2020 Jan Feb CRC Carpenter
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
CRC CARPENTER The Newsletter of the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council JAN / FEB 2020 FROM THE EST Vol. 24, No. 1 Al Bond, Jr. Executive Secretary-Treasurer It’s a new year, in fact a new decade, and what a year it will be for all of us in the regional council. In November, we’ll join the rest of America voting in the next presidential election. On the national level, and even on the local level, these political elections are having extreme consequences for people like us. Our livelihood has come under attack by well- funded extremists and the elected officials who are willing to put big money donors and corporate lobbyists ahead of working families. We all remember what almost happened in Missouri in 2018. It was only because of our solidarity and some very hard work that we were able to flex our muscle and keep Missouri from becoming the next “Right to Work” state. As we often say, elections have consequences and this year is going to be an important one for us. Let’s be smart and support those who stand up for us. It will also be an exciting year for high profile, landmark construction. In Kansas City, our members will be getting years worth of steady work thanks to the KCI airport renovation. It’s the biggest construction project to come to KC in decades. And in St. Louis, NGA is providing another billion-dollar build, a ton of good jobs and a new beginning for a long neglected section of North City. And to keep us all healthy in the new year, I’m eager to see construction start on our new KC Wellness Center. The St. Louis location has succeeded beyond our wildest expectations, so much so that we are already planning an expansion to the facility, which opened just five STLKCCRC months ago. The CRC Carpenter You can read more about that, and many other is a publication important things going on across our council, in of the Carpenters this latest issue of the CRC Carpenter. Thank you Communications for staying involved and informed. Department [email protected] 2 In The NEWS Get Smart Is pushing our kids into college killing the middle-class dream? Burdened with debt and four-year degrees that are no longer useful, experts are starting to argue that a college education, and the rising Not So Fast debt that comes with it, can actually After three years of talks over prevent graduates from building privatizing St. Louis Lambert wealth. There is strong benefit, they Airport, city leaders abruptly say, to forgoing college unless the pulled the plug. In January, EST Al student wants to be a doctor, lawyer, Bond and Adolphus Pruitt, head engineer, or other specialized career. of the local NAACP, held a press All the more reason for today’s young conference to encourage interested job seekers to consider a skilled trade bidders to show the public what instead. could be possible. A public-private partnership would create jobs and finally give St. Louis the kind of world-class air hub it needs. “We Peanuts There’s even more evidence that have to kick it up a notch in St. organized labor is needed now, more Louis and our region,” Bond told than ever. The Brookings Institute has the news media. “We’re just getting released a bombshell study showing our ass kicked, to be frank with that 44% of working Americans are you.” stuck in low-pay jobs, with a median wage of just $10.22 per hour. “Nearly half of all workers earn wages that are not enough to promote economic security,” the study finds. STLKCCRC Way to Go At the 35th annual Salute to Construction in Springfield, Missouri, Kenton Payne (Local 978) was recognized as Superintendent of the Year. A longtime member of the Carpenters, Payne is a superintendent with DeWitt & Associates. Way to go Kenton! 3 INNOVATIVE MEMBER CARE SEES HEALTHY GROWTH Carpenter families flock Big fan. to convenient, affordable Will be back soon. Wellness Center Luke Engelmeyer job-related aches and pains, as well as It’s no secret that Americans have a low routine family diagnostics. opinion of the nation’s health care system. Long wait times, impersonal care and out- “I haven’t had care like this or customer of-control costs are common complaints service like this in a long time,” said Colleen heard from both experts and the patients Chatfield, wife of member Rick Chatfield who need medical services. (Local 97). “If you’re not using the Wellness Center you’re missing out on excellent care. Despite all the talk and attention paid to No out of pocket costs for an office visit, Everyone there was fantastic! One stop shop! the problem (just look at the current crop prescriptions or anything.” of presidential candidates and their pledges Todd Thames to fix U.S. healthcare) no one seriously A quick scan of the Carpenters’ Facebook expects the state of medical care delivery to page finds many members commenting on improve any time soon. the exceptional service they’ve experienced at the Wellness Center. Amid the frustration, the regional council What a beautiful facility. Great job everyone! had an inspired idea: What if we took The experiment has proved so successful Colleen Colbert Chatfield control of our own care instead of waiting that plans to rent out some building space for others to find solutions? had to be scrapped in order to expand patient care services. An additional In September, the first Carpenters Wellness 10,000-square-feet is being freed up to Center opened its doors at the union’s St. accommodate the 1,000 visitors who are Louis headquarters. Exclusively dedicated to coming through the door each month. treating union carpenters and their families, the center has exceeded all expectations. Later this year, the regional council will cut the ribbon on its second wellness center, One of the best things I’ve By the end of 2019, more than 2,000 this one in Kansas City. experienced in years. I urge you to appointments had been scheduled for go. Best staff and doctors! JB Bakula everything from eye exams to chiropractic Like our St. Louis facility, the new location therapy. The center was designed to be a will be staffed by healthcare professionals one-stop-shop where users could be seen from Cerner, a Kansas City-based health by an array of specialists prepared to treat services and staffing provider. 4 HELPING HANDS KC Carpenter Learns the Meaning of Brotherhood Midwest District VP Mark McGriff (left) and Kansas City hen doctors told Ryan Eight months after the procedure, Life benefit, support and even Coordinator Ryan was fitted with a prosthetic. Rocky Kloth Mercia they would have bringing Christmas gifts for my (right) surprise w to amputate his leg, the His care team at St. Luke’s said daughter…we wouldn’t have made the Mercia Kansas City carpenter he made the fastest recovery of it.” Western District Coordinator family with a new Jeep. asked one question: “How soon anyone they’ve seen. “I didn’t Rocky Kloth connected the Mercia can I go back to work?” even need the parallel bars,” Ryan family with an organization in boasted. “I put on my leg and Kansas City called Working Families’ As the sole provider for his stood up and walked.” Friend, which helped with financial growing family, and paying for his assistance. wife’s nursing school classes, the With mounting medical debt, a 35-year-old worried about a long wife in nursing school and a young Even with the superior benefits recovering and missing months of daughter, Ryan was determined to offered by the Carpenters and work. return to carpentry and doing what the generosity of nonprofits and he loves. By February 2019, he was friends, Ryan was still struggling to An avid motocross racer, Ryan back on the job. pay off his medical bills. was coming down a portion of track with two jumps lined up. “Without the support of my union, After hearing the story, UBC He angled his way forward but we would have lost everything,” General President Doug McCarron on the way up the first jump, his he admits. “From the awesome was so moved by Ryan’s amazing bike suffered a mechanical error. health insurance, American Income attitude that he worked with What a beautiful facility. Unable to correct it 40 feet in the the Carpenters’ Helping Hands Great job everyone! air, he crashed straight into the organization to secure a donation Colleen Colbert Chatfield second jump. to the Mercia family and a brand new Jeep to ensure they “It destroyed everything. My foot My union is have reliable transportation. peg went through my heel and “my family. The organization provides aid ankle, 10 inches into my tibia to carpenters and their families and fibula. It changed everything working through hard times. really fast,” he said. Overwhelmed by the continued Surgeons tried to repair Ryan’s “ support of the union—from the foot, ankle and leg, but ultimately international level to the local— it required too much metal for his Ryan and his family extend a body to support. The only option profound “thank you.” was amputation, just below the knee. “My union is my family. You’re not a See more of Ryan’s story at number here. We’re family.” Youtube.com/TheCarpDC 5 METRO National Apprenticeship Week CJAP ANNUAL CONSTRUCTION OPEN CAREER EXPO DOORS Job seekers turn out to hear what the Carpenters has to offer.