Mass Timber Project Celebrates with Topping Out

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A symbol of achievement and dedication – this topping out signifies much more than just the final beam.

Wednesday, July 28th, 2021, the Indiana Kentucky Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters sponsored a topping out ceremony for the Intro Cleveland project.  The event was held to celebrate the feat of this historic project across from the West Side Market in Cleveland, OH.

Intro Cleveland will be a mixed-use building with apartments, an event center, and retail space.  The building is nine stories high and completely framed with mass timber.  Over 2,000 pieces of timber, cut and shipped from Binderholtz in Austria, will make this building temporarily hold the title of the tallest mass timber building in the United States.  Around 50% of the timber will remain visible in the building as it is filled with tenants, a reminder of the sustainability of the project. The wood began to arrive in the Port of Cleveland in December 2020 and the final piece was installed by IKORCC Union Carpenters on July 1, 2021.

IKORCC Executive Secretary-Treasurer Todd Pancake spoke at the ceremony about the hard work members have put into this project. Read more

Bobby Miller Wins Don Sherry Achievement Award

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Few people have left the impact on the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters as Don Sherry did. Don Sherry tragically passed away in 2017. His

Don Sherry Award winner Bobby Miller and IKORCC EST Todd Pancake.

list of accomplishments is vast, and his impact on our union is unprecedented.

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

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

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

Recipients of the Don Sherry Achievement Award include:

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

The Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters is proud to name Bobby Miller of Local 357 as the 2021 Don Sherry Achievement Award winner. Bobby is a retired 23-year member with a passion for the union and volunteering. He served 17 of those years as an officer to the local, serving as a trustee, financial Secretary and as a delegate to the regional council. He also worked as a part-time instructor in Newburgh, Indiana.

After retirement Bobby did not slow down. He’s serving as a project manager for the Paducah-McCracken County Habitat for Humanity, where he has helped build two homes. Another is scheduled for next year.

“This award is presented to Bobby Miller in recognition of his work going above and beyond the call of duty. The award honors his outstanding achievements in the workplace, exceptional contributions to the community and outstanding service to the IKORCC,” said Todd Pancake, Executive Secretary-Treasurer for the IKORCC.

“One of the greatest rewards to Bobby is mentoring numerous trade school programs on the job site and giving them the unique opportunity to perform work at an actual construction site. Bobby enjoys this, as he is able to spread the word about a career in the trades and the benefits a union job provides,” said IKORCC Business Representative Chad Helm.

To see a video of Bobby’s nomination & acceptance click here.

IKORCC Cookout Lifts Community Spirits

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The Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenter’s I.D.E.A. (Inclusion. Diversity. Equity. Awareness.) Committee faced a challenge. Local community members in Dayton, Ohio were looking for a way to get more involved and wanted to take action to improve their neighborhood. Unifying the Community On Thursday, June 24th, 2021 the I.D.E.A. Committee joined together over 111 members of […]

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Congrats to our 2021 Scholarship Winners

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Congratulations to our 2021 Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Scholarship Program recipients!  40 students received a $1,000 scholarship toward tuition, room, and board, or books to a trade school or college.

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

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

Congratulations to the following 2021 IKORCC Scholarship recipients:

Madison Alderman
Brycen Allen
Tyler Bakker
Mehandi K Basra
Madelynn Boyd
Kaylee Brown
Chloe Colvin
Aleea Cooley
Alexandra Coreas
Jordynn Dusek
Ty Eaker
Delaney Fox
Logan Fugett
Sophia Fugiett
Kendel George
Noah Hensley
Lauren Hermiller
Mariah Hosted
Detric Hovan
Cory Jarus
Trenton Johnson
Remington Jordan
Kylie Kuhn
Cameron Larson
Owen Leiferman
Carter Liotta
Gabriela Marbach
Ella Mariast
Noah Marshall
Cara Mullen
Emily Ortiz
Skyler Ramsey
Nina Scaparotti
Kurt Siefert
Maria Smith
Heather Stacey
Jessica Stanke
Jonah Vance
Erika Wilkinson

Masterbrand Cabinets Job Fair – Evansville, IN

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Tax Fraud Days of Action 2021

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The Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters joined UBC members across the United States and Canada to raise awareness for construction industry tax fraud. Check out highlights from IKORCC Tax Fraud Days of Action events in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.

Indiana Tax Fraud Day of Action Event

The Tax Fraud Day of Action event in Indianapolis was a tremendous success. Business representatives and members of the IKORCC Executive Board spent a few hours educating lawmakers on tax fraud, with a special emphasis on solutions to tax fraud. Of the 150 elected officials invited, 62 lawmakers, both republican and democrat, visited the event and learned more about construction industry tax fraud. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett also attended the event.

The Indiana event was held at the Indiana State House atrium. To drive attendance to the event, IKORCC reps handed out tax fraud toolbox/lunchboxes packed with concrete solutions to fight tax fraud. The theme of the giveaway was, “You already have all the tools you need to fight tax fraud”. The toolboxes were a big driver to our event.

The solutions inside included: enforcing existing laws, creating a tax fraud task force, sharing information amongst government agencies and responsible bidder ordinances or RBOs.

