05/03/2009 - 2:30pm
04/23/2009 - 8:21pm
Today’s rally of hundreds of union members from around the state was organized in support of a piece of legislation which would clarify the definition of public works projects and ensure a standard of wages on those projects.
In the Capital District, unions want to make sure the government money given for the Advanced Micro Devices project in Saratoga County will be used to hire local workers.
“This legislation will keep the standard of living high and support all our causes,” said Matt LoPresti, assistant business manager with the Boilmakers Local 5 which will likely work on a portion of the AMD construction project. “It’s not guaranteed that AMD will use local workers. We just want a fair deal.”
Busloads of union brethren journeyed from areas like New York City to wave hundreds of signs stating “Public Money= Public Work” and “Local Jobs for Local People.”
http://www.nybctc.org/
04/23/2009 - 8:22pm
01/12/2009 - 11:39pm
www.empirestatecarpenters.org
(UPDATE) Monday 1/12, 2009 Retired Syracuse Carpenters
are Assured, Their Pension Checks Will Keep Coming...
Ponzi Scheme Victims May Get $1B for Their Claims,
L.I. Carps Local 7 May Also Be Effected! (SEE UPDATE)
CNBC has learned that one union, the Carpenters local in Syracuse, N.Y., has lost the majority of the $100 million to $150 million it had in pension money because of its dealings with Madoff, people close to the matter said. The union's money manager, J.P. Jeanneret Associates of Syracuse, didn't return a telephone call for comment. The Syracuse carpenters local isn't alone. Pat Morin, business manager of Empire State Carpenters Union, is sifting through the wreckage in his own portfolio, which at the end of June had around $800 million in assets under management. Morin says his fund has exposure to Madoff as well, largely the result of consolidation in union pension funds where locals like Syracuse had transferred money to his oversight.
(Orginal Information Source) www.local370voice.com 
08/31/2008 - 10:09pm
Carpentry union official Antonio Martinez, who was in the courtroom, said most of Santos' 60 employees are Brazilian nationals who are skilled in framing the wooden shells of new homes. Martinez's union, the Empire State Regional Council of Carpenters, has been crusading against hiring carpenters who receive less than the union minimum.
Martinez said that Santos' carpenters, who have worked on many housing projects in Suffolk, typically earn $12 an hour versus the union scale of $29, when fringe benefits are included.
www.unionreview.com
www.videovoice370.com
08/20/2008 - 10:19pm
Our union is growing and our members are enjoying the benefits of that growth.
"It is time that our country takes the same steps to change direction and address the serious problems that affect all working men and women. This administration leaves behind a staggering debt, a legacy of unfair trade deals, and a crumbling infrastructure that will cripple our ability to compete economically. "We believe that Barack Obama recognizes the necessity for fundamental change in our nation's policies," McCarron said at the close of a meeting of union leadership in Washington, D.C. The United Brotherhood of Carpenters represents some 550,000 workers in the construction and forest products industries, including large memberships in key swing states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Nevada.
www.carpenters.org
(FOR A RELATED STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE)
08/02/2008 - 11:23pm
(FOR A RELATED STORY, PLEASE CLICK HERE)
Under the new law, and its interpretation by the Labor Commission, a construction company, say, can hire laborers to perform dangerous manual jobs and if a laborer gets hurt the company can escape liability by having the insurance company throw out the benefits if the employee cannot prove he or she is in the country legally. And, the employer isn't sanctioned for having certified the employee was legally eligible for work when he or she was hired in the first place.
www.anti-union.blogspot.com
www.unionreview.com
07/31/2008 - 10:33pm
The case can be traced back to 2003, when a contractor for Dick's Sporting Goods hired a subcontractor to remodel the mall tenant's space.
In August, a day before the new Dick's store was set to open, a representative from the carpenters union asked mall managers if he could set up a table to distribute literature. According to court documents, the subcontractor employed nonunion carpenters.
In a later hearing on the subject, the union representative said his literature included handouts criticizing the employment practices of both Dick's and the subcontractor. The handouts also included information on the potential benefits of joining Carpenters Local 747
www.local747.com
www.watertowndailytimes.com
09/13/2008 - 3:15pm
While the union could end up losing a few members, it is betting that it will ultimately gain by helping train a new wave of managers with union experience. Many construction industry managers are coming right out of school, with little or no experience with organized labor, union officials said.
But more importantly, the new program is part of a larger and ongoing effort by the labor organization to provide an array of new opportunities for its members, from trade training programs to a college degree.
http://www.necarpenters.org/
07/06/2008 - 1:33am
“They’re lowering standards for all carpenters in the Knoxville area,” he says. “We’d like to see them change their practices.”
Helton charges that Proffitt & Sons doesn’t pay what the union considers a fair wage, doesn’t pay benefits to many of its workers, and is engaged in using an inordinate number of 1099 independent contractors, rather than using full-time employees who are entitled to worker’s compensation and unemployment benefits.
“By law, you can’t use that many independent contractors on your site,” he says. “Somebody has to be an employee.”
http://www.unionreview.com/
http://www.metropulse.com/
