TEXAS HOUSTON, CLIP HERE AND SAVE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS Union Hall (713) 869-3592 (800) 798-1074 Fund Office (713) 869-2592 (800) 833-2980 Training Center (713) 861-3202 (800) 891-8900 Credit Union (713) 869-9053 Website www.plu68.com Sincerely and Fraternally, Calvin B. Speight... Business Manager Michael E. Cramer... Financial Secretary / Treasurer Wayne Lord... Business Agent Jeff LaBroski... Business Agent John Robinson... President / Dir. of Service & Repair Jim C. Cadden... Vice President / Organizer Jeff Warden... Organizer Matt Schoellman... Fund Manager Robert L. Cross... Director of Training AND FINALLY... If you haven t logged into the member section of our website @ www.plu68.com, please do so and leave your email address. To those 500+ members that have logged on and left email addresses, we are able and have been sending important messages from the Union hall. One of the most important benefits of this is being informed of a members passing as we are notified. If you have any difficulty logging on please call Lynnesa at the Union hall. Additionally, you may email the Union hall generically at Local68@plu68.com with questions, comments, change of address/phone numbers, etc. ALLIED PRINTING NEWSLETTER PLUMBERS LOCAL UNION #68 P.O. Box 8746 Houston, Texas 77249-8746 TRADE UNION LABEL COUNCIL 54
ISSuE NO. 164 NEWSLETTER MAY 2011 UNION MEETINGS The next Union meeting will be held on Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 6:00 P.M. at 502 Link Road in Houston, Texas. Please note that June s Union meeting date was changed per motion during the May Union meeting. Astros tickets raffle at this meeting. The next quarterly Beaumont Union meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 28 beginning at 5:00 PM at the Union hall at 695 Chamberlin in Beaumont, Texas. *Please remember to turn cell phones off or on vibrate during Union meetings.* Local 68 s Retirees Club will be providing lunch to all interested retirees on Thursday, June 30th at the Hickory Hollow restaurant at 101 Heights Blvd. @ Center (just before Washington Ave). The luncheon will begin at 12:00 noon. If you have questions or to R.S.V.P. call Larry Koenekamp at 713.861.0587 or Jim Seay at 281.426.6553. Our annual Saltwater Fishing Tournament is scheduled to begin at 5:00 PM on Friday, June 24 with the weigh-in at 3:00 PM on Saturday, June 25 again at Hornbeck s in Port Bolivar. As another apprenticeship school year comes to an end we wish to honor our fine Instructors who sacrifice time away from their families and other things they could be doing to train our future journeyman. It s a tuff commitment to be at the training center two days a week or every other Saturday for ten months straight each year. Some do both. Almost all work full time jobs also. Don t forget they ve become Instructors Keith Bagley Kenneth Bagley James O. Brewer Selmer Ray Burgess Arthur Gene Callahan Robert Cross David Fought Othon Guillen IV Michael Johnson John Jordan Jr. Cecil Lamb Michael McClintock RETIREES LUNCHEON 68 s FISHING TOURNAMENT INSTRUCTORS Alvin McKnight III Joe Milstead Deric Perry Benjamin Biff Reed John Robinson Eric Rogers Plumbers Local Union #68 Newsletter www.plu68.com RETIRED LIFE MEMBERS Local 68 s 50 year Retired Life Member Club increased by three this month as Brothers Norman Holmes, Frank McKinley and O.D. Wark reached this milestone. Financial Secretary Mike Cramer presents a watch, pin and certificate to Brother McKinley on the left and Brother O.D. Wark on the right. Get your boats ready and your beach houses reserved as we will begin taking early registrations June 1st. Return the enclosed registration form early and save the $5.00 late fee. sometime after their five years of apprenticeship training. In addition to all of this they give up a week of their summers (five years minimum) to be trained in Ann Arbor, Michigan to qualify them to obtain Instructor Certification after attending many hours of college instruction courses locally. Local 68 s outstanding Instructors are: Timothy Sandusky Sam Santos Matt Schoellman Glen Sheppard Arnold Strass Jr. Jerry Venable Jr. Terry Voyles Scott Wang Jeff Warden John Wood
