Carpenters Local 118 in New Hampshire recently announced that is has endorsed the candidacy of former state senator Maggie Hassan for Governor. The affiliate of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters was the first union to endorse her campaign. She will face fellow former state senator Jackie Cilley in a Democratic primary to replace retiring incumbent Democratic Governor John Lynch.

“There is too much at stake for any of us to sit on the sidelines in this election. We need to support a leader who can win in November and that leader is Maggie Hassan,” said Brother Joe Donahue. “We’ve worked with many candidates and public officials over the years and Maggie’s records as a State Senator and Senate Majority Leader is second to none in demonstrating a firm commitment to New Hampshire’s working families.”

“Maggie is a strong and consistent advocate for the issues important to working people in New Hampshire: protecting workers’ rights to collectively bargain, standing up against attempts to make New Hampshire a so-called “right to work” state, and increasing the minimum wage.”

“I’m honored to have earned the support of the Carpenters,” said Hassan. “They represent some of the best and brightest trades people in our state and I’m excited to have them on board our growing campaign. I’m also proud to have stood with them in their ongoing efforts to prevent the abuse of workers in the construction industry.”
 

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!

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.

Brother Thomas Flynn, a 25-year member of Carpenters Local 67, has been appointed by UBC General President Doug McCarron to the position of Political and Legislative Director. The appointment was announced by McCarron today at a meeting of Regional Council leaders.

"The UBC's gain is obviously NERCC's loss," said Mark Erlich, Executive Secretary-Treasurer. "Tom has been one of our shining stars, a valuable leader, and a great friend. As much as I am pleased that he will have this opportunity in Washington D.C., I recognize that it will be very difficult to fill his shoes in New England."

Flynn has served as the Political and Legislative Director of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters for eleven years. During that time he has also served as the Executive Director of the New England Carpenters Labor-Management Program and, since 2009, he was been the Regional Manager for the Boston commercial carpentry Local Unions. He has also been a member of the New England Carpenters Combined Benefit Funds and subcommittees of that fund. In 2010 he was elected to the Executive Committee of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters.

Prior to working for NERCC, Flynn was an Organizer and Business Manager of Local 67 and served in various positions on the Local Executive Board, including President.

As he campaigns to move from the United States House of Representatives to the Senate this year, Connecticut's Chris Murphy has been renewing and strengthening his relationship with union carpenters. Murphy was recently endorsed by the Working Families Party and hit the streets to push for more infrastructure fudning.

Murphy recently attended an event in New Milford with union carpenters other trades workers and construction employers highlight the need to fund repairs to the structurally deficient Veteran's Bridge and other neglected structures. The project would provide an economic boost through job creation. It would also start to tackle major infrastructure deficiencies that are dangerous, stifle growth and lead to more costly repairs later.

Funding to repair the Veteran's Bridge in New Milford is in place, but proposed cuts could lead to eliminating commitments to many projects, including the Veteran's Bridge, according to an article by the Danbury News-Times.

Local 24 Carpenter and Representative Chris Bachant is quoted in the article supporting Murphy's efforts to fudn more infrastruture construction, especially if local workers can made the beneficiaries.

Chris Bachant, a Waterford resident and union carpenter who was one of several dozen people to attend the event, said "things are very tough right now" in the construction industry.

"It's fantastic what Murphy is promoting," Bachant said. "But I think we need to go one step further and make sure that local people are hired for these jobs."

A recent bridge construction project near his home, Bachant said, was awarded to a company from Minnesota.

The entire story can be read here.

Earlier this week, President Barack Obama gave a speech in Osawatomie, Kansas. The full text of the speech is available here on the Washington Post’s site. It’s worth reading at least a bit of it because it’s widely believed it contains the major themes Obama plans to feature in his re-election bid next year. That should be good news for most Americans.

The speech references President Teddy Roosevelt, who not coincidentally gave a significant speech in Osawatomie himself, and compares some of the philosophies and battles Roosevelt took on when he was president to current day issues to which Obama seems to be rededicating his efforts. The speech references both Tea Party and Occupy movements, taking advantage of the change in the national political dialogue perhaps begun by the former and energized by the later. The themes and principles Obama espouses and recalls from Roosevelt will sound familiar to most union members, making it that much more meaningful that they are coming from the President of the United States.
 

Legislative leaders in New Hampshire today fell short of the votes needed to override Governor John Lynch's veto on Right to Work legsilation. The result is that New Hampshire will not become a Right to Work state.The vote was 240-139 to override the veto, short of the neccesary 2/3 required. Speaker William O'Brien had promised a swift override of the Governor's veto, but failed to call for a vote through the spring and summer, prompting many to believe that he could not muster the votes to override. Today was one of the final two active days of the current session, meaning if he did not bring it to a vote, the bill would have to be refiled fro scratch in the next session.

