Work in the Lafayette Chapter has been great all year! The Lafayette Chapter has finished the  The Marq (101 Main), Benton Central, St. Elizabeth Hospital, and the Ag Science, Centennial Mall and Flex Labs buildings at Purdue. We have several projects in the works for winter as well. James Scharer Masonry is working on the new West Lafayette School, Monticello Schools, Lafayette Schools and Maple Crest School in Kokomo, while Ziolkowski will be performing the work at Glen Acres and Cumberland Schools additions. Kingery has work at IVY Tech and Frankfort factories. While the major PCC work at Purdue ended when the new school year started in August we still have plenty of work going on with BSI, NEW Group and Atlas.  

The Market Recovery Grant Program you voted into existence has been a key element in securing work for the membership. The membership should be proud to know that hundreds of thousands of man hours including wages and benefits have gone back into the pockets of BAC Local #4 members. In the Lafayette area we have awarded market recovery grants on The Marq, West Lafayette School, Benton Central Band Addition, and Glenn Acres School Addition. Now we are currently working to try and secure the large private multi story Purdue jobs. This is a great program that works for YOU!

As for the benefits, the Bricklayers of Indiana local pension will make a decent gain, but the final percentage isn’t compiled just yet, so I’ll let you know as soon as the report comes out.  The IHF insurance plan is working great as well. This is the best insurance plan we have ever had and getting better as new benefits keep trickling out! The ability to pick a plan that is tailored to you personally was a welcome addition. Now that most of the state is under the IHF there is a full time insurance representative stationed at the Indianapolis Union Hall. Her name is Lisa Geralds and you can reach her at 317-334-1311. Feel free to call her with any insurance inquiry’s you may have.

Don’t forget if you haven’t signed up for the Member Portal you need too. In May 2014, the I.U. launched the Membership Portal, a secure online system where members can review and update their membership records. To create a free account and then login, visit bacweb.org and click on the Member Portal banner. Once logged in you can check the job network, review work history, reciprosity, keep contact info up to date, and get directions to login via cell phone using BACMOBILE.

Lafayette Chapter Officers starting January 1^st 2018.

Chapter Chairman                                           Shannon Turner

Rec. Secretary                                                   Justin Carr

Sergeant At Arms                                            Chris Stoker

Negotiating Committee                                Ron Neal, Dave Sechman

Please welcome new apprentices Marcos Gonzalez, Paul Hewitt, Marshall Land and Ken Nehrig

Journeyman Upgrade Congrats to Kurtis Oliver!

Next increase will be $1.20, it will go into effect June 1^st 2018! We will allocate the raise at the March or April Union Meeting.

Still going strong! Thanks for your help Larry!

Blake Finished 3rd and the Statewide Apprentice contest for first year apprentices.

Congratulations Blake!

Lafayette  2-2017

Work in the Lafayette Chapter has been pretty decent with the mild winter so far. There are still a handful out of work but they are slowly going back and may be back to full employment by the time you receive this newsletter.  We have begun making progress on several area projects. Flex Lab, Ag Science, Bechtel, St. Elizabeth and others will begin soon. As most of the Lafayette members know, work is going to be good this summer and we will have a great year. Borner Restoration has picked up 2 nice projects at Purdue and will need approx. 10 PCC’s starting in May. There are several school additions and a new elementary school will be built at Salisbury and Lindberg in West Lafayette. These projects will begin bidding in spring. On top of that there are 2 to 3 large multiple 5-16 story, private projects coming to the Purdue Campus. They are mixed use facilities with commercial space ground level with living spaces above. If possible we will target these projects with the Local 4 Market Recovery Program.

As for the benefits, the Bricklayers of Indiana local pension made 8.5% and the IHF insurance plan is working well. This is the best insurance plan we have ever had. The ability to pick a plan that is tailored to you personally was a welcome addition. Now that most of the state is under the IHF there will be a full time insurance representative stationed at the Indianapolis Union Hall. This should make it very easy to get questions answered and insurance related issues resolved.

Contract Negotiations will be underway now until we get a new contract. Let President Champ, Myself, Ron Neal, Dave Sechman, or another Field Rep. know of your concerns so they may be addressed in future meetings. We are hoping to get all we can out of negotiation while being very careful not to price ourselves out of a job. We have to be very careful how we move forward in the industry at this time. The elimination of the prevailing wage/common wage taxpayer protection laws is a game changer for us. It is too soon to know the full extent of the repeal. What we do know is the merit shop is only required to pay minimum wages with no benefits to employees. We have also seen an increase in merit shops bidding the work that the unions traditionally have built. I still feel confident that we have a decent work load and our chapter and others will be able to negotiate a fair contract. Our Negotiating Committee members for Chapter #11 are Dave Sechman and Ron Neal.

The Tippecanoe Building Trades met with Mayor Rosewarski this February to discuss work in the Lafayette area. The Mayor reassured us he would have our back when he could help make a project go the way of the Local Building Trades. Earlier this year in January he signed an updated Responsible Bidders Ordinance (R.B.O) that includes certified payroll. The R.B.O. is good on all City taxpayer funded projects.

A few dates to remember: April 8^th is the State Apprentice Contest at the Indianapolis Hall and April 22^nd is the Semi-Annual State Meeting at the Indianapolis Hall.

Congratulations to Dan Fisher and Terry Hodge on 50yearsr of Service. Gold Card, Gold Watch Recipient’s!

Feel free to contact me at your convenience,

For job updates, Pension and H&W questions just give me a call the door is always open.

Have a Safe and Productive Summer