In addition to the in-person event, the IKORCC created a new website, endtaxfraud.com. The website focuses on the actual solutions to tax fraud and what lawmakers and the public can do to help.

 

Kentucky Tax Fraud Day of Action Events

We held a two day Tax Fraud Awareness event in Louisville, Kentucky this year. On the first day, we visited a dorm under construction at the University of Louisville, with predominantly union subcontractors. We educated members of all crafts about Tax Fraud and how important it is to get involved politically with elected officials to help eliminate this illegal business model. It was an extremely successful event. We also educated and built relationships with company management teams.

On the second day, we took our messaging to a non-union led job site in Louisville. We used this as an opportunity to educate owners, workers and management teams while also gathering info on Labor Brokers, potential future members, and accurate counts of employees being paid cash or with a 1099. This gave us a new angle on how to fight tax fraud.

Ohio Tax Fraud Day of Action Event

Tax Fraud Days of Action in Columbus was a successful day of educating legislators and the public on why tax fraud is a danger to everyone. Legislators from both sides of the aisle and even some who we didn’t have a previous relationship with us, showed up to learn more about tax fraud. Legislators loved the tax fraud lunchboxes and were excited to talk about upcoming projects in their areas and what our organization has going on.

All IKORCC Representatives onsite had legislators from their area represented in the turnout.

Check out a video interview with Democrat House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes about tax fraud.

Here is another video with Republican House Representative Jay Edwards

Former Industrial Representative and UBC instructor Steve Griffith also stopped by and gave us an interview.

New Solar Training Energizes IKORCC Partners

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The renewable energy industry is expanding at an incredibly rapid pace. In fact, industry analysts believe that solar power generators, alone, will produce most of the energy needed around the world within 50 years.

To stay competitive in the industry, the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters has embraced this new industry – expanding our capabilities with superior training. Today, we were proud to show off this training to representatives from Pepper Construction.

IKORCC Executive Secretary-Treasurer Todd Pancake and Training Director Jerry Burke joined Matt McGriff, Wallace Turner and representatives from Pepper Construction for a solar meeting and observation of a solar class in session.

Today, hundreds of IKORCC carpenters and millwrights are working on solar farms all over Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. To learn more about our IKORCC solar training click here.

Pro Football Hall of Fame Village Signs Historic PLA

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CANTON – Last week marked a monumental moment for the Canton area and potentially the future of project labor agreements.  The Pro Football Hall of Fame has recommitted to the next phase of their Hall of Fame Village Project being completed using local, union workers.  Michael Crawford, president and chief executive officer of the Hall of Fame Resort, and the East Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council President Dave Kirven jointly signed a PLA to confirm the commitment on Wednesday, April 14th, 2021.

“A PLA is a prehire pact with at least one [labor organization] that sets employment terms and conditions for all workers on a building project, regardless of whether their employers are unionized or nonunion contractors”, Bloomberg Law reports.

Canton has the most PLA’s than any other city in the United States with over 100 according to William Sherer, Business Manager for Ironworkers Local 550 and Canton City Council President.  A PLA with the Hall of Fame Resort sets a standard for the area and will help spur others’ interest in the agreements, according to Sherer.  He said economic development [like this project] spurs more economic development.

Part of this labor agreement includes cooperation with the Stark County Minority Business Association (SCMBA).  The goal set by SCMBA and the Hall of Fame Resort is 12% minority participation in all aspects of the project.  Kirven told us ongoing projects on site are currently at 19%, exceeding the goal.  In a speech at the signing given, Michael Crawford said “we fumbled the ball on community and diverse involvement on the first phase of the project” when talking about the importance of the SCMBA partnership and the Hall of Fame’s commitment to making inclusion a priority in these new phases of construction.

(Left) Michael Crawford, Hall of Fame Resort stands with Kevin Ennis, Senior Business Representative (Right)Labor leaders and other government officials were present for the signing as well.  City Councilman Jason Scaglione was excited to see people working and bring ‘vacation spending’ back to the region.  Fellow councilmember John Mariol was also invested in the importance of the PLA bringing good, union, middle-class jobs back to Canton.

This next stage of construction on the Hall of Fame Village means ongoing work for the carpenters in the area.  Senior Business Representative Kevin Ennis says, “continued work at the Hall of Fame has meant a lot of man-hours for our members”.  Ennis also said the Council has signed several new minority contractors thanks to the partnerships at the project with continuous requests for manpower on separate jobs.  “This [PLA] means steady work for our members for at least another two years if not more.”

 

Carpenters Refurbish Historic Church

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Carpenters have been constructing historic buildings for as long as the United Brotherhood of Carpenters has existed. In every state, province, and city across the United States and Canada union carpenters have made an impact on the legacy. Whether it’s bringing buildings down to put a new one back up or rehabilitating an existing structure, union carpenters prove their skills with each new project.

In Canton Ohio, carpenters have been working on an important renovation at a significant site. At 530 Tuscarawas St W, in a city almost as old as the state itself, Christ Presbyterian Church sits on the same land dedicated for the city’s first house of worship back in 1805 by the city’s founder. Read more

IKORCC Millwrights Build Wind Turbines

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PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Check out the great work Millwright Local Union 1076 members are doing at a wind farm in Losantville, Indiana.