Texas Governor and GOP Presidential hopeful Rick Perry addressed legislators and voiced his support for the override vote just an hours before the effort failed, earning boos as well as cheers. Another Republican Presidential candidate, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, also spoke to legislators and urged them to support Right to Work by overriding the Governor's veto.

The judgement of both might be qustioned, given that news articles and talk around Concord seemed to indicate O'Brien was certain to fall several votes short, with most legislators holding firm and well known positions on the issue.

The Concord Monitor had an early report.

Right to work supporters are planning a major event in Concord on Wednesday to coincide with a vote on Right to Work legislation for New Hampshire. There are rumors that Republican Presidential Candidates will attend this rally.

We have beaten back this efforts before and need to do it again. But we need to ensure that our voices are heard and our faces are seen. Please join us Wednesday at 8am in front of the State House for a demonstration in support of workers, in support of unions and against Right to Work.

Again, that’s this Wednesday, November 30 at 8am in front of the State House in Concord. Thank you.

 Three trade agreements opposed by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters were passed by the United States House of Representatives this week without sufficient protections for workers in the US and abroad. The passage of the three agreements--with South Korea, Panama and Columbia--continues a two-decade trend of trade agreements that have each cost American workers hundreds of thousands of jobs, increased our trade deficit and made it easier and more profitable for corporations to abuse workers in low-wage, regulation-free countries.

UBC General President Doug McCarron urged Congress not to pass the three pending agreements, detailing specific problems that would result from each of them.

The New England delegation to Congress, dominated by Democrats, voted largely against the agreements, though not unanimously. Representatives Jim McGovern, Barney Frank, John Tierney, Ed Markey, Mike Capuano, Stephen Lynch and Bill Keating from Massachusetts voted no on all three proposed agreements. Both Representatives David Cicilline and Jim Langevin from Rhode Island voted no on all three, as did Maine's delegation of Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud. Representatives Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro and Chris Murphy also voted against passage of the three agreements.

Representatives John Olver, Richie Neal and Niki Tsongas of Massachusetts, Representative Peter Welch from Vermont and Representative John Larson from Connecticut all voted to pass the proposed agreement with Panama. Neal and Larson also supported the South Korean agreement.

The only Republican Representatives from New England--Representatives Frank Guinta and Charlie Bass from New Hampshire voted in support of all three agreements. Democratic Representative Jim Himes from Connecticut also voted in favor of all three agreements.

Dan Rego, a member of Carpenters Local 1305 and a full-time Representative working for the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, has qualified for the general election for Fall River City Council after results were announced for the preliminary election last night.

The election was contested by 22 candidates, vying for 18 general election positions on the ballot that will elect nine members to the Council. Rego finished eighth, defeating two incumbent Councilors, including the Council President and a 28-year member of the Council.

Rego is seeking public office for the first time and was encouraged by the results, but said a seat on the Council will still require a fight.

"The results were very close and there are a few candidates who have been around a long time and may be able to pull some votes for the general election," he said. "But I'm very excited about the results and plan to work really hard to do even better in November."

To say every vote will count in the general election is not an exaggeration. With just over 10,000 ballots cast, Rego earned 3,039 votes, only 400 votes from finishing second, but also less than 50 votes from tenth.

Members that would like to help Rego's campaign by volunteering or making a donation, may contact him through Local 1305.

A New Hampshire commission established to consider and make recommendations on existing and potential new business regulations will include the voice of union carpenters. Joe Donahue, a member of Local 118 and employee of the New England Carpenters Labor Management Program was appointed by New Hampshire Governor John Lynch to the "Commission to Study Business Regulations in New Hampshire," a body established by legislative action earlier this year.

The commission will "study business regulations in New Hampshire, the impact they have on employment growth and business profitability, and the costs and benefits associated with the current regulatory environment. The goals of the commission shall be to:

(a) Review New Hampshire’s business oversights that fall under the umbrella of labor and workforce regulations.

(b) Review New Hampshire’s business oversights that fall under the umbrella of environmental and construction/permitting regulations.

(c) Identify potential reforms that could be made to regulations cited above, and develop legislation for the 2012 session to accomplish those reforms."

Donahue has extensive experience in political and legislative issues relating to the construction industry in New Hampshire and has been a key player in the efforts to improve enforcement, particularly relating to the issue of the misclassificaiton of workers.

Last year Local 218 Carpenter Bill Frost became quite a visible supporter of the legalization and construction of resort casinos in Massachusetts. He spoke at hearing and rallies, eventually writing and reading a commentary in support of casinos at the request of WBUR, a Boston National Public Radio affiliate. Frost's commentary was honored with a national award from Public Radio News Directors Incorporated.

With the casino debate being taken up by the Massachusetts legislature today, Frost was once again asked by WBUR to write and read a new commentary piece on the issue. It aired today and can be read and listened to on their website.

