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December 2012
Work has slowed with winter weather, but our contractors have a back log of work for the first time in a couple years. Work is continuing at King Street Station, we currently have 6 journey level Plasterers and 1 Apprentice on site, that will change when they are able to scaffold the walls. up North we will be doing a couple of hotels for Northern Marine and Plastering Plus NW. WPI has work at Husky Stadium and NRB in Olympia.
The fire proofing has slowed because building starts are lagging, that should change dramaticly after the first of the year. Remember to get your classes done to be able to get your raise we got in July. Check you news letters for dates and times of the classes.
Have a great holiday and be safe, remember the number 1 rule is after your shift go home to your families!
Faternally,
Royal
July 2012 Report
Work is picking up: as of yesterday we are under 40 on the out of work list, the lowest we have been in over a year. There are several large projects slated for start this summer. WPI has the bulk of the work in Washington with Husky Stadium and DNR in Olympia. PCS has folded its plaster division and the equipment and project manager have moved over to PCI, Doug should have them up and running in no time. I am hearing of residental projects starting to roll again, companies like Nelson Evergreen, Sager Plastering, and Superior Stucco should get busy. July is the end of 2nd quarter and also Washington State Building Trades convention time. As Vice President of SBCTC and Executive Board of NWBCTC I will be attending the convention in Wenatchee, July 25-27. Please make sure that you are on the out of work list and your dues are current, you are suspended when you are more than 3 months behind. Please work safe and get back to work.
Fraternally,
Royal
March 15, 2012
Winter with its bad weather and work being slow has made a tough situation even tougher. The work is comming with the promise of spring and summer. The plasterers of Local 528 have lost quite a few members to Boeing this year, and this means that those of us that are left will have to pull together to fill the void. King Street Station is finally been bid and awarded to PCI/Evergreene Architectural Arts and should be under way soon. They will require an OSHA 10 certification and scaffold user card for this project, please make sure that you get your classes completed.
Lately I have tried to contact several members and they didn't have their voice mail set up, so could not leave a message. Remember keep your name on the out of work list and stay in touch.
Fraternally,
Royal
October Report
Work has slowed since the boom of this sumer. Small plaster jobs are the flavor of this winter. Fire proofing has picked up and with the addition of every new tower crane more fire proofing is in the future. All plasterers need to check on their certifications and first aid / cpr to be elegible for the raise that is due in July of 2012. Make sure your dues are current and you are on the out of work list. As always work safe and stay in touch.
Fraternally,
Royal
June Report
Work has picked up considerably since my last report; the out of work list is shrinking daily. Western Partitions has the lion’s share of work at this time, with J. J. Jefferson also picking up work as well. Most work is EIFS with the liquid applied weather resistive barriers. There are many more jobs bidding every day, there is even talk of backlog of work.
Please make sure that you clear your name off the out of work list when you go back to work, there has been talk of writing charges for those who don't. Remember to check in if you are off.
We will be having a wage allocation at the August 2, meeting as the Health & Welfare need money there is also some changes that have been made in an effort to save money on the plan. Remember this is your plan and is funded by hours worked! And as always work safe!
Fraternally,
Royal
April Report
It has been some time since I last updated my report, work has been very slow. The future is looking brighter than it has in quite a while. Work will pick up this summer, there are some local jobs starting this spring and a stucco job in Mozambique and also the work in Alaska. We had our first ever Survivor day for apprenticeship openings, there were about 40 candidates who participated and at least 20 volunteers who did everything from judging events to cooking lunch. Including 2 contractors and one superintendent and several foremen. There were room for 8 new apprentices along with 4 direct hires, a good time was had by all.
I would like to personally thank Dan Hanson for reminding me how much he enjoys reading my monthly reports, and that he misses them when I do not keep them up. I would like to know if you are reading this report? What do you think? Do you like the content of the report? Please let me know.
The Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council and Washington State Labor Council is sponsoring a Rally in Olympia April 8th on the Capitol steps. We as a Local need to get everybody involved so that we can to bring a message of ENOUGH to the politicians in Olympia. Its PUT PEOPLE FIRST, wall street created the problem and we are all paying the price! We want good jobs, we want our rights, and we want them NOW! Any questions please contact out office for times and locations to meet.
faternally,
Royal
November Report
Work has picked up considerably, the out of work list has shrunk to below 40 several times this Fall. The bad news is not many new highrises are going up, so fireproofing will be slow for some time. There are some big EIFS jobs on the books for next year, one in downtown Seattle and one in Ocean Shores. King Street Station is going out to bid later this year, but I expect several out of town contractors trying hard for this job also. Training classes are available for American Clays and AWCI certifcation, also for scaffold user cards. The local had the retiree lunchon in September, it was well attended, with many retired plasterers in attendance. It was good to see many familiar faces and get caught up with what is going on with life after work. The Trustees met in October and the pension is doing well and back in the green zone, Health and Welfare is still loosing money with the lack of hours and high usage. This is not uncommon with members off work, they have time to go to the doctor and get checked out.
