IKORCC Hosts Appreciation Lunch at Yellowbud Solar Project

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WILLIAMSPORT, OH – On September 15, IKORCC leadership and staff took to the Yellowbud Solar Project to host an appreciation lunch for the workers. All union workers were invited to stop by one of the three setups onsite for their lunch made by The Scioto Ribber. For the over 220 IKORCC carpenters onsite, staff handed out shirts and tumblers to thank members for their work on the project. Nearly 500 trades workers in total on the job picked up lunch during the event.

“The Yellowbud luncheon was to thank those IKORCC members working onsite. They took the classes, came to work with a good attitude, and got the job done! This job is a perfect example of what the UBC does; we train, we show up with a can-do attitude, and we get the job done!”, IKORCC Director of Ohio Anthony Holbrook said of the event.

Thanks to IKORCC members’ professionalism and productivity, IKORCC Contractors, like Kiewit, are committing to using union carpenters and millwrights to complete their solar projects.

“The UBC’s performance both with safety and productivity has been outstanding,” David Marko Kiewit’s Labor Relations Director spoke about the IKORCC’s presence at Yellowbud.

Marko wrote the IKORCC to commend the performance reported on the Yellowbud Solar Project in Ross and Pickaway counties near southern Ohio.

The productivity of the solar energy work at the Yellowbud site is just one example of IKORCC’s ongoing efforts to continue learning from emerging industries and adapting to the needs of contractors.

Nearly $14 billion are projected to be invested in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio by the federal government due the Inflation Reduction Act being passed at the federal level. This legislation is expected to invest that money into large-scale power generation and storage in clean energy, including solar.

To date, IKORCC training centers have taught over 10,000 solar training hours and expect to more than double that by next year to keep up with the demand from contractors bidding on these new solar projects across the region.

2023 Scholarship Applications Now Open

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Applications are now open for the IKORCC scholarship program. Forty $1,000 scholarships will be awarded in 2023 to eligible member’s dependent children. Twenty of the scholarships are awarded based on scholastics, and twenty others via a random drawing.

The Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council scholastic scholarships are awarded based on 60% high school grade point average and 40% on

 SAT or ACT scores. Twenty scholarships will be selected by random drawing.

The scholarship is to be used solely for the purpose of education in the form of tuition, room and board, and or books.

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IKORCC Sends 50 Members to 2022 Sisters in the Brotherhood Conference

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In August 2022, the Indiana Kentucky Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC) sent 50 Sisters in the Brotherhood (SIB) to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) International Training Center for the 2022 International Sisters Conference.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Seize The Opportunity” – a call to action for attendees to get involved locally, regionally, and internationally in growing our diversity and union strength. Programming included motivational guest speakers, U.S. and Canadian diversity labor officials, and several workshops to directly touch on the unique challenges for UBC SIBs. The four-day event was full of networking opportunities and training for members ranging from apprentice to seasoned carpenters, millwrights, and industrial members. Read more

Travis Williams Named 2022 Don Sherry Award Winner

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Few people have left the impact on the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters as Don Sherry did. Don Sherry tragically passed away in 2017. His list of accomplishments is vast, and his impact on our union is unprecedented.

Don Sherry passionately served the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters for nearly 20 years as a business representative and Director of Organizing. He was the President of Carpenters Local 175 and a dedicated advocate for workers rights and unions. Colleagues said his dedication to this organization was second to none.

To honor his legacy, the IKORCC gives the Don Sherry Achievement Award annually.

To honor Don’s service and dedication, each year since his passing the IKORCC has given The Don Sherry Achievement Award. The award recognizes a rank-and-file member who has gone above and beyond in their service on the job site, with contractors, in MAC meetings (Member Action Committee), and in their community. In addition to giving an award in his honor, IKORCC delegates raise money each year during their annual conference and donate the proceeds to the Diabetes Foundation in Don Sherry’s honor.