The Portland Phoenix continues to confirm what most suspect: Maine Governor Paul LePage isn't really a policy wonk who pours over issue papers and carefully crafts his own legislation and plans of action. Trouble is, they've confirmed that his staff doesn't really work their fingers to the bone with those messy details, either. Turns out what they're really good at is CTRL+C, CTRL+V (copy and paste).

"In most cases, language from the industry and lobbyist's memos was copied word-for-word into LePage's reform proposal, suggesting the governor and his staff made little effort to analyze or shape policies themselves."

"Directly photocopying from lobbyist's wish lists is problematic in the message it sends on how seriously he takes his job and how much he is weighing different interests," says Ron Schmidt, head of the political science department at the University of Southern Maine. "I would think that would make a lot of citizens uncomfortable."

In contrast to the likes of Scott Walker, John Kasich and Rick Scott—Republican governors who have clear personal engagement with their extremist agendas—LePage is almost buffoonish, a weapon rather than a warrior in the corporate war on the environment and workers. But the damage to a state is the same, regardless of whether the governor came up with the ideas himself or just cut and pasted them as directed by his corporate masters.

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters has enhanced carpenters.org "to include more timely news along with expanded information, images and video content for UBC members," according to a memo from General Secretary-Treasurer Andris Silins.

"It also showcases UBC training and productivity for visitors from the construction industry and the general public," the memo said.

The site now includes members-only pages to support members and get them more active in UBC legislative and political action efforts. Members who sign up as "e-activists" will be able to easily keep up to date on relevant issues and add their voices to those of fellow members speaking to elected representatives in Washington.

Soon, members will receive an e-news alert about pending federal trade legislation, encouraging them to contact their Senate and Congressional representatives to discuss the issue. Information about the legislation has previously been posted on NERCCBlog.com and carpenters.org. The UBC e-news alerts will be similar to NERCC's Council Update, which is regularly emailed to members of NERCC affiliated locals.

"Online communication is an essential tool for the UBC, and I trust you will find that this improved Internet presence serves our members, our trade, and our Brotherhood well," Silins wrote.

All members are encouraged to visit carpenters.org, share information with fellow UBC Brothers and Sisters and sign up to become "e-activists" in the members-only section of the site.

In a fight picked by Republicans in retaliation for Democratic recall efforts, State Senator Dave Hansen of Green Bay walloped Republican David VanderLeest in what the GOP had considered a very winnable seat.

EJ Dionne, Jr., writing for the Washington Post said it could be the beginning of an interesting end to the summer in Wisconsin,as six Republicans and two more Democrats face on in recall battles in August.

Hansen read the results as the first step in a Democratic comeback. “It’s only the beginning,” he declared at a victory celebration.

Of course Hansen would say this, but Contorno pointed to the Democrats’ impressive ground operation in the race. One senses that the energy in these recalls will be on the Democrats’ side, a bigger than usual advantage in mid-summer contests where turnout will be key. And there is normally no better time than August to get attention. If Democrats manage to take over Wisconsin’s State Senate in reaction to the actions of a very ideological conservative governor and legislature, the event will have reverberations far beyond Madison.

As Congress considers "free" trade agreements with South Korea, Columbia and Panama, UBC General President Doug McCarron has written to members of the House and Senate, with a detailed argument for why they should be defeated. McCarron cites the history of increased trade deficits, borrowing by the government and a loss of jobs in the United States.

Please read the letter by McCarron to House and Senate members and consider calling or writing your Representatives to weigh in on the issue.

Still unable to muster the votes to override a veto by Governor John Lynch, New Hampshire Speaker of the House William O'Brien has put off until a special session after the summer any effort to pass so-called "Right to Work" legislation.

O'Brien, a Republican, had promised a swift override, but did not deliver scheduled votes on several occasions. He may struggle to find the votes in the fall, as well, according to one Republican quoted in a Wall Street Journal article today:

"Lee Quandt, a GOP House member from Exeter, N.H., voted against the bill. "New Hampshire is doing very well without it," he said, noting the state unemployment rate is 4.8%. He said many of the state's 63,000 union members, including many police and firemen, vote Republican.

"You don't pick up money and support by sticking it to thousands and thousands of Republicans," Mr. Quandt said. "There's a pretty strong group of Republicans that are not budging."

Last week, the United States House of Representatives considered and defeated two amendments to the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill that would have weakened or eliminated prevailing wage protections or the use of Project Labor Agreements on federal construction projects.

Democrats were joined by a significant number of Republicans in defeating the two amendments. The vote on the Davis Bacon amendment was 183-234, with 52 Republicans joining all but one Democrat to prevent passage. The PLA language lost by a smaller, but still significant 207-213 vote. Twenty-eight Republicans joined Democrats on that vote.

Neither Republican Congressmen from New Hampshire--Charlie Bass or Frank Guinta--joined the side of union members to defeat the amendments. They are the only two Republican members of the House from New England.

Business Wire has the story.

