Jan. 2003 Newsletter.qxd

Transcription

Page 20
LOCAL 139 WISCONSIN NEWS
January, 2003
Local 139 s 2002 Honor Roll
Brother Bernard White
50 Year Member
Brother Floyd Kuskelhus
50 Year Member
Brother Lavern Hagness
50 Year Member
Brother Donald J. Allard
50 Year Member
Brother Eugene Anderson
50 Year Member
Brother Nick Rudelich
50 Year Member
Brother Vern Holzer
50 Year Member
Brother Alvin Peterson
50 Year Member
PLEASE NOTE: The Photos of the Honor Roll and Service Pins that did not make it in this issue will be shown in
our April 2003 Newsletter Issue
Clip & Mail
Moving? Please Tell Us!
I have moved
I have a new phone number
Name
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Social Security Number
Correct Address
City
I.U.O.E. Local 139
P.O. Box 130
Pewaukee, WI 53072
State
Zip
Phone:
Mail to: Operating Engineers Local 139
PO Box 130, Pewaukee, WI 53072
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Milwaukee, WI
Permit No. 1885
Operating Engineers
LOCAL 139
W isconsin News
Dedicated to a better construction industry
Issue No. 118
Inside:
•Service Pin Photos
•Doyle Wins With Local
139 s Help
•Important Health Care
Information
I.U.O.E. AFL-CIO
January, 2003
Page 2
Dale A. Miller
Business Manager
T
he Christmas season is always
special for the membership of
Local 139. Over the course of
December, nearly 2,500 of you
spent at least one of your evenings
at one of the 17 different Christmas
Parties held throughout the state.
As always, you were very generous
in your giving of canned goods for
local food pantries and with cash
gifts to the Salvation Army. The
food was good and the company
even better. It is a great way to end
one year and look forward to another.
Looking back, 2002 was a
memorable one for the Local. It
seemed that about every few weeks
we were dealing with issues caused
by the skyrocketing cost of health
care. The Trustees of the Health
Benefit Fund had to make a number
of tough decisions in this regard,
but the good news is that those
changes are starting to show up on
an improved bottom line. We also
finally settled a lawsuit dating back
to 1991 relating to discrimination
claims that had a real and negative
impact on the general fund. Once
again, the good news is that now
that we have weathered that storm,
our finances are moving in the right
direction.
Since our Administration took
office in 1995, we have made a
major push in the area of political
action. In 2002, we finally saw the
fruits of our labor when Jim Doyle
was elected Governor and Peg
Lautenschlager was elected Attorney General. Now we have friends
and allies in two of the most important state offices. We are looking
for good things out of both of these
two in the future. I will have more
to say on this later.
Local 139 saw the passing of
two former Officers in 2002.
Richard Good served as Financial
Secretary and as President in the
1960's and 1970's.
During his
time, the Central Pension Fund was
created, as was the Skill Improvement Fund. Then in December,
David J. Waite passed on after a
battle with cancer. David served as
both Financial Secretary and President in the 1970's, 80's and 90's.
David new more about this Local
than almost anyone and was a great
friend and asset to me personally.
We will miss them both.
The coming year holds a great
deal of promise for the membership. The work picture generally
looks good, we believe we are getting our health insurance under
control and we intend to get some
victories at the Capitol. Let me
start with the work picture
Work Picture
While we have deep concern
about the level of highway funding
from both the Federal and State
government, it still looks like 2003
won't be too bad. The high cost of
fixing the Marquette Interchange,
coupled with a lower federal aid
picture will cause problems in the
future, but for now it looks like it
won't have a huge impact on the
coming year. There are a number
of projects that are ongoing and
will continue.
Utility work continues to look
like a gold mine for this membership. WE Energies just got preliminary approval by the state Public
Service Commission to begin the
first phase of their "Power the
Future" plan in Port Washington.
The utility intends to spend billions
of dollars in improvements over the
next decade. We expect all of that
work to go union. Calpine is building the Riverview Energy plant in
Beloit as we speak. It is expected
to go for another nearly 18 months.
Oscar Boldt is the general contractor on the project, which will
employee around 40 Operating
Engineers at peak. Also, MG&E
and the University of Wisconsin are
about to begin a $185 million
power plant on the UW campus.
There are also other projects around
the state that are on the drawing
board. This boom in utility work
may be with us for the better part of
the decade. All good news for the
membership.
Just when it seems that construction of one major sporting
complex is winding down (Lambeau Field) another takes its place.
In December, the state Building
Commission approved an $83 million upgrade of Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. This is a joint
venture between several companies, including J.P. Cullen and C.D.
Smith, amongst others. There is
also quite a bit of hospital construction going on around the state
as well.
I do have concerns in two areas
about the work picture. While we
have weathered the current economic situation fairly well, there
seems to be no clear notion of
when the economy will improve by
any great degree. Throw in the
questions relating to terrorism and
a potential for war with several
countries and the picture gets even
cloudier. The condition of the
economy has a big impact on what
happens to tax revenues, including
those for transportation. If conditions don't improve, there will be
even fewer dollars available for
projects. We are already seeing
this in the condition of the state
DOT segregated fund. There are
simply not enough dollars to go
around in the long term. Here is to
hoping for an economic turnaround.
Governor Doyle
After years of seeing large parts
of our political agenda get hurt by
the likes of Governor McCallum,
we are looking forward to Governor Doyle's term of office with
great anticipation. The Operating
Engineers were the first labor
union in the state of Wisconsin to
endorse Governor Doyle, way back
on February 14, 2001. Be assured
that the new Governor remembers
this and rarely makes major decisions about the construction industry without consulting us. We
expect our relationship to be a solid
one in the coming years. Our common goal is a simple one: more
work and more pay. Pretty good
goals if you ask me.
We are looking for help in a
number of areas from the new Governor. First, we want to see the
state finally enforce prevailing
wage laws. For too long, we have
seen some contractors win bids on
the back of worker's wages. This
has to stop. Jim Doyle agrees.
Second, we want to see a better
bidding process on state work that
January, 2003
includes requiring training and
apprenticeship in the bid process.
After all, a better trained and educated worker is a more productive
one. Third, we want to place
restrictions on counties doing our
work. In recent years, some local
governments have practically
become general contractors. This
results in unfair competition with
the private sector. These counties
rarely count all of their costs in the
bid process. When they unfairly
beat out one of our signatory contractors on a project, we lose work
and so do the taxpayers. Counties
do not create tax revenue, they
spend it.
Health News
In recent months, we have
finally started to see a turnaround
in the financial condition of the
health fund. Reserves are starting
to grow again and if trends continue should keep growing in the near
future. We are not out of the
woods, but this is an encouraging
sign that the difficult changes in
benefits that the Trustees made are
having their intended results. That
does not mean that anyone serving
as a Trustee was happy about having to reduce some benefit levels,
but it is reassuring to know that
those painful decisions are having a
positive effect on the Fund. No one
can predict the future, but it
appears that we are on the right
track.
So much of what happens in
health care is outside of our ability
to determine. Prescription drug
costs continue to go through the
roof, hospital care continues to cost
more and more and the government
refuses to act in our best interests. I
firmly believe that the federal and
state government have to lend a
hand to the health care crisis. They
seem to be bought and paid for by
the big drug companies and the
large health care networks. If they
do not act, if will be increasingly
difficult to provide quality care at a
cost we can afford.
It has been refreshing to watch
a potential solution come out of the
labor movement. The state AFLCIO has come up with an innovative plan aimed at requiring all
Wisconsin employers to pay a
fixed charge for health care of their
employees. A few years ago, this
would have been regarded as
socialism, but today, many employers are realizing that skyrocketing
health care costs will eat them up
January, 2003
competitively if the problem isn't
dealt with. For the first time, there
seems to be a real possibility that a
large pool could be created that
both management and labor support. With the buying power of the
entire population of the state
involved, there could be major efficiencies, driving down the cost of
health care. While there are bugs in
the proposal, it is a well thought out
effort that deserves our support.
For too long, our members have
had to pay the entire cost of health
care. Employers need to be part of
the solution. It is long overdue.
A final note on health care…by
now, all active members should
have received a statement from the
Health Benefit Fund explaining
their pre-funding of health care at
retirement benefits. Remember
that this statement is only through
calendar year 2001 and does not
include years worked between
1971-75. You will receive a new
statement in March that will
include your 2002 credits. For participants that worked as Operating
Engineers between 1971-75, we
will individually calculate your
benefit from that period once you
begin retirement. We have to go
back to paper dues payment records
to make this calculation, which is
very time consuming, so we will
not be able to add those years until
you are ready to retire. If you
worked in those years, assume that
you will have an even larger retirement benefit than the statement that
you have received.
Negotiations
If you hadn't heard, the Great
Lakes Floating Agreement was
approved recently. We got a good
three-year contract with no concessions. Bill Fett reports on it in his
newsletter column. This coming
year, there are several contracts up
for negotiation. The Area I Builder,
the Area I Sewer, Water & Tunnel
Agreement and the Associated
Earthmovers contracts are up. If
you want to see changes in these
contracts, please put them in writing and get them to your Business
Agent, who will get them to the
negotiating team. We want to hear
from you on changes. Without
your input, it is that much more difficult to get the best contract that
we can for the members involved.
In November, all of you
received a newsletter highlighting
training opportunities this winter at
the Joseph J. Goetz Training Center
in Coloma. Every year, we see
more and more members use our
nationally recognized facility to
hone their skills or seek new ones.
In this technological age, skill
training is becoming more and
more important. In order to compete, our signatory contractors are
always looking for the best
employees. The easiest way to
meet that demand is to make sure
that you are up to speed with the
constant changes that are going on
in the industry.
While many of the classes at
the Coloma School are filled up,
there are opportunities still available. If you have not taken advantage of the opportunities that you
are paying for through your dues
allocation, you should consider
doing so. Contact the School at 1800-779-2173 to see what is still
available. You will be glad you
did.
For the past seven years, I have
had the opportunity to serve you as
Business Manager of this local
union. I go to work every day
knowing of the incredible responsibility that you have placed on me.
It is my job to make sure that Local
139 works for you. I try my hardest to make sure that this happens,
but frankly, I don't have all the
answers. That is where you come
in.
I have always had an open door
policy when it comes to the membership. I want to hear your ideas,
concerns and hopes that affect you,
your family and this great local
union. If you have any ideas that
you believe will help us in 2003
and beyond, I want to hear them.
Either write me a note, or contact a
Business Agent with your concerns
and he will get them to me. A
union is only as strong as its membership. Because of this, I am confident that we will always be
strong.
Have a safe and productive
2003!
