Engineers News - December 2015

utah I
A 'Jolley' Local 3 career
Hawaii I
8805 South Sandy Parkway, Sandy, UT 84070 • (801) 596-2677
District Rep. Brandon Dew
You can’t miss Retiree Earl Jolley’s house, which sits on a
quiet street in a modest neighborhood in Ogden, Utah. In this
longtime right-to-work state, Jolley displays a yard sign with the
words “Proud Union Home” and the gold Local 3 logo across
the front.
“You like that?” he asks with a wide smile. “I picked that up
from the Hall.”
Jolley has picked up lots of things from the Hall, including
his first dispatch 50 years ago in 1956. His love affair with
construction, however, started much earlier, when his father,
who worked at a sawmill in Logan, brought home a TD14 tractor.
“He plowed the garden with it, and I rode with him when I
was six or seven years old,” he said. “This is what I wanted to
do, yes.”
This love of operating heavy equipment led Jolley to join the
Navy as a Seabee from 1956-1960. He helped clean all the logs out
of the ocean for sea planes to land in Washington, even though,
at the time, only petty officers were operating the equipment,
but Jolley “got on a dozer, went to work and taught them all
how to do it.”
Jolley is full of stories about his time in the field, which
included working at Echo Junction on the stretch toward
Evanston.
“I cut all that, the slopes and stuff,” he recalled. “My ripper
tracks are still in the sandstone up there.”
He has worked all over Utah, Wyoming and Idaho, and lived
in California for 11 years “to follow the money and the work.”
Throughout his career, Jolley rarely turned down work, no
matter how far away it was from his house. Yet, even with this
traveler’s mentality, Jolley made it a point to come home every
night if he was 100 miles away or less.
His wife of 53 years, De Ann, admits raising four sons who
were only three years and three months apart (they had twins)
was difficult at times, but her husband’s career gave them a
decent life and a future career path (two of their four sons are
Operating Engineers).
1075 Opakapaka St., Kapolei, HI 96707 • For all branches, call (808) 845-7871
District Rep. Pane Meatoga Jr.
Construction leads the way in recovery
This year could be summed up in one word: fantastic. Work
has picked up on all of the islands with moderate growth on
Kauai. The two factors that have driven the economy are
tourism and construction. The tourism forecast for the end of
this year has visitor arrivals at more than 4 percent and visitor
spending at more than 3 percent, while construction is expected
to close at more than 10 percent. Our district work hours are
projected to end with a year-to-date of more than 18.5 percent,
conservatively, with a monthly average of 277,190 as of July.
All indicators suggest continued growth for 2016. Economists
have predicted tourism at more than 3.5 percent and construction
at more than 12 percent, which will continue to dominate other
factors of growth next year. Our work hours are expected to
continue with low double-digit percentage growth.
The statewide recovery of 6,000 construction jobs out of
the 12,000 that were lost in 2008 is a good sign of how well the
construction industry has been doing. That kind of recovery also
means a broader tax base for the state and increased personal
monies being spent in all markets of the economy.
One of the problems we face today is fear. Technology and
science could be a major factor, but we see the ups and downs
with the projects on Mauna Kea. Public transportation is key
to a sustainable business environment, but there is stop and go
While Jolley’s big laugh matches his name, he is deeply
concerned about the plight of unions in this country. He wishes
more folks in his home state and elsewhere would understand
the necessity of unions.
“Right to work is a lie,” he said. “It’s
the same attitude you get with people
that figure freedom is free and you
don’t have to support the military.
Without the unions, the non-unions
wouldn’t survive.”
Jolley remembers when
the Davis-Bacon prevailing
wage law was repealed in
Utah in 1981. He said the
government didn’t bid on
any highway jobs for three
years, “because they didn’t
know how to put a bid out
without a prevailing wage
law.”
In 1997, Jolley retired,
but if he had his way, he’d
still be working. The recent
cancer survivor attributes
his energy and good nature
to dancing, as he and De Ann
waltz and two-step on Friday
and Saturday nights.
No doubt Jolley has made
a lasting impression on Local
3 and the infrastructure of the
West.
“I can still drive all over
Utah and say, ‘I did this.’ It’s all
still there.”
with the rail project. Energy is a necessity for an island state, but
we see uncertainty with Hawaiian Electric Industries’ merger.
Agriculture, which had a bigger role in the economy, is now
seeing heavy regulation on seed companies and big agriculture.
Sometimes we are our worst enemies. That is why diversity in
the economy is good, as it is an important way to stabilize and
sustain it.
The “slow growth” that the Global Economy is stuck in may
actually benefit us. Interest rates should stay at 0 percent or
relatively low in the next few years. This is good for the private
market and its investors. It is also good for the government, as
its bonds are sold to fund capitol improvement projects. Overall,
we can expect 2016 to be a positive year.
We have elections at the federal, state and county levels, so
be sure to get informed and support those candidates who will
support our industry and our families. Stay healthy so you can
look forward to enjoying work and retirement. Come to our
District Meetings and get important information firsthand. On
Oahu, the meetings are held in the four quadrants of the island
(north, south, east and west), making it easier for you to attend.
On behalf of Business Manager Russ Burns and all of us at
District 17, we wish you a safe and joyous holiday season.
district reports
December 2015 | 17