The CLEAN (Clean Local Energy Accessible Now) LA proposal would allow businesses and residents to install solar panels on their roofs and sell the power generated back to the local utility, creating the largest program of its kind in the United States. Known in policy circles as a feed-in tariff, or FiT, the plan would create $500 million in local investment and create 900 high-paying jobs each year for the next five years, all with a minimal impact on ratepayers.

Though conservative efforts to limit or eliminate the activity of unions is underway in several states this year, Republicans in Congress are running into opposition to some of their labor-related efforts from within their own party.

Twice in the last week a significant block of Republicans broke party ranks to support union positions on two significant votes. The first was an amendment to a spending bill that would have prohibited Davis Bacon prevailing wage requirements for any federal projects this year. Forty-eight Republicans in the House of Representatives joined every voting Democrat in opposing the measure, which was soundly defeated 189-233.

Republicans Charlie Bass and Frank Guinta of New Hampshire were the only New England Representatives to support the amendment. Roll Call vote results.

In a clear message to House Speaker John Boehner that he had over-reached, 60 Republican members of the House of Representatives also broke ranks last week to vote with Democrats on a bill amendment regarding funding for the National Labor Relations Board. The amendment would have de-funded the agency, which governs elections for union representation and rules on complaints of unfair labor practices by workers or management. Conservatives have complained that appointments to the Board by President Barack Obama have pushed the body to make more worker-friendly decisions.

Republican Frank Guinta of New Hampshire was the only New England Representative to support the amendment, which was defeated 176-250.

The Nation makes it frighteningly clear that as goes Wisconsin and some other states this year, so could go the labor movement.

It's taken as gospel in conservative circles--and sometimes the public at-large--that public employees make too much money. The common refrain is that "they should be treated more like workers in the private sector." A study by the Economic Policy Institute says that for many public workers, that would mean getting paid more. The study comparing compensation for public employees vs private sector workers in comparable jobs nation-wide is supplemented by state-by-state looks at the facts in Wisconsin, New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, California and Indiana.

Finally, are public employee pensions bankrupting government and in dire need of reform or elimination? Or have they simply been suffering a temporary setback due to the same stock market troubles that have equally damaged private 401(k)s? The Center for Economic and Policy Research concludes that pension funds may recover with the market and shouldn't' be the source of great panic. You can read their study here.

Here in New England, working people are rallying to support Wisconsin workers. On Tuesday rallies will be held at the State Houses in Massachusetts Rhode Island and Vermont.

Massachusetts
Tuesday at 4 pm at the State House in Boston.

Rhode Island
Tuesday at 4:30 pm at the State House in Providence.

Vermont
Tuesday at noon at the State House in Montpelier.

Rallies are being discussed and planned in other New England states. Details will be sent via the Council Update and posted to NERCCBlog.com as they become available.

Rachel Maddow makes the case that unions could be the only thing between Republicans and total domination of American politics, hence their current crackdown on public employee unions. That battle is taking place in a very high profile way in Wisconsin.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy announced today that he has appointed Carpenters Local 210 President Glenn Marshall as the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Labor. Dennis Murphy, a labor arbitrator, was chosen as Deputy Commissioner.

“In order to run the Labor Department, it is important to have someone who can work effectively as a consensus builder,” Governor Malloy said. “I strongly reject the premise that you have to be either pro-labor or pro-business – you have to be both. There is no doubt that in these tough economic times we need to have a responsible approach to decision making and an ability to work with broad-based coalitions. Glenn and Dennis – both of whom I have known for years – will take their respective experiences and put them to work at the Department of Labor, finding new and unique ways to ensure our state’s labor force is protected, and our state’s business community thrives.”

Marshall has served on the Executive Committee of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters since 1999 and the Regional Business Manager for Connecticut Locals 24, 43 and 210. He has also served as a Trustee to various benefit and training funds.

“This is a tremendous honor and I’d like to thank Governor Malloy for this opportunity,” said Marshall. “I’ve respected Governor Malloy for speaking frankly and honestly about the unique ways in which we need to get the labor and business communities around the same table on behalf of the people of Connecticut. That will be my guiding principle as I begin this next phase in my career.”

Marshall notified the NERCC Executive Board of his intention to resign from the Executive Board and his fulltime position with the union.

"Though I am leaving my job and my office on the Executive Board of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, I am not leaving the union," Marshall said. "The pride in our trade and the philosophy we share about unionism will always be with me and help to guide my work with the state. This is a tremendous opportunity for me to be involved in positive changes for Connecticut, ones that I hope will benefit workers and businesses alike.

Mark Erlich, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the New England Regional Council noted that the union's loss is Connecticut's gain.

"Glenn is a talented, intelligent and committed leader of our union and we will miss his involvement in the administration of the union. There is no doubt that he will continue to help our members and other workers as Commissioner of the Department of Labor and represent the union well."

