Construction begins on $5 million training center near Nashville
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Representatives of the Southern States Millwrights and Southeastern Carpenters, along with state and local officials, broke ground May 24 on a $5 million, 25,000-square-foot training center near Nashville. The training center will be built on 4 acres located on Veterans Memorial Parkway, which connects to highly visible U.S. Hwy. 41 in La Vergne, Tennessee. The SSMRC provided a $300,000 grant to help purchase the property and is donating approximately $300,000 worth of training equipment. Read more. |
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Local 216:
In Arkansas, Local 216 has had work kick off at Kimberly-Clark in Maumelle and Almatis in Benton. We continue to have ongoing work at the Nucor Steel Mill.
In Oklahoma, Local 216 has work at Kimberly-Clark in Jenks and a shutdown at the Koch facility in Enid. There is also a project at the Will Rogers Airport that will wrap up soon.
Local 729:
Local 729 has ongoing projects at the Cheniere Sabine Pass LNG facility, Nelson in Westlake, Cameron LNG in Hackberry, and at various facilities with our petrochemical contractors.
Local 1421:
Local 1421 has ongoing work at Tesla in Austin and the DFW Airport. We have had projects kick off at GM Arlington, RW Miller Power Plant, Martin Lake Power Plant, Limestone Power, and Carlisle Construction Materials.
Local 2232:
Local 2232 continues to have ongoing work at Toyota in San Antonio, George Bush Airport, and the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Projects also have kicked off at Kiewit, Cheniere LNG, NRG Cedar Bayou, San Miguel Power, Entergy Lewis Creek, and Houston Service Wire Co.
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2021 is looking to be busy, and prosperous times are ahead of us. This outage season went well. Much of the industry's work that was postponed during the COVID pandemic has come back to reality. Millwrights are in high demand. If you are available, please reach out to your business agent and put yourself on the out-of-work list. If you are traveling outside of your home local jurisdiction for work, check in with the local that has jurisdiction where you are procuring work.
Please take advantage of all opportunities to enhance your skill sets (for example: forklift, welding, aerial lift, rigging) through the training department. As always, let's do things right the first time, on time, every time while being safe, professional, and productive!
Local 1192:
- The Mazda Toyota Manufacturing project went well and is ramping down.
- Trademark has started a project at the Mercedes Battery Plant that will do a 6/10 schedule for approximately 6-10 weeks.
- Atlantic Plant Maintenance has started a boroscope project at Chevron in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
- Fluor has added additional manpower to their roster at Plant Barry, working a 4/10 schedule.
- A Power Techniques project within the Peabody mines is coming to an end without a hitch.
- The Mammoet project is coming to an end and will pick back up in a couple of weeks at the Destin Airport. This project has gone very well.
Local 1554:
- IICC is working a 6/10 schedule at General Motors in Springhill, Tennessee.
- Superior Electric has kicked off a project at Bridgestone, working a 5/8 schedule.
- AIS is currently ramping up at GM.
- Turbine Pros has kicked off a project at Hiwassee Hydroelectric Dam. The duration is approximately two months with a 6/10 schedule.
- Millwright Services has a project underway at Bridgestone in Morrison, working a 5/8 schedule for approximately seven months.
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Local 2411:
- Milton J. Wood has its regulars working various jobs around town as well as pursuing more work.
- W.W. Gay is working on various projects around Jacksonville. They’re currently keeping up with one-day down days around Jacksonville at various sites.
- J. Williams Industrial has some small projects running and is looking to pick up some big, upcoming projects.
- One-day outages for WestRock in Fernandina and Eastport are picking back up weekly.
- Coker has its regulars busy and is picking up some small projects around town
- Atlas has finished its outage at MCC (can plant).
- APM and Siemens continue their outages throughout Florida.
- Cogburn Bros. has slowed down on the millwright side, but is still pursuing millwright work through the summer.
Local 1263:
- Vulcan is working an outage at Plant Bowen.
- Cleveland is working at the Budweiser Brewery in Rome, Georgia.
- Cleveland will add five more people for two weeks at Toyo Tire in Rome, Georgia.
- CR Meyer is performing work at Irvin Tissue Paper Mill in Macon, Georgia.
- Ethos will be working at Plant McManus starting the 16th of June and lasting two weeks.
- IAM is performing work at Creative Flooring in Adairsville, Georgia, installing new machine lines.
- McAbee is working at Georgia Pacific in Cedar Springs, Georgia.
- HF Teichmann is still performing work at the NSG glass plant in Laurinburg, North Carolina.
- Morgan Mechanical is performing work at Karastan in Eden, North Carolina.
- CCI is moving an automation line at the Continental plant in Fletcher, North Carolina.
Local 1000:
- We have been working power-generation jobs with SGS, APM, Airco and TOPS Field Services.
- UPS is still working at Limetree Bay refinery in St. Croix. We are currently on the three-year maintenance portion of this project.
- Western Industrial is working on a FedEx project at Miami Airport.
- Western Industrial is also working on another FedEx Ground facility in Miami.
- Western Industrial is going to work at a UPS facility at Miami Gardens.
- The Miami Transit project with Sissco Hoist was completed and was a success.
- We are working at Orlando Airport with Commercial Contracting Corporation.
- Vanderlande is self-performing the next phase at Orlando Airport and using union members.
- We are working at Ft. Lauderdale airport with Jordim.
- We are working in the phosphate industry with Central Maintenance, Gulf Coast Industrial, and Preferred Maintenance. There is an ongoing need for millwrights with phosphate mine safety cards.