CONTINUING EDUCATION APPRENTICE COMMITTEE Saturday, June 18 (Texas City)... 8:00 A.M. 3:00 P.M. Saturday, June 18 (Houston)... 8:00 A.M. 3:00 P.M. Tues., June 21 & Wed., June 22 (Houston)... 5:30 P.M. 9:00 P.M. Tues., 28 & Wed., June 29 (Houston)... 5:30 P.M. 9:00 P.M. The Houston Area Plumbing Joint Apprenticeship Committee will offer the 30 Hour OSHA Safety Course on Friday, June 3 & Saturday, June 4 and Friday, June 10 & Saturday, June 11, 2011 from 7:00 AM 3:30 PM. Students must be present all four days in order to receive credit and qualify for the 30 Hour OSHA Certification Card. Contact the Training Center at 713-861-3202 ext. 217 if you are interested in registering for this 30 Hour OSHA Safety Course. STANLEY WEST WINS STATE COMPETETION Congratulations to Local 68 Fifth year apprentice Stanley L. West, Jr. won 1st place in the UA/MCA State Apprentice Contest held in Austin, Texas the last week in April. Brother West competed against apprentices from San Antonio, Austin, Waco, Ft. Worth and Dallas. We all wish Brother West the best next month in New Orleans as he competes against apprentices from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee in the District 3 contest. Pictured L-R UA Training Director Mike Arndt, General President William Hite, Stanley West and LU 286 BM Corby Shelton. Pictured with his 1st place Texas plaque is Stanley West and the other apprentices from around the state. Plumbers Local Union #68 Newsletter Page 2
NEWEST LOCAL 68 MEMBER Local 68 welcomes apprentice Michael Ayala, our newest member who initiated in May. METAL TRADES STATUS If you are currently paying Metal Trades dues ($23 monthly) it is not necessary to check in monthly as you are not eligible to have your name on the out-of-work list while on Metal Trades dues status. If you are on Metal Trades dues status and are employed by, or desire employment with a signatory contractor, you must contact Financial Secretary- Treasurer Mike Cramer for a classification change. RAFFLE WINNERS Houston Astros tickets raffle winners at the May meeting were: Freddie Lopez, Drew Holbrook, Broderick Grissett, Frank McKinley, Jim Dixon, Robert Jackowski, Alberto Castillo, Sam Santos, Brad Jenkins, Saul Aleman, Fernando Cortez, Sean Harrison, Chato Woodard, Steve Rosilier, William Pylate, John Jordan, Jason Britnell and Santos Martinez. Local 68 s Community Improvement Scholarship applications are available and must be received back complete in Local 68 s office by 4:30 PM on Monday, June 27th. Members, spouses or dependent children (as defined by our Please be aware that the Trustees of our Group Protection Plan approved a physical examination benefit increase (including lab expenses) as follows: For individuals between the ages of 15 and 39, benefits will be provided for a routine physical examination once every five calendar years. For individuals 40 years of age and older, benefits will be provided for a routine physical examination once every calendar year. In both cases, the COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT FUND GROUP PROTECTION PLAN Group Protection Plan) are eligible to apply. Applicants must be a high school senior or returning student planning to attend a university, college or technical institute in the fall or spring term. deductible is waived and the benefits will be provided up to a maximum payment of $400 per exam. Your Trustees encourage you to take advantage of this enhanced benefit and visit your family doctor for appropriate screenings and preventive care. Additionally, remember to use a Blue Cross / Blue Shield PPO in - network provider and call the Fund Office if you have any questions. Plumbers Local Union #68 Newsletter Page 3