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy. His inaugural address is considered one of the greatest political speeches in the history of the United States. Its call for unity, pride and cooperative, collective action to improve the United States is one that is just as relevant now as it was then.

The first two years of the Obama administration have been presented as a failure for the labor movement by some. The biggest legislative initiative sought in Congress--the Employee Free Choice Act--never had any momentum and virtually disappeared from policy discussions. The stimulus package morphed from an aggressive jobs-creating effort to a defensive stop-gap to save state and local budgets and provide tax cuts to assist struggling companies or investors. The grand finale was said to be the 2010 elections, where Republicans swept to a majority in the House of Representatives, weakened the Democratic majority in the Senate and started calling for President Obama to compromise more and move his agenda to the right.

On some issues, the administration has and may continue to do that. But on labor issues, they haven't retreated as much as changed tactics and strategies. Obama himself has continued to support unions publicly and has a Secretary of Labor who's mission has been to do more for workers without new laws.

In the Washington Post today, Seth Borden takes another look at how the administration is working with existing laws--and the power of the Executive Branch--to help workers in a way Republicans can't block them.

Speakers at a panel session of the Labor and Employment Relations Association annual meeting reported that there has been an increase in the likelihood and costs associated with getting caught for misclassification and underreporting of workers in the construction and other industries.

The panelists presented evidence of employers treating workers as independent contractors when they are in fact employees. A striking report discussed by the panel shows a significant discrepancy in data, one which “suggests an explosion in the misclassification of workers,” notes James Parrott, deputy director and chief economist for the Fiscal Policy Institute of New York.

The report shows that there was a growth rate of 20 percent for workers paid as independent contractors who received 1099s. Across the same time period, there was only a .5 percent increase in employment figures for workers who receive W-2 forms. The large gap between the growth of nonemployer “independent contractors” versus payrolled employees “likely reflects an increase in misclassification,” Parrot said.

Matt Capece, an attorney with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters emphasized that this problem is not just about illegal immigration, but that it “has gotten to the point where it encompasses not only undocumented workers, but people who are documented citizens of the U.S.”

Capece went on to add that adequate enforcement is needed because “…we are dealing with a class of people who don’t care about the law at all. The law is just a traffic cone for them to avoid.”

To read more about the panelists findings, click here.

The Town of Fairhaven recently passed a Responsible Employer Ordinance to govern public construction work. The Ordinance was passed by the Board of Selectmen in the Southeastern Massachusetts Town December.

The Ordinance requires bidders and subcontractors to agree as a condition of bidding to:
--Pay prevailing wages and, at their own expense, to provide hospitalization and medical benefits to employees.
--Maintain an active, bona fide and recognized apprenticeship program.
--Maintain industrial accident insurance (workers' comp) for all employees.
--Properly classify workers as employees rather than independent subcontractors.
--Employ United States citizens or people legally permitted to work in the United States and use e-verify systems to confirm their status.

After a fall full of donating their time and energy to political campaigns, a few union carpenters went to Washington today to see the fruits of their hard work.

NERCC Political Director Tom Flynn led a contingent that included Brothers Nicholas Pong, Tom Duncanson and Rob Donovan of Carpenters Local 424 as well as Brothers Mike Norton of Carpenters Local 40 and Kevin Barrett of Carpenters Local 33. The members all worked on the campaign of former District Attorney Bill Keating, who was elected to replace retiring Congressman Bill Delahunt in the 10th Massachusetts Congressional District.

The members attended Keating's swearing in, then stopped by his new office in the Capitol before heading over to visit the headquarters of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. Their final stop of the day before flying home was a reception being held in honor of Congressman Keating.

Pictured below, from left to right are: Brothers Donovan, Duncanson, Norton, Pong, and Barrett.

It's been another busy week of political campaigning for union carpenters. More than just getting ready to cast their own votes, members are taking to the streets and the phones to champion their favorite candidates and encouraging others--including their union Brothers and Sisters, to do the same.

Tuesday night in Worcester, members from Carpenters Local 107 and other Carpenter Locals joined together to hold signs in support of Congressman Jim McGovern before a debate at the Northboro Senior Center. The debate was sponsored by the Northboro Tea Party. At previous events, Tea Party supporters have been overly enthusiastic, to the point of attempting to physically intimidate McGovern and his supporters at events.

That was not the case Tuesday. As noted by the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, those union carpenters more than outnumbered the Tea Partiers, they made them virtually invisible. This video, though a little dark, makes that point very clear.



McGovern, a former Aide to the late Congressman Joe Moakley, has been serving the 3rd Congressional District for fourteen years and has become a solid favorite of union carpenters.

The next night, carpenters in at least three areas of Massachusetts were getting ready for election night.

Close to 100 members of Carpenters Local 108 braved the rain to show their support for 2nd District Congressman Richie Neal. Representing a District that covers the lower third of the state from Milford to Springfield, Neal has been hitting the campaign trail and the television airwaves hard to earn another term with union carpenters lending their full support.


