As I sit here and write this article for the Conduit, it is the middle of January and so far so good with the weather. With the holidays behind us, we look forward to all the upcoming work this new year. 2019 was a great year for Local 25. Manhours were up over 3 million for the first time since 2004. The General Fund is up to 6 million dollars, which is the highest it has ever been; which will result in a dues decrease in the spring. The funds for 2019 also did very well; we are hopeful for double digit returns this year on the funds.Employment is still very strong for this time of year.
With job calls coming in almost daily, two of the jobs that have been calling are the Third Track Project and the Mid-Suffolk Rail Yard. Jobs that should be calling for manpower soon are the Islander Stadium at Belmont Park, the Data Center at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the South Nassau Hospital job. Some other jobs that should be starting to break ground soon are the 22-megawatt solar project in Calverton, the Jericho Hotel, Discovery Park at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the 8-story tower at Northwell Hospital in Manhasset.
As you can see, we are pretty flush with work for 2020 and should be putting travelers out this summer for the 4th year in a row.We have started the outside renovations of the union hall. The existing soffit around the top of the building needed to be replaced; it was starting to fall off the building. Once that is complete, we will be replacing the roof. Carpenters Local 290 and the Roofers Local 154 will be doing the work on the building. We have been in the building now for 28 years and we haven’t had to do any real work on it all these years. The time has come to do some major repairs on the building. All construction cost will be paid out of BEWCO, which is our real estate holding company, not the General Fund.
I just recently returned from the National EWMC Conference in Chicago. I would like to thank Brother Godfrey King, who is the IBEW International EWMC Treasurer, and our EWMC delegation that represented Local 25 for a job well done.In ending my article, I would like to thank all the volunteers who helped with the Annual Local 25 Christmas party; once again it was a huge success. Without the help from all the volunteers, we would not be able to put on this event for the kids and grandkids of Local 25 members. With that, Brothers and Sisters, that ends my report for this article of the Conduit. Remember to work safe, turn off energized circuits and always watch each other’s back out there. KEEP THE SOLIDARITY STRONG