Page 3
Official Publication of
I.U.O.E. LOCAL 139
N27 W23233 Roundy Drive, P.O. Box 130
Pewaukee, Wisconsin 53072
Phone (262) 896-0139
Toll Free (800) 280-0139
Local 139 Officers
Business Manager
President
Vice President
Recording Corresponding Secretary
Financial Secretary
Treasurer
Conductor
Guard
Trustees
Auditors
Executive Board Member at Large
DALE A. MILLER
TERRANCE E. MCGOWAN
WILLIAM E. FETT
TERRY PARE
DARRELL J. KANE
ALLAN LEIDER
BOB LARSON
DENNIS LUCIANI
CHERYL PRIMEAU
GREGORY J. GUTHMAN
JAMES OLSON
BARRETT BARTEL
DAVID STONER
THOMAS E. DETTMAN
WAYNE MAU
Executive Board Members
District “A” Milwaukee
District “B” Madison
District “C” Eau Claire
District “D” Appleton
THOMAS WEGENER
THOMAS WEIS
DENESE JOHANNSEN
HARVEY WITTE, JR.
FRANK R. ESCHLER, JR.
GLEN D. LARSON
WILLIAM GODFREY
SCOTT SEDO
JAMES J. CERULL
MAIN OFFICE
P.O. Box 130, N27 W23233 Roundy Drive, Pewaukee, WI 53072
PHONE (262) 896-0139 Toll Free (800) 280-0139
Dale A. Miller, Willie D. Ellis,
Gordon Schneider, Al Leider (Dispatcher)
Dennis D. Luciani, Bill Burg,
Fran Wewers, Pete Wade, Matt DeHahn
MADISON
4702 S. Biltmore Lane, Madison, WI 53718
Phone (608) 243-0139
Toll Free (800) 851-7584
Terry McGowan, Rick Bolton,
Wayne Mau, Ken Miller,
Jim Patterson, Gary Hill
LA CROSSE
Phone (608) 243-0139
Gary Hill
EAU CLAIRE
1003 S Hillcrest Parkway, Altoona, WI 54720
Phone (715) 838-0139
Toll Free (800) 851-7571
Terry Pare, Bob Larson, Scott DeBeir,
Greg Guthman, Neil Adler,
Tom Hong
WAUSAU
Phone (715) 838-0139
Bob Larson
HEALTH BENEFIT FUND
APPLETON
160, N27 W23233 Roundy Dr.
5191-A Abitz Road, Appleton, WI 54914 P.O. Box Pewaukee,
WI 53072
Phone (920) 739-6378
Phone (262)549-9190
Toll Free (800) 851-7559
Toll Free (800) 242-7018
Darrell Kane, Jeff Johnson, Donald Waite,
Mary Jane DeBattista,
Barry Bartel
Administrative Manager
SUPERIOR
Phone (715) 838-0139
Scott DeBeir
SKILL IMPROVEMENT &
APPRENTICESHIP FUND
W11584 State Highway 21
Coloma, WI 54930
Phone (715) 228-4911
Tom Richards, Training Director
Newsletter Staff
Editor-in-Chief: Dale A. Miller Assistant Editor: Sue Lenard
About The
Cover
PV Farmer moving a
Hanger at Eau Claire
Airport for member
Jim Olson of
Eau Claire
READY FOR CHRISTMAS?
Paul (Harley) Harelstad working for Hoffman Construction on
Highway 29 with the Christmas Tree on the machine
Page 4
DISTRICT
Allan Leider
District
Manager/
Dispatcher
T
he skyrocketing cost of health
care continues to dominate the
affairs of Local 139 and the nation
as a whole. Prescription drug
increases continue to rise at a level
that is six times the rate of inflation. Other costs continue to go up
at rates that are much greater than
our incomes. What is especially
frustrating is that these price
increases are even greater in Wisconsin as a whole and the Milwaukee area in particular.
It was recently reported that
health care costs in Wisconsin are
rising at a rate that is 20% over the
national average. That means that
our members (and everyone else
living in the Badger state) are
being forced to pay a much higher
health insurance premium than our
neighbors in other states. The
trends for 2003 are not looking
good, either. Next year, health care
costs are expected to go up by
15.3% for Milwaukee area
employers. Since 1998, the cost of
health care has risen by 74% in the
Milwaukee area. Our Health Fund
is not immune to these spiraling
costs. That is why we have had to
make the tough decisions in recent
months relating to benefits.
Work Picture
It looks like WE Energies
"Power the Future" plan is going to
move forward. In early December,
the state Public Service Commission approved the first phase of the
plan in Port Washington. This was
an important regulatory win for
supporters of the project. By the
time you read this newsletter, I
expect that initial work will begin
on the project. Other phases of the
project, including the Oak Creek
component still need regulatory
approval. We don't see projects
A
that cost in the billions very often.
We will continue to support efforts
to keep this project moving. Utility construction looks like the
growth industry for our members in
the next decade.
The Guardian Pipeline project
continues to move forward. The
main line encompassing 141 miles
from Joliet, Illinois to Ixonia is finished. It began delivering gas in
December. This was a good project, with over 50 Local 139 operators working the season on the project. The second phase of the line
is expected to begin in April and go
until fall. It consists of 43 miles of
18 and 22 inch lateral welded natural gas lines. The $55 million project will have the same team of
contractors. H.C. Price out of Dallas, Texas will be the general contractor. Michels will have the
directional boring on the lateral. A
picture of the proposed route is on
the next page. If you have questions about this project, contact
Dennis Luciani in the Pewaukee
office.
The MMSD Deep Tunnel project will begin its second year this
spring. Mining work will begin
soon on the $112 million project
and continue for the duration of the
work, which is expected to last for
three more years. The second
phase of the Park East Freeway
will begin in Milwaukee this year
as well. Demolition work will
begin as soon as the first phase is
opened.
Northwestern Mutual is continuing with its large project in
Franklin and St. Lukes Hospital
will see work throughout the winter. A new Home Depot will be
starting soon at the corner of I-43
and STH 83 in Mukwonago. In
Pleasant Prairie, the Volkswagon
distribution center is continuing, as
is the Racine Wastewater Treatment plant. In Sturtevant, Phase II
of the Renaissance Business Park is
moving forward as well.
We have had several organizing
successes in recent weeks. The
state-wide number is listed else-
BUSINESS AGENTS/ORGANIZERS
DISTRICT “A”
REPORT
where in the newsletter, but I
would like to welcome B & B
Crushing, American Hydro Excavating and Willkomm Excavating
to our area. Willkomm Excavating, for example, is a sewer, water
and excavating contractor that was
working with six operators. They
have already added two Local 139
members from the book and are
looking to grow. These are exactly
the type of companies that can help
keep this union strong. Welcome
aboard!
Recently, the state Department
of Transportation downgraded
Milwaukee General Construction
Company's rating on DOT let projects. This came after many complaints about work on state highways 50 and 31 in Kenosha. To
compensate for Milwaukee General's work, the DOT did a complete
diamond grind on both stretches.
Several
"must-grinds"
were
required. Kenosha Mayor John
Anteramian was so upset by the
non-union companies work, he
flatly stated that he swore that
"Milwaukee General would never
operate in the city again. Just
thought you would want to know.
Prevailing Wage Compliance
The election of Jim Doyle to be
Wisconsin's new governor gives
union construction trades a great
opportunity to finally see relief
when it comes down to cheating on
"white sheet" work. We have a
strong prevailing wage law in Wisconsin, but it hasn't been well
enforced. If a law isn't enforced, it
is like not having a law at all. Governor Doyle has promised Local
139 that he will actively enforce
the law. After all, cheating on
wages is theft, plain and simple.
For years, our members have
allowed a small portion of their
wage be used to pay for prevailing
wage compliance efforts. Our
Construction Business Group does
a good job of monitoring compliance, but in the past, the state of
Wisconsin regularly ignored their
enforcement obligations. This
meant that our good work would
sometimes be wasted. There is a
new Sheriff in town and if I was a
non-union contractor looking to
sharpen his pencil on the back of
the worker, I would think again.
The penalties for cheating on prevailing wages include fines, jail
time and debarment from state
work. I say that it is about time
these cheaters got caught. Go get
them Governor.
The Christmas Parties were a
success again this year. Since I was
appointed as an officer of Local
139 last year, this was the first time
that I attended the statewide parties. It is a grueling schedule, but I
really enjoyed them. It is a chance
for the officers and staff to see over
2,000 active and retired members.
I learned a lot at these meetings and
thank everyone that gave me their
two cents worth.
As the Dispatcher for Local
139, I want to remind everyone
about the out-of-work rules.
Everyone that wants to register on
the book needs to call one of the
District offices and let them know.
Remember that after November
1st, you only need to register once
until April 1st. After that point,
everyone needs to register again on
a monthly basis. By following this
rule, you will have a better chance
of getting picked up quickly in the
spring.
Northside
Milwaukee
County
Waukesha
County
Willie D. Ellis
January, 2003
Pete Wade
Southside
Milwaukee
County
Fran Wewers
January, 2003
Page 5
6th Annual Dozer Days - Sussex, WI
WE
ENERGY
From The Mailbag
I just thought you’d like
to know how well your
people were received
at Dozer Days.
Ixonia &
Menomon
ee Falls -
Thanks for the help!
Tom Halquist
Lateral
Dear Bill & Tom Halquist,
I just wanted to take a few minutes to sincerely thank both of you for the
extraordinary time my grandchildren had at “Dozer Day”. You could take
Summerfest, State Fair, and all the other summer festivals & wrap them into
one day, & you wouldn’t come close to what “Dozer Day” gave to all the kids
and their families.
If you could have seen my grandson’s face when he told my husband & his
parents about this day! My husband said he has never seen him so excited.
(This from a child who has been to Disneyland!)
The event was well thought out, extremely efficient, & designed specifically to delight the kids. I’m sure the affair cost you a great deal of cash outlay
& time that would have otherwise been spent on company business. While
there seemed to be plenty of community support, none of this could have happened without your generosity. As a side note to you as the employers, please
convey our appreciation to the Operating Engineers. Every one of them was
good-humored, helpful & genuinely seemed to enjoy the day. (Again, I ‘m sure
there were tasks they could have been doing, either at work or at home. Instead
they were working for their community.)
In turn for your good works, I hope your company receives the good will
of the community, the cooperation of the governing bodies, & the accolades of
all who attended. Thank you again and God bless you!
Mrs. Nancy A. Bauer
Racine
&
Kenosha
Counties
Matt DeHahn
Brother Scott Swenson working for
James Thieding at the State and County
creek restoration
Pit &
Quarries
&
Pipeline
Dennis Luciani
Ozaukee
&
Washington
Counties
Gordy Schneider
TO CONTACT CALL - (262)
896-0139 OR 1-800-280-0139
Page 6
DISTRICT
Terry
McGowan
President/District
Manager
Paying Medical Bills Becomes a
Legal Matter
A
long with everything else that
the health care industry has put us
through in recent times, many of
our members are experiencing
some very unpleasant situations
when dealing with workers compensation providers. Several times
in the past year, providers have
denied coverage to our members
for injuries that were clearly work
related. They are not only trying to
skirt the immediate cost, but the
long-term liabilities as well.