At the same time, members in Southeastern Massachusetts were dialing their Brother and Sister union carpenters encouraging them to cast their votes on Tuesday for Deval Patrick. From 3-7pm, a small group of members made more than 1,400 calls using the union's user-friendly calling system.



In Boston, Mayor Tom Menino visited with Members of Carpenters Local 33 urging them to gear up for a final push to re-elect Governor Deval Patrick. Responding to a recent article that highlighted some policy differences between the Mayor and the Governor over the last four years, Menino said it's true that he doesn't always agree with the Governor. "I don't always agree with my wife, either, but we've had a very long and happy relationship."

Menino said Charlie Baker and Republicans continually calling to cut taxes was "cheap rhetoric." "Don't buy it," he said. "Every city, town and state has to have revenue. Without taxes, you can't have schools. You can't have police officers. You can't have a fire department."

"This election is about jobs. This election is about you and your kids and family and how you're going to take care of them in the future. Last year a lot of union members voted for Scott Brown. The truth is a lot of these candidates sound wonderful, but they taste terrible. They don't care about you and your families and a lot of the people that support them would like nothing better than to see unions disappear."

Menino wrapped up by asking members to vote, encourage their family and friends to vote and to try to give two hours of their time between now and the time the polls close on Tuesday to make a difference in the campaign.

The picture's a bit blurry, but union carpenters have been clear in their support for Congressman Barney Frank. Why? Because he's never shied away from supporting working class people and issues important to union members.

Union Carpenters in Connecticut have taken to the campaign trail to show their support for 5th District Congressman Chris Murphy. These pictures were taken before Congressman Murphy's recent debate.

Union carpenters are doing their part to protect working standards in Connecticut by supporting former Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy's bid for the Governor's office. Malloy is locked in a tight race with businessman Tom Foley.

The latest show of support from union carpenters was in New London where members joined with officers of the New London Police Department and other uions at a rally prior to the most recent televised debate.

Malloy and his running mate Nancy Wyman addressed the enthusiastic crowd as did George Jepsen, a long-time Carpenters union favorite who is running for Attorney General and Second District Congressman Joe Courtney.

Primary elections were held in three New England states last night, with mostly positive results for union-endorsed candidates. Favored candidates ran unopposed or against token opposition in most primary races in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Massachusetts yesterday.

In contested races, Massachusetts Congressman Stephen Lynch fought off a primary challenge while District Attorney Bill Keating won the Democratic nod to replace retiring Congressman Bill Delahunt. Both were endorsed and actively supported by union carpenters. Union carpenters also supported a group of state representatives and state senators in Massachusetts who were all successful, with a single exception.

There was disappointment in Rhode Island, too, where incumbent state representative Chris Fierro lost his primary battle to retain a seat in Woonsocket. Fierro works for the New England Carpenters Labor Management Program and had served on the House Finance Committee.

NERCC Executive Secretary-Treasurer Mark Erlich was quoted in a Boston Herald piece on Labor Day about the discontent among union members with the current economy and how that might impact upcoming elections.

Brother Bill Frost, a member of Carpenters Local 218 spoke this week at a Massachusetts State Senate hearing on the issue of expanding casino gaming in the Commonwealth. Earlier this year, Frost spoke at a rally before a lobby day by union members at the State House when the House of Representatives were considering their own bill. (more from that event here.

At a time when Frost was working steadily, his wife was struck with cancer. Feeling lucky to have health coverage, Frost was able to focus entirely on helping his wife fight for her life. Now, after a long stretch of unemployment, Frost can't help but wonder what would happen if his wife's cancer had come now. How would he pay for her treatment? And much would his support of her have suffered from the distraction of worrying about the bills rather than his wife?

This week, he spoke about the response to his earlier statements and gave insight into the real impact of long-term unemployment.

First, let me apologize for my appearance, I wouldn’t show up to speak dressed like this, except I’ve been lucky enough to have been called back to work and I came directly from the job. After the year that I had, blowing off a full days pay was out of the question.

When Speaker DeLeo first kicked off this push for destination casinos, I was invited up here to The Hill for the first time to speak about job creation and what those jobs would mean to unemployed construction workers.

I told of my wife’s battle with breast cancer, and how I could focus on her needs because I had steady work and excellent health coverage. I explained that if I were today, faced with the same challenge, instead of “what can I do to facilitate Deb’s recovery?”, my first thought would have been “How am I going to pay for this?”

The response that I received tells me that while all the guys in the orange T-shirts get it, only a few of the suits really understand the effect of long term unemployment.

First, you don’t know that it’s long term until its way too late. Lay offs have always been a part of the construction industry, and they always will be. The joke is, “Don’t kill the job, let it die by itself,” and the truth behind that joke is, that the better you are at what you do, the sooner you finish, and the sooner you finish, the sooner you find yourself unemployed. So you always know that a lay off is coming.