Thanks to Victor Blume for the heads up on the Veneer Plaster job at the Fort Lewis Readiness Center. The contractor had contacted him to go to work for them and he recomended that they contact the Union . I called on them and they signed a one job agreement with us and four Journeymen have work for two to three months. Thanks again Victor! You did the right thing.
Please take advantage of the time off and get your certification classes so you can get the raise in 2012, work safe and stay in touch.
Fraternally,
Royal
July Report
Work is still slow but look to be better in the comming months. The Plasterers have reached a tennitive agreement with Northwest Wall and Ceiling Contractors Association, and a special meeting is scheduled for Monday July 26, at 6:00 P.M.
Times are tough for contractors as well as for members, job are being bid and then rebid. Developers and Owner of projects are bid shopping looking for the cheapest prices to build their projects. Bottom line, there is no money in the jobs for hirering an extra laborer or an apprentice for cleanup and pushing scaffold or even a "full" crew. More often than not the jobs are so tight the contractor is just trying to break even and just keep key people busy, now is the time to cowboy up and be as effecient as possible and bring jobs in under budget.
Remember to work safe, see you at the special meeting.
Fraternally
Royal
May Report
Work continues to be at a premium. This summer may well be the worst on record, talking to contractors there are bid request and walk throughs all the time but the jobs are out six to twelve months. The jobs that they do get have very slim margins or no margins at all! Market recovery is being requested at what can only be called record levels, and still the jobs are going to the rats.
Remember when it starts back up we need to be ready, currently there are and have been classes through the Apprenticeship school for EIFS certification, vertical stamping, foreman training and many other helpful subjects. Be patient, stay on the out of work list and be ready to go. We need to prepare for success not for failure.
Contract negotiations have not started yet, but have recommended some possible dates to meet.
In Solidarity
Royal
April Report:
Work continues to be sluggish, plasterers go back to work and plasterers get laid off. I am hearing from contractors of tons of work being bid, but so far the work load has not increased. Remember, the last part of economic recovery is jobs. Now is a great time to prepare for the second coming of recovery! Our Apprenticeship programs have received some nice big juciy worker retraining grants, to move us into green building. Contact your Apprenticeship Coordinator and ask about classes now!
John Kearns and I just got back from the NWCB Convention in Tucson, Arizona. The attendance was down this year, but Labor and Manufacturing and dealers were there in full force. The Carpenters must have had 20 agents and apprenticeship people there. We had our regular Caucus meetings, and the Dealers and Manufactures had their exhibits with some new and exciting products. The seminars were the high point of the convention. There are code changes coming in the near future, one being no more bat insulation. This means ridged exterior insulation will be the rule not the exception. Liquid applied weather resistive barriers are key in this for this process, also Plasterers may some day need an Occupational License to work on building exteriors in the not-to-distant future. This is a good thing and we will be on the fore front, Local 528 will not be waiting for the change, but moving forward to meet the challenges in the Industry.
In Solidarity,
Royal
It is the last week of February and it seem as spring is upon us! The weather has warmed up and more and more nice days are sprinkled in. I attended the NWCB Board of Directors meeting February 17-19 a first for me, the agenda was full and time went fast as we worked hard to complete the business at hand. The Board includes members of Labor, Management, Manufacturing, and Dealers. The majority of work was on the upcomming Convention in Tucson, Arizona April 8-10. The construction market is expected to hit bottom in the 3rd quarter of 2011, with recovery starting in the 1st quarter of 2012. This has a plus or minus of 12 months. Please remember this is a very pessimistic outlook, and I look for a sooner recovery!
Work is slowly picking up and bidding has increased in the last month. Contractors are working hard at getting jobs, and market recovery request are comming in at a high rate.
This year is contract negotiations for the Wall & Ceiling industry, our contract is up June 30th and we will be talking with the industry representive soon. Nothing has happened yet! No Rumors! Please bring your concerns to the Union Meetings, the sooner the better. Work safe, work smart.
In Solidarity
Royal
November, winter and the holidays are upon us, work has been slow for almost a year now. Members and Contractors have suffered alike, there is still plaster work in the area, but General Contractors are shopping prices and looking for the cheapest prices. Quallity and efficency have taken a backseat to price, which in this industry is a recipe for disaster. Remember all of the building envelope problems we had in the 90's. We are also competing with "NEW" exterior wall claddings like corrugated steel and aluminum, hardy plank and panel, all of which need to be fastened mechanically through the weather resistive barrier, metal skin exteriors have self sealing fastners which degrade over time and need to be replaced. Hardy products are made from cement and fibre (paper) and need to have fastners caulked and also all expansion joints and terminations, so mantainance is an issue and we all know how well building maintainance people like to recaulk. So it comes down to the best way to clad a exterior of a building, masonry is heavy and expensive but has a long life and this goes for stucco too.