Many of the denials come
across as routine, like they dare
you to seek legal counsel and file
suit to prove them wrong. When
we review these cases, it seems
incredible that they would expect
an intelligent person to believe that
it is not a workers compensation
claim. The bottom line is, they put
members of our union with work
related injuries in a position where
they have no recourse other than to
seek legal counsel. We assist in
that process whenever we can by
finding a lawyer that specializes in
that area and will take the case on
contingency so that the member
doesn't have to pay a big retainer
fee up front.
Skirting liabilities has recently
become quite common in the
B
January, 2003
REPORT
health care and dental industry as
well. In contrast, just a few short
years ago I agreed to let a dentist
pull a tooth out of the back of my
upper jaw because it had a hairline
fracture. Somehow, he yanked the
wrong tooth out and removed half
of the cracked one in the process.
Mad? Hell yes I was mad, but after
I calmed down, the dentist and I
agreed that if we left the lawyers
out of it, he would cap the half
tooth without incurring any further
cost to me or our Fund from his
office. We shook on it and we put
it behind us.
I might be out one tooth, but I
really thought that said a lot about
trust and integrity for the dentist.
It's the way most of us are raised to
believe the world is, only to get
older and find out that's not always
the case. My wife recently found
herself in a very unpleasant situation with a different dentist who
thought a root canal meant perforating the adjoining tooth, patching
it up and sending her home without
saying anything. When the sedative wore off, all hell broke loose.
Much like the first time, I thought
it would be a simple matter of lets
make it right and we'll put it behind
us.
This time, that was not going to
be the case. Much like the recent
rash of denied workers compensation cases, we saw this dentist and
the entire clinic deny any responsibility for the mistake in an apparent
attempt to avoid the liabilities. Not
accepting responsibility was one
thing, but as anyone who has been
in this situation can tell you, they
pretty well use up all of your annual benefit and the costly repair
work that has to be done comes out
of your pocket. Unfortunately, the
only way to recover your expenses
at this point is to file a legal claim
against them, and while nobody
really wants to have to go through
all of that, it becomes a necessary
evil.
Because of the experience I had
from filing claims against workers
compensation carriers on behalf of
other members, I knew enough to
list the Operating Engineers Local
139 Health Benefit Fund as a party
to the claim as well. That way, you
not only recover the money already
spent by the Fund if you settle, it
may also compensate the Fund for
any financial liabilities in the
future. Not only do you and the
Fund recover your money, you may
also renew benefits that may have
expired in your coverage due to the
incident.
That is why you will see more
and more health funds included in
these claims when you see them
published. It is commonly referred
to as a subrogation claim and it's a
means to recover monies for the
members and the Fund from the
parties that otherwise know they
are responsible. Not that I agree
with it, but in a world of litigation
and malpractice, I guess I can
somewhat understand why some of
them are making us go through
this. As sad as it may sound, it
almost makes me long for the days
when a man could get a healthy
tooth pulled and get it fixed for a
handshake.
Work Picture
It looks like 2003 should be a
good work year in District B. On
the highway front, there are major
projects on I-90 where Rock Road
has won a $15 million contract,
Highway 151 between Belmont
and Platteville (H. James) and
Highway 12 (Cape, Mashuda and
others). Mann Brothers has the
Highway 120 Bypass around Lake
Geneva and James Cape has the
Highway 12 Bypass around Whitewater. There are also some big
bridge projects in the La Crosse
area. Lunda recently was awarded
the $22 million Cass Street bridge
project and Ed Kraemer & Sons
will be doing the $20 million railroad bridge over the Black River.
They also have the bridge project
over the Wisconsin River at Sauk
City.
Utility work will be strong in
the new year. Oscar Boldt is the
general contractor for the Riverside
Energy project in Beloit. At peak,
this 18 month project will employ
over 40 Operators. MG&E and the
University of Wisconsin are seeking approval for a 200 Megawatt
Henshue Construction working in New Glarus - (L to R) - Foreman
Jason Hendrickson, Kelly Lindeman (Laborer), Bob Lentz (Laborer),
Jeremy Peterson, “Butch” Eschler and Business Representative Jim
Patterson.
Tracy Pitt working for Fischer Excavating
in Beloit Wisconsin
Dodge,
Jefferson,
&
Walworth
Counties
DISTRICT “B”
Wayne Mau
Dane
County
Rick Bolton
January, 2003
co-generation plant on the UW
campus. There is also the potential
for a power plant in Cassville.
Building work continues at a
high level. The Camp Randall Stadium project is back on track. It
has been scaled back slightly, but
will still be $84 million. A joint
venture between J.P. Cullen and
C.D. Smith will be running the project. EPIC is building a $40 million
campus in Verona that will be kicking off this spring. The Overture
project is still going strong in
downtown Madison as well. There
are numerous other projects,
including hospitals in La Crosse
and Portage. It seems that you can't
look in the Madison skyline without seeing a crane.
The Passing of Two Former
Local 139 Officers
I have recently attended the
funerals of two former presidents
of Local 139. The first one was in
November when I attended the
funeral of past Local 139 President
and Financial Secretary Richard
Good. Brother Good was buried
with full military honors and being
the son of a military man myself, I
must say it was a service that would
make any military man proud. The
other funeral hit a little closer to
home for me. Like Dick Good,
David Waite served this Local for
nearly 20 years as both Financial
Secretary and President. Since the
day I started on staff, David always
reminded me of the foreman on the
site who had a sense of humor, carried a lot of weight on the job, yet
always had time to help out the new
guy on the crew. He was truly a
friend to the guy in the trenches.
He will always be remembered for
his exceptional skills at the bargaining table and for assuming a leadership role with the other trades when
they had to renegotiate the state
prevailing wage laws. To both of
these Brothers, I leave an old Irish
saying: May God hold the both of
them in the hollow of his hand.
Page 7
Great Collection!!
Brother Stan Overhouse pictured on the right with Jim Yowell Secretary/Treasurer of the International Watch FOB Association in La
Crosse. Stan has over 300 watch Fobs that he has collected over the
years. Stan says its been just a hobby to collect them and really enjoyable to watch the collection grove over the years.
For any members interested in more information about the Watch
FOB Association please check out their web site at
www.watchfob.com or contact Jim Yowell Sec/Tres/WFAI at 608526-2328 or email at Big jimfob@aol.com. Jim can help steer you in
the right direction on trade shows and newsletters about different types
of Watch Fobs.
Doyle and Lautenschlager Victories:
Great News For Operating Engineers!
T
he twin victories of Attorney
General Jim Doyle winning the
Governor's race and former U.S.
Attorney Peg Lautenschlager winning the Attorney General's race
will signal a new era for Operating
Engineers in Wisconsin when it
comes to politics.
Local 139 worked closely
and actively with both the Doyle
and Lautenschlager campaigns during the election. We were the first
labor organization in Wisconsin to
endorse Jim Doyle and the only
organization to give him the maximum contribution allowable during
the primary. We were also one of
the first to endorse Peg Lautenschlager and we donated heavily to
her campaign as well. Both candidates are extremely appreciative of
all of our hard work and we have
been promised an open door when
it comes to communicating our
concerns to both of them.
This is a far cry from the relationship we have had with Governor McCallum. When we asked to
meet with him, we had the door
closed in our face. He never even
acknowledged us when we wrote
him on crane certification, prevailing wage law improvements or his
ill-fated attempt to eliminate state
shared revenue.
Our top priorities in the next
session of the legislature will
include the following: first, we
need to make sure that the $3 billion budget deficit does not unfairly harm the state's infrastructure;
second, we need to pass our crane
certification bill and third, we now
have an opportunity to aggressively
enforce Wisconsin's prevailing
wage laws.
The faltering economy, coupled
with the failure of the last governor
and legislature to deal honestly
with the state budget deficit has left
Wisconsin with a huge budget
deficit for the next two years. We
Adams,
Columbia,
Juneau,
Marquette
& Sauk
Counties
Ken Miller
intend to work closely with Governor Doyle and hopefully with the
Republican legislature to make sure
that needed improvements to roads,
bridges and other infrastructure is
not slashed. We understand that
some things may have to slow
down, but major reductions in these
important projects are "penny wise
and pound foolish." It will just cost
more to eliminate needed infrastructure now and hope that we can
do projects later.
In the past, the Republicans in
the legislature have refused to support our crane certification proposal. We have the support of Governor Doyle on this important safety
legislation and will try to garner
support in the legislature. If we
fail, we will know who our friends
and enemies are.
We finally have a Governor that
strongly supports working people
on the issue of prevailing wage
enforcement. In the past, we have
made strong cases for prosecution
Crawford,
LaCrosse,
Monroe,
Richland &
Vernon
Counties
Gary Hill
Grant,
Green, Iowa,
LaFayette &
Rock
Counties
Jim Patterson
of "white sheet" cheaters, only to
have the state government ignore
the fraud. Jim Doyle and Peg Lautenschlager have both promised to
go after these cheaters. Theft is
theft. We finally have friends that
will go after these people who
deliberately reduce wages on public projects.
Over the last seven years, Local
139 has made political action one
of our top priorities. We have gone
from being a relatively minor player in the state capitol, to one of the
top labor groups in the state. Nearly 70% of our members now contribute to our Political Action Committee. That is an increase of several thousand members from the
mid 1990's. We are now beginning
to see the fruit of our labor. We
intend to continue to be even more
active in the future. Political action
means more work for our members,
which means more money in all of
our back pockets.
243-0139 OR 1-800-851-7584
Page 8
DISTRICT
Terry Pare
Rec. Corres.
Secretary/District Manager
N
early every day I see another
story on radio or television telling
me about how big the red ink has
become at both the state and
national levels. From what I can
tell the Bush Administration has
squandered in just two years a budget surplus that was projected to be
six trillion dollars over the next
decade. At the state level, they are
now projecting a deficit of four billion dollars during the next two
years. Our new governor certainly
has a tough job ahead of him as he
tries to find a way out of the mess
he has inherited.
I could go on and on about how
our elected officials at the state and
national level have put the special
interests ahead of the public interest. I could add that it seems that
they only care about getting reelected. I could question why our
leaders spend money they don't
have. But why bother. What I am
thinking about is what will the
impact of these deficits be on work
for our members and how do we
get out of this mess.
It is quite obvious to me that
there is going to be less money
coming down the pike from Washington and Madison that will be
spent on infrastructure in the next
couple of years. If the state and
federal government are broke, the
first place they are likely to cut is
on public projects. I just hope that
our policy makers understand that
by not investing in infrastructure
that we are hurting our future. It is
like the old Fram Oil Filter commercial. You can pay me know, or
you can pay me later! When we
don't keep up on road, bridge and
other public maintenance, we are
just putting off costs that we will
have to pay for later…and at a
higher cost.
C
January, 2003
REPORT
Right now, the outlook for
2003 doesn't look too bad when it
comes to highway work. It won't
meet the amount in past years most
likely, but it will be at a decent
level. I am worried about public
building projects, but once again, it
doesn't look too bad for 2003.
What I am really worried about is
2004 and beyond.
Saying that, I believe that our
government at both levels needs to
make the tough decisions to get
their fiscal houses in order.
