A Message From Greg Kelty

VOTE GREG KELTY FOR PRESIDENT OF THE NYC DISTRICT COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS

ABOUT GREG KELTY

BACKGROUND: I am a veteran of the United States Army; I was Honorably Discharged under Honorable Conditions in 1978 at the rank of E-5. I earned an Associate in Arts degree from Mt San Antonio College in June of 1983. I earned a Bachelor in Science degree from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in August of 1985. I have also held a NASD Series 6 securities license and an insurance license. I joined Local Union 257 in June of 1984. I am presently the Treasurer of Local Union 157. I have been a Certified Steward since the program was started in the 1990’s. My family has been involved in construction in NYC since the early 1900’s. I have five brothers and two nephews that are union carpenters.

Greg On The Issues

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Overworked, underpaid Flatbush market workers sue and win big

Settlement nets Master Food employees $300,000 and a union contract

Workers at Flatbush supermarket Master Food.

BY Erin Durkin 

Workers at Flatbush supermarket Master Food. Workers at a Flatbush supermarket who charged they were illegally stiffed on their wages for years settled a lawsuit for $300,000 - and a union contract.

The 30 workers at Master Food on Church Ave. charged they worked 12 hour days, six or seven days a week, for as little as $3.93 an hour, and never got required overtime pay.

"It was a sad situation. We knew we weren't being paid what was right, but we needed to work," said Enoc Figueroa, 26, of Flatbush, who was helping support his mother, five brothers, and three nephews in Honduras. "I have my family that I have to support and with that amount of money it was difficult."

The workers sued earlier this year - and getting a union contract instead of just back pay to settle the suit represents a new tactic for unions and advocacy groups. It's the first deal reached in a campaign launched earlier this year to organize low-wage workers, which has been targeting several Brooklyn supermarkets.

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Grievance Procedures

November 2, 2011

From: Matthew Walker, Director of Operations 

Please see below the New York City and Vicinity District Council of Carpenters Grievance Procedures. 

#1 – All pending grievances are to be entered into the computerized grievance system at which time a sequential number will be assigned. This assigned number will be used when referencing the grievances. 

#2 – When a grievance is filed the member filing the grievance will be given a stamped copy of the grievance received, which will include a sequential grievance number. This process will take place when the grievance is received at the District Council. 

#3 – To provide a fair and equitable system to all involved parties the Distrcit Council has established a Grievance Hearing Panel which consists of the Director of Grievances, the Director of Jurisdiction, and the Director of Operations. This panel will investigate and evaluate the grievance, and on standardized objective criteria, determine the course of action taken. A grievance investigation report will be completed by the District Council Representative that files the grievance on their behalf or that of another member. This report will document each phase of the grievance and provide the representative with a guide to gather pertinent information which the grievance panel will utilize to assist with the determination of the course of action to be taken in the process. Upon review of the report representatives may be asked to conduct further investigation or gather additional facts to successfully evaluate the grievance. 

#4 – When the grievance is determined to have merit the responsible parties will be contacted for a hearing with the Grievance Panel. 

#5 – At the conclusion of the hearing all information will be updated into the grievance computer system including status of case and received payments owed. The case will not be closed until all restitution is made. 

#6 – At the discretion of the hearing panel compliance letters will be issued if warranted to the responsible party and tracked in the system to identfy habitial offenders. 

#7-A person on whose behalf a grievance has been filed, may review contents of the District Council’s grievance file pertaining to that grievance by advance appointment made with the Director of Operations. No copies of any document in the grievance file shall be permitted to be made or provided. Provided further, that the District Council reserves the right to remove any document that in its sole determination contains privileged and/or confidential information. Such confidential or privileged documents shall be identified to the reviewing member by date, purpose or type of document, author, recipients, subject matter, and the reason for it being withheld from review by the member. 

Any questions or clarifications regarding this policy can be directed to the District Council, Dircetor of Grievances, Dan Walcott, Director of Jurisdiction, John Sheehy or Director of Operations , Matthew Walker.

