March/April '12 BL - Local 798

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Pipeliners Union 7984823 S. 83rd E. Ave.P.O. Box 470798Tulsa, OK 74147-0798PH: 918/622-1900FAX: 918/627-9327Please visit theLocal 798 Web Site atwww.local798.orgfor updated pre-jobinformationBUSINESS MANAGERDaniel C. HendrixFINANCIAL SECRETARY-TREASURERWade PilgreenPRESIDENTPreston RichardVICE PRESIDENTPaul DavisRECORDING SECRETARYGuy WilliamsINSIDE GUARDBobby TaylorEXECUTIVE BOARDLarry EdwardsCharlie GarrettMitch LeihrThomas Brian AndersonFINANCE COMMITTEEBuster ChapmanBilly E. HawkinsRonnie HillEXAMINING BOARDClark EastwoodMike MillerBUSINESS AGENTSChad GilbertChris LancasterBlack SchroederRick TaylorDarrell TurnerPhillip Wallace798 ORGANIZERSRonnie HillTerry LangleyJerry RyanDISPATCHERKevin LeeperOut Of Work List:918/663-3200Dispatch FAX:918/610-2740Jobline:918/610-2745Dear Brothers and Sisters,I want to start my report by thanking the membership for showing their confidence in WadePilgreen as your Financial-Secretary Treasurer by eliminating the need for a special election.This not only saved your Local Union a substantial amount of undue expense but more so itshows that the membership supports and believes that their leaders are striving every day tomove this local forward with honesty, integrity and accountability.I know everyone is dismayed and disappointed over the Keystone XL Pipeline delay as weshould be, but let’s not lose sight of the big picture. The XL is not dead, at least not yet. Asrecently as January we met with TransCanada in Calgary to discuss strategies to move the KXLoff the drawing board and on to the r-o-w to make it a reality. The opposition to this projecthas very little to do with the pipeline itself. The purest and strongest opposition is to the source and composition of the product,namely the tar sands. This is the same oil that is pumping today through the original Keystone Pipeline and the Enbridge Pipeline.The opposition wrongly believes if you kill the pipeline then Canada will stop mining and selling the product. This pool of oilis the third largest known deposit in the world and it will continue to be made available to the refining market for years to come.Already Enbridge is taking advantage of this fumbling act and has applied for permits to build an oil pipeline from Flanagan,Illinois to Cushing, OK and they purchased an existing line (Seaway) from Cushing, OK to the Gulf region to expedite the oil of thetar sands to refining markets. Already the tree huggers are mounting a campaign against this project as well. As your leaders, wecontinue to promote pipelines as the safest way to transport gas and liquids in this country, but at the same time trying to createawareness of our aging infrastructure that is a ticking time bomb. The gas pipeline explosion that killed 5 and destroyed 8 homesin Allentown, Pennsylvania a year ago was a distribution line that was installed in 1928; other lines in the immediate area are upto 120 years old. Almost every day there is another near miss or accident with loss of property or life on our energy grid. Thiscountry is long overdue for an overhaul of its major energy conduits that link supply to refiners to markets. The message is thatpipelines built today utilizing the best pipeline contractors and constructers are not the ones we should be frightened of, but thosethat were built decades or even centuries ago should all be replaced utilizing new technology and methods.The work outlook remains strong for 2012 as we continue to secure work in the Marcellus shale in the Northeast. Last year wefinished 2011 with over 6.35 million man hours and I believe that this year will be a very similar work load and could go higher ifcertain major projects can hurdle the environmental road blocks that seem to be the new “norm” for this industry.The 2012 Steward School is just around the corner and I urge each of you to make plans to attend this annual event if at all possible.Our national agreement has many new and important changes that will be highlighted throughout the three days. By allindications it will be another fantastic turnout in attendance. Pipeliners Local Union 798 Steward School is the largestUA attended event in the United States and Canada, with only one exception and that is the UA NationalConvention. That should say something for your commitment to your local and to the pipeline industry that you work in. If youhave never been to the Steward School now is the time to commit. The discussions and interpretations of our national pipelineagreement are what help promote harmony and protect our working conditions on the r-o-w, but there is so much more to theexperience. The whole week is much like a family reunion with a carnival atmosphere to be enjoyed by all. With lots of fun, food,prizes, entertainment and some education thrown in for good measure, Tulsa is the place to be in April.I would also like to invite you to include your spouse when you travel to the Steward School. The ladies of 798 have a greatcharitable organization that includes volunteer work throughout the year, produces a newsletter (pinklight), a website, and is just agreat way to stay connected. Their mission is simply good works whether at home or in a community while on a pipeline job.I encourage you to explore what these ladies are doing to promote the public image of workers in the pipeline industry. Take afew minutes and go to their website www.ladiesof798.org, I believe you will be proud and grateful that you did and by the way, youdon’t have to be a female to join, many who have joined to help support are men including myself. As always I am proud to say“I work for you, the finest pipeliners in the world.”Fraternally,Daniel C. HendrixBusiness ManagerB L U E L I G H T R E P O R T S • M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 2 • PA G E 2