Because both governments are
spending money that they don't
have, they are putting increased
pressure on our future. When we
deficit spend, we are just borrowing from the future. While I don't
want to see our industry singled
out unfairly, I think we would be
more willing to share in some pain
if we saw that the end result would
be a healthy economy and a strong
government. I don't know what the
end result will be of these deficits,
but it is something that we need to
watch carefully. We have been
actively politically for a reason. It
is to make sure that our voice is
heard in the debate.
Work Picture
There is an incredible amount
of hospital work going on in District "C". In Weston, the footings
will be started on a new $100 million hospital. M.A. Mortenson is
the general contractor. There is
also a $15 million hospital addition
in Stanley and work going on at the
Rhinelander Hospital and St.
Claire Hospital in Wausau. Finally, Miron, Proud and Koepl are all
working on Sacred Heart Hospital
in Eau Claire. It seems that you
can't go anywhere in this District
without running into a hospital that
is adding on or building new.
The Wausau East High School
is looking at continuing for all of
2003. Miron has this project, as
well as the Wausau Benefits building, a five-story structure in downtown Wausau. Market & Johnson
is building the new Judicial Center
in Barron County. In Wisconsin
Rapids, a new cell is being built on
the Superior Landfill. This project
will go on from January until June
of 2003 and will employ a number
of Operating Engineers.
In the Superior area, Murphy
Oil will be employing a number of
people on a "turnaround". There is
also a lot of talk about the company
doing a major upgrade of its facilities worth hundreds of millions of
dollars. We are hoping that this
actually happens, but at the time of
this newsletter, nothing has been
announced. Also, Great Lakes Gas
will be doing "dig-ups" again this
year. This is the ninth year in a row
that these projects have gone on,
employing many Operators.
On the highway front, the
Highway 29 and Highway 53 Inner
By-pass is just getting going. This
major project around Eau Claire
and Chippewa Falls has been in the
works for a long time and will
mean a lot of work for our members. Later this year, work will be
bid on the Highway 17 By-pass and
on Highway 2. There are also quite
a few bridge and smaller projects
that will be built this year, but a lot
of it still needs to be bid. We will
have more information in the April
newsletter.
On a down note, Minnesota
Power has delayed plans for a new
electronic generating plant in Superior due to the slumping economy.
This $80 million plant would have
been a real shot in the arm to the
area. Let's hope that they resurrect
their plans soon.
Prescription Drugs
We all know what is happening
to prescription drug costs. Within
the Health Benefit Fund, for example, costs have gone up by nearly
400% in just the last seven years.
Because of changes in the Fund as
it relates to prescriptions, everyone
now knows what the exact cost of
these drugs are. There are things
that can be done to make sure that
you are not being over-charged on
these costs.
The Health Benefit Fund has a
contract with Advanced PCS for
prescription drug services. Under
terms of the contract, pharmacies
that are in our program agree to
charge at the lowest of either: 1) the
insurance price; 2) the cash price or
3) the ingredient price. It is always
in your interest to ask the pharmacist if you are getting the lowest of
the three prices. Sometimes, this
does not happen and then our members wind up paying more than
they have to. We are all in this
together. If you ask the right questions of your pharmacist, you may
get a lower charge, which benefits
you and the Health Fund. I would
appreciate hearing what happens to
you when you ask this question. If
you are not getting the best price,
please let the Health Fund know or
contact me in the Altoona office.
Northwoods Training?
The North Woods can be an
awfully long way from Coloma.
Training Director Tom Richards
has let us know that if there is
enough interest in having a Hazmat
Refresher and/or Forklift Certification classes in the Northern part of
the state, that he would be willing
to set these up in February or
March. If you have an interest,
contact the Altoona office, or the
Coloma School. We will only have
the classes if there is sufficient
interest.
I hope that everyone has a great
2003!
Langlade, Lincoln, Oneida,
Price, Vilas,
Iron, Taylor, &
Marathon
Counties
DISTRICT “C”
Mike Berti
Marathon,
Portage,
Wood, &
Clark
Counties
Bob Larson
January, 2003
Page 9
Wisconsin State AFL-CIO
Health Care Proposal
The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO has developed an innovative comprehensive health care proposal that we believe could be of major interest to
Local 139 members. If the plan were adopted, all Wisconsin employers would be required to pay an assessment that would be used to provide basic
coverage for all working Wisconsinites. We would then work to create a new plan to provide coverage that would go beyond the basic proposal.
It could be the type of health care breakthrough needed to finally control costs, while still providing quality coverage. We would appreciate your
comments on the plan.
The AFL-CIO Plan
Wisconsin and our nation are
facing a true health care crisis:
rapidly increasing costs will soon
put quality healthcare out of reach
of a majority of the American population. Nearly every employer is
confronted by health insurance
premium increases of twenty, thirty, or even forty percent annually.
Most try to shift these costs to their
workers-workers who either can't
afford to pay these additional costs
or else experience a declining standard of living in order to maintain
access to health care. Just about
every significant labor-management bargaining conflict or strike
these days has health insurance
costs at its center.
Yet think of the absurdity of
our current situation. In the United
States, we pay about one third
more than any other country, per
person, for health care. But
according to the World Health
Organization, our life expectancy
is lower than twenty-three other
countries! (That's a statistic which
many in the general public would
not expect-or perhaps even
believe. If it's any consolation,
we're 15th in overall "health attainment".) We have similar low comparative rankings for other measures of health, including infant
mortality. What's the difference?
How can we spend so much more
on medical care but have such inferior health outcomes? The answer
is relatively simple: all of those
twenty-three countries whose residents are healthier and who have a
life expectancy longer than ours
have some sort of universal health
care system that guarantees quality
care to every one of its citizens.
Tom Hong
Dunn, Eau
Claire, Jackson, St. Croix,
Pepin, Pierce,
Trempealeau,
Chippewa &
Buffalo
Counties
We need a system that is at least
private sectors, will be covered
quasi-universal and builds in bar- .
gaining power for purchasers.
3. The plan will be financed by an
employer-paid assessment for e
There are two ways to do that:
ach employee, as determined
by the Commission.
1.) A single-payer system similar to Canada's.
4. Employers may offer, or unions
2.) An employer-based system
may still bargain for, employer
which guarantees quality health
payment of part or all of any
care for everyone who is employed
co-pays, deductibles, or other
and their family members.
employee costs established by
the Commission as well as
The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO
additional benefits.
is proposing and developing a plan
based on the second model. It is 5. The self-employed and their
totally consistent with the Amerifamilies could buy in to the
can model of providing health
plan at cost, thus making com
insurance through employers that
prehensive health insurance
has been evolving since WWII.
affordable to those who are cur
The problem is that the current
rently charged extremely high
employment-based system has
premiums for sub-standard
never provided comprehensive
coverage.
health care to all workers and their
families.
What are the advantages of such
And we must not forget those a health care plan?
among us who are not working.
Those not employed must be pro- 1. It levels the playing field
vided care through publicly funded
between employers on health
programs.
care costs.
The basic elements of our 2. It eliminates cost shifting
proposal, which is inspired in part
between plans.
by our successful and widely supported Workers Compensation and 3. Small businesses would pay the
Unemployment Compensation syssame per-employee assessment
tems, are:
as large ones, thus reducing
their costs.
1. A labor-management commis
sion will be established through 4. It drastically reduces adminis
legislation to decide what the
trative costs by standardization.
plan will cover. The require
Currently, about 25% of the
ment will be a comprehensive
cost of health care is for admin
plan, not just bare-bones or cat
istration.
astrophic coverage.
5. It establishes a group large
2. All Wisconsin employees and
enough to bargain effectively
their dependents, public and
with the pharmaceutical com
Barron, Burnett, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Polk,
Price, Rusk, Sawyer, St.
Croix, Taylor &
Washburn
Counties
Greg Guthman
Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett,
Douglas, Iron,
Sawyer, &
Washburn
Counties
Scott DeBeir
panies, reducing drug prices.
6. Simplicity: We would have a
standard, comprehensive, qual
ity driven plan, as opposed to
the health care fragmentation
we have today. This fragmenta
tion and duplication is expen
sive.
7. Freedom of choice: as under
fee-for-service plans, people
would once again be able to
choose their own doctor.
This proposal, paired with a
similar publicly-funded plan for
those not covered through
employment, would not only solve
our health care crisis, it would also
be a powerful tool of economic
development. Imagine if we could
tell current Wisconsin employers,
or firms thinking of expanding or
locating in Wisconsin, that their
health care costs for employees
would be lower than in other states,
that the quality of care would be
higher-and that they would have no
administrative costs for the health
care of their workers! We would
not only have a stronger economy,
but we would have eliminated the
current incentives for employers
not to offer health insurance, to
offer inadequate insurance, or to
shift costs to their employees in
order to save money and be more
"competitive".
We don't have to be victims of
the current crisis in health care
costs and access. We can turn this
crisis into an exciting opportunity
to fundamentally reform our health
care system and ensure the highest
quality of health care for all - and
do that at a cost that we as a society
can well afford. Let's begin.
838-0139 OR 1-800-851-7571
Page 10
DISTRICT
Financial
Secretary
Darrell
Kane
B
y now, all of you that are
active members should have
received a statement from the
Health Benefit Fund letting you
know where you stand as it relates
to pre-funding credits for health
insurance upon retirement. In my
opinion this new benefit program,
which was approved at the March
2002 allocation meetings, is a winwin for everyone involved.
As of January 1, 2003 Operating Engineers that retire and have
earned at least 10 pre-funding credits, will be eligible to have a portion of their health care costs paid
for. The Health Benefit Fund will
administer this program, which is
aimed at providing a low-cost
retirement option for our members.
Active members pay a portion
of their health care allocation to
subsidize retired members at 50%
of the actual cost. The retiree then
pays the other 50%. Currently that
amounts to a payment of $450.00
per month. Under the new prefunding program that $450.00 payment is reduced based on the
amount of credits earned by the
participant. Credits earned are
based on a member's years worked
and the number of hours worked in
each year. Participants can receive
credit for work all the way back to
1971. The maximum number of
credits that can be earned is 42.
Because of the way the formula
works, this means that some of our
long-term members will see that
current $450.00 number reduced
by as much as 84%. This will
reduce the current premium for that
individual from $450.00, all the
way down to $72.00 per month.
When you look at the skyrocketing cost of health care, this program could prove to be a godsend
for active members looking down
D
the road at retirement. Take a look
at a short-term member who earned
less than 10 pre-funding credits
during their career. In 2003, that
individual would have to pay
$1,300.00 per month to stay in the
Health Benefit Fund. Compare that
to someone at normal retirement
age with 36 pre-funding credits.
Using today's formula that individual would have to pay only $125.00
per month ($9.02 x 36 = $325.00
rounded to the nearest dollar) for
health care upon retirement.
This program will not only help
our future retiree's in a big way, it
will also help our Health Benefit
Fund control costs. Since all active
members are now eligible for prefunding upon retirement, our only
subsidized costs relating to health
care are with our members that
retired before January 1, 2003.
Over time this number will shrink.
As that happens, the cost of the
subsidy will go down, which will
reduce costs to active members.