Recipients of the Don Sherry Achievement Award include:

2018 – Glenn Downs, Local 599
2019 – Raymond Poer, Local 599
2020 – Cory Hudson, Local 285
2021 – Bobby Miller, Local 357
2022 – Travis Williams, Local 1005

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Congrats to our 2022 Scholarship Winners

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Congratulations to our 2022 Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Scholarship Program recipients!  40 students received a $1,000 scholarship toward tuition, room, and board, or books to a trade school or college.

Twenty recipients earned scholarships based upon their high school grade point average and SAT or ACT scores. Another twenty were selected randomly.

Recipients were sons, daughters, and dependent children of members of the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights. Parents or guardians must be members in good standing of the IKORCC for at least one year. The son, daughter, or dependent child must be a high school graduating senior or be attending a college, university or trade school as a full-time student.

Congratulations to the following 2022 IKORCC Scholarship recipients: Read more

Tax Fraud Days of Action 2022: Kentucky

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Indiana Kentucky Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Representatives spoke with state and local officials on April 13th and 14th to learn more and speak out about construction industry tax fraud in Kentucky. Events were held by IKORCC across the three states and sponsored by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters across the United States and Canada.

More than 50 Senate and House Representatives stopped by our setup in the capitol building in Frankfort on April 13th. The statehouse was in session and full which opened the door for IKORCC to make new introductions with lawmakers who were unaware of construction industry tax fraud were made. All 200 meals and toolboxes were handed out.

On April 14th, over 25 officials including area mayors, State Representatives, judges, code enforcement officers, tax clerks, and local business owners attended a lunch and learn about tax fraud.

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Tax Fraud Days of Action 2022: Ohio

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In four events across the state, regional legislators visited the Indiana Kentucky Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Training Centers on April 12th and 13th to learn more and speak out about construction industry tax fraud. Events were held by IKORCC across the three states and sponsored by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters across the United States and Canada.

On April 12th, the IKORCC held events in Rossford and Monroe.  On April 13th, events took place in Richfield and Columbus.  All four events brought in legislators from both sides of the aisle some with little knowledge of the dangerous practice in the construction industry. Read more

Out of Work List – How to Register

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Out of work? Don’t forget to register for the Mix 2020 Job Dispatch System. As a member of the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters, you have access to Mix 2020 Dispatch if you become unemployed. To register for Mix 2020, please follow the steps below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learning from the Past, Looking Towards the Future

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This year both the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Southwest Ohio’s own Local 2 celebrate their 140th birthday.  In 1880, carpenters in Cincinnati were making just $1.50 a day for their over ten-hour days.  The founding members realized their strength as a joint body was no match for “scabs” without a national union’s support.  During the formation of the UBC at the Chicago convention in 1881, Local 2 was granted a charter with the second most delegates in attendance – making it the longest continuous carpenters local charter in the UBC today.

 

Cincinnati was settled by a majority of German immigrants in the early-mid 1800s so every other meeting’s minutes were transcribed in both English and German language, according to Art Galea Junior. The former Local 2 President and former Southwest Ohio’s training center director spoke about what the history means to him, “it means quite a lot…some of the strife those guys went through made me really appreciate what we had.” “I appreciate it, I’ve been a member over 50 years…I’ve got a lot of memories.”

 

Art, one of seven in his family who would eventually join the Carpenter’s Union, started his apprenticeship program in 1968. Upon graduation he served in the Vietnam War, returned home, and led the apprenticeship program into where it’s at today. They transitioned from classes at the college to the hands-on facilities you see today.   He led the programs through several buildings until it landed in its current home.

 

Thanks to these advanced training centers, even one of the oldest unions can build projects with the newest technology. Multiple union contractors landed the project to install a state-of-the-art grid system for a Kroger Co. Fulfillment Center. Right in Monroe Ohio, UBC Millwrights installed a robotic vertical grid system in the 375,000 square feet facility. The first of its kind, the grid or “The Hive”, has over 1,000 robots flying through the air, up and down, to pick online grocery orders for deliveries up to 90 miles from the hub location. Up to 100 Millwrights were on the project at a time.