Update: 2011 District Council Officer Election

On October 26, Candidates for the 2011 District Council Officer Election were asked to respond to four essay questions prepared by Review Officer Dennis Walsh.  In this post I am featuring the response of Michael Bilello and Daniel J. Franco candidates for Executive Secretary Treasurer.

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Update: 2011 District Council Officer Election

On October 26, Candidates for the 2011 District Council Officer Election were asked to respond to four essay questions prepared by Review Officer Dennis Walsh.  In this post I am featuring the response of candidates for President, Vice President, Trustee, Conductor and Warden.

Click to enlarge.

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NYCDC - New Hire Information

From NYCDCC:  The District Council would like to welcome a new representative, Paul DePalo, who came on board this Monday, October 31, 2011. Mr. DePalo will work out of the Business Representative Centers.

Construction Job Losses in 2013

Richard T. Anderson

by Neal Tepel

Overall New York City construction spending has remained stable over the past two years, after declining by double digit percentages in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, according to New York City Construction Outlook 2011-2013, an annual forecast and analysis prepared by the New York Building Congress.  The Building Congress anticipates continued stability in 2012 followed by a steep loss in jobs and spending in 2013.

Construction employment is forecast to average 106,900 jobs in 2011, down from 111,800 in 2010 and off 19 percent from its 2008 peak of 132,600.  However alarming job losses are predicted in 2013, when employment could total just 91,800 jobs.  “The current and forecast-ed employment numbers illustrate quite vividly the real life implications of the economic downturn on New York City and our industry,” said Building Congress President Richard T. Anderson.  “As bad as the job losses have been to date, 2013 could be a painful year for a lot of local families if our employment projections hold.”

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City receives 7 proposals for local tech campus

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday that, in addition to previously publicized bids, the city also received proposals from India-based Amity University and a consortium led by the New York Genome Center. 

By Daniel Massey

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the city received seven qualifying responses from 17 institutions before last Friday's deadline for proposals to build a tech campus in the city and that there were “no immediate frontrunners” in the competition.

In addition to previously publicized bids from Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Cornell University/Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, New York University and Stanford University, the city received proposals from India-based Amity University and a consortium led by the New York Genome Center.

Amity put in a proposal for Governor's Island, while the Genome Center, which partnered with Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Rockefeller University and SUNY Stony Brook, submitted a proposal for an undisclosed site in midtown Manhattan.

“The proposals are all attractive,” Mr. Bloomberg said at a press conference at the offices of Next Jump, a tech company that moved to the city in 1999. “This has the potential to be a game changer for our city.”

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NYC Carpenters Rat Ruling Regime

Submitted by mnadmin

The giant, snarling, inflatable rat has been widely employed by unions in labor disputes with employers and non-union contractors in recent years, but on the lower west side of Manhattan this past August, the iconic species of rodent bared its teeth at an unusual target: The headquarters of the New York City District Council of Carpenters (NYCDC).

Rank and file protests in the shadow of the District Council building on Hudson Street constitute a new high water mark for a rising tide of membership animus regarding the grip of the international. Opposition to newly enacted bylaws and a restructuring plan which promises to institutionalize top-down governance in the Carpenters union has prompted increased organization among the rank and file, while  dissatisfaction with the McCarron administration's bargaining table results have further galvanized the membership.

The protests on August 19th and August 25th were organized by Demian Schroeder, and were under the auspices of NYC Carpenter Rank and File Organized. In true democratic fashion, newly minted apprentices and long suffering journeymen alike talked with one another about the state of their union, with many bristling as fiercely as the rat they rallied under. The grievances presented were as diverse as the members attending, but each was understood to be symptomatic of ailing democracy in their union.

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New York City District Council of Carpenters Delegate Body

Below is a list of all Local Union Delegates to The New York City District Council of Carpenters.

