Business Manager’s Message
Valentino B. Ceria
At the 40th United Association General Convention held last month, Local 675 was wellrepresented with our elected delegation present. For the first-timers it was a major eye-opening event witnessing the UA officers election and the enactment of the UA Constitution By-laws that govern all of the UA locals in the U.S. and Canada. I would say it was a very successful event.
This year we negotiated a substantial wage and benefit package included in our new five-year labor-management agreement contract which was ratified by both members and contractors in June. As far as wages, the five-year agreement comes out at $12.25 which is a 16% increase over the life of the contract. You should have received your new LMA green-colored book by now.
Also in June, I attended the Hawaii Building and Construction Trades Council and Kamehameha Schools ceremony commemorating the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, Project Labor Agreement. This will ensure that all Kamehameha Schools projects will be done Union for the next 20 years. This is a big win for all of our trade unions.
Despite the pandemic we were still able to organize three more new companies: Pukana’s ‘Ohana Plumbing LLC, Titan Industries LLC, and Versatile Mechanical LLC.
Also noteworthy are four of our contractors that were awarded General Contractors Association (GCA) various outstanding safety awards: Dorvin D. Leis Company, Heide & Cook, LLC, Honolulu Plumbing Co., and Trane Pacific Service. Congratulations to our subs for keeping our members safe!
As you know, the September 7th in-person Union Meeting was cancelled because of the Mayor’s mandate due to the pandemic. We did receive a letter from UA General President Mark McManus for approval to use mail ballot for election of officers. McManus also authorized to utilize the Alternative Procedures for Nominations to conduct the officers nominations without in-person contact. Detailed notices have been sent to all Local 675 members regarding the videoconference Special Nominations Meeting on October 4, 2021. The mail-in ballots for the Election of Officers will be counted on December 9, 2021. Results will be posted on our website.
Lastly, congratulations to the deserving fifteen recipients of our Local 675 Imi Loa Foundation scholarships, listed in this newsletter. The Foundation has given out $91,000 to date in scholarships since its inception in 2013.
More so now with the rising Covid-19 and Delta variant cases, continue to mask and sanitize, keep safe distances and stay safe by vaccinating! Again, stay informed by reading all mailers sent to you and visiting our website at www.plumbershawaii.com.