Saturday, September 28, 2013

Notice of New Meeting location for all Local 157 members

Local 157 “On the Rise”

Please come down and participate at your monthly Local 157 Meeting.

There have been many positive changes going on with Local 157 and the new leadership is firmly committed to continue to rebuild the solidarity.

With the innovative addition of the Local 157 pre-meeting gatherings, one has the opportunity to connect with your elected delegates about your concerns and hold your representative accountable for their input, on your behalf. Please come down and be a part of the proven resurgence into your local! Reunite with friends, receive “sound” information and help to protect your future!

Meetings are held at the Church of St. Anthony of Padua 154 Sullivan Street N.Y.C. Our next three meetings will held on October 16th, November 20th and December 18th. Delegate Committee Forum @ 4:00 pm, Local Meeting starts at 4:30 pm.

There are Beverages, Food, Tee Shirts, Gift Card Raffles, 157 Stickers and Union Camaraderie. We are planning to have De Walt, Milwaukee, Hilti and other tool companies with their new tools at our up-coming meetings.


Local 157 Fishing Trip

When: October 19th, 2013, Set Sail at 7:00 am till 3:00 pm
Cost: Approximately $60.00 w/Bait & Pole Included.

Welcome aboard the Brooklyn VI All friends, kids and spouses are welcome to join in on a day of good times and camaraderie on the open seas!! The Brooklyn VI is a modern super-fast 110' long 26' wide super cruiser. Be a part of Local 157’s first annual fishing trip! Bring food and beverages (suggested) or purchase on board.

Contact: Jimmy Hogan @ 718-916-5858 Bill Walsh 646-247-4380

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Findings by The Review Officer Regarding Required Approval of Candidates for EST

Pursuant to Paragraph 5.k.iv of the Stipulation and Order entered in this matter on June 3, 2010, any candidate seeking to run for a position as an officer of the District Council during the Review 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.

By Order entered August 15, 2013, the District Court approved implementation of modified election rules (“the rules”) to be applied by this office in a special election for the term of the District Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer (“EST”) expiring on January ll, 2015.

Five members, Gregory Kelty, Stephen McInnis, Pat Nee, James Noonan, and Salvatore Tagliaferro, submitted petitions pursuant to the rules. Each met the threshold requirement of submitting petitions with the signatures of at least 150 members in good standing. Mr. Tagliaferro confirmed the withdrawal of his candidacy via email on September 21, 2013. I (and two staff investigators, Jack Mitchell and Bill O’Flahelty) formally interviewed the other four members.

I found all of the members in question to be members in good standing eligible to run for office pursuant to Section 3 1 .D of the Constitution of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. After completing the vetting and interview process contemplated by the rules, the candidacy of Gregory Kelty is approved. The candidacies of Messrs. Mclrmis, Nee and Noonan are not.

Mindful of the Court’s Decision and Order filed in this matter on October 26, 20ll, which serves as the law of the case in this regard, I record the following observations to document the record in this matter.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

RO's Petition to Judge Berman to Enforce Recommendations

On September 16, 2013 Review Officer Dennis Walsh petitioned the Court requiring the District Council to "Implement Updated Business and IT Operations Plan." The upgrade was previously rejected by the Executive Committee and Delegate Body.

Judge Richard Berman has scheduled a hearing for September 30, 2013 at 11 a.m. on the RO's petition to enforce his recommendations regarding upgrading the DC’s IT platform and business practices.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

MICHELLE McCARRON PREVENTED FROM JOINING THE CARPENTERS UNION FOR A SECOND TIME

A messy public feud between carpenters' union General President Douglas J. McCarron and his brother, Southwest regional council chief Mike McCarron, that resulted in an executive management shake-up and finger-pointing charges with legal implications, has rocked the 500,000-member union and related building trades.

The carpenters' union placed the Los Angeles-based council, which includes six states and 31 locals, under emergency supervision amid non-specific charges of financial irregularities, malpractice, intimidation and wrongful conduct noted in a July 19 letter to Mike McCarron. The international removed the younger brother as executive secretary-treasurer.

Michael V. Draper, the national union's western district vice president, was named acting council supervisor pending an internal union trial, set to start on Sept. 9 at the union's Las Vegas training center. Eastern District Vice President Frank G. Spencer will hear the charges.

Michelle McCarron who is an attorney and daughter of Mike McCarron, attempted to join the Carpenters Union for the second time on September 4, to help her father, but was prevented by two staffers from the International.

Why are the men on the 9th and 10th floors of the Carpetner’s Freemont Street building so afraid of having Michelle join?

To learn more visit Stand With Mike McCarron.

Friday, September 13, 2013

McCarron Brothers Are at Center of Carpenters' Union Leadership Fight

By Tony Illia

A messy public feud between carpenters' union General President Douglas J. McCarron and his brother, Southwest regional council chief Mike McCarron, that resulted in an executive management shake-up and finger-pointing charges with legal implications, has rocked the 500,000-member union and related building trades.

The carpenters' union placed the Los Angeles-based council, which includes six states and 31 locals, under emergency supervision amid non-specific charges of financial irregularities, malpractice, intimidation and wrongful conduct noted in a July 19 letter to Mike McCarron, which ENR obtained.The international removed the younger brother as executive secretary-treasurer.

Michael V. Draper, the national union's western district vice president, was named acting council supervisor pending an internal union trial, set to start on Sept. 9 at the union's Las Vegas training center. Eastern District Vice President Frank G. Spencer will hear the charges.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Midday Rally at Pace

Their is a midday Rally tomorrow at 33 Beekman street, the site of a new 34 story Pace University Dormitory Tower.

Picket Duty Credit will be granted for this Rally. Contact Ruben Colon: Representative NYCDC Area Standards Dept. Rcolon@nycdistrictcouncil.org - Cell # ( 917 ) 376 - 5537


The Carpenters Union Lottery Offers a Shot at the Middle Class



By Tessa Stuart

At the corner of Houston and Hudson, six blocks from the Soho bakery where ladies in expensive sandals queued up before the crack of dawnall summer to taste the Cronut, a different kind of line was forming. At first it was just a couple of burly men planted in lawn chairs outside the New York City District Council of Carpenters. A week later more than 1,000 others—security guards, welders, construction workers, and baby-faced kids fresh out of high school—had pitched tents and unfurled sleeping bags next to them. A passerby surveyed the crowd and guessed it was some sort of mixed martial arts ticket giveaway.
It wasn't.

Welcome to post-recession New York, where a middle-class job is a lottery prize and folks will camp out on the street just for a chance to play.

The carpenters union apprenticeship lottery only comes around once every few years. Anyone can submit his or her name. You just have to show up, fill out a card, and drop it in a box.

Monday, September 2, 2013

A Labor Day Message


Life of Peter McGuire, 'Father' Of Labor Day

Labor Day is different from the other holidays of the year. Most holidays are to some degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation or another.

Labor Day is a time to honor the strength, commitment, and dedication of the millions of hardworking men and women who fuel America’s labor force. Our union’s founder, Peter J. McGuire, established this day in 1882 to shine a light on the critical role American workers play in creating and sustaining the wealth and prosperity of their country.

Peter J. McGuire, a young carpenter, stood before the New York Central Labor Union on May 12, 1882, to suggest an idea of setting aside one day a year to honor labor. His idea was simple. The day should "be celebrated by a street parade which would publicly show the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations."

The trade unionists, enthusiastic about the idea, quickly established a committee to plan the event. The committee chose the first Monday in September because, "it would come at the most pleasant season of the year, nearly midway between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving and would fill a wide gap in the chronology of legal holidays."