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Court Denies Application to Restore Disqualified Candidates

United States District Judge Richard M. Berman issued a Decision & Order denying the eight candidates application to reverse the decision by Review Officer Dennis Walsh (RO) to disqualify them.

The Court upheld the RO's authority over a candidate seeking to run for a position as an Officer of the District Council which is clearly defined in the Stipulation and Order paragraph 5.k.iv:

"Any candidate seeking to run for a position as an Officer of the District Council during the Review's Officer's tenure must first be approved by the Review Officer, who will determine whether in light of the terms and objectives of the Consent Decree the candidate is qualified to run for office and represent the union membership. Any such decision by the Review Officer will be final and non-reviewable."

The RO used his authority and disqualified 16 of the 34 candidates at the nomination meeting on Wednesday October 12.

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Reply Memorandum of Law in Support of Preliminary Injunction

On Wednesday October 12, Review Officer Dennis Walsh (RO) turned a routine nomination meeting on it's head by disqualifying 16 of the 34 candidates who were expecting to be nominated in the District Council Election.

After hearing about the action, I spoke to Walter Kane and Larry Cary, of the law firm of Cary Kane LLP, (the attorneys representing the Carpenters Committee for Democracy and Workers Rights) they said the firm is willing to help the disqualified candidates make an appeal.

Eight of the sixteen candidates responded to the offer and met with the law firm for a consultation and deposition.

Last Monday, Cary, filed an Order to Show Cause for Preliminary Injunction, before United States District Judge Richard M. Berman, ordering the RO to show cause in writing why an order should not be issued reversing the RO's decision to disqualify the eight candidates.

The complaint filed by Cary, argues that the candidates were disqualified for various "arbitrary and capricious" reasons and that the RO exceeded his authority under the June 3, Stipulation and Order and is "reviewable by the court."

On Friday the RO submitted a response and argues that he "properly exercised his authority under paragraph 5.k.iv of the Stipulation and Order and his decisions not to approve the eight candidates should be upheld by the court."

Below is Cary's Reply Memorandum of Law to the RO's response.

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Certification of the Election Results by the Review Officer

Per the Election Rules, prepared and promulgated by Review Officer Dennis Walsh (RO), after the election process is completed in a accordance with the Rules, and where no timely objections to the election are raised, or upon completion of the protest and appeal procedure, or upon the conclusion of any investigation the Election Officer or RO may undertake with respect to the election, the RO shall certify the election results.

Upon information and belief the following are potential election offenses reported to the RO for investigation:

Carpenters Alliance Slate:

We reported that National Acoustics (employer) is supporting the slate by distributing campaign material/ letter in sealed employee pay checks to every National employee and Martin Costello (slate member) is cold calling members urging them to vote.

The Carpenters United NYC Slate:

We reported that the campaign ran a fundraiser and collected money from "friends and family" in support of running for Delegates to the New York City District Council of Carpenters by selling raffle tickets to "union members and non-union members.

We reported that a Skanska shop steward who has connections to slate had the employer include their campaign material in all employees pay checks.

Remedies

Per Section Six of the Election Rules: The RO may bring disciplinary charges "if as a result of any protest filed with the Election Officer, or as a result of any investigation undertaken by the Election Officer or the RO either in response to a protest or on their own initiative, the Election Officer or the RO determines that the Rules or any law have been violated or that any other conduct has occurred that may prevent or has prevented a fair, honest and open election, the Election Officer or the RO may take what ever remedial action is appropriate (see page 12)."

Election Update: Members Voice Win Majority of Delegates

Local 157 unofficial election results for (48) Delegates to the NYC District Council and one (1) Executive Committee member are as follows:

• There were 150 candidates on the ballot. 
• There were 8900 eligible voters.
• Approximately 1905 members voted, you needed at least 465 votes to win. 
• Only 1103 members voted for the executive committee members
• No Independent candidates won.  
• The independent vote ranged from a low of 67 to a high of 195, received by Charles Egan. 
• The slate vote ranged from a low of 292 to a high of 575, received by Bill Walsh.
• Members Voice had 26 Delegates elected.
• Carpenters Alliance had 21 Delegates elected.
• Carpenters United had 1 Delegate elected.

