Brothers and Sisters,

 In a time when some very large and wealthy employers use every lowlife tactic available to try and turn back time and strip the working members of this great union of hard earned and well deserved wages and benefits it is vital to establish a defense fund. There can be  no doubt that many Local 1 families have struggled due to the greed of a few very large and wealthy companies. A strong defense fund will be a powerful weapon in 2009.

                                 In solidarity,Dan Donlin

Defense fund is a great idea, and yes its LONG overdue! But we still must be informed in writing some important information first. Where will the money be allocated? Who will manage this fund? I would like to see some educated members involved (a committee)Who will benefit? WE were told we would have all this information before It would be considered for a vote from the membership. I am all for the defense fund. But It should be written and defined for what it will be used for. We should have meeting to discuss it before we are even asked to vote on it. We are still waiting for a statement regarding how are money was spent from our general fund? I will continue to move forward regarding our new contract. I will continue to do as much as I possibly can to make Local 1 a better labor organization. After all this is OUR UNION. I feel very strongly that our elected officials our doing a good job. But I also feel very strongly that no member should ever be asked to vote on an issue without having all the facts. I look forward to our next union meeting, I expect and we deserve that all these issues will be addressed (before we are asked to vote) I want Local 1 to be represented by a bigger # of our members, please get involved and bring all your ideas, questions and concerns to the union meeting and get up to the microphone.

    Once again thank you for allowing me to voice my opinion. Many members I have spoken to over the past few weeks regarding the defense fund have one concern? What are we voting on and where and who will benefit from this fund? Looking forward to seeing all the involved and concerned brothers at the next union meeting November 17th " Thursday" same place , same channel .........Enough said . Respectfully submitted Brother Brian Link card #1347

   And I am extremely proud of all the veterans past and present for all the liberties we are afforded! WE NEED TO RESPECT AND PAY HOMAGE TO ALL VETERANS . God Bless the Veterans and the United States of America

I understand the burden of $100, but to go through a lock-out or strike again makes this fund a necessity. I was not working, but did have a little aside. It took a long time to save it, now it's gone. I have 4 kids ages 6months to 7 years so I to feel the pinch. But it will seem like nothing if and when we go out again!!!!

 This fund is needed and should hopefully be supported by all!

      SEAN MURPHY

One Hundred dollars a quarter? Bad timing? Maybe, but there is no time like the present to start a fund. A small fee to pay when you know there will be money for you when you are not working. I was not affected by the lockout but I lost 14 weeks this year due to cancer and surgery. I am like everyone else, daughters in college, mortgage,  car loans, doctor bills, we are all the same. The Annuity Fund is for our retirement, when it is raided by us for strikes and lockouts, it is money we will never get back, and when the fund value is driven down, we will not get the high interest we should get so we lose again. And no I am not a member of the 120g club. One Dollar and 10 Cents a day, sounds like a good deal to me, this is money that will secure the future of OUR UNION, and our JOBS.

 Happy Birthday to all of our U.S. Marines(Jar heads). Semper Fi, Freddie

The Lock Out taught us a very good lesson. That lesson is to always be prepared. We had leadership that was very well  prepared but we were not financially prepared. It is extremely important that we get the $100 per quarter assessment. We need to have the ability to do more to help our cause during a labor dispute. The only way we can do this is with MONEY. We need to have MONEY. We can not go through this again  in 4 years if we do not have MONEY.

Brothers and Sisters if this Strike fund does not pass we will leave ourselves open for yet another slap in the face from the corporate idiots that run these companies. When we have money behind us we can slap back without fear, knowing that we will have some relief from being out on strike or locked out. Without this fund we will be where we were in March with guys struggling right off the bat. This makes us weak and they know it so suck up the $100 bucks and vote YES to the Strike fund. We all have bills to pay some more then others but how are you gonna pay em when they beat us down and keep taking back.

VOTE YES

Mike Bruce

Tomorrow is election day , please participate in one of our greatest rights. THE RIGHT TO VOTE! It shouldn't be a choice . So much rides on election day. Is your local politician labor friendly? Does he or she believe in Labor ? Does he or she believe in workers rights? Their are so many quality of life changes already happening and about to happen due to the people in office. So I ask you brothers and sisters get out and vote , have your spouses vote and your children ( If they are of age).

   Regarding the few opinions regarding the defense fund , and how It will be funded? Regardless of how It gets funded or how It is collected? THE BOTTOM LINE ITS OVERDUE! Lets not get caught with our pants down again. My strong suggestion, If you were locked out or not. Do you, as of today have any money put away for another lockout? an unexpected tragedy? a slowdown in the economy? DO yourself a favor and don't wait !!! You are responsible for your own shoes, the year is 2005! You can't rely on social security and If you have read a newspaper in the last couple years , you can't rely on pensions either!!! Look at all the big big companies who have raided their retired and working employees pensions to save their bottom line.

  One last note for the people that would like to be responsible for their own shoes? Walk , ride . or drive in them to your next UNION meeting its still every 3rd Thursday same place same channel. GET OUT AND VOTE!

