Travis Williams Named 2022 Don Sherry Award Winner

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Few people have left the impact on the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters as Don Sherry did. Don Sherry tragically passed away in 2017. His list of accomplishments is vast, and his impact on our union is unprecedented.

Don Sherry passionately served the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters for nearly 20 years as a business representative and Director of Organizing. He was the President of Carpenters Local 175 and a dedicated advocate for workers rights and unions. Colleagues said his dedication to this organization was second to none.

To honor his legacy, the IKORCC gives the Don Sherry Achievement Award annually.

To honor Don’s service and dedication, each year since his passing the IKORCC has given The Don Sherry Achievement Award. The award recognizes a rank-and-file member who has gone above and beyond in their service on the job site, with contractors, in MAC meetings (Member Action Committee), and in their community. In addition to giving an award in his honor, IKORCC delegates raise money each year during their annual conference and donate the proceeds to the Diabetes Foundation in Don Sherry’s honor.

Recipients of the Don Sherry Achievement Award include:

2018 – Glenn Downs, Local 599
2019 – Raymond Poer, Local 599
2020 – Cory Hudson, Local 285
2021 – Bobby Miller, Local 357
2022 – Travis Williams, Local 1005

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Congrats to our 2022 Scholarship Winners

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Congratulations to our 2022 Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Scholarship Program recipients!  40 students received a $1,000 scholarship toward tuition, room, and board, or books to a trade school or college.

Twenty recipients earned scholarships based upon their high school grade point average and SAT or ACT scores. Another twenty were selected randomly.

Recipients were sons, daughters, and dependent children of members of the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights. Parents or guardians must be members in good standing of the IKORCC for at least one year. The son, daughter, or dependent child must be a high school graduating senior or be attending a college, university or trade school as a full-time student.

Congratulations to the following 2022 IKORCC Scholarship recipients: Read more

Building Market Share & Community in Newburgh

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In the Newburgh area, 2021 was all about growing market share and building community – something members in this area excel at. Members worked on big projects, including the Evansville Aquatic Center, St. Vincent Hospital, Deaconess Hospital, a pool at University of Southern Indiana and on a bridge over Green River.

Next year’s work forecast looks solid. Members are working on an ongoing simple cycle project at Tennessee Valley Authority, where AZCO is installing three simple cycle gas turbines. This project kicked off in October. At its peak it will have around 60 carpenters and 15 Millwrights on the project.

Members are looking forward to the Toyota/Lexus line expansion, which is set to begin in early 2022. This $840 million-dollar project will create plenty of man hours. In March, Pratt Industries Paper Mill is coming to Henderson, KY. This $340 million-dollar project will also increase man hours.

In addition to growing market share, members in Paducah are also building the community. Local 357 members are finishing work on a McCracken County Habitat for Humanity home. This is the fourth home they’ve helped build for the organization that helps families and individuals in need of decent, affordable housing achieve their dream of homeownership. Carpenters did the framing, set trusses, roof decking and will set the windows and complete the vinyl siding.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, carpenters mobilized and held a canned food drive. The food drive was so successful, they’ve decided to do it again in 2021 and are currently taking canned food and Christmas toy donations for families in need.

Community Based Organizing

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Our country is experiencing an unprecedented labor movement not seen since the 1940’s & 50’s. Every labor union in the country should be capitalizing on this momentum, but at some point, every union member has to ask themselves…what can I do to help?


Members like you, have and always will be the UBC’s most valuable asset. To reach the UBC goal of 70% market share & the regional council’s goals, we need you engaged.

Throughout our history carpenter to carpenter & community-based organizing have been the most effective tools we have as a union. Many of you are familiar with the IKORCC M.A.C program. The regional council has set up Membership Action Committees and holds meetings in multiple areas in IN, KY & Ohio.

Unlike regular monthly business meetings, this is where you have the opportunity to get involved in our organizing efforts. Activities range from community events, helping our neighbors with small construction projects, but most importantly showing up in force to collectively voice our concerns on carpenter issues.

We are the community, and we will hold elected officials, owners and developers accountable when they let unscrupulous contractors come into our community and steal the work that puts food on our tables. We are putting a schedule of events together for the 2022 M.A.C. agenda & we need you there.

Please contact your local or regional council office for more information & how you can make a difference.

Fraternally,

Ken Lyons

Director of Organizing

Growing Membership & Market Share in Warsaw

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The United Brotherhood of Carpenters was founded with the mission to stand strong with our members and business partners to help them achieve success. When it comes to focusing on this core goal, the Warsaw hub is thriving.

 

Not only has the Warsaw hub increased membership, they’ve also worked with contractors and increased manhours. They expect to see an additional seven percent increase in manhours in 2022.

 

To grow the Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) market share in the area, the Warsaw team hosted ICRA Awareness trainings and signed a new ICRA partnership with Concord Community Schools. This adds an ICRA agreement to eight schools, ensuring that contractors who perform the work in schools are properly trained to control contaminants and students are protected during school construction.

 

To grow and protect market share in the area, the team has focused on increasing Responsible Bidder Ordinances and getting contractor licensing in place. They successfully signed an RBO in Gas City, Indiana and with Concord Community Schools, bringing the total RBOs in the area to nine, which includes four municipalities and five school corporations.