The Members Voice Slate winners are:

Chris Grogan, George La Montagne, John “Terror” Carty, Sean Doonan, John Daly, Greg Kelty, John Moloney, Don Foley, Steve Spinelli, Kevin Egan, Levi Messenetti, Sean Firth, Kevin Corrigan, Mike Donnelly, Mike Berlingo, Turlough “Sam” Noone, Patrick Nee, Tommy McGonigle, Vincent Spinelli, John Gaffney, Kevin McCabe, John Musumeci, Peter Corrigan, Danny Dore, Billy McKenna and  Bill Walsh.

The Carpenters Alliance Slate winners are: Danny Demorato for executive committee member, delegate winners are:

Louis Norelli, Eamonn Carey, Joseph Faith, Bill Lacey, Gerry Brue, Joe Nina, Vincent DeLessio, Graham McHugh, John Sheehy, Paul Capurso, Mitch Sonntag, Steve McInnis, John McCarthy, Guy Collins, Eddie McWilliams, Martin Lydon, Martin Maguire, Cory Kennedy, Elly Spicer, Glenn Hatcher and Joseph Connolly.

The Carpenters United Slate winner in Mike Bilello.

A MESSAGE FROM THE MEMBERS VOICE SLATE

Get Out and Vote Today!

VOTE THE MEMBERS VOICE SLATE

• RATIFICATION OF CONTRACTS BY THE MEMBERSHIP 
• REDESIGNED THE DISTRICT COUNCIL WEBSITE AND CREATE A VOICE FOR THE MEMBERSHIP 
• ELIMINATE ASSESSMENTS ON P.L.A. JOBS
• REVIEW ALL ASSESSMENTS AND PUT THAT MONEY TO A MORE PRODUCTIVE USE THAT BENEFITS THE MEMBERSHIP
• FULL TRANSPARENCY OF ALL COUNCIL FINANCIAL REPORTS 
• OVERHAUL THE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM  
• OVERHAUL THE OUT-OF-WORK-LIST RULES 
• NEGOTIATE A FAIR CONTRACT THAT PROTECTS THE MEMBERSHIP 

A Message From Local 157 President Patrick Nee

Reminder to Vote on Monday, October 24!

Dear Brothers and Sisters: 

Monday is Election Day, and I sincerely hope that everyone reading this will exercise the right to vote. Some of us may have our minds made up, while others are still undecided. Some people may know exactly what issues matter to them, while others may still be unsure of where the candidates stand.

The important thing is to Get Out and Vote!

I am asking for and need your support once again and help elect the Members Voice Slate as Delegates to the New York City District Council of Carpenters.

This is a very important election, the issues and challenges we face today are real and crucial to both your future, your families future and the future of this union.

Local 157 is the largest local in the UBC with over 10400 members and you will be electing (48) Delegates and one (1) Executive Committee member to represent you.

The Delegates you elect will have an enormous responsibility to address the issues and find solutions to the problems of rising health care cost, underfunded pensions, over assessed membership, making sure our contracts are fair and being enforced, hold cheating contractors accountable, improve communications and transparency and find ways to increase man-hours and better job opportunities for all our members.

We are counting on members and friends like you to come to the District Council tomorrow and Vote The Bottom Line—Vote The Members Voice Slate and Lets Take Back Our District Council!  

God bless you and God bless our Union.