Everyone will continue to receive
the same quality of benefits, but the
costs will be less because there will
be fewer subsidized participants.
At the March meetings, the
membership chose to allocate $.65
per hour to fund this new program.
My hat is off to the membership for
making this progressive action.
Rising health care costs are hurting
everyone in society. Because of the
forward thinking of Local 139
members, we will all be in a better
position to combat those costs in
the future.
Work Picture
The work picture is District D
is mixed. There is quite a bit of
hospital work going on of benefit
to Local 139 members. For example, Miron, Area Erectors, Dawes,
Calnin & Goss, J.F. Ahern and A.C.
Fett are all working on the new
Aurora Hospital in Oshkosh. C.D.
Smith is doing the $40 million
addition to St. Agnes Hospital in
Fond du Lac, while C.R. Meyer is
working on the addition at Mercy
January, 2003
REPORT
Hospital in Oshkosh. Oscar Boldt
has projects going on at St. Elizabeth Hospital and the Appleton
Medical Center.
Miron has a number of projects
in the area. They are still working
on the Clintonville High School
project and are continuing on a
number of other projects, including: Tobin Machining in Fond du
Lac, a new Catholic Church in
Waupaca, the Menomonee County
Highway Shop, the Austin Strauble
Airport Terminal (South Concourse), Northwest Technical College, UW-Green Bay and St. Marks
Lutheran Church. Other building
contractors have a number of projects as well. They include: C.R.
Meyer is at Kaytee Products in
Chilton, Vinton is tearing down the
Two Rivers High School, Immel,
Gauthier, Reliance, SPE, Joe
DeNoble and Knaus are all working on the Wal-Mart Super Store in
DePere, and Oudenhoven and
Ostrenga are working on the
NWTC - Shawano Campus.
Wisconsin Public Service is
working on a big project. The Pallium Plants new combustion turbine building has Miron, Azco and
Gauthier on the project. Mueller
Pipeline has 4 miles of 12" gas
main to install as well.
There are a number of highway
projects in the area as well. Ability
is on Highway G in Shawano
County, while Lunda is on Highway K in Marinette County. Projects starting in 2003 include B.R.
Amon and Northeast Asphalt on
Highway 32 in Forest County and
Reliance working on County B in
Forest County. There are a number
of other DOT projects online for
next year as well.
I am sad to inform you of the
passing of David Waite. David
served as an officer for Local 139
for 20 years, a number of them as
President. David lived in Appleton
and ran the office here for a number
of years. When David retired, I had
the honor of being appointed
Financial Secretary of the union to
fill the opening that was created.
Florence, Forest,
Langlade (E. of Hwy.
45), Marinette,
Menomonee,
Outagamie
& Shawano Counties
DISTRICT “D”
Donald Waite
David's brother Don has been an
agent in this area for a number of
years. David Waite was one of the
most knowledgeable people about
union affairs that I ever met. I considered him a true friend. We will
miss him.
The Christmas Meetings are
always a great opportunity to enjoy
each other's good will and see old
friends. I attend all 17 meetings
and one of my jobs is to work with
Business Manager Miller to see that
everyone eligible for service pins
gets their award. We also honor our
longest serving members at these
meetings in other ways. Our 50year members receive a watch, a
plaque and our enduring gratitude
for leading the way. When you see
these older members receive their
awards, it is almost impossible not
to get a little choked up. Every year
that I do this the more I feel a sense
of gratitude to these members.
Good job to all that received their
awards this year.
As I write this newsletter article, El-Nino has created a situation
where it is 54 degrees on December
30th. I sure hope that this crazy
weather pattern leads to a hot spring
for work. A good 2003 work season is my New Year's wish to all of
you.
January, 2003
VicePresident
Bill
Fett
O
ne of my roles as Vice-President of Local 139 is to negotiate the
Great Lakes Floating Agreement.
On November 18th and 19th,
Recording Corresponding Secretary Terry Pare and myself went to
Chicago to discuss the terms for a
new contract. Our labor team also
included Steven Cisco, the Recording Secretary of Local 150. The
Employer Negotiating Committee
consisted of eight contractors,
including George Lubeley from
Edward E. Gillen Company. The
proposed contract would cover the
following IUOE Locals: 17, 18, 49,
66, 139, 150, 324, 463, 545 and
832.
I am pleased to announce that
we have negotiated a strong three-
year agreement for the period from
January 1, 2003 until December 31,
2005. Wages will go up by $4.80
per hour during the life of the contract, which is well above the current inflation rate. At the same
time, we made no concessions to
the current contract. This should
be considered good news for anyone who works under this agreement.
Business Manager Dale Miller
has me involved in a number of
projects for the Local. As many of
you may know, I have been an
Advanced Friction Crane instructor
at the Coloma Training Center for
the past four years. This year I will
be back again as an instructor. I am
also an Accredited National Examiner for the National Commission
for the Certification of Crane Operators. I also am heavily involved in
organizing for the Local, primarily
in North East Wisconsin.
We are currently involved in a
number of organizing campaigns in
the Valley. For too long this part of
the state has had a non-union slant.
It is the goal of Local 139 to change
this. There are well over a dozen
different campaigns happening
aimed at increasing union concentration. Some of the campaigns
involve companies that are half
union and half non-union. This sort
of situation is intolerable to the
cause of unionism. Every time we
let these companies get away with
this sort of arrangement, it is the
membership that loses.
The greatest potential organizers this union has is its own membership. Every one of you knows a
number of operating engineers that
work non-union. They usually
work for a wage package that is $10
or more less than we do. Their
fringe benefit package usually consists of a bad 401 (k) plan and inferior health insurance. If the next
time you saw one of these people,
you would ask them why they
would want to work in such a lousy
situation, you would do all of your
brothers and sisters a world of
good. When these non-union operators work for peanuts, we all lose.
Page 11
A quick word on the November
elections. We had a great pair of
wins with the election of Jim Doyle
as Governor and Peg Lautenschlager as Attorney General.
Even with the huge budget deficit,
we have a real opportunity to do
good things on prevailing wage
enforcement, utility modernization
and road construction. There were
also a number of losses. When the
Republicans took over the United
States Senate, it meant that for the
first time in nearly 50f years, they
controlled all three branches of
government. This will put the
National Labor Relations Act at
risk, reduce the likelihood of meaningful health care reform and seriously jeopardize Davis-Bacon. We
also lost control of the State Senate.
This means it will be more difficult
to get the good plans of Governor
Doyle passed. Be assured, though,
that we will be in there fighting.
As we begin this New Year, I
hope that all of you have a safe and
prosperous work year. Solidarity!
4th Annual Quarry Quest - Neenah, WI
Fond du Lac,
Green Lake, Sheboygan, Waupaca, Waushara
& Winnebago
Counties
Barry Bartel
Brown,
Calumet, Door,
Kewaunee,
Manitowoc &
Oconto
Counties
Jeff Johnson
739-6378 OR 1-800-851-7559
Page 12
January, 2003
Drug Companies Win Big With Republican
Takeover Of Congress!
"There's no doubt that the pharmaceutical industry triumphed along with the Republican party in this week's elections…Experts say the pharmaceutical industry's heavy spending in the election paid off in a Republican Congress that will certainly be more sympathetic to its views…the
pharmaceutical companies spent a lot of money and they are going to be looking for payback…I am sure they are elated right now."
Associated Press story in the Wisconsin State Journal
November 9, 2002
The big drug companies spent hundreds of millions of dollars on campaign contributions, lobbying and issue ads during the 2002 elections. That
spending paid off in a big way when Republicans took control of the United States Senate and kept the House of Representatives on November 5th.
It is the first time since the Eisenhower Administration that Republicans have complete control of the federal government.
As long as Democrats held control of the United States Senate, there was a realistic chance that we would finally get prescription drug coverage
under medicare. In the last session, the GOP had pushed for prescription drug coverage through private insurance companies and HMO's. The
Democrats blocked that move and pushed for coverage through medicare. The benefits to Operating Engineers for this approach were two-fold. First,
if medicare finally covered prescription drugs, our Health Benefit Fund would save a great amount of money. Second, because of the huge number
of retiree's that are eligible for medicare, the likelihood of negotiating substantial price cuts was immense.
The big drug companies have always opposed medicare coverage of prescription drugs. They know that if the federal government starts paying
for drugs under medicare, it will force the drug companies to charge less for those drugs. This will drive down profits. There is no way they will let
this happen without a fight.
And the profits have been immense. The gross profits of the 10 biggest U.S. drug companies rose by 33% during 2001 even with an economic
slowdown in the nation. These companies were eight times more profitable than the median of all Fortune 500 companies, with a return on revenue
of 18.5%. This compared with a 2.2% return for other companies. One company (Pfizer) earned more in profits in 2001 than all of the Fortune 500
companies in the home building, apparel, railroad and publishing companies combined.
The big drug companies know that by spending heavily on elections, they can largely have their way when it comes to legislation. They want to
protect their huge profits and the $78 million they spent on lobbying and elections this year is nothing compared to the billions they are making in
profits. It is the citizenry that is losing in this debate. We need to fight back.
It is no wonder that the drug companies are winning this debate. According to Public Citizen, a 150,000 member non-profit organization based
in Washington, D.C., the drug industry has a virtual stranglehold over the Congress. In the past five years, they have spent over $400 million in lobbying the Congress, including over $78 million last year alone. They have 623 lobbyists, which is more than one lobbyist for each member of Congress. There are 23 former members of Congress lobbying for the drug companies, each with special access to their former colleagues.
Prescription drug costs are out of control. In the last seven years, prescription drug spending in the Local 139 Health Benefit Fund has gone from
around $200,000 per month, to over $1 million per month. Last year, 38% of the total spending increase in the fund was caused by prescription drug
costs. We had high hopes that the Congress would finally come to the rescue and provide a prescription drug coverage benefit under medicare. The
election results make that possibility much less likely.
The Trustees of the Health Benefit Fund have worked very hard to try to find a way to keep prescription drug costs down, especially by trying to
reward the use of generic drugs. Generic drugs have exactly the same composition as brand name drugs, but cost far less. Sadly, less than 10% of
prescription drugs that are used are generic. No matter what we try to do as a Fund to control these skyrocketing prices, we will only have limited
success unless the Congress and the President come to our aid.
Elsewhere in this newsletter is a listing of the Wisconsin Congressional delegation, along with their phone numbers and e-mail and mailing
addresses. There is also a sample letter to Congress and the President asking them for relief from the skyrocketing cost of health care. Either clip
out the sample letter or have it rewritten. Please take a few moments of your time to contact the President and your member of Congress and ask
them to stand up to the big drug companies and support prescription drug coverage under medicare. Only be persistent lobbying by the rest of us will
we have a chance to stop the big money interests from continuing to win this debate.
January, 2003
Send Congress A Message:
We Need Relief
From Rising Health Care
Costs!
