Summer 2009 - International Union of Operating Engineers

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around the locals Pittsburgh • PA Local 95 Chattanooga • TN Local 917 PA State Council of Operating Engineers President/Local 95 Business Manager Bill Cagney, left, and Keith Thurner, Local 95 Executive Board member, who is serving as the License Plate project manager, installed the first OE plate on Cagney’s car. A close-up of a sample State of Pennsylvania Operating Engineers license plate is pictured below. Pennsylvania State Council sponsors IUOE license plates The Pennsylvania State Council of Operating Engineers, through an arrangement with the state, is sponsoring IUOE license plates, which are available to any operating engineer residing in Pennsylvania. According to Bill Cagney, president of the state council and business manager of Local 95 in Pittsburgh, “we take a great deal of pride in our union and in the work we do throughout the state and we thought the license plates on our vehicles would be a good place to demonstrate this pride for all to see.” (See samples of the plate in the accompanying photos.) The plates are available to any IUOE member who lives in Pennsylvania and is current with his or her dues. There is a one-time fee of $30.00 for the original plate, then normal renewal procedures apply. Over 400 plates have been assigned to date. To order, visit Local 95’s website: www.iuoelocal95.org and click on the license plate. demolition of an american icon In the hills of East Tennessee, Local 917 members are making history by playing an instrumental role in the demolition of an American icon, the K-25 facility at Oak Ridge, TN. The facility, which was one of the locations for the Manhattan Project, used the gaseous diffusion method to separate uranium. Completed in early 1945 at a cost of $500 million, the U-shaped K-25 plant covered more than 2 million square feet and employed 12,000 workers. At the time it was built, it was the largest man-made structure on the planet. The Department of Energy awarded this historic demolition job to Bechtel Jacobs Company, LLC. The massive project posed unique problems for Local 917 operators, but most were solved with the use of specialized equipment such as track hoes. With a reach of over 100 feet, they were used for the first stage of demolition followed by smaller track hoes to process the materials to a more manageable size. A large front endloader was used to consolidate the monolithic amounts of debris. The project posed unique opportunities for apprentices, preparing them for future clean-up projects. With the specialized nature of the work, including equipment and hazards ranging from radiological, asbestos and industrial hygiene issues, the job gave them unparalleled experience. 24 i n t e r n at i o n a l operating e n g i n e e r
Richmond Hill • NY Local 30 city of NY Dedicates Plaque to Fallen Local 30 Stationary Engineer Officials from the City of New York and the New York State court system gathered at a courthouse in Long Island City, Queens May 20, 2009 to dedicate a plaque in memory of Henry Chang, a stationary engineer and member of IUOE Local 30 who died following an on-thejob accident at the courthouse last year. New York City Deputy Mayor for Operations Edward Skyler joined Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Commissioner Martha K. Hirst and Chief Administrative Judge Jeremy S. Weinstein of the Queens County Supreme Court, Civil Term, for the ceremony, which was attended by Mr. Chang’s wife, son, brother, and nearly a hundred friends and colleagues, including Local 30 Field Representative John Donohoe. Brother Chang, 59, was a beloved figure at the Long Island City Courthouse, where he worked for over six years. On the morning of April 22, 2008, Chang was performing a routine check of the mechanical equipment in the building’s attic space when he fell 20 feet, sustaining fatal injuries. His death was the first ever on-duty fatality among the 98 operating engineers and 2,000 other workers employed by DCAS, which provides building services to 54 public office buildings, courthouses and warehouses in New York City’s five boroughs. “In the aftermath of this tragedy, there was an inspiring, compassionate response from Henry’s colleagues at DCAS and his many friends here at the courthouse,” said DCAS Commissioner Hirst. “It’s a real testament to Henry that he inspired so much concern and affection and tribute from the community that surrounded him.” In the days immediately following Mr. Chang’s death, courthouse staff erected a makeshift memorial to him outside the door to his basement office. New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg spoke at the funeral service in Manhattan’s Chinatown, while a color guard of New York State Court Officers stood in salute outside. Friends said Chang viewed his courthouse assignment as the capstone to a long career marked by diligent effort and conscientious service. Born in Taiwan to a poor family, he immigrated to the U. S. after learning his trade in the merchant marine. He worked as a plant manager for several private institutions, including a hospital and college, before joining the civil service. The engraved brass plaque for Henry Chang is permanently mounted in the main entrance to the historic 1870 courthouse at 25-10 Court Square. Underneath a photo of Mr. Chang, brief text identifies the plaque as a tribute to “his service to the City of New York, his colleagues and all the visitors to the Long Island City Courthouse.” The City of New York has mounted a plaque at its Long Island City Courthouse to honor Local 30 stationary engineer Henry Chang, who died in an on-the-job accident last year. Attending the plaque dedication ceremony were Henry’s wife, Xiu Qin Chang (right), his son John, a junior at Duke University (second from right), Henry’s brother Kuen Yen Chang (third from right), and many friends and colleagues. Chicago • IL Local 399 Indianapolis airport employees preparing for negotiations After an 18-month campaign and a vote of 56 to 9 in favor of IUOE representation, Local 399 has started to prepare for upcoming negotiations. Pictured above is the negotiation committee during their first meeting. Front row, left to right, are: Jeff Christain, Patrick Purslow, Jeffrey Withered, Mark Summers and George Kestler. Back row, same order, are: Brett Lewis, Brent Carter, John Snyder and Mark Chastain. s u m m e r 2009 25
Page 1 and 2: International Operating Engineer su
Page 3 and 4: An IUOE perspective • General Pre
Page 5 and 6: IUOE healthcare reform elements - a
Page 7 and 8: Political Conference benefits pract
Page 9 and 10: Political action preserves benefits
Page 11 and 12: Local 49 operators’ blue collars
Page 13 and 14: Local 428, Arizona Biltmore: long-t
Page 15 and 16: NTF, Local 324 hold spring instruct
Page 17 and 18: LEFT: Joseph Agnelli, an electricia
Page 19 and 20: A night-time overview of the work b
Page 21 and 22: A maintenance engineer from Local 1
Page 23: Operators demonstrate the job of sk
Page 27 and 28: Atlanta • GA Local 926 service Du
Page 29 and 30: Local 103 Indianapolis, IN Clyde D.
Page 31: Falling behind financially? Union S

Summer 2009 - International Union of Operating Engineers

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