Patrick Nee
President Local 157

VOTE THE MEMBERS VOICE SLATE

Memoranum of the Review Officer in Response to the Courts Order to Show Cause for Preliminary Injunction

On Monday October 18, Larry Cary, of the law firm of Cary Kane LLP, filed an Order to Show Cause for Preliminary Injunction, before United States District Judge Richard M. Berman, ordering that Review Officer Dennis Walsh (RO), show cause in writing why an order should not be issued reversing the RO's decision to disqualify Michael Ciechorski, Kevin Corrigan, John DeFalco, Shawn Eichorn, George LaMontagne, Charles Lucas, Tommy McGonnigle and Bill Walsh, from their candidacy for office and restoring their names to the ballot in the upcoming December 15, 2011 District Council election.

The complaint filed by Cary, argues that the candidates were vetoed for various "arbitrary and capricious" reasons and that the RO exceeded his authority under the June 3, Stipulation and Order and is "reviewable by the court."

In the RO's response he argues that he properly exercised his authority under paragraph 5.k.iv of the Stipulation and Order and his decisions not to approve the above named candidates should be upheld by the court.

Below is the RO's response to the Courts Order.

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Feds, HPD eye projects in Brooklyn, the Bronx after workers claim illegal labor

 

BY Daniel Beekman  

Illegal labor is the foundation of the city's affordable housing industry, construction workers and union leaders claim.

Mayor Bloomberg has vowed to build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing by 2015. But Hizzoner's push is coming under scrutiny, with a top contractor headed to trial for wage infractions at an East Harlem project and a housing agency bigwig arrested Oct. 6 for corruption.

Now the U.S. Labor Department and the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development are probing underpayment and kickbacks at affordable housing projects in the Bronx and Brooklyn, the Daily News has learned. At the Bronx site - 780 Prospect Ave. - workers are due $575,000.

"The problems at HPD are systemic," said Robert Bonanza, business manager of the Mason Tenders District Council. "For years, workers have been coming forward with stories about being forced to pay kickbacks, being paid in cash and working under unsafe conditions."

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A Message From Local 157 President Patrick Nee

Dear Brothers and Sisters: 

The primary purpose of the Members Voice Slate is to bring about fundamental changes that will bring our union into the future. Through your support we were elected to office and we are working very hard to achieve these goals. The entire executive board thanks you and we need your continued support. 

We, the Local 157 elected officials have assembled a group of dedicated men and women who are committed to achieving the changes our union desperately need.

Working together both the delegate body and executive board will be able to make the needed changes. 

This new delegate body will be responsible to you. We hear your demand for change, now we ask you to empower us to make these changes. That is our commitment to you.

It’s important to remember that your vote wasn’t just a vote for my candidacy— it was a vote towards a vision for the future of our union. It was a vote to build a better union we can all be proud of. It was a vote to finally put us on a path where we can protect the interests and rights of our member's above all else.

Once again, I am asking for your support and help elect the Members Voice Slate as Delegates to the New York City District Council of Carpenters. 

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A MESSAGE FROM THE MEMBERS VOICE SLATE

On Monday Local 157 will conduct an election for (48) Delegates to the NYC District Council and one (1) Executive Committee member.

Elections will be held at the New York City District Council of Carpenters Labor Technical College, 395 Hudson Street, from 6:00 a.m through 7:00 p.m, and a regular scheduled meeting will follow.

There are six independent candidates and three slates of candidates running in the election.

We are counting on members and friends like you to give our candidates all your support and we urge you to come out and vote on Election Day! 

Your vote is your voice—The voice of this union.

We are asking you to use your voice once again to support your elected executive board and vote for the Members Voice Slate as Delegates to the New York City District Council of Carpenters.

We have a brand new opportunity for our District Council and the Members Voice Slate is the best opportunity to get it right!

Serious problems need serious people to solve them. Your vote for the Members Voice Slate will put people of experience, integrity and honesty into elected office to represent you, promote opportunity, advocate union democracy, and protect your rights by solving the issues and challenges which confront our union today.

For your convenience below is a sample ballot showing how the candidates will appear on the voting machine. 

Remember on Election Day, October 24, 2011—Let your voices be heard and— Vote The Members Voice Slate and become part of the change we need!

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