Local trade unions donate skills, time, money during pandemic
Members do it because it’s the right thing says, union business manager.
“Solidarity” is a word familiar to union workers and they have always known that if they stand together, they are stronger. These workers have been exemplifying solidarity while working on the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic, donating skills, time, and money to help others.
In Dayton, the Building and Construction Trades Council includes 18 local unions and represents thousands of tradespeople, from bricklayers to carpenters to elevator constructors to electricians. Most of these workers have continued in their jobs over the past few months, helping to ensure people sheltering in place and staying home had everything they needed.
“Most of our techs and lighting guys have remained on the job,” said Greg Gust, the business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 82 in Kettering. “We are a very integral part of the hospital work around the region.”
And since the local hospitals continue working on the front lines of the pandemic, they rely on the contractors that have always ensured they have electricity, working HVAC systems and their facilities are kept in good repair.
The local IBEW workforce has always been devoted to helping the community in times of crisis. And the pandemic and health emergency has been no exception. The group recently donated $2,500 to each of the hospital networks in Dayton.
“We want to show Kettering Health Network and Premier Health our gratitude for what they are doing on the front lines in Dayton,” Gust said. “We have always been integral to their work and it’s especially important right now.”
Gust, an electrician who has been an IBEW member since 1994, said the organization also helped in the aftermath of the devastating tornadoes that tore through the Miami Valley a year ago.
“Our contractors responded, and we worked hard to get all the power restored,” Gust said. “Many worked long hours to get everything up and running, to repair damage and to provide the same level of customer service people
‘Most of our techs and lighting guys have remained on the job. We are a very integral part of the hospital work around the region.’
Greg Gust business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 82 in Kettering
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The IBEW not only represents electricians and apprentices but also teledata technicians, lightening protection personnel and even photographers, editors, and engineers at the local television stations.
And to help their own members and others in the Trades Council, the IBEW also donated an additional $2,500 to the American Federation of Labor and Congress of International Organizations (AFL/CIO) food pantry, opened at one of the local union halls to help workers who were either ordered to stay home or chose to self-quarantine and couldn’t work.
“I would say more than 100 of our members have taken advantage of the food bank,” Gust said.
And construction work, including new homes, has not slowed down during the pandemic. John Hayes, executive secretary of the Dayton Building and Construction Trades Council said everything has remained “business as usual” for their members but all are reminded about guidelines and encouraged to take recommended precautions.
And across the state of Ohio, trade unions banned together to do what they could to help. Iron Workers Local 172 in Columbus hosted several blood drives near the end of March, encouraging members and the public to donate. And the Cleveland IBEW Local 38, collected masks and gloves for their local hospitals. Back home in Dayton, the Sheet Metal Workers Local 24 donated aluminum nose pieces for face masks, donated by their own contractors. The nose pieces were then distributed to volunteers nationwide who are hand-sewing masks.
Gust said the trade union members do this not for recognition, but because it’s the right thing to do. It’s the work they do day in and day out that he said should be noticed.
“I do think construction personnel need recognition as much as any first line responder,” Gust said. “We are facing many of the same hazards on our job sites as workers faced in hospitals and clinics.”
For more information about the Dayton Building Trades, log on to https:// daytonbuildingtrades.org/