            Respectfully submitted Brother Brian Link card #1347 

With all the people who haven't payed the assesments from the lockout how are we going to get a hundred dollars a 1/4 more from anyone? I also think that if unionism is taught in the school it's not getting through.

Liz, Bring your suggestions to the mike at the union meetings. The meetings are every 3rd Thursday of the month except July and August. It would be great to see you there.

Election Day and Veterans Day are both holidays for operators(BCA & CAGNY). You get paid double time for all hours worked. If your job is closed down you will receive the holiday pay. If you work, you only get the double time without the holiday pay. It is considered two minor holidays. I hope that I didn't confuse to many people. If I did, read your contract. Veterans Day is a holiday for everyone in our local. The holidays are this Tuesday and this Friday.

HEY LIZ ONE MORE THING.......I DO PAY CHIL SUPPORT AT 370.00 A WEEK, MY DAUGHTER IS 9 AND IS HAVING BRACES PUT ON AS WE SPEAK....SO I HEAR YOU

HEY LIZ I UNDERSTAND YOUR POINT...BELIEVE ME YOUR STORIES THROUGH THE LOCK OUT HAD MY MOM PRAYING FOR YOU. EVERYDAY SHE ASKED ME ABOUT YOU AND SHE READ THE GUESTBOOK EVEYDAY BECAUSE OF YOU....YOU ARE A TOP NOTCH LADY, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND ALL THE THING WE WENT THROUGH DURING THE LOCK OUT...WORRYING ABOUT MEDICAL INSURANCE, NO UNEMPLOYMENT, NO INCOME, WE WERE VERY VLNURABLE DURINH THAT....WE ARE LUCKY IT CAME TO AN END...THATS WHY WE HAD TO ACCEPT THIS CONTRACT...PEOPLE COULD NOT HOLD OUT....WE WERE NOT READY FOR THIS....WE HAD NO CHOICE....IF WE DONT DO SOMETHING DRASTIC TO NOT BE IN THE SAME POSITION IN 4 YEARS, IT WILL ONLY BE WORSE...LIZ, IF IT PASSES AND YOU HAVE A PROBLEM ME AND MY FAMILY WILL PAY YOUR 100.00 TO HELP YOU....IT WAS NOT A DIG BY NO MEANS AND IF IT CAME OUT THAT WAY I AM SORRY..IT IS THE SAME PEOPLE WHO ARE COMPLAINING, BUT DO THEY HAVE A BETTER ANSWER? YOU KNOW THERE ARE UNION MEETINGS, AND A MICROPHONE USE IT..........WORK SAFE

you must be from the 120,000 dollar club.Peanut butter?? main staple in my house,a night out??????Whats that?Heres another suggestion,maybe you can pay the share of a few brothers...,you know ,the ones with enormous medical  bills,child support to pay,braces for 3 kids,or college.It's always always black and white,there are other alternatives to look into.Whining.......my ass.

STOP THE WHINING, PAY THE 1OO.OO DOLLARS....THATS ONE NIGHT OUT A QUATER....STAY HOME AND WATCH SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS, WITH A PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWHICH.....4 YEARS WILL BE HERE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT.....DONT YOU WANT TO BE STRONGER THAN WE WERE THIS YEAR? I DONT KNOW, ITS A NO BRAINER TO ME....WE ARE LOCAL#1.....LETS NOT SOUND LIKE WHINY ELECTRICIANS.....VOTE YES

Strike funds,pac funds,death funds,,defense funds,Its enough to make a guy broke and vote NO!, but the problems still exist.......a weakening union,everywhere,its not simple,peoples bills are ridiculous and its just the household bills, Just last year I was paying 1.84 for oil ,now its 2.59, life is getting harder by the minute.And so I am suggesting what the carpenters union does already for there  causes.They assess everyone hourly (like 25 cents) then they deduct that money from a persons vacation check(s), like I said its not simple but we have to start somewhere and so I ask My union officials to look into this and see if it is fiscally sound and will work for us so that together we can stay strong  but not broke.

I spoke to Sissy today about Gary and he will be released from the rehab center next week to go HOME!!!  He will continue therapy as an out-patience. Keep up the fight Brother Haynes, you are almost at the finish line.