To the best Pipeliners in the world,I hope this finds all of you doing great after spending some time with your families and friends during theChristmas holidays! I would like to extend my deepest thanks to each of you for your support through the yearsand as I begin to serve you as Financial Secretary-Treasurer. I would like to let each of you know that I will behere each day doing the right thing to make this the best local union in the world now and into the future. AsWelder Foreman, I used the motto “Treat people the way you would want to be treated,” and it has served me wellin the past; and this is what I will continue to do in this position.As you all know, this Local has been heavily involved in the process to get the permit approved for the KeystoneXL Pipeline in Washington D.C. the past several months, and to date this is still an ongoing process. We trulybelieve that this will happen soon, but there is a much larger battle that we all need to address now! That is therapid-rate American jobs are moving out of this country, and the speed at which non-documented workers are coming in to take the few jobswe have left. Every day we need to send a message to Washington in every form; Phone calls, Letters, and Email to get this turned aroundNOW!I was doing some research the other day and found that the trade deficit with China DOUBLES about every three years. Also, in the pastthirty years our amount of oil imported into America has doubled, and we wonder why unemployment rates are riding at a 50 year high of9%. I liken this to the Civil War. The south ultimately lost the war because it produced very little. The North had all the factories andsupplies. We all know who won that war. I believe we must learn from history. With this trade deficit, loss of jobs, and the lack of Americaproducing anything we are ultimately headed down the same road of disaster. So I really believe this is the fight of our life and one we needto win sooner rather than later. I am as guilty as most Americans when shopping, I just grab and go. But we need to start looking at whatwe buy, and ask the store owners and workers if they have made in the USA products. Let them know we need more, and the word will getto corporate headquarters that we demand AMERICAN made products.I went to shop for Christmas at the mall, where I went to buy my American-made products. I told the lady at the register I wished moreproducts in the store were made in the USA. She quickly agreed, then said, “But if they were made in America we could not afford to buythem!” That is when I told her “No we could not afford to NOT buy American made products.” She stopped and looked at me and said,“I have not ever looked at it that way but you are absolutely right!” We as Americans need to wake up and start looking at it that way andbuy only made in the USA items. Every product we buy made in the USA supports an American worker and his family, so this is truly theright thing to do!On the upside, our work outlook looks great in the future with the Senate passing the Pipeline Safety Act. With innovative men like Tom Grossand David Barnett heading up the pipeline department, and Jim Moss steering the helm in the Energy department of the UA, I cannot imaginea better team to make the future of pipelining look more promising!I believe this is absolutely the best time in history to be a pipeliner, and now it depends on each of you to do the right thing on the job. Showup on time every time, treat others like you want to be treated, do your job productively and right the first time, make a special effort to becordial to inspection and gas company officials, be willing to give a helping hand, never be afraid to say thank you, and definitely work SAFE!We need to show the citizens in towns where we are staying that we are the best people (Pipeliners) in the world! We want to be welcomedback! All these actions mean dollars in YOUR pockets in the end,I promise!I appreciate all of your hard work in field, and if I can ever assist you call me anytime. Till next time, work safe, work proud, and continueto do the right thing!Sincerely and Fraternally,Wade PilgreenFinancial Secretary-TreasurerB L U E L I G H T R E P O R T S • M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 2 • PA G E 3
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March/April '12 BL - Local 798

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