November 15, 2011

TO ALL MEMBERS OF LOCAL #41, I.B.E.W.

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

With the holiday season fast approaching, there are a few events and announcements I would like to make you all aware of:

Election

I would like to thank everyone that took the time to vote in this month's General Election.  The election of Mark Poloncarz as the next Erie County Executive was a direct result of the efforts of organized labor.  If you watched his victory speech on election night, he specifically "thanked his friends in organized labor and the Buffalo Building Trades." 

A special thanks to the following members that volunteered for labor walks and phone banks:

Dues Increase Effective January 1, 2012

At the 38^th IBEW International Convention, which was held in Vancouver, BC during the week of September 19 - 23, 2011, the delegates approved a dues increase of $2.00 per month for ALL members.

Automated Dues Payment

You can still sign up at the Local Union Office to deduct quarterly dues money from your vacation account to pay your dues automatically.  If you are interested in doing this, please stop in at the Local Union Office to fill out the necessary paperwork.

Beneficiary Updates

As part of their membership in the IBEW, "A" members are entitled to a Death Benefit.  When you joined as a new member of Local #41, IBEW, you were given a Beneficiary Designation Form to complete.  If you have not updated your beneficiaries recently, you may do so by visiting the Business Office.  You can also go to the "MyIBEW.org" page of the IBEW website to check your record.

Retirements

The following members are now on or going to be on Local #41 pension for the year 2011:

Christopher Amir	Paul Dolce	Gregory Netzel
Michael Bialasik, Jr.	Richard Ehlers	John Rejewski
Thomas Bolendar	Michael Eustace	Daniel Schaefer, Jr.
Richard Bucklaew	Mark Fritz	R. James Schriver
Anthony Coppola	Kenneth Mogford	David Smith
Richard Cordz	Lawrence Montroy

Also, the following members are now on or going to be on the International pension for the year 2011:

Anthony Coppola	Michael Eustace	John Rejewski
Richard Cordz	R. Douglas McIntyre	Daniel Schaefer, Jr.
Thomas Deinzer	Robert Oberg	William Senchyne
	Robert Publiese	John Terpolilli

 

Congratulations to all of you and thank you for your many years of service.

Annual Children's Christmas Party

If you have not returned your postcard for your child/children to attend the Annual Children's Christmas Party (for member's children ten years of age and under), please do so as soon as possible.

Holiday General Meeting

Please be advised that at the general monthly meeting on December 20, 2011, at 7:00 P.M., we will be serving refreshments served by Lady Bagg's Catering.  There will be a brief meeting of the Local #41, IBEW Building Corporation immediately following this meeting.

Holiday Office Hours

Food Pantry

As in the past, Local #41 is collecting non-perishable food for distribution to the food pantry in Blasdell.  Your help in these times of unemployment in Western New York would be greatly appreciated.  You may drop off the food items at the Local Union Office. 

Local #41 Blood Program

Michael Augustyn              Richard Derrah             Richard Ehlers

Paper Recycling

We now have a paper recycling dumpster located in the Local #41 parking lot.  Please feel free to deposit any paper items into it.  The Local Union Office then receives a monetary reimbursement based on the weight of recycled papers.  All proceeds from the recycling will be donated to charity.

Buffalo Bills Raffle

Thank you to everyone that purchased raffle tickets for a chance to win 2 pair of Buffalo Bills season tickets.  Because of your generosity, Local #41 was able to present $5,000 to Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Mercy Flight

The Annual Charity Golf Outing benefiting Mercy Flight was held on September 17^th.  This event gets better every year.  This year alone, Local #41 donated $11,000 to this worthy cause.  Over the last seven years, Local #41 has raised over $93,000 for Mercy Flight!                                                                               

            Buffalo Home & Garden Show

The Buffalo Home & Garden Show will be two weekends only at the Buffalo Convention Center.  March 9 - 11 and March 16 - 18, 2012.  Pre-sale tickets will be $5.00/adult ($10.00/adult at the door).  Children 6 - 12 are $3.00 (at the door only) and ages 5 and under are admitted free.    We currently DO NOT have tickets.  When pre-sale tickets become available at the Local Union Office, I will notify the membership.

115^th Anniversary Dinner Dance

Local #41 will be celebrating our 115^th year anniversary with a dinner dance to be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Downtown Buffalo on Saturday, September 22, 2012.  There will be more information sent out in future mailings.

We at Local #41 are very thankful to have had full employment over the last several months during a time when the economy is still suffering.  Local #41 has continued to do its part by demonstrating its character and commitment of its members to the community.  Our members continued involvement in such programs as Mercy Flight, Roswell Park, United Way and None Like You Community Outreach Block Club is an example of our care and concern for the less fortunate in our area.  Please continue to do your part especially at this time of year.  On behalf of the staff at Local #41, I would like to wish all of you a very Happy and Healthy Holiday Season!

Fraternally,