CONTACT:	Press Office (518) 474-4015	FOR RELEASE:	Immediately November 1, 2005
Audit Finds Dept. of Labor Does Not Collect Millions Meant for Enforcement of Prevailing Wage Unresolved Prevailing Wage Complaint Investigations Increased by 67% Since Legislature Established Public Work Enforcement Fund in 1995, Nearly 23% of Fund Revenue Went to General Fund for Budget Relief The New York State Department of Labor (DOL) has not identified or collected millions of dollars that should have been paid to the Public Work Enforcement Fund – which supports efforts to ensure that contractors on public works projects provide wages and benefits that are comparable to what employees would earn on private-sector jobs – according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi. State agencies, authorities and public benefit corporations are required by State law to pay 0.10 percent (the rate was 0.07 percent during the audit period) of the total cost of every public works construction contract to the Public Work Enforcement Fund, which was established by the State Legislature in 1995. The Fund is meant to be a dedicated source of fiscal support for personnel and training related to enforcement of the prevailing wage law, and, in turn, to reduce the backlog of unresolved complaints made to DOL regarding alleged violations of the law. Auditors found that DOL failed to: bill most public authorities for Fund assessments. collect assessments on the full value of contracts including amendments and contract changes. use information that the agency already had on hand to identify contracts covered by the law. verify exemptions from the law for certain projects. develop regulations to help in the collection of Fund revenues. The backlog of cases increased 67 percent from 1995 through the end of 2003. A total of $8.8 million in revenues and interest income has been deposited into the Fund from its inception in 1995 through March 31, 2004. Nearly 23 percent of the Fund – $2 million – was transferred to the State General Fund for budget relief. “The Department of Labor has not met its statutory obligation to collect assessments for the Public Work Enforcement Fund, and millions in fund revenues have been diverted to the General Fund for budget relief,” Hevesi said. “As a result, the backlog of prevailing wage investigations has grown considerably, and we have even less assurance that construction workers around the State are being treated fairly.” Auditors found that DOL generally does not bill public authorities for assessments to the Public Work Enforcement Fund, and that as a consequence most authorities do not make payments to the Fund. An analysis of seven authorities with large numbers of construction contracts in 2002 – including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, The Power Authority of the State of New York and the State University Construction Fund – revealed that at least $575,416 was owed to the Fund for that year alone. Most of the State's 733 public authorities do not pay fund assessments. Of 40 authorities surveyed by auditors, 12 said they were not aware of the law, ten said they did not award any construction contracts, five maintained that they were not subject to the law and one said that it did not make payments because the law was vague and unclear. Auditors recommended that DOL develop regulations and guidelines regarding payments to the Fund for distribution to all agencies and authorities that are subject to the law. Because DOL is not tracking authorities' public works construction projects or pursuing payments from the authorities, it is difficult to calculate the total amount the department is failing to collect in fund assessments. However, based on auditors' review of one year of fund payments by the State's largest authorities, the uncollected amount is estimated to be at least several million dollars. More than 9,000 public works projects are started in New York State each year. DOL sets prevailing wage rates for these projects around the State based on collective bargaining agreements . Every entity entering into a public works contract must obtain a prevailing wage rate schedule from the department and notify DOL of the contract award date, value, and contractor's name and address. DOL's Bureau of Public Works collects this information, but auditors found that it is not shared with DOL's finance office, which actually issues bills for Fund fees. DOL does not maintain a master list of all agencies, authorities and other entities that may be required to make payments to the Fund. While public works projects undertaken with grants or pass-through funding to municipalities are exempt from making payments to the Fund, projects where a State agency or authority is contracting on behalf of a municipality are not. Auditors found that contracts valued at more than $415 million – which would have resulted in nearly $208,000 in payments to the Fund – were exempted in 2002, but that DOL did not have an adequate process to verify that exemptions were appropriate. An average of 765 new complaints related to public works projects are investigated each year, and auditors found that the backlog of cases increased 67 percent – from 1,275 in 1995 when the Fund was established to 2,125 as of December 31, 2003. Auditors noted that the intent of the State Legislature in establishing the Fund was to reduce the backlog of complaints, and that DOL had failed to meet this goal because Fund revenues were used to support existing investigator positions rather than to add additional investigators. Auditors determined that if Fund resources were used only to support new investigator positions, an additional 14 investigators could have been hired between 1995 and 2004. “In addition to protecting workers, the prevailing wage law ensures that construction companies are competing for projects on a level playing field,” Hevesi said. “When the State does not take appropriate and timely action to investigate firms for failure to comply with the law, both workers and companies who play by the rules lose out.” Hevesi noted that the lack of timely information regarding a contractor's adherence to prevailing wage laws makes it difficult for State agencies – which are required by law to determine the responsibility of proposed contractors – to obtain a full picture of a proposed contractor's responsibility. Agency responsibility reviews consider many factors, including, integrity, adherence to relevant laws, and exclusion from contracting with State agencies or public authorities, which is known as debarment. Under New York State law, a contractor can be debarred for filing false payrolls with a contracting agency or for two willful violations of the prevailing wage law within five years. DOL strongly disagreed with the audit findings. The agency's complete response is included in the audit. In a follow up audit of DOL's systems to monitor employer compliance with Prevailing Wage Laws issued early this year, Comptroller's auditors found that DOL had not made recommended improvements to the management reporting system for complaint investigations to ensure that information on the system is current and can be used to monitor the progress of the investigations. DOL officials said in 2003 that a new software program for this purpose would soon be in place; the follow-up audit determined that DOL had only recently taken initial steps toward using the new software and that there was no timeline in place for implementation. Click here for a copy of the audit ### Albany Phone: (518) 474-4015  Fax518) 473-8940 NYC Phone: (212) 681-4825  Fax212) 681-4468 Internet: http://www.osc.state.ny.us E-Mail:press@osc.state.ny.us

A good union man never crosses a picket line.  Cablevision, which owns Radio City Music Hall, has locked out the musicians who perform at the Christmas Show.  Otis Elevator maintains the elevators at the Music Hall, so remember -- a good union man never crosses a picket line.