The officers of Local 139, along with the Trustees of the Health Benefit Fund have been working hard to find ways to stem the fast rising cost
of health care. Without help from the federal government, it could
become a losing battle. When health care costs continually rise by more
than double the inflation rate and prescription drug costs by more than six
times inflation, it is impossible to keep up. It is a shame that after we
negotiate a good wage package, that the lion's share of the increase goes
to pay for health care.
We can fight back. Congress needs to know that there is a price to pay
for continuing to side with the big drug companies and the rest of the
health care industry that is making exorbitant profits at our expense. They
need to know that if they don't deal with the national crisis in health care,
we will find some new people who will.
Local 139 has drafted the following letter to send to members of Congress. You can either clip it out of the newsletter, or rewrite it and send it
in. Make sure that you sign the letter and leave your home address. Elsewhere on this page is a listing of the Wisconsin delegation to Congress, as
well as the address for President George W. Bush. Please send your member of Congress this letter. If you would rather call or e-mail them, the
phone numbers and e-mail addresses are listed. If you don't know who
your member of Congress is, contact the Madison office at 1-800-8517584 and we will let you know.
Page 13
Dear ____________________:
The skyrocketing cost of health care is threatening all Americans. I
write to ask you to take on the big drug companies and the other health
care giants and force them to be held accountable for their record profits.
It is outrageous to me that the big drug companies can continue to
make record profits in the range of six times the rate of inflation at a
time when many Americans are hurting. The economic slowdown of
the last two years, coupled with astronomical cost increases in health
care is a double whammy that we cannot endure.
I am a member of Operating Engineers Local 139. Our union has
had to endure a 376% increase in prescription drug costs in just the last
seven years. Nearly 40% of the increase in spending in our health fund
was caused by prescription drug cost increases last year. We have had
to make reductions in benefits and been forced to raise premiums to
record levels because of this. This cannot be allowed to continue.
Specifically, I ask you to support providing a prescription drug benefit under medicare. It is ridiculous that our national health care program for senior citizens covers less than 10% of prescription drug costs.
I also ask you to support changes in the law that would make generic
drugs more easily available. Finally, I ask that you pursue cost containment measures for hospitals and other health care venus to keep
costs down.
Our Congress has always been there to represent the citizenry. It is
time to show whose side the government is on: the drug companies, or
the people.
I would appreciate a response to this letter. Thank you for listening.
Sincerely,
The cost of health care has to be reduced. It can't be done without
your help. Please take a few moments of your time and help us fight for
better health care at a cheaper cost.
Member of Operating Engineers Local 139
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTACTS
U.S. Senator Herb Kohl
330 Senate Hart Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-4903
Phone: (202) 224-5653
Fax: (202) 224-9787
Email: senator_kohl@kohl.senate.gov
U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
Representative Tom Barrett
716 Senate Hart Office Building
1214 Longworth House Office Building
Phone: (202) 224-5323
Phone: (202) 225-3571
Fax: (202) 224-2725
Fax: (202) 225-2185
Email: Russell_feingold@feingold.senate.gov Email: telltom@mail.house.gov
Representative Tom Petri
2462 Rayburn House Office Building
Phone: (202) 225-2476
Fax: (202) 225-2356
Email: tompetri@mail.house.gov
Representative Paul Ryan
1st Congressional District
Phone: (202) 225-3031
Email: paul.ryan@mail.house.gov
Representative Tammy Baldwin
2nd Congressional District
Phone: (202) 225-2906
Email: tammy.Baldwin@mail.house.gov
Representative Dave Obey
Phone: (202) 225-3365
Fax: (202) 225-3240
Email: david.obey@mail.house.gov
Representative Mark Green
1218 Longworth Office Building
Phone: (202) 225-5665
Fax: (202) 225-5729
Email: mark.green@mail.house.gov
Representative Ron Kind
Phone: (202) 225-5506
Fax: (202) 225-5739
Email: ron.kind@mail.house.gov
Representative Jerry Kleczka
Phone: (202) 225-4572
Fax: (202) 225-8135
Email: jerry4wi@mail.house.gov
Representative Jim Sensenbrenner
Phone: (202) 225-5101
Fax: (202) 225-3190
Email: sensen09@mail.house.gov
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Phone: 202-456-1111
Fax: 202-456-2461
Email: president@whitehouse.gov
Page 14
Coloma
Training
Site
Tom
Richards
Training Director
O
ver the past 5 years that I
have been associated with the training program, I have witnessed a
tremendous growth in the amount
of training in this industry. Perhaps
the largest contributing factor in
this growth has been the amount of
training that is mandated by the
government in order to provide a
safe and healthy working environment. Over the past few years we
have seen certification requirements for forklifts required by law,
pre-employment training required
by law in the pits and quarries and
now we see qualifications required
by law to work in the pipeline
industry. Add the commercial driver's license to these requirements
along with the competent person
training for excavations and you
can start to see the direction the
industry is going in. If you read the
OSHA Standards they state in Subpart D "The employer shall permit
only those employees qualified by
training or experience to operate
equipment and machinery". More
and more employers, owners and
insurance companies are requiring
additional training before a person
can begin working on a project.
For instance Minnesota requires
individuals working on DOT projects to have completed 10 hours of
training on the OSHA Standards for
Construction. The paper manufacturers in Wisconsin now require
everyone who works in the paper
mills to have completed over 10
hours of training on the OSHA
Standards and hazard recognition.
Many of our own employers are
requiring crane operators to be certified in order to continue working
for them. And the list of proposed
training requirements continues to
grow each year.
At the training center, we have
tried very hard to keep up to date
on all of these requirements so that
we can offer you as much of the
training as possible so you will be
NAME
ADDRESS
STATE
REG. #
prepared to go to work, as well as
get home safely each day. This has
not been an easy task. For instance
the requirements for the pipeline
Operator Qualifications can differ
from job to job even within the
same employer. Mine owners do
not have to accept our training if
they do not want to and even the
forklift certification does not have
to be accepted by an employer if
they do not want to accept it.
On the good side, we have been
very fortunate with employers
accepting our training. In fact,
many employers desperately want
to get their employees into our
classes. Several employers request
information from us each year on
who has taken training for their
own company records and promotions. OSHA has taken advantage
of our training and most recently
we have provided some training for
the operating engineers at WE
Energies and for some of the operating engineers working for some
of the townships.
You will find that our course
schedule includes most of the classes that are required by the government as well as a variety of classes
that we believe there will be operator shortages next summer. For
instance, this past summer, we continued to have shortages of scraper
operators. While a scraper may not
be as glamorous as an excavator,
they do pay better than unemployment. There were still shortages in
friction crane operators, especially
in District C, sewer and water operators were short all over the state
and pipeline hands were also in
demand.
I strongly recommend that if
you have not taken any training
classes recently, you should sign up
for a class as soon as possible. We
do accept registrations by FAX at
(715) 228-4901. We have sent the
course descriptions and registration
forms directly to your homes again
this year. If you have not received
you application yet, please contact
the Pewaukee office to verify your
mailing address. Again, I strongly
recommend that you act quickly to
register as our classes fill up very
fast each year.
I hope you had a happy holiday
season and I look forward to seeing
as many of you as possible at the
Training Center this winter!
In Memoriam
SS #
CITY
January, 2003
ZIP
PHONE #
In late December 2002, we were saddened to hear of the passing of
David Waite. David, in addition to being a past President of the
local union also served the training center as a trustee of the Fund,
and as training director for a short period of time. We thank David
for his years of service and pass our condolences to his
family and friends.
CHOICE
CLASS DESCRIPTION
START DATE
1ST CHOICE
OPERATOR
QUALIFICATION
If you are planning to work under the distribution
agreement or the pipeline agreement next year,
we will be offering a series of one day training classes
for the new Operator Qualifications requirements.
2ND CHOICE
OPERATOR
QUALIFICATION
Please return the registration form to the left - to enroll.
3RD CHOICE
OPERATOR
QUALIFICATION
DATES AVAILABLE FOR OPERATOR
QUALIFICATION ONE DAY TRAINING
AT THE
COLOMA TRAINING SITE
FAX: 715-228-4901 OR MAIL TO:
Wisconsin Operating Engineers
W11584 State Road 21;
Coloma, WI 54930
JAN. 28, 2003
FEB. 25, 2003
MAR. 18, 2003
ALL CLASSES BEGIN AT 8:00 AND
END AT 4:30
January, 2003
IUOE Local 139
Welcomes The Following
New Contractors:
A & B Welding & Construction, Inc. (Area II Bldg.)
Abari Construction (SWT)
Aero General Masonry, Inc. (Area II Bldg.)
B & B Crushing (H&H)
Bill Dei Excavating (Area I Bldg., Area II Bldg., H&H & AEM)
Bongers Landscaping & Const. LLC (Area II Bldg.)
Century Exc. Plus, Inc. (Area II Bldg. & H&H)
Eli Environmental Contractors (Area I Bldg. & Area II Bldg.)
Indianhead Pipeline Sves. (NPL)
KB Excavating & Trucking LLC (H&H & Area II Bldg.)
Kiser-Johnson Co., Inc. (Area II Bldg.)
MKM Engineering (Area II Bldg.)
Perkins Motor Transport (Area II Bldg.)
Raimonde Drilling Corp. (Area I Bldg.)
Royal Excavating, Inc. (Area II Bldg.)
Standing Stone Erecting (Area II Bldg.)
Steller Concrete & Masonry (Area II Bldg.)
Victor Lee Equipment, Inc. (H &H)
WW Grading (Area II Bldg., & H&H)
Willkomm Excavating & Grading, Inc. (AEM & SWT)
APPRENTICE GRADUATES
DECEMBER 2002
12-13-02
12-13-02
12-13-02
12-13-02
12-13-02
12-13-02
12-13-02
Christie, Scott
Dietrich, Travis
Lakken, Michael
Schick, John
Stuart, Ed
Trevisaon, Steve
Young, Wendy
Retired brother John Tilkens at the Green Bay Area Career Day, talking to students about the Operating Engineer Trade and showing them
how to use the Crane Simulator.
Page 15
Labor History Corner
Prevailing Wage Laws
There are few laws more important
to our members economic well being
than the Davis-Bacon Act, which is better known as the prevailing wage law or
"white sheet" work. The Davis-Bacon
Act, which became law in 1931 at the
federal level, created a mechanism to
guarantee that local area wages and labor
standards would be preserved on federal
construction projects. The state of Wisconsin passed a "Little Davis-Bacon Act"
at about the same time to protect workers
on state and local public construction
projects as well.
Unlike most other pieces of progressive labor legislation, two Republicans,
Representative Robert Bacon of New
York and Senator James Davis of Pennsylvania authored the proposal. Republican President Herbert Hoover signed it
into law. The act was in response to
unscrupulous contractors cutting wages
of workers during the Great Depression.
Many contractors were sharpening their
pencils on the backs of workers in order
to beat out other bidders. Congress and a
number of states correctly felt that this
was unfair and passed a series of laws
aimed at taking wages out of the bidding
process on public projects. Millions of
workers benefit to this day because of
this important piece of legislation.
The Davis-Bacon Act has been on
the books for over 70 years. For most of
that time non-union and anti-union
groups like the Chamber of Commerce
and the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) have been trying to repeal it.