The officers, members and staff of Plumbers Local 68 congratulate the graduates of 2011 for the completion of their vigorous training, both in the classroom and on the job. This year s graduates are: Javier Abrego Michael T. Adair Emeden A. Alanis Jose A. Barron Christopher M. Bean Eric R. Boles Glen E. Cameron Elmer Carranza Louis C. Castillo Martin Cerna Michael T. Cloud Robert S. Duque Tobin B. Erp 2011 GRADUATING CLASS Allan J. Fairburn Blake L. Ford Matthew G. Freeman Anthony J. Gardner Vernon J. Gay Stephen C. Harms Jose G. Hernandez Drew P. Holbrook, Jr. Allen D. Isaacks John C. Johnson Christopher M. Justice Michael T. Lovell Oscar Luevano Eric L. McCloud Ricardo A. Moreira Daniel L. Morris David L. Opperman, Jr. Dustin K. Patterson Jason C. Petty Brandon T. Powell Justin T. Reed Jose A. Regalado Andrew Reyes Raymond E. Russell Shawn W. Russell Pedro S. Sanchez, Jr. Cole H. Sellers Billy J. Setliff Ronald T. Smith Rickey A. Springer Adam M. Talamantez Kyle D. urban Jose L. Vazquez, Jr. James M. Venable Luis E. Villanueva Stanley L. West, Jr. Stanley D. Young Leonardo J. Zamora Graduates and other apprentices at our banquet are honored for various achievements including attendance, written contest scores and practical skill performance projects scores. Our 2nd year apprentices compete on the written portion of the contest only, while the top five highest written scores by 3rd, 4th, and 5th year apprentices compete in the practical skills portion also. Congratulations to all of our apprentices who participated in the written and practical portion of this year s contest. Presenting awards for the Committee were Alejo Guevara, Othon Guillen IV, Ken Borski, Kevin Gill and JC Carman. Second Year Third Year Fourth Year Fifth Year Edward Anderson Adrian Caraveo Johnathan Bader Landrum Calhoun Charles Barbee Rodolfo Flores David Bowman Glen Cameron Johnny Guitierrez Andrew Miles Sylvan Franco Stephen Hodge Hershell Hayes Joshua Mills Alden Garza Blake Joffrion Agustin Santos Angel Perez Corey Gill Brandon Powell Felix Rodriguez Christopher Hallman Ronald Smith Aaron Santos Matthew McWhirter Stanley West Kevin Woodall First Place Contest Winners Practical Skills Project Winners George York 2nd Year Edwin Anderson Welding Corey Gill 3rd Year 4th Year 5th Year High Written Score Aaron Santos Aaron Santos Corey Gill Stanley West 2011 APPRENTICESHIP BANQUET Builders Level Copper Brazing Copper Soldering Material Take Off Left: Director of Service and Repair John Robinson addresses attendees Corey Gill Corey Gill, Brandon Powell, Kevin Woodall Joshua Mills Joshua Mills Rigging Plumbing Repair Parts Identification Kevin Woodall Rodolfo Flores Stanley West Right: Drew Holbrook receives "Outstanding Graduate Award" from JC Carman and Ken Borski Plumbers Local Union #68 Newsletter Page 4
2011 APPRENTICESHIP BANQUET 2011 Graduates and Honored Guests Center: UA Training Rep. Phil Campbell informs the graduating apprentices their journeyman training now begins. Below: MCA Executive Director Glenn Rex charges the graduating apprentices. Above: UA International Rep. Bill Eden Right: Director of Training Robert Cross welcomes attendees with Business Manager Calvin Speight and wife Charlene seated. Plumbers Local Union #68 Newsletter Page 5
2011 APPRENTICESHIP BANQUET Five Years Perfect Attendance Award presented by Ken Borski and Kevin Gill. L-R: Ken Borski, Christopher Bean, Glen Cameron, Drew Holbrook, Stanley West Jr., James Venable and Kevin Gill. Not pictured is Stephen Harms. 1 Clockwise #1: 3rd Year apprentice Joshua Mills #2: 2nd Year apprentice Edward Anderson #3: 5th Year apprentice Brandon Powell 2 7 Above Center #7: 3rd Year apprentice Aaron Santos 3 6 #4: 5th Year apprentice Kevin Woodall #5: 5th Year apprentice Stanley West Jr. #6: 4th Year apprentice Corey Gill 5 4 Plumbers Local Union #68 Newsletter Page 6
2011 APPRENTICESHIP BANQUET Plumbers Local Union #68 Newsletter Page 7