Greetings Brothers and Sisters,

I hope you and your family are doing well and staying safe as we head into the holiday season.

I would like to thank Business Manager Bill McLaughlin and Benefits Administrator Greg Geiman for putting on a great virtual retirement planning event. It was an informative night for all members, and from a training perspective, it is important for the apprentices to start thinking about planning for the future.

The Training Center remains busy. Apprentices are continuing their classwork remotely with the safety of all our members in mind. Field training on Saturdays has continued to be a success. First and second-year apprentices have been hard at work in Canton with the majority of first-year apprentices having passed their CDL B tests. Third and fourth-year apprentices have been in Medway continuing to prepare for the NCCCO tests, with many having already completed practical tests.

As the end of the year approaches, it would be a great time to check your licenses and certifications. Please reach out to the Training Center for any classes you may need to stay current on your licenses and certs. The Training Center will still be offering Continuing Education and Forklift recertifications through Zoom. We plan to do this to keep our membership as healthy as possible through the winter months. We are, however, having classes in person for those who prefer not to take a Zoom class. Please call the Training Center to be put on a list for these classes as we need to keep class sizes small due to COVID-19 restrictions. We have started in-person HazMat refresher classes now that the International Training Center in Crosby, Texas is open to process those recertifications. We are trying to first accommodate those members who had their HazMat expire during the COVID-19 shut down, and again, class sizes must remain small for CDC and state guidelines.

There is a list of all the classes being offered on our website. As always, please call the Training Center and we will be happy to make you an appointment with an instructor, whether for classroom work, NCCCO recertification, or for seat time on any equipment you may want to get some practice on. Please make note the tower crane in Medway will be coming down temporarily for maintenance. Please call the Training Center to schedule a test if you have been thinking about taking a tower NCCCO practical test.

Lastly, I wanted to thank instructors Tom McEvoy and Peter Carpenter. They were recently involved in a charitable project with some of the other building trades to build a disability ramp for a girl who was involved in an accident. Peter and Tom did a great job as always and made Local 4 Proud.

In closing, on behalf of the Engineers Training Center, we look forward to working with all of our members and wish you and your family a happy and safe holiday season, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!