If the weather is good, you paint your house. You cut, split, and stack next winter’s cord of wood. You clean out the attic, the garage, and then the basement, then, all the closets. You take down the drapes, and then in heated discussion, decide with your wife, who is going to pay to clean them.

After 3 months, the house is spotless. You’re cutting the grass before it needs it, and a weed wouldn’t dare grow in the flower beds even though you didn’t buy mulch this year.

At 5 months, you hear your wife telling someone on the phone that “he runs out to the mailbox the minute after the post man comes by, and he makes stacks out of everybody’s mail.” And you realize that, yeah, you do. You have stopped answering the phone without first checking caller ID, it might seem like a little thing, but first you need to find your reading glasses.

And that 18 months of living expense monies that the experts tell you to keep liquid for emergencies was actually more like 4 months, because technically, the emergency started when Deb first got sick and missed 2 years of work. So, you are tapped and when the truck starts making a weird noise, you ignore it because you can’t afford to fix it.

The health and welfare sends you a letter with C.O.B.R.A. buy-in prices. It looks more like your mortgage. You can’t possibly come up with that much money, but your wife has already had cancer, so you have to. The question then becomes, what are you not going to pay?

Opponents of Destination Casinos will tell you that gaming will lead to a rise in foreclosure rates. Where I live, foreclosure rates would decline. Opponents will speak of the despair felt by a potential compulsive gambler, but the members of the building trades who have lived for the past two years as I have just described are not the potential unemployed, they are real men and women who need work, and need it now. The jobs that this plan would create mean much more than simply the ability to pay our bills on time. These jobs will allow us to plan our futures and to confidently make life altering decisions.

Thank you.

Following is video taken during Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's visit to the Carpenters Center where he held a monthly meeting of his cabinet.

Following is video taken during Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's visit to the Carpenters Center where he held a monthly meeting of his cabinet.

Earlier today, Governor Deval Patrick held a cabinet meeting at the Carpenters Center. Following the meeting, the Governor, along with various cabinet members, toured the facility.

The group made a stop at the Boston Training Center on the first floor to get a first hand look at training happening at the facility, specifically the Best Practices in Health Care Construction training course. He spoke with instructors and carpenters currently taking the class.

Below are pictures from the Governor’s visit.

From CTMirror.com

Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed into law today a bill that increases the fine for employers who illegally lower their costs by misclassifying employees as independent contractors.

The bill was sought by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and the Chief State's Attorney's Office to go after employers who misclassify employees to avoid paying contributions for unemployment compensation and workers' compensation.

When introducing the proposal in March, Blumenthal said, "This is cheating, plain and simple."

Blumenthal said the fact that Linda McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment hires independent contractors as wrestlers had nothing to do with his timing or push for increased fines.

"There is nothing political about our announcement," he said, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate who eventually could face McMahon, the current leader among three Republicans in the race.

The current fine for misclassification was $300 per incident. The fine now is $300 a day per violation.

In a recent 12-month period, 300 stop-work orders were issued for employer misclassification, according to the Enforcement Commission on Employee Misclassification. For the 1,200 workers misclassified, the Department of Labor collected $90,000 in civil penalties.

Blumenthal said the problem is costing the state millions every year from the state having to pick up the medical and workers compensation costs for employees deemed independent contractors.

Department of Revenue Services BETA Unit audits related to worker misclassification assessed $1,222,869 in additional tax. For the current fiscal year, there have been 39 worker misclassification audits completed, resulting in additional tax of $780,219.

In the construction business, companies that misclassify workers are able to underbid legitimate contractors, said Don Shubert of the Connecticut Construction Industry Association.

The state's highest court ruled that the University of Massachusetts at Lowell violated public construction bidding laws when it awarded a contract for new student housing.

The ruling issued in early May reversed a Superior Court decision, but supported the opinion of the state Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office.

The university had argued that because the developer selected for the project, Brasi Development Corp., would own the new dormitory while leasing it to the university, public bidding laws did not apply.

Brasi had never built student housing and had not been certified by the Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) as a “responsible” public bidder.

Academic Village Foundation, Inc., an unsuccessful bidder on the project, filed a bid protest notice with the Attorney General, asserting that there had been unfair collusion between the university and Brasi, and that, since Brasi had previously obtained zoning changes permitting it to build a dormitory for the university, Brasi had an unfair advantage in bidding on the current project.

The Foundation for Fair Contracting of Massachusetts filed a separate bid protest on the ground that the proposed dormitory was not a lease, but rather a project to construct a public building, and that the bidding process had failed to comply with the competitive bidding statute.

The Attorney General issued a combined decision concluding that the university’s Request for Proposals (RFP) was a proposal to construct a public building and therefore subject to the competitive bidding statue and the agreement between Brasi and the university was in violation of those laws.