EIFS can be applied over a liquid weather resistive barrier with flashing intergrated into the liquid barrier and attached with an adheasive so there are no penetrations in the weather resistive barrier. It is light weight, has insulation built in to the system, and when the windows leak, which they will. With proper flashing the water drains out of the system. We can make the finish look like brick, metal, wood or even like stucco!
Liquid weather resistive barriers can be sprayed, troweled or rolled on, they last for much longer that any treated fibre membrane, and can be used over plywood or exterior gypsum panels. Working in concert with other systems is also a plus. Clips, metal strips or even wood strips can be sealed for attachment of other systems like masonry.
The industry is in flux, systems being used have no history with the changes in the new energy codes and building envelope sicence of today. The economy will pick up and work will turn around, and faulty systems will prove their own down fall. The Plastering industry will be there to pick up the pices and we will move construction into the 21st century.
We have been working hard with contractors using market recovery and there will be new jobs starting in December and January. Please keep your name on the out of work list, and be ready to go to work when the call comes. Have a safe and happy and healthy holidays.
In Solidarity
Royal
September, the summer building season is just about over. The next two months will be hurry and get it buttoned up for winter. We are still hit and mis with work, but there are jobs being bid and market recovery is being requested on a daily basis. July and August have been busy months for me, I attended the Washington State Apprenticeship Training Council meeting in Port Angeles July 15, for the Education and Training committee meeting. This committee is sponsered by the Washington State Labor Council AFLCIO, we deal with training issues and educational opertunities in apprenticeship.
July 30-31, I attended The Washington State Building and Construction Trades convention in Wenatchee. This is the first time that I've attended this convention. The meetings at times were very contentous, there was a resolution dealing with the carpenters raiding pratices, this caused a real nasty debate on the floor.
August 6-7-8, I attended the Washington State Labor Council convention also in Wenatchee. This where all labor organization meet to discuss issues that affect the labor movement. The same problems exsist in all of organized, RAIDING! If union members don't start getting involved with their local unions and stand up for what is right and reconize and honor picket lines, the labor movement will continue to decline.
August 17-21 was the Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Convention in Las Vegas. This convention was the 50th convention in our long history, since 1864. There were a long list of Resolutions to consider by the delegates, the best resolution came from this Local, and had to do with protecting our work.
August 26, we had the local 528 retiree lunchon at the Tukwila Community Center. It was well attended, I counted at least a dozen Plasterers in attendance. One member Eugene Coshow has over 70 years of membership in the OPCMIA. If you are a retiree, these lunchons are a great time and a good opportunity to catch up people and what they are doing.
Time to close, remember the most important thing to do, is to make it home after your shift. Work Safe!
Royal
June is just about done and the promise of July is just a few days away. Work is picking up and people are starting to go back to their regular employers, new dispatches are still down to just a trickle but as the list empties new dispatches will pick up. Please keep you name current on the list. Don't be suprised if the call comes and you are asked if you can lath, we have signatory contractors who don't have a contract with the Carpenters and plasterers do all the lathing. Remember the contractor has the right to assign the work to us if he has no contract with the Carpenters. This is also true with mixing, there are provisions in our apprenticeship standards that allow apprentices 500 hours mixing time during the course of their apprenticeship. This does not mean that apprentices should only mix during the course of their apprenticeship, but they do need exposure to mixing and running a pump.
I would like to thank the membership for the support in the election for Trustee to the Health & Welfare and Pension Trust, I am looking forward to serving into the future. Also to represent Local 528 at the International Convention in Las Vegas.
Fraternally
Royal
May is still slow, but there is still tons of work being bid. Contractors are using market recovery to get jobs and keep people working and trying to put more people back to work. The May meeting was Nomination of officers, I was glad to see Plasterers taking part in the up comming elections. Jim Hiblar is running against John Kearns for Business Manager, Tony Rossberg and Ed Case are running for positions on the Executive Board, and Ed Case is running against Royal Robinson for Trustee on the Health & Welfare and Pension Trust. We also have 6 Plasterers running for 3 delegates positions for the International Convention, Tony Rossberg, Ed Case, Jim Hiblar, Chris O'Brien, Matt Markham, and Royal Robinson. The Election will be held on June 2, 2009 polls open at 7:00 AM and Close at 7:00 PM, yes that is correct 7 in the morning! Good luck to all.
May also included the Plasterers wage allocation, the members present voted to go with the Executive Boards recomemdation. $0.85 added to wages. $0.25 added to Health & Welfare. $0.70 added unapplied to the Pension.
