Have faith, brothers and sisters. It has been six weeks since the breadth of this impact started to become apparent. The Easter and Passover holidays were a time to reflect for all. Our faith provides comfort and hope when we feel helpless in times of trouble. We will persevere and come through this together. Safety first, protocols, and social distancing remain the order of the day. Protect yourselves and your families.
At the deadline of last Thursday's General Membership meeting, no challenges to the incumbent officers came in and therefore we will not be required to hold an election next month. I am relieved that we will not have to endure that process and potentially put our members at risk. The logistics of holding the election would have been challenging to say the least. I thank you for the confidence that you have extended to me to continue to represent our membership. I commit to you that as your Business Manager, myself and our team of officers will continue to serve the membership responsibly and to carry out our duties with the highest degree of integrity that our members have been accustomed to. Harry instilled in me that the only purpose of the union is to serve the members and I will do that to the best of my ability.
It will take time and sacrifices that we are unaccustomed to in order to get our industry and the economy as a whole back up and running. The Building Trades leadership is formulating a temporary agreement to get as many projects up and running as soon as possible and as safely as possible. Employment will not come back as quickly as we would like it to in the construction industry. Don’t give up on the union. It is your organization and has sustained our members and their families during the good and the bad times. We have the safety nets and the benefit plans to provide for our economic stability and our health and welfare. The union is and has always been our saving grace. Let’s keep it strong, brothers and sisters, and we will survive.