The university tried to terminate its contract with Brasi, however Brasi filed an action against the university and the Attorney General in Superior Court, seeking a decision to show the bid protest decision was incorrect and that the bidding laws did not apply because the dorms would be owned by Brasi and not the university.

The Supreme Judicial Court sided with the Attorney General and held that the long term construction/lease agreement was subject to public bid laws, even if the building is owned by a private developer because it was "dependent on the continued use of university land.”.

In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court said the 2008 deal — which has since been abandoned by the school — would have granted Brasi Development LLC easements on state property that required a competitive bidding process.

From today's Boston Globe.

Governor Deval Patrick will spend up to $200 million in state funds this year to get 50 building projects around Massachusetts off the ground, hoping the money will lead to thousands of jobs for the moribund construction sector and significant additional economic activity.

The money, a mix of already budgeted and new funding, will support construction of hundreds of new homes, stores, and offices.

Among the projects are a 17-acre shopping complex in New Bedford, a new medical office building in Hingham for South Shore Hospital, and an expansion of offices at MathWorks, a Natick software maker.

Patrick’s chief economic development aide, Gregory Bialecki, predicted the government aid will result in an additional $1 billion in spending by private developers.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) introduced a bill that would make worker misclassification a violation of federal labor laws, increasing penalties for companies found to improperly classify workers as independent contractors.

By misclassifying workers as independent contractors, companies avoid withholding income taxes and paying Social Security and Medicare taxes. Each year, more than $4.7 billion in federal income and employment tax revenue is lost due to misclassification, and billions more are lost at the state level. Companies that misclassify workers save up to an estimated 30 percent on payroll costs, gaining an unfair advantage over their more responsible competitors.

The bill would require employers to classify workers as employees, using a well-defined test that has existed since 1947, and establishes a penalty for failing to do so. It requires that employers tell workers if they have been classified as independent contractors and how they can challenge that classification. The bill also protects workers who do challenge misclassification from retaliation.

The bill is another step forward in the ongoing efforts to protect workers, uphold labor standards, and level playing field for responsible contractors.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives yesterday passed a gaming bill sponsored by Speaker Robert DeLeo that would establish two full casinos and license 750 slot machines for existing racetracks in the state. The vote to pass the legislation was a veto-proof 120-37, significant because some suspect Deval Patrick would consider a veto of any bill that included slot machines.

Union carpenters in Massachusetts have been lobbying hard to pass gaming legislation because of the estimated 10,000 construction jobs that would be created. A few weeks ago, hundreds of carpenters were part of a group numbering over a thousand that participated in a lobby day, flooding the State House to visit their individual elected officials.

The attention now shifts to the Senate, where brand new legislation may be created and passed. The Senate is expected to hold public hears, which members would be encouraged to attend. Any bill passed by the Senate would then go with the House bill to a House-Senate conference committee where a compromise bill would be negotiated before being sent to the Governor.

Click here for photos taken at the event.

And here are some video highlights.

During the lobby day events today, Union Carpenter Bill Frost of Carpenters Local 218 spoke to members, legislators and the press about his experience while working with health care coverage for he and his family and what it's meant to be without work for a long period of time.

Good morning, my name is Bill Frost, and I am a carpenter. For the last 35 years I have driven into Boston each morning to work on construction projects. I guess I should say only 34 years, because this year… not so much.

Now, no one here needs me to tell them what has happened to the economy or that Resort Casinos will create job opportunities for the building trades. You all know as well as I do how desperately those jobs are needed by those of us on the fringes of the economy. What I can explain though, is how those jobs will impact working families.

Four years ago, my wife of 26 years was diagnosed with breast cancer. As I sat in her doctor’s office and heard the diagnosis, my fist thought was, “We will go into Boston. We will find the best doctors, and we will fight.”

Because I am a participant in an excellent Health Insurance Plan through the New England Carpenters Health Benefits Fund, this is exactly what we were able to do.

After chemotherapy, after surgery, then radiation, and still more chemo, my wife is now cancer free. In this time frame, however, the economy has tanked and health benefits are almost non existent. And I’ve got to tell you, if I were to find myself today back in that doctor’s office, hearing that malignant diagnosis for the first time, I’m afraid that now my first thought would be, “How am I going to pay for this?”

The construction and service industry jobs though would be created by this bill mean much more than just the ability to pay our bills on time. These jobs allow the underemployed the opportunity to plan their futures and to confidently make life-altering decisions.

The working families of Massachusetts deserve the passage of this bill.

Thank you.

The New Hampshire Senate voted yesterday by a 14-10 margin to expand gaming to six locations, which would include existing race tracks and new casinos.

The bill will now head to the House, where it will face a stiff challenge.

In addition to the many construction and permanent jobs that would be created, expanded gaming is expected to have a huge financial benefit for the state. The licenses for slot machines could generate an initial $200 million. License fees for facilities that want to offer table games would generate an additional $10 million each. Other area businesses would also receive a direct benefit of additional visitors.

Read more here.