Warren visits UBC
Posted by NERCC on May 04, 2012 at 01:03 PM

Massachusetts Democratic Senate Candidate Elizabeth Warren was in Washington this week where she visited UBC headquarters and met with General President Doug McCarron, Secretary-Treasurer Andy Silins, UBC Political Director Tom Flynn, NERCC Executive Secretary-Treasurer Mark Erlich and NERCC Political Director Steve Joyce.

 

Warren will be meeting rank-and-file union members at a Town Hall meeting next week. The event will be held Wednesday, May 9 at 5:30 PM at 1199SEUI's Union hall on Mount Vernon Street in Dorchester. All carpenters are encouraged to attend and bring their families to this important event. Warren will talk to members about herself and where she stands on issues important to us.

Our future is in our hands!

Earth Day Recycling Program
Posted by NERCC on April 19, 2012 at 10:19 AM

 In recognition of Earth Day 2012 the New England Carpenters Training Fund is sponsoring a FREE electronics Recycling on Monday, April 23, 2012 at the New England Carpenters Training Center (NECTC), 13 Holman Rd, Millbury, MA 01527.

Items may be dropped off between the hours of 7:00 AM and 2:30 PM (any day this week or on Monday, April 23).

Please call the NECTC at 508-792-5443 to let them know if you will participating so they have an idea of when you will arrive and the items you will be bringing.

The following items will be accepted.

• PC’s/Laptops
• Monitors (CRT & LCD)
• Terminals
• Servers
• Wires and Cables
• Fax Machines
• Printers
• Power Supplies
• VCR, DVDs, CD’s, floppies, camcorders
• Electrical Equipment
• Stereo Equipment and components
• Server Racks
• Projectors
• Photocopiers
• Communication Equipment
• Networking equipment
• Cell Phones
• Telecom Equipment

****We will not accept TV’s as there is a charge for them

Boston: The Year of the Crane
Posted by NERCC on April 18, 2012 at 12:02 PM

The office of Mayor Thomas Menino released the following video about construction projects in the City of Boston, terming 2012 the “Year of the Crane”. The video highlights the $3.4 billion in projects currently under construction along with an additional $14 billion in approved projects.

NERCC calls for harsher penalties for those not buying workers' comp
Posted by NERCC on April 12, 2012 at 08:34 AM

The New England Regional Council of Carpenters and other industry groups are calling on the Massachusetts legislature to make it a felony for employers to fail to purchase workers compensation insurance for their employees. Senate Bill 915, sponsored by Senator Katherine Clark (D-Melrose) and Majority Whip Ronald Mariano (D-Quincy) also has the backing of Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Operating without workers' compesnation insurance is currently a misdemeanor, punishable by upt oa year in prison or a find of up to $1,500. The new law would make the felongy punishapble by up to five years in state prison, two-and-a-half years in jail or a fine of up to $10,000.

NERCC Political Director Steve Joyce said that although union carpenters are always covered by workers' compensation insurance, they are still hurt by those who cheat.

"In an industry where work most often goes to whoever submits the lowest price, any contractor who does not purchase workers' compensation coverage has a competitive advantage right from the start over contractors who follow the law and have coverage," he said. "That negatively impacts any carpenter that works for a legitmate contractor. We're not looking to hurt all employers, we value the role they play in creating jobs. We just want everyone to comply with the law when they do it."

Even the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), a group that lobbies for businesses, support the bill. In a story by the State House News Service, John Regan, AIM's Executive Vice President described the current situation as unfair to too many.

"Their faliure to have that insurance in place means that if workers working for them get injured, the rest of the employer commnity pays the bill" and that making failure to have coverage a felony "reflects the seriousness of the issue, and conveys how important it is that coverage be in place."

According to the SHNS story, the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents has reported more than 1,000 cses costing the worekrs compensation fund $26 million in the last five years becuase their employer didn't have worers' compensation coverage. In recent years the department has routinely issued Stop Work Orders against more than 3,000 employer found to be operating without workers' compensation coverage.

Wentworth Information Sessions
Posted by NERCC on March 20, 2012 at 02:43 PM

Information sessions are being held for members who would like to learn more about degree programs available through the union at Wentworth Institute of Technology. Two sessions are scheduled in the coming weeks.

Saturday, April 21 at 10AM: 750 Dorchester Ave., Boston, MA

Saturday, May 5 at 9 AM: 13 Holman Rd., Millbury, MA

Learn more general information about the program by clicking here.

The New England Carpenter is on its way!
Posted by NERCC on February 17, 2012 at 10:15 AM

While we love the convenience and immediacy of sharing news and information through the “Council Update” and on NERCC.org and social media platforms, we know not every carpenter is active online. So the New England Regional Council is committed to continuing to produce the New England Carpenter magazine and deliver it to every member’s home.

The latest issue of New England Carpenter magazine has rolled through the presses up in Salem, Massachusetts at Deschamps Printing. You’ll notice some changes in this issue, including some new design elements and more (and bigger) pictures of union members and union projects!

We’re featuring a cluster of stories about member involvement in area standards demonstrations and introducing the Union Participation Program, which will plug active members into ongoing union efforts to protect standards and win more work opportunities.