Luckily, they have met with little or no
success.
For Operating Engineers, the DavisBacon Act is as important today as it was
during the Great Depression. If the law
were repealed, many contractors would
try to win work by cutting wages. This
would lead to a downward spiral in
worker's wages. By requiring that gov-
ernmental projects must honor local area
wage levels, the law takes wages off the
table and requires contractors to bid more
efficiently and effectively. It would be
patently unfair to let contractors win bids
by forcing workers to work for less.
Local 139 will always fight to keep
the Davis-Bacon Act intact. Preserving
the local and area wage rate protects our
member's incomes. Contrary to our
opponent's claims, the law does not raise
the cost of public construction costs. By
guaranteeing that workers will be paid
the "prevailing wage" that is currently
used in an area, the governmental unit
and the taxpayer's get better and more
productive workers on projects, thus saving costs.
Our union feels so strongly about
prevailing wage laws that we have created our own prevailing wage compliance
program. The Construction Business
Group works out of our Madison office
and monitors compliance of contractors
(especially non-union contractors) with
the law. By exposing those contractors
that cheat on wages and then reporting
those employers to the appropriate state
or local agencies, we help guarantee that
wages will remain high. Governor Doyle
has promised us that state government
will finally work closely with us in going
after these cheaters. Our members currently contribute a small portion of their
hourly wage to keep our investigators out
in the field investigating cheating. They
understand the benefit of exposing contractors that break the law. If enough of
them get caught, it will lead to an upward
spiral in wages and benefits.
The Davis-Bacon Act has protected
Operating Engineers wages for generations. With constant vigilance through
our political efforts, it should stay there
for future generations as well. We are all
better off because of the foresight of a
few gutsy political leaders during the
height of the Great Depression.
Instructor Doug Stegeman, teaching the
January Load Charts class in the new
Presentation room in Coloma
Page 16
Joe Wineke
Public Relations & Political Coordinator
N
ovember 5, 2002 - I will
always remember this day. For it
was on Election Day of 2002 that I
finally felt that the political action
activities of this local union had
come of age. Not that we had done
badly in the past, mind you, but this
was different.
Way back on Valentines Day of
2001, the Political Action Committee of Local 139 made the decision
to endorse Jim Doyle for Governor
in 2002. With that action, we
became the first union in the state
of Wisconsin to endorse a candidate for Governor. This action was
not without risk. One candidate for
Governor was extremely upset by
this action. But we stayed the
course and worked our butts off for
Jim Doyle. Never had this union
put the amount of effort behind a
candidate like we did for our new
Governor. We used modern tech-
Bill
Burg
Organizing
Director
W
ith the recent elections
finally over, it's a pleasure to sit
back in the evening and watch TV
without the negative campaign ads.
Thank you to everyone who helped
by putting up yard signs, making
phone calls, walking miles and
miles for literature drops, and making your voice heard by voting.
Local 139's members claimed victory in electing Democratic candidate Jim Doyle for Governor and
Peg Lautenschlager Wisconsin's
Attorney General. Both Governor
Doyle and Attorney General Lautenschlager will fight for Local 139
members by cracking down on prevailing wage violators and by supporting labor friendly issues. With
the Republicans in control of both
the Assembly and Senate, Governor Doyle will be on the lookout
for any Right-to-Work laws, which
January, 2003
nology in the form of video and
direct mail to get our message
across. We also did a lot of the oldfashioned stuff, like dropping literature and calling the membership.
I am proud to say that it worked.
We now have a Governor that
considers Local 139 to be one of
his true friends. If we need help, he
may not always be able to deliver,
but at least we will know that we
were heard. This is in stark contrast to the last Governor. For
example, when we wanted to pass
crane certification legislation, we
asked for a meeting. He did not
even respond to our request. Well,
we won't have to worry about that
any more.
Jim Doyle has promised to be a
strong supporter of infrastructure in
Wisconsin. That means building
roads and bridges and allowing
utilities to upgrade their power
plants. While we may not see great
progress on this front at first,
because of the huge budget deficits
he inherited, we expect to have a
strong ally in Building Wisconsin
in the future.
He has also promised to go
after contractors that cheat on pre-
vailing wage laws. "White Sheet"
work is the backbone of our industry. Jim Doyle understands that
when unscrupulous contractors win
bids by cheating on wages, our
members suffer. I guarantee that
you will see a new and aggressive
enforcement of this important law
that dates back to the 1930's. That
is good news for all of us.
We also will be asking the new
Governor to improve bidding procedures in Wisconsin and to stop
the huge increase in unfair competition by counties that do our work.
Ever since former Governor
McCallum proposed eliminating
revenue sharing with local governments it seems that every county in
the state has become a general contractor doing our work. We will be
working hard to stop this from happening.
I was also heartened to see that
Peg Lautenschlager was elected
Attorney General. Once again, we
were one of the first groups to
endorse Peg's candidacy and raise
her funds when she critically needed them. We got criticized by some
in the labor movement for getting
involved early for Peg and for Jim
Doyle, but it was the right thing to
do. When groups sit back and wait
and never take a risk, they also
never get noticed. If nothing else,
we are getting noticed! Peg Lautenschlager is a good friend of mine
and I am confident that she will
always put workers first when it
comes to adjudicating the law.
As always, if you have any concerns on the political front, feel free
to contact me in the Madison office
at 1-800-851-7584 or by e-mail at
jwineke@iuoe139.org.
might be silently attached to a Bill
trying to be passed. Republicans
do have a history of trying to pass
laws giving us the right-to-work
for less.
Changes on the national political scene. The Republicans took
control of the U.S. Senate and the
new members are Rene Alexander
Acosta, Robert Battista, Wilma
Liebman, Peter Schaumber, and
Dennis Walsh comprising the five
person National Labor Relations
Board (NLRB). Republicans now
control the Board with a 3-2 majority. Robert Battista, designated
Chairman, Rene Alexander Acosta,
and Peter Schaumber are the
Republican members while Wilma
Liebman and Dennis Walsh are the
Democrat members. Liebman and
Walsh previously served on the
Board and favor labor. Both are
true Democrats, unlike the Democrats chosen during President Reagan's era, who were actually
wolves in sheep's clothing. Battista, Acosta, and Schaumber were
formerly management attorneys.
Wisconsin News listed the
names of 20 new signatory con-
tractors. We welcome them and
their employees to Local 139. In
organizing a lot is going on. Two
NLRB hearings are scheduled for
2003. A hearing with Emerald Park
Landfill in January and the Peters
Concrete hearing in February. We
currently have 3 unfair labor practice (ULP) cases under investigation by the NLRB. In District C the
cases are with Ashland Construction and Thompson Sand Gravel
and Excavating. In District D the
case is with Kopplin & Kinas.
More ULP cases are in the pipeline
to be filed once the Organizers
finalize evidence. In District A we
recently won an election with the
surveying and engineering techs
from the City of West Bend.
We all hear about the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC)
and their claims of representing
80% of the construction workforce
through their "merit shop" philosophy. In a recent article in the Infrastructure Insights, a publication by
the National Heavy & Highway
Alliance, I found interesting information (taken from the ABC's own
2000 membership directory) I
would like to share with you. Of
the 18,917 members listed, 9,160
are non-builders. That means 45%
of its membership doesn't build
anything! It's very interesting how
the ABC testifies to Congress on
prevailing wage, fights against project labor agreements (PLA) and
even writes editorials bashing
Unions and PLA's and yet 45% of
their membership never worked
under a PLA or on a prevailing
wage job. Unless, First Business
Bank, Jay Salvo Photography, and
Gear for Sports are planning on
bidding prevailing wage work -rather doubtful.
In closing I would like to thank
everyone who has honored a picketline. Solidarity between the
trades benefit all Union members.
It is your Federally protected right
to honor a picket. Most of our
Agreements contain language
about picket lines. Remember, if
you are working on a multi-gate
project and there is a picket at one
of the gates, you are still working
behind a picket line. I hope everyone has a good holiday season.
Solidarity!
Read Your
Union
Newsletter
It Has The
News
You Can
Use
September, 2002
Classified:
Page 17
-WANT AD COUPON-
For Sale: Restorable 1981 Olds Cutlass Calais 2 door blue sport model - half vinyl
top, 92,000 original miles. V-8, auto. Asking $2,000.00 or Best Offer. Call (920)499-5450.
Mail your ad, 20 words or less to the: Local 139 Wisconsin News, Attn.: Editor,
N27 W23233 Roundy Drive, P.O. Box 130, Pewaukee, WI 53072.
For Sale: 1998 Club Cab 4x4 Sport. (5.2 Magnum, V-8) tow pack, automatic, flame
red (keyless entry) etc, etc., very clean. Asking $15,700.00. Call (262) 552-2652 or
(262) 496-8465.
No commercial ads, please!
o Real Estate
For Sale: 1981 - 580 Case backhoe/loader. Asking $27,000.00. 1991 Ford
dumptruck 5 yard box, Asking $6,000.00. Beaver Trail 10-ton trailer 3500, Asking
$3,000.00. Call (715) 358-2310.
For Sale: 8 Foot toboggan Heatalater. Call (414) 352-5335.
For Sale: Flat Bed Tandum Axle Trailer, 8-ft. wide, 16’ 2” long-flat, 4-ft tounge,
spare tire. Asking $1,500.00. Call (262) 679-0737.
o For Sale
o Wanted
Please Print ______________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Name___________________________________________
Address__________________________________________
Phone___________________________________________
________________________________________________
For Sale: 3 adjoining cemetary lots in Milwaukee at the Wisconsin Memorial Park.
$800.00 each or 3 for $2,000.00. Call (262) 284-9846.
For Sale: Enclosed insulated 7 x 18, dual axle trailer, , AC, RV door rear ramp windows. Asking $5,500.00. Call (715) 354-7211.
100th Anniversary
For Sale: 4 adjoining cemetary lots at Arlington Memorial for $450.00 earch or all 4
for $1,800.00 - cemetary located at 4001 S. 27th Street, Milwaukee, WI. Call (608)
584-5367.
Commemorative
For Sale: 1995 Chevy Camaro convertible, white, black top, stored winters, 38,000
miles, V-6. Asking $10,000.00. Call (262) 679-1719.
For Sale: 1977 1-ton Steak Truck 4 x 4, rust free, plow attachment and controls. Asking $3,500.00. Call 262-379-0737.
Real Estate: 3 bedroom, 3 bath ranch home, near Richland Center. Attached 2-car
garage, central air, 2 fireplaces, above ground pool. Call (608) 647-4930.
Real Estate: Beautiful 2 bedroom Villa, sleeps 6, Royal Islander Cancun, Mexico.
January 11-18, 2003. Rent $1,200.00 or Buy $19,000.00. Call (414) 321-2634.
Wanted: Old hunting licenses, back tags, steel leg tags, paper licenses, etc.
(715) 387-1851.
