From the Desk of Troy Garland:

We are already into March, and finally getting some much needed rain. However, this is bad news for our members who are not protected from the weather. Hours were trending slightly higher in January, but we have a long way to go. There are some large projects on the horizon, which should help increase employment.

In Solano County work has been very slow recently.  The Claybank Detention Center in Fairfield is currently in the process of pre-qualifying General Contractors. This project was scheduled to start this spring, but continues to be plagued by delays. The Building Trades is also working toward a PLA with the City of Vallejo.

The Alameda Building Trades is closely watching a huge Safeway project that is being proposed in Oakland. Safeway continues to use RAT contractors while giving us the cold shoulder.  They will continue to be in our cross hairs until they start using our Local 3 contractors and members to build their stores.

In Contra Costa, the Chevron project that was shut down in 2011 is coming back online with a tentative start date in early 2013. The Building Trades is watching this large project very closely. We are also working towards a PLA in San Pablo where we had a picket last year against Diablo Valley Masonry at the San Pablo Casino.

On the apprenticeship front, we currently have a total of 80 apprentices in Tile and 65 in Brick, Marble, PCC and Terrazzo. The tile apprenticeship will be holding their local run-off contest on April 14^th.  The bricklayers will be holding their contest at the Masonry Development Center in Tracy on April 7^th.  Despite the lack of work, we still need apprentices in all our crafts. If you know someone who is willing to attend school and take on one of our difficult crafts, please have them come in and fill out an application.

Our Labor Management Cooperative Committee’s (LMCC) are putting a dent in contractors who do not play by the rules. The Tile LMCC recently hit Stockton Ceramic Tile for over $ 100,000. The Masonry LMCC was responsible for a wage and penalty assessment against McKeever Masonry for over $8,000 on the Modesto Junior College.   The PCC contractors have also begun using monitors to gather information on unscrupulous contractors. Our LMCC’s are an instrumental tool in keeping bad contractors on notice about following prevailing wage and labor laws.

There are candidate interviews being scheduled by Building Trades Councils throughout the Bay Area. During these interviews candidates are drilled on issues that affect union workers. Only candidates who understand our issues and are willing to fight for them receive an endorsement. If you are not registered to vote, please take the time. I will be walking precincts for Jim Frazier who is running for Assembly District 11. If you would like to help our union friendly candidates get elected, call your Field Representative or the Union Hall.

Work safe,

Troy Garland