Communications

Business Representative/Recording Corresponding Secretary - Earl Liss

April 2, 2010

 

Brothers and Sisters,

 

Spring 2010 is here and with it we can only hope that the “worm has turned”. The work outlook in District 2 has improved as Public Works Projects continue to come to bid and our signatory contractors have been successful in capturing the work. The Private Sector remains flatlined. There are a few signs that it is beginning to have a faint pulse. We need the private sector to come back to life before we can expect full employment.

 

Business Manager Evans and I have spent the past several months engaged in negotiations with TransAlta Centralia Mining LLC. We currently have a tentative agreement going to ballot. The monetary increases were better than the current Consumer Price Index would support with some language modifications that were geared to the current compliance and reclamation operations.

 

At the Capitol this session the good news is that our transportation funding will continue thanks to our diligence in the past. The Governor’s office has done a good job working with federal, state and local agencies bringing stimulus funds in at various levels throughout the State. I have been spending a bit of time at Labor and Industries working on a number of issues surrounding Prevailing Wage.

 

At Local 612 the Officers and Staff continue to work hard for jobs, maintenance of benefits and forming relationships that promote the good and welfare of the membership. Business Manager Evans has been preparing the negotiating committee for the upcoming Master Labor Agreement. We will begin negotiations in mid-April.

 

The retirement of Charles Lascurain has provided the opportunity to further serve in the office of Recording-Corresponding Secretary. I would like to thank the membership for their continued support in these uncertain economic times. The patient struggle of those who did not have a seat when the “music stopped” has for me been the toughest part of the job. The commitment to professionalism, quality workmanship and each other, shown by the membership, makes all the difference in the marketing of our craft.

 

Sincerely,

 

Brother Earl Liss

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