June 26, 2012

I'm pretty sure most of you know by now that we were unsuccessful in our bid to make some changes at 10th and Harrison.I'm sure that many of you are as disappointed as our team is, and I'm sure that there are (obviously, in light of the results) many who are  happy as well, that we will not be taking office. Whatever your feelings are, it is now time to accept the results and move forward.

I want to thank everyone on our team for their hard work and for their commitment to the good of our local. Jimbo Riley, Jimmy Carroll, Nick Schroder, Greg Arduser, Travis Pemberton, Mark Porter, Mike Bullock, John Calarosa, Dave Robertson, Tony Delich and Manny Lopez. Each and every one of them contributed to the cause. We lifted one another up and encouraged each other to always be better. It was a fantastic experience to go through the election with those guys, and I would do it again in a second. I'm proud of them and proud to have been a part of a team with them.

I know I speak for all of them when I say thanks to everyone who supported us. We couldn't have done it without that support. We talked to a lot of people about their concerns and their hopes for what they want for Local #10. Those concerns and hopes are still there and I encourage all of you to communicate them to your elected officers. When I wrote before that I wanted everyone to become more involved with what goes on, I meant it. I hope that more people will go to the union meetings and that we all take pride in our local.

No matter who won the election, the problems we are facing as a local and as union members would have been the same when we woke up Sunday morning. And those are problems that cannot be solved by our officers alone. It is going to take all of us to educate ourselves about what the issues are and to educate all of those that we know, and to take action to eliminate those problems. Declining union membership, the attack on our jurisdiction by the Carpenters, economic challenges and healthcare challenges. It is going to take activism on all of our parts to ensure a viable future for us and our families. Please think about that, take it to heart and decide what you can contribute to our cause.

If people keep reading, I'll keep posting. Thanks!

June 6, 2012

I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and their support. There seems to be a lot of excitement about the upcoming election, and for that, I am grateful. No matter how that turns out, I still think it is a good thing to be going through that process. With an energized body politic, I think that no matter who is elected, whether it be the entire ticket of the current office holders, or whether it is all of us new guys who are running, or some mixture of both, I hope that it will mean that there is lots of support for the winners. After the election, I would urge everyone to come together and give 100% of their support to our elected officials. We have far too many challenges facing us to be divided amongst ourselves.

In case there is anyone reading this who doesn’t know who is running on our side, here is a list, and the office we are seeking:

• ·         Tim Kirch (that’s me, the one writing this)-Financial Secretary/Treasurer/Business Manager
• ·         Jimbo Riley-President
• ·         Travis Pemberton-Executive Board
• ·         Nick Schroder-Executive Board
• ·         Mark Porter-Executive Board
• ·         Jimmy Carroll-Executive Board
• ·         Greg Arduser-Executive Board
• ·         Mike Bullock-Trustee
• ·         John Calarosa-Trustee
• ·         Dave Robertson-Trustee

Also, in case you don’t know, Tony Delich was nominated for Business Agent, and Manny Lopez for Recording Secretary, but both were determined to be ineligible to run for office at this time. We are all disappointed about that, as we believe they would have been real assets. But we shall move forward, knowing that they support us in our efforts.

There is one other piece of business about the election judges. Everyone got the card in the mail about the re-election of the judges at the June meeting, so I think everyone should know, but in case they don’t, here it is: There were 2 or 3 apprentices and one honorary lifetime member who voted in the election of the judges at the May meeting. They were not eligible to vote, therefore, that election became null and void. So it will be held again at the June meeting, on Monday, June 11^th. The mistake was an honest one, and, since it was only in the judge elections, it is easily rectified. The election of officers will still be on Saturday the 23^rd. 

Remember, I always welcome your comments, or you can contact me by email at tkirch@comcast.net

So long until next time!