Call
Senior Citizens’
Meeting Schedule
Book Now Available
As part of our 100th Anniversary celebration this year, we have written a book Building Wisconsin for 100 Years: The History of Operating Engineers Local 139. In pictures and in words, this 80 page book
traces our entire history.
Because of the costs related to printing and postage, we have
chosen not to mail this to every member. If you would like a free copy
of Building Wisconsin for 100 Years we will be glad to send you one.
Simply fill out the request form below. You also can get a copy by stopping by any of our District offices.
Yes! I would like a copy of our 100 year history!
Name: ________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________
PEWAUKEE
N27 W23233 Roundy Drive, Pewaukee, WI 53072
3rd Wednesday of the month - 10:00 a.m.
Bill Fandry, President
City: _________________________________________
State: _________________________________________
Zip Code: _____________________________________
MADISON
4702 S. Biltmore Lane, Madison, WI 53718
1st Monday of the month - 11:00 a.m.
Charlie Bowen, President
Mail to:
IUOE Local 139
PO Box 130
Pewaukee, WI 53072
LA CROSSE
3rd Wednesday of the month - 11:00 a.m.
For Any Information , Please Contact
Ray Happel, President (507) 894-4647 or
Chet Nordstrom, Vice-President (608) 488-3785
Buy
Union
EAU CLAIRE
Currently there is no Retiree Meeting Group.
If anyone is interested in starting one up, please
call the Altoona Office at 1-800-851-7571
Buy
American
Page 18
Notes from the Health
Benefit Fund
Administrative
Manager
Mary Jane
DeBattista
H
ow do we get people to care?
This is an age-old dilemma that
does not get any easier with the
passing of time. I was recently
talking to a participant who was
angry that the Health Fund did not
pay for two items for which a doctor billed over $300-because they
were not medically necessary. I
was told, "I don't care about the
politics, I just want my bill paid". I
tried diligently to explain why the
services should never have been
performed or billed by the doctor. I
asked the participant why he was
not angry with the doctor who did
something that was unnecessary
and charged for it instead of with
the Health Fund office who is trying to save the Fund's money. The
second response that I got was, "I
just want to go to the doctor, get my
business taken care of and I want
you to pay the bill". I explained that
the Health Fund cannot afford to
pay for everything that may be
included on a claim. I explained
that every dollar paid out for a
claim is money that comes out of
each participant's pocket, including
his. I explained that medical costs
are expensive enough without paying for charges that are not legitimate. Even after I explained that I
was going to write a letter to ask the
doctor to drop the charges, the
comment that I got was, "I don't
care. Do whatever you have to do
so long as I don't have to pay the
bill."
The recent changes that have
taken place in the Health Benefit
Fund should work as a wake up call
to each person who uses the benefits provided by this Fund. You
have to start caring about how you
use the Fund's benefits. You have
to be good consumer. It takes time
to be a good consumer. It takes
time to shop around for the best
prescription drug price. It takes
time to review the statements that
you receive at home from the clinic. It takes even more time, to
phone the clinic to ask for an explanation of a charge that was billed
since you may be put on hold and
passed around to several people
before you get an answer. Every-
one is busy these days and no one
wants to be bothered with additional aggravation in his or her
life. However, if this attitude prevails and no one takes the time to
care, the Fund's costs will continue to climb as will the amount that
everyone pays to cover these
costs.
Now I know that the retiree’s
will be upset at what I have written because they tell me that they
always watch what is being spent
and bless them for their efforts.
But, we need everyone's cooperation.
Since you are now front-line
consumers of prescription drugs, I
have heard from participants of
many ways they have found to
save money. Did you know that
20 mg. of Zocor cost about the
same as the 40 mg pills or $110
per month. You can reduce that
cost to $55 each month, if you get
your doctor to prescribe the higher dosage and cut your pills in
half. I am sure that you all have
seen the television advertisements
for Celebrex and Vioxx which
cost about $2.64/pill. Did you
know that to date, clinical literature has not shown these Cox-2
Inhibitors to be any more effective
in the treatment of arthritis or
acute pain than 800 mg. Ibuprofen
which costs $0.15/pill. Talk to
DEATH BENEFITS PAID BY LOCAL 139 HEALTH
BENEFIT FUND
Name
Date of Death
Amount
Abbott, Milton
07-14-02
$5,000.00
Andreas, Francis
08-10-02
$5,000.00
Beaulieu, Darrell
10-07-02
$5,000.00
** Beuth, Harold
06-16-02
$7,500.00
DeDeyne, Gustave
07-17-02
$5,000.00
Eddy, Cecil
08-27-02
$5,000.00
Fuller, Ross
08-02-02
$5,000.00
Guinther, Walter
09-07-02
$5,000.00
Hartman, Anthony
10-26-02
$5,000.00
Hougan, Alvin
06-07-02
$5,000.00
Jacobs, Don
09-09-02
$5,000.00
Kalczynski, Edward
10-23-02
$5,000.00
Karlen, Walter
10-24-02
$5,000.00
Krisik, Robert
09-15-02
$5,000.00
Lubetski, Edwin
10-01-02
$5,000.00
Negovan, Dan
10-03-02
$5,000.00
Pampuch, Paul
10-19-02
$5,000.00
Richardson, Terry
07-25-02
$5,000.00
Rintelman, Ernst
09-15-02
$5,000.00
** Robers, Cletus
05-20-02
$7,500.00
Schier, Joseph
06-04-02
$5,000.00
Strozinsky, Everett
08-29-02
$5,000.00
Sura, Dominic
08-04-02
$5,000.00
Trierweiler, Edward
08-13-00
$2,500.00
Truskowski, Edward
09-27-02
$5,000.00
Van Minsel, Leroy
07-15-02
$5,000.00
** Weber, Anthony
09-27-02
$7,500.00
06-21-02
$10,000.00
Pieper, Nathan
** Accident
your doctor and your pharmacist to
ask for help in lowering your prescription costs.
To submit prescriptions for
reimbursement--The Fund Office
has had some problems with the prescription drug claims that have been
submitted. You do not need any
type of claim form to submit for prescription reimbursement. You need
only send us the individual prescription receipt that you receive at the
pharmacy. The receipt must have
the name of the patient, the date the
drug was dispensed, the name and
strength of the drug and the charge.
DO NOT send in the cash register
receipts that just list dollar amounts
and totals, we must have the information mentioned for each of the
drugs purchased to be able to keep
our promise to reimburse your prescriptions within 10-14 days of
receipt at the Fund Office. Just
write the participant's social security
number on the receipt and mail to
the Fund Office at PO Box 160,
Pewaukee, WI 53072-0160.
There are many of you who do
care and who really know how to
stretch a dollar. I invite you to
spread your knowledge and be a part
of the solution. If you have any
"tips" for saving health fund dollars,
please drop me a note at the above
address. I will share these tips in
future newsletters.
LATEST LIST OF
CENTRAL
PENSION RETIREE’S
RETIRED
ACTIVE
January, 2003
Health Benefit Fund Financial
Summary
through November 30, 2002
Total Receipts:
$43,081,774.70
Disbursements:
Health Benefit Fund Claims Paid:
Medical
$27,139,085.78
HMC Premium Payment
737,968.56
Dental
$2,221,304.39
Vision
$325,271.06
Loss of Time
$205,900.95
Death Benefits
$224,626.75
$30,854,157.49
Other Benefit Program Costs:
Total Benefit Program Costs:
Total Operating Expenses:
Total Disbursements:
Total Increase (Decrease):
$396,636.84
$31,250,794.33
$1,086,783.59
$32,337,577.92
$10,744,196.78
TOTAL ASSETS AS OF November 30, 2002:
$16,893,134.61
Amacher, Fredrick
Anderson, George
Anderson, Orville
Bischel, Gene
Brown, Allen
Butler, Frank
Devney, Patrick
Gagas, Ronald
Hampel, Donn
Hanson, Gary
Harzke, Lawrence
Hebbe, James
Hutchins, Delaino
Jones, Roger
Kapinos, Donald
Kmecheck, Robert
Krause, Kenneth
Lease, Edward
Lemberger, Terry
Mangan, Patrick
McHugh, Robert
Nelson, David
Nissen, Dale
Panetti, Louis
Pearson, Patrick
Ryan, Daniel
Saxon, Dalbert
Solom, William
Tork, Ken
Vieth, Donald
Weber, William
Wegener, Harold
Zillmer, Richard
Zmuda, John
09-01-02
10-01-00
02-01-02
09-01-02
08-01-02
09-01-02
08-01-02
07-01-02
06-01-02
09-01-02
10-01-02
10-01-02
01-01-00
12-01-00
07-01-02
01-01-02
06-01-02
08-01-02
12-01-01
01-01-02
06-01-02
11-01-02
07-01-02
07-01-02
06-01-02
03-01-01
04-01-01
06-01-02
06-01-02
05-01-02
06-01-02
07-01-02
02-01-02
06-01-02
January, 2003
Page 19
Congratulations To The Following
Members Who Received Their
Recognition A wards In 2002
PLEASE NOTE: The Photos of the Honor Roll and Service Pins that did not make it in this issue will be shown in
our April 2003 Newsletter Issue
(L to R) Front Row 25 Year Pins - Jim Raddant, Clarence Vanden Elzen
and Don Markowski. Back Row 25 Year Pins - Edward Lemke, Roger
Kossel, Dave M. Stuck and Roy Dingeldein.
(L to R) Front Row 25 Year Pins - Norm Niemisto and Edwin De Perry,
35 Year Pin - James Setterman Sr. Back Row 30 Year Pin - Steve
Raspotnik, 25 Year Pins - Ray Korpela and Lee Pedersen.
(L to R) Front Row 30 Year Pin - Randy Viner, 35 Year Pins - Ronald
Larson and Jim Ramsey, 30 Year Pin - Bill Strup. Back Row 25 Year
Pin - Steve Swanson, 30 Year Pin - James Hundt, 25 Year Pins William Timm and Richard Tischer.
(L to R) Front Row 45 Year Pins - Willis P. Schiller and Gerald Kotche,
30 Year Pin - Michael Hirschfield and 40 Year Pin - Richard Witt. Back
Row 35 Year Pin - Bill Riese, 40 Year Pin - Robert Monson, 25 Year
Pin - Leroy Knudsen and 40 Year Pin - Harland Hirschfield.
(L to R) Front Row 35 Year Pin - Jose Garza, 40 Year Pin - David
Mucha, 45 Year Pins - Ludwig Mavroff and Don Praeger, 40 Year Pin
- Thomas Van Alstyne. Back Row 35 Year Pin - Richard Shovick, 40
Year Pin - Bob Fleisner, 45 Year Pin - Erwin Mueller, 40 Year Pins Florian Baumann and Thomas Weisleder.
(L to R) Front Row 25 Year Pins - Richard Goebel and Harvey Chesney, 30 Year Pins - Ronald Kroken and Bob Wiedmeyer. Back Row 25
Year Pin - Glen Otto, 45 Year Pin - Dennis Roehrig, 35 Year Pins Edward Hunter and Bill Piotter.

Jan. 2003 Newsletter.qxd

Transcription

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