Business Manager’s Message
Valentino B. Ceria
Aloha Members!
We welcome aboard Brother Sheung Man Wong as my new Business Agent/Organizer in the Union Office who started April 1st of this year. He will be the Business Agent handling the island of Kauai. All the Business Agents take care of Oahu and each Business Agent handles their respective island. Brother Matthew Brady for Hilo, Brother Samuel Barrett, Jr. for Kona, and Brother Benjamin Panis for the island of Maui.
I signed agreements with AG Repair, LLC, Clyde T. Hirata, LLC, and Elite Mechanical, Inc., as new signatory contractors. Elite Mechanical was sold and the new owner re-signed with Local 675.
I would like to report that UA General Secretary-Treasurer Patrick Kellett retired and resigned his position on March 31, 2024. Effective April 1, 2024, General President McManus appointed Administrative Assistant to the General President, Derrick Kualapai, to serve as General Secretary-Treasurer for the remainder of the term. As you know, Brother Kualapai was our former International Representative for California and Hawaii before he became the Administrative Assistant to General President McManus. We wish him much success in his new role.
In April, I attended the Pipe Fabrication Institute (PFI)/ UA Labor Relations Committee Meetings at the Turtle Bay Resort. The meetings focused on how prefabrication and modularization are impacting the construction industry. According to the Prefabrication Market Assessment Studies, prefabrication spending has increased by billions of dollars over the years. The UA and signatory contractor partners have historically been the construction industry leaders in prefabrication, so the UA strongly believes we can increase our market share in not only prefabrication but on-site work as well. These meetings are important and ongoing so we can better achieve these goals.
Last month I attended, along with President Matthew Brady, the NABTU (North America's Building Trades Unions) legislative conference in Washington D.C. Also attending was Emmanuel Zibakalam, my new Government Relations and Legislative Liaison for the Union. He was the campaign manager for Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke, whom we supported. The conference's special speaker on the last day was the Honorable Joe Biden, President of the United States, who supports the efforts of the Building Trades and the unionized construction industry. That being said, we support President Biden one hundred percent for his reelection. Locally, Emmanuel set up a meeting at my office with Mayor Rick Blangiardi to meet face-to-face before his upcoming campaign. I expressed concern about the construction industry and matters affecting our Union. We plan to endorse him in his re-election. In this issue we listed the endorsement of candidates the Union supports. I urge you to go out and vote or submit your mail-in ballot supporting our endorsed candidates.
We attended the Retiree Club Meeting in May, and I gave my report on the Union's current events. The Business Agents also gave their reports on their respective islands. We had Trust Fund Administrator Erinn Liu and Assistant Administrator Jaimme Hayakawa talk about the status of the pension benefits. It was a good question-and-answer event that addressed any concerns of the retirees who attended this breakfast meeting. I presented a $5,000 check to Retiree Club President Jonathan Lee on behalf of the Union. The donation was received with much appreciation. He also mentioned that the Club's food drive was once again, a huge success and anyone interested in getting involved should give him a call.
Recently, we held our annual Apprenticeship Graduation Ceremony at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. We acknowledge and congratulate our new graduates and wish them much success as Union journeymen.
As always, stay informed, stay healthy, and be safe!
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