- A&B Maintenance is working at Gopher Recycling.
- Superior Rigging has started a job at Florida Can and will ramp up to 15 millwrights.
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COMMUNITY SERVICE CHALLENGE WINNER |
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Dwight Murrah has built volunteer activities into multiple aspects of his life.
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Community service isn’t something Dwight Murrah does every now and then on a Saturday. It’s woven into his friendships, his marriage, his hobbies, and his relationship to the neighborhood where he lives. Murrah, a business agent for Millwright Local 2232, volunteers individually, with friends, and with groups, including cycling and Jeep-enthusiast groups he’s a member of and groups organized by his wife’s employer. Read more here.
Nominate someone to be the next Community Service Challenge winner. Let us know how you or another SSMRC member is volunteering in the community, helping other members, etc. Send an email to omcmurrey@ssmrc4070.org or call/text 1-855-57-SSMRC (1-855-577-7672).
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Local 2411 member Aaron Tapley followed his grandfather and stepfather into millwrighting and has become a foreman before age 30. |
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Twenty-nine-year-old Aaron Tapley has risen through the apprenticeship ranks and is now a foreman for industrial construction firm Milton J. Wood, based in Jacksonville, Florida. A member of Millwright Local 2411, Tapley grew up in Nahunta, Georgia, and currently resides in Jacksonville. Read more about Tapley here. |
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SSMRC sponsors run benefiting Recovery Resource Council |
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The SSMRC was a major sponsor of the Unity Run, held in Whitney, Texas, and benefiting Resource Recovery Council, a nonprofit that provides mental and behavioral health care to those recovering from alcohol and substance-use disorders and trauma in 20 North Texas counties. The run was organized by Survivors M/C Clean & Sober of N.E. Texas, which presented $13,000 in donations to Eric Niedermayer, CEO of Recovery Resource Council. Read more. |
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Millwrights and carpenters honor Arkansas’ fallen soldiers |
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Members of the Southern States Millwright Regional Council and the Central South Carpenters Regional Council helped create a tribute to fallen soldiers at the Veterans Memorial Park in Russellville, Arkansas. Read more. |
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Watch out for signs of heat illness |
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With summer here, be on the lookout for signs of heat illness in yourself and co-workers. The poster below shows what to watch for and what to do if someone has symptoms. Click the image to see a larger version. |
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Brush up on forklift safety |
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National Forklift Safety Day was June 8, and this month is a great time for a quick refresher on safely operating forklifts. Click the button below to see the OSHA Quick Card. |
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Union Auto Program offers discounts |
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A program only for union members could help you buy your next vehicle. The Union Auto Program is for members, their families, and close friends. It offers discounts, fair pricing, and more. Check it out. |
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Congratulations to the following members, who became journeymen between March 16 and April 15, 2021. |
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Local 1421:
The late Paul Bogart
Justin Reid
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Local 1192:
Zachary Harris
Jarrell Mitchell
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The SSMRC mourns the loss of the following members, who passed away between April 16 and May 15, 2021. |
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Local 1192
Mitch P. Bush
Local 1421
Paul Bogart
Local 1554
Gregory Helton
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Illinois tries to ban right-to-work laws while Tennessee tries to make them permanent |
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Bi-partisan majorities in the Illinois General Assembly have voted to place a constitutional amendment before voters in 2022 that would ban “right-to-work” laws. By contrast, the Tennessee Legislature has agreed to a 2022 ballot initiative to ADD a right-to-work clause to that state's constitution. Tennessee is already a “right-to-work” state, but legislators want to make it as difficult as possible to repeal the law by enshrining it in the state constitution. A recent study shows right-to-work states under-perform Illinois on wages, income growth, workforce productivity, poverty, and workplace safety. Read the report here.
Falsely named right-to-work laws, which are in place in 27 states, allow workers to opt out of supporting unions while unions remain legally bound to represent them. This robs locals of the resources they need to bargain well, enforce contracts, build solidarity, and survive labor disputes.
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Unemployment rate drops below 6% |
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The economy added 559,000 new jobs in May, and the unemployment rate declined to 5.8%, the first time the unemployment rate dropped below 6% since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The number of long-term unemployed dropped by 431,000, the biggest monthly decline since 2011.
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COVID-19 vaccine information and resources |
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Much information and a wealth of resources surrounding COVID-19 vaccinations are now available. Check out some of them below.
Get answers to your questions:
Find a vaccination site near you:
Free vaccines are now readily available for adults and kids 12 and older throughout our Southern District. In many cases, no appointment is needed. Click the button below to enter your ZIP code, find nearby vaccination sites, and make an appointment (if required).
You also can text your ZIP code to 438829 or call 1-800-232-0233 to find vaccination sites and possibly access free Uber/Lyft rides to vaccine sites and free childcare to help you or your family members get vaccinated.
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Mental-wellness resources available on SSMRC website |
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As part of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, the SSMRC teamed up with Domain Wellness Partners to provide information, tips, and guidance to help members stay strong mentally and live more satisfying and fulfilling lives. The framework for the information and resources we offered is a set of eight mental-wellness domains: physical & mental health; marriage; career; children & family; faith & spirituality; friendships & community; learning & personal growth; and adventure, artistic expression, & leisure.
For information on how to move forward – and for access to all the guidance we shared – click the button below. You also can find these resources on the health and wellness page of our website. |
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Get the SSMRC Member E-News and other information via text |
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