Volume 5 Issue 1 - Operating Engineers Local 520

Page 3THE 520 HOISTERRon Johnson,Business ManagerBrothers and Sisters,Winter seemed to have an extra tight grip on us this year, not allowing us to move into spring as quickly as I would have liked.The winter precipitation did bring some badly needed ground moisture and has brought the river levels up to better support theboat and barge traffic. With that being said, I’m ready for the kind of weather that allows our members to get back to work.During 2012, we had a record 59 members retire, and we have 19 so far in 2013. Of those retirees, three were members ofour Executive Board—Steve Wolff, Terry MacZura and Marlene Krotz. In the last Hoister I congratulated Steve and Terry on theirretirement and thanked them for serving on Local 520’s Executive Board. Now I want to do the same for Marlene. Marlene is a30-plus-year member of Local 520 and has served two terms on our Executive Board. Marlene, congratulations on your retirementand thank you for your many years of service. And to all of our retirees, I wish a long, happy and healthy retirement!I also want to welcome the members who have been appointed to fill the vacancies on Local 520’s Executive Board. They are:Conductor — David “Kelly” BrownAuditor — Joe ThyerTrustee — Raymond “Alex” BurrisCongratulations on your appointments!At our March meeting we had representatives, Greg Gosney and Sandra Wendling,from Investment Consultants and Jamie Hemken from Great West. They gave an overviewof The Annuity Plan and talked about some changes that have been made. We hadexcellent participation from our members during the question and answer session. Themeeting was well-attended and informative.Greg and Sandra from Investment Consultants are a very aggressive and hardworkingteam and I feel very confident that they are looking out for our best interestswith our investments. They were introduced to the The Fund trustees by our long-timeattorney, Cary Hammond.I’d like to say a few words about Cary Hammond before I close. We lost Cary, ourfund attorney of many years, on January 21, 2013 to cancer. Cary represented dozens oflabor unions throughout the St. Louis area and was known to be a lawyer who believed inthe Labor Movement and what it stands for. Cary’s knowledge of multi-employer benefitplans and skills as a labor lawyer were second to none. Cary was a caring and compassionateperson who continually looked out for the working middle class families and theunions who represent them. We lost a great attorney and a true friend with the passingof Cary Hammond, and he will be greatly missed.Have a safe and prosperous year!Respectfully,Ron Johnson“Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and couldnever have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deservesmuch the higher consideration.”— Abraham Lincoln , 16th President of the United States, 1861-1865