Keep an eye on your mailbox or check-in at the media center on NERCC.org

Welcome to the Carpenters Center, Local 2168!
Posted by NERCC on August 22, 2011 at 12:00 AM

Floorcoverers/Carpenters Local 2168 has moved its office space from Adams Street in Dorchester to the Carpenters Center.

The Floorcoverers’ new office is located on the third floor of the Carpenters Center, along with offices for the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, the New England Carpenters Labor Management Program, Shop and Millmen Local 51, Piledrivers Local 56 and Carpenters Local 723.

Please note, while the mailing address for Local 2168 has changed, their phone and fax numbers remain the same:

Organizers take INSTALL to architects
Posted by NERCC on August 02, 2010 at 12:00 AM

Connecticut Organizers Bill Jordan and Dean Pallotti took the INSTALL marketing campaign on the road Friday, July 30th, to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Connecticut Chapter. They delivered a one hour continuing education program titled THE GREEN FLOOR to more than twenty Architects. This event culminated three months of planning with Joanne Rees, Program Director from the AIA and CT organizing staff.



INSTALL is a comprehensive training and certification program for its floor covering installers, and a marketing program for its alliance members. Core skills are taught in carpet, resilients, hardwood, artificial turf, and much more. INSTALL professionals can efficiently install any kind of floor, in any configuration, for residential, commercial, and institutional settings.

Future plans for CT Organizing include a Symposium scheduled for September 23, 2010, for the benefit of their local specifier communities.

To learn more about the INSTALL program, visit www.installfloors.org.

First and third floors complete
Posted by NERCC on January 15, 2010 at 12:00 AM

Volunteer members from Local 2168 have been installing wood flooring on the second floor.

Before floor installation began, crews working for Allegheny Contract Flooring completed preparatory work on the existing concrete floor (see past post and video).

Floorlayers working for Pavilion Floors have completed installation of carpet in the office spaces, vinyl flooring in storage rooms, and cork flooring in break rooms. Walnut wood flooring is currently being installed by Local 2168 volunteers in the main lobby, corridors and the communicating stair connecting the second floor to the first floor.



Final touch-up painting is scheduled for completion on the first floor later today. While that is going on, crews with Pavilion Floor are completing the vinyl base board work.

With the first floor painting complete, the crew will move up to the second floor to complete the final coat and touch up work. As on the first floor, Pavilion Floor will then install the vinyl baseboard. Baseboard is a functional feature that covers the joint between the wall surface (drywall) and the floor.

In areas where there is wood flooring, wood baseboard will be installed by carpenters working for Archer Corporation. The wood baseboard was manufactured by carpenters at the Millwork One factory located in Rhode Island.

By the end of the work day today, the first and third floors will be complete. The second floor is expected to be complete by the end of next week.

Floorcoverers work on second floor
Posted by NERCC on November 04, 2009 at 12:00 AM

On the second floor of the building a unique project is ongoing with a crew of floorlayers from Local 2168 working for Allegheny Contract Flooring. The second floor of the building, while flat, was not level, due to the quantity of drains throughout the floor from the laundry facility that used to be housed in the building.

A process called Flooding is being implemented throughout the second floor to level the floor in preparation for flooring installation that will happen in the coming months.

The crew working for Allegheny Contract will see this process through from start to finish. First, the floor is prepped using a diamatic grinder (seen below). A bonding agent primer is painted on the prepped floor. The primer bonds to the existing floor and the new self leveling cement that will be poured on top.



Crews then begin the intricate process of determining the measurements necessary to level the floor. First, they strike a grid chalk line in four or three foot squares, depending on the size of the room. They are given a benchmark, which tells them where the zero mark lies for the elevation of the floor. Orange tabs are placed along the grid system and are later cut to the necessary lengths to reach that zero mark.



Using the leveler (seen below), a reading is given to determine how high up the floor needs to be to reach the zero mark. The worker seen here takes that measurement and writes it on the ground next to the orange tab. Each tab is then cut to the correct height, which will later help determine how much cement needs to be poured over a particular section of the floor.



The pallets of portland-based cement mix can be seen below. On this particular day, Allegheny Contract was working on an 8,000 square foot area that would require around 18 pallets of Portland cement mixture.


The crew works simultaneously to flood the floor. Workers pour cement into the mixer, which then runs through a hose into another room where the floor is flooded.



The floor will be dry enough to walk across within approximately 4 hours. While the floor won’t immediately be able to handle point loads, crews will be able to work in areas where the floor has been poured within 24 hours, as long as they protect the floors and use ladders.

Floorcoverers ratify new contract
Posted by NERCC on September 03, 2009 at 12:00 AM

Members of Massachusetts Floorcoverers Local 2168 last night voted to ratify a new three-year collective bargaining agreement. The agreement provides total wage and benefit increases of $1.25 in the first year, $1.50 in the second year and $2.50 in the third year. The contract will also change the package for floorcoverers working in western Massachusetts. Members doing floorcovering work in Local 108s geographic jurisdiction will be given the western Massachusetts carpenter rate for wages and annuity fund contributions.

What We Do - Floorcovering
Posted by NERCC on August 08, 2008 at 12:00 AM