry, NY 14740 (716) 673-5151 or Earle Sandburg 2216 5th Ave. Lakewood, NY 14750 (716) 499-3062


Retirees’ Sprinkler Fitters Reunion

The annual Retirees’ Reunion is scheduled for meetings from Tuesday, October 5th through Thursday, October 7th, 2021, starting at 9:00 am each morning at the Westgate Branson Woods Resort, 2201 Roark Valley Road, Branson, Missouri. Check-in time for Monday the 4th will be 4:00 pm. The meetings on Tuesday and Thursday will end at approximately noon each day. However, it will run longer on Wednesday because the Officers and John Eger, the Funds Administrator, will speak. Please plan accordingly for Wednesday to run longer. ATTENTION: Lori, with All Access Branson, will be the only one you have to call. She will handle everything. Please contact her at 417-332-2121 or 1-866-810-3477. We have worked out a total package for a single $430.00 and for a double $280.00 per person. This is a group package; therefore, there are no price reductions for events you may not attend. All cancellations must be made with Lori at All Access 48 hours before September 21st for a refund. We will be having a meet and greet on Tuesday evening at 5:00 pm. The meet and greet will be at the Grand Pavilion on site. In addition, we have a dinner scheduled at the Grand Country Buffet at 1945 West 76 Country Blvd. on Wednesday, October 6th at 5:30 pm. After supper, for those who would like to go, we have secured reservations for the Hamners Unbelievable Variety Show, 3090 Shepard of the Hills Expressway, Branson, Missouri 65616

THE DEADLINE FOR RESERVATION IS September 1st, 2021. For those interested in golf on Thursday afternoon, October 7th, please call James Deckard at 417-773-1924. 2019 Retirees decided again to have the meeting in Branson. If you would like it moved, please come and lobby those attendees present for a change. We are looking forward to seeing everyone there. Fraternally

Joe Knott - President James Deckard

CANCELLED • CANCELLED • CANCELLED • CANCELLED • CANCELLED

Hate to have to do this again, however The Sprinkler Fitters Retiree Association has made the difficult decision to cancel the September meeting in Branson due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. We value our Retirees’ health and safety and look forward to seeing all of you next year. In the meantime, stay safe and be well.

- Joe Knott and James Deckard

CANCELLED


Brother James M. Cosby writes: After my retirement, I spent several years living in Lincoln, IL which was in close prox-imity to my family. My family consists of a daughter, two grandsons, six great-grandchil-dren, of which, five are girls and they are between the ages of 3 and 18. About ten years ago, I relocated to Mendota, IL where I currently reside with my signif-icant other. Since moving to Mendota, I have become more active in volunteer work. We volunteer once per week at Lily Pads Boutique, which supports two homeless shel-ters. We also volunteered at the local food pantry until the pandemic hit our area. We have been active in the First United Methodist Church as well as the local Kiwanis Club. We participated in their many fundraising activities as well as ringing the Salva-tion Army bell for collections. I also play Santa for Senior Citizen Center. We also work with the committee of the 669 Retirees reunion making nametags for attendees in Branson, MO. We spend approximately 18 weeks per year traveling—especially during the winter in Florida. Each of us have trav-eled to all 50 states. All of this would not be possible without my pension from the Union, my medical coverage and other benefits derived from the 669 pension. We enjoy seeing all of the Retirees from the Union and visiting with them. We missed that this year. The Officers and Members of Local 669 Congratulate Brother Cosby on achieving this milestone and wish him many more days of enjoying retirement.

RETIREE Corner

S c h o o l s a r e r e o p e n i n g .

Watch for school Children!Watch for school Children!


Source: https://www.dol.gov/general/laborday/history

History of Labor Day

Labor Day: What it Means Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. Labor Day Legislation The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed in 1885 and 1886. From these, a movement developed to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During 1887, four more states – Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York – created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. Founder of Labor Day More than a century after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers. Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold." But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the Interna-tional Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic. The First Labor Day The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday.

Non-Profit U.S. Postage

PAID Washington, D.C.

Permit #139

Road Sprinkler Fitters Local Union No. 669

7050 Oakland Mills Road, Suite 200 Columbia, MD 21046

Happy Labor Day

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