Remember; Keep your name on the out of work list! Make sure your contact information is current and be ready to go to work!
Royal
April Report
April is starting off cold and wet, but has warmed up considerably. Work should pickup as the weather continues to improve. There is lots of work being bid, Bid Clerk is full of new jobs comming up for bid and they are about 5 to 1 EIFS over stucco. There is still around 70 people on the out of work list, PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK IN AND STAY ON THE LIST IF YOU ARE OUT OF WORK!
The Plasterers Certification classes ended in March, there were about 35 plasterers in attendance. Matt will be getting out the certificates in the mail, if you have not received your certificate in the mail please contact Matt at the school (425)235-7879. Remember if you are working with people on the job site that are doing your work they need to be members of this Local not another union and especicaly not a non union worker, even if they are a sub contractor working for your contractor.
May union meeting will be the nomination of officers and delegates for the International convention in Las Vegas, we will be sending 3 plasterers. Offices open for election are Business Manager, President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Executive Board, Local Trustees, Health and Pension Trustees. The meet will be Tuesday May 5, 2009. Please be in attendance if this is something you are interested in, Plasterers by virtue of the local constitution and by laws are allowed at least one member on the Executive Board, Ed Case is our lone representative. This job requires a comitment to attend all meetings. We are allowed one member on the Health & Pension Trust, I have served on this trust for the last 8 years, this job requires 4 meetings a year and training annually.
See you at the meetings,
Royal
March Report
March has been a slow month, we are currently at 70 members on the out of work list. Work will pick up when the weather warms up. The Plasterers Certification Classes have been well attended, and Saturday will be the last class of the year. The March union meeting was canceled due to the fact that both John Kearns and Frank Benish were out of town for meetings. The April meeting will be the first Tuesday, or the 7th at 7:00 p.m. The winner of the March special web report is Tony Rossberg, he will recieve a OPCMIA International tee shirt, Tony was the first one to call me with the code. I did this as a test to see if any body is reading my report. I will do this from time to time to encourage members to read these reports.
I received notice from the NfWCB that the Carpenters have signed Standard Drywall, out of Lakeside California. I am in contact with them to try and get a contract signed, they are a very large company and they do lots of work in Southern California. Standard Drywall is signatory with the Plasterers in Las Vegas, and they would be a nice addition to our contractor base here in Washington.
Please remember to check in if you are out of work! Please work safely and efficiently.
Faternally,
Royal
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February Report:
January has come and gone and February is in full swing. We had our first Plasterers Certification class on the 7th of February, with other classes to follow on February 21st and March 7th and March 21st. Work has picked back up to pre December levels, but is still slow. Remember to be elegible for unemployment your name has to be on the out of work list, check in every 9 days. Congress passed the Emergency Unemployment Compensation extension in 2008, these benefits are effective February 15, 2009. There are different rules on work search in effect to receive these (ECU) benefits. Please contact the Labor Liaison, Lori Schneider, at (360) 902-9481, for clairification.
Fraternally,
Royal Robinson
P.S. special treat for the first person who calls me, and lets me know that they read this report. Use code
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October is here and work has slowed down. Make sure that you are on the out of work list. Call Brett Johnson at extension 1172 to put your name on the list. That way you are eligible for unemployment and I will know that you are available for work. Contractors are bidding work and using Market Recovery funding to keep us working!
I was able, with the help of International Vice President Todd Lair, ( your dues at work ), and B.C. Smith, Business Manager Local 478, to sign Generations Plastering out of Pasco, WA. They are signatory in Pasco, and want to do work in the Puget Sound. I also signed up Construction Group International, of Woodinville, WA. CGI specializes in asbestos abatement and respray. Welcome aboard gentlemen.
Times are tough Work may slow down even more before it gets better, but your Market Recovery Program is working. To date, for the year 2008, the local has paid out $58,946.30 in Market Recovery, which bought us 9,399 hours that would not have been union work without the Market Recovery Program. This translates into $437,300.00 in wages and benifits paid to our union members, at an average cost to the Local of $6.30 per hour. This is your market recovery program at work!
I was recently asked by a member what their International dues has done for them. Since I hired on to be your Plasterers' Assistant Business Agent, I have worked closely with Todd Lair who is an International Vice President. Todd is a plasterer by trade, a former Assistant Business Agent, and former Business Manager of Local 797 in Las Vegas. Brother Lair has been instrumental in helping me learn the job that I now do for Local 528. With this training and help I have been able to sign up 10 new contractors. Your International dues at work!
Remember, you the member are my eyes and ears in the field. If you have questions about how the Local works, or what is going on ,come to the union meeting. Get involved.
Fraternally,
Royal Robinson
Remember, if you are out of work, put your name on the Out of Work list, and let us know when you go back to work. Remember, always work safely and efficiently.
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