 

In another win for union members and contractors, the South Bend/Saint Joseph County Building Department has recently hired a compliance officer to visit job sites, inspect and gather information regarding licenses and permits, issue violation notices and follow up to ensure future compliance. The officer will also track and report results to the Building Commissioner, legal department and others to help with compliance issues. This new role will help protect workers and level the playing field for signatory contractors.

 

Finally, the Warsaw team has worked hard to develop the next generation of IKORCC members through strategic partnerships throughout the area. The team has worked with high school and 8th graders to promote our trades through Junior Achievement’s programs. In addition, they’ve continued to work with the Fort Wayne Boys and Girls Club on Project Blueprint. Project Blueprint exposes kids to careers in skilled trades. The idea is to show kids career options after high school other than the traditional four-year college pathway.

 

MAC Members Build Food Pantry Following Tornado

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On December 10, 2021 a devastating tornado impacted a large portion of Western Kentucky. Many homes were damaged or suffered total losses, and many families lives were changed within an instant.

MAC (Member Action Committee) members of Locals 224, 357, and 1076 set out on Saturday December 18, 2021, at the request of Deacon Ricky Sleigh of Powers Chapel General Baptist Church. This church is located two miles up the road from Bremen, KY which suffered a major impact from the tornado.

In total, we had 14 members representing each local working diligently to build approximately 100 feet of shelving to be used as a temporary food pantry for those affected.  All material was donated by Lowes, and each member brought out plenty of their own tools to insure a job well done.

Union Carpenters to Build I Promise Housing Complex

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AKRON, OH – Home to the one-of-a-kind I Promise School initiated by a partnership with the LeBron James Family Foundation and Akron Public Schools, the I Promise complex is ready for the next big phase of their innovative learning model.  The LeBron James Family Foundation has been working with the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation or EANDC to develop affordable housing for families.

This new phase of the I Promise Network will offer housing with affordable rent expected to range from $350 to $850.  Families qualifying to live in the complex will be those earning 30% to 60% of Akron’s median household income of between $11,259 to $22,519, according to data reported by cleveland.com. Read more

IKORCC Partners With Louisville Urban League

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A New Partnership to Remove Barriers

An exciting new partnership is underway at the IKORCC. Jerry Burke, IKORCC’s training Director for the Indiana and Kentucky training centers, announced a new specialized construction training program in partnership with the Louisville Urban League’s Kentuckiana Builds Program as well as an articulation agreement to add IKORCC’s pre-apprenticeship Career Connections curriculum to the Kentuckiana Builds curricula.

This partnership will allow students currently enrolled in the Urban League’s Kentuckiana Builds program to lessen the barriers of entering IKORCC’s apprenticeship program by reducing the enrollment time that is typically 6 months long, down to just 6 weeks. The students will also gain direct entry to the apprenticeship once they complete their 6-week construction training program.

During the 6-week program with Kentuckiana Builds, students receive career-focused management, expert job placement, and work-related incentives to recruit and prepare them for the construction industry. Once they graduate from the program, they leave with three credentials First Aid/CPR, OSHA-10, and the Core Construction credential from the National Center for Construction Education and Research.

During the program, The Louisville Urban League’s cohort will be hosted at the IKORCC’s Louisville training center for a 5-day hand and power tool training module. While the students are with the IKORCC for the 5 days of classes, they will learn soft skills, an introduction to construction, and tool safety among other topics both in the classroom and via hands-on techniques. Read more

Carpenters Build Community at Indiana State Fair

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Nearly a dozen carpenters spent Saturday building something a little different than usual. Instead of constructing buildings – they volunteered to build community and relationships at the Indiana State Fair.

Saturday, August 7th was Carpenters Day at the Indiana State Fair. Volunteers spent the day building keepsake toolboxes with families, recruiting new members and forming community partnerships.

When visitors came to the fair, the first thing they saw was giant banners that said “Welcome to Carpenters Day”. Fair staff wore “We’re Hiring” buttons directing them to our career application. All day long, radio ads for the Carpenters played over the loud speaker and our ads were on the back cover of the State Fair program. The sky ride also had recruitment advertising on the back of the cars.

Volunteers for the IKORCC were phenomenal. They set up four tents, showcased a new “Now Hiring” truck and had a large presence on the busiest corner of the fair. Volunteers handed out recruitment materials and built over 600 toolboxes. You couldn’t walk anywhere at the fair and not see the IKORCC and UBC logo in the hands of kids and adults. Hammy the mascot also made a few appearances!

In addition to building toolboxes, volunteers also sold raffle tickets for a playhouse with proceeds benefiting Carpenters Caring. Carpenters Caring is a non-profit that raises money for IKORCC members in need. This year’s playhouse was built by our partners at Central Nine Career Center. Students in the construction trades class completed the project. Special thanks to these students and their instructor Frank Wormann for their help.

Volunteers raised nearly $600 for Carpenters Caring thanks to raffle ticket sales and plan to continue selling raffle tickets until the drawing in late October.

To view all photos from the event, click here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1esmj3cmm1qx369/AACQNHUnN78hqSh48noCKFaya?dl=0

To view a Facebook live video of the event, click here;
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=675898710474761&ref=watch_permalink

 

Carpenters Build Wheelchair Ramps for Community

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Carpenters Build Wheelchair Ramps for Community By Nick Pollock A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, Local 1485 learned that a lifelong resident of LaPorte, Indiana had been enduring some health […]

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