Important Information

New Year’s Message from General President Douglas McCarron: New Year Provides Opportunity to Strengthen Our Brotherhood

Skills Form

Pensions & Benefits

Novo Nordisk breaks ground on new U.S. headquarters

General President McCarron’s response to the American Jobs Act

Letter to Port Authority: Move Forward with Capital Construction Plan

State of the Union Address Highlights the Construction Industry

On Tuesday night, President Obama gave his annual State of the Union address. Every year, we look to this address as a way to make sure our elected officials have working people in their hearts and minds as they tackle the business of governing. No matter what party you belong to, or what your thoughts are on individual issues, the President presented many ideas that highlight the construction industry as a cornerstone to economic growth and prosperity.

We are already working towards many of the ideas put forth in the address in our own region. We’re creating opportunities in domestic energy production: natural gas exploration, wind power, and solar energy – all emerging industries where Carpenters are at the forefront of developing new skills and training. And we’re calling attention to much needed regional infrastructure improvements by educating community leaders and elected officials, and creating new opportunities through public-private partnerships.  We want to see more incentives for business to build new facilities and make improvements to existing structures.

There never has been a better time to build. And all of the construction programs mentioned have the potential to put our members to work.  By leveraging the strength and skills of 30,000 members throughout our region, this Council will capitalize on new opportunities set forth in the address

NLRB News

You may remember that several years ago, we were responsible for supplying evidence to the courts to bring a class action suit against national homebuilder DR Horton,  for flagrant prevailing wages violations and exploiting workers’ rights. The evidence presented was the culmination of a 2 year investigation conducted by our Council Representatives.

The litigation process is lengthy and some defendants hope that the individual plaintiffs will run out of resources and simply settle –class action levels the playing field between large corporation with unlimited resources and individuals. We were pleased to see that the NLRB recently made a decision to uphold workers’ rights and rule against DR Horton in their attempt to have all class action suits against them dismissed. The NLRB ruled that DR Horton violated section 7 of the NLRA by attempting to limit individual’s right to litigate collectively.

Please follow this link to read the article that speaks to this issue:

http://www.impactlitigation.com/2012/01/09/d-r-horton-nlrb-holds-class-action-waiver-in-employment-contract-unenforceable/

This Council is proud to have laid the foundation with our class action suit. This decision ensures our case against DR Horton will continue through the court system.  It’s through hard work and a strong commitment to Carpenter values, that we can shed light on bad labor practices that pervade our industry throughout our region.

Continuing Assault on Unions

From time to time, we come across news articles or editorials that we think speak powerfully to an issue. Last week’s New York Times editorial calls attention to two campaigns to destroy collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin and Ohio through so called “Right-To-Work” legislation. Please click here to read the full article.

Right-To-Work laws are aimed directly at reducing workers’ wages, under the false promise that lower wages will encourage business to create more jobs. This could not be further from the truth. The average American worker is not competing with other workers in other states – they are competing in a global market place. Today, the strategy of attracting employers to our states by reducing wages is a race to the bottom for both workers AND businesses. The growth of our nation’s economy depends on people having disposable income to spend on services – and the right to collectively bargain ensure that workers can earn a fair wage.

What’s happening to our Brothers and Sisters in the Midwest is a sign of things to come. As recently as last year, the NJ Legislature saw a Right-to-Work bill hit the floor. Because of our strong relationships in the statehouses our Political Education Committee was able to educate our elected officials and defeat these anti-worker laws.

Please be sure to check out the NYT article by clicking the link above. By leveraging the strength and vigilance of our PEC and expanding our industry partnerships through NY and NJ, this Council is committed to protecting your right to collectively bargain, and expanding the middle class.

NRCC Protests Handbilling by Rochester Building Trades Council; Ends Dues Payments

Responding to an anti-UBC handbilling effort by the Rochester Building and Construction Trades Council (RBCTC), the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters has stopped paying dues to the Rochester group.

Executive Secretary-Treasurer Michael Capelli explained the move in a recent letter to the RBCTC, calling for unions to end “untenable battles that produce no tangible positive outcomes for any of our members.”

To read EST Capelli’s letter, click below.