Brothers and Sisters,

I hope you and your families are doing well and staying healthy. I would like to thank Business Manager Bill McLaughlin for appointing me as the new Training Coordinator for Local 4. It is a great honor to be able to serve our members. As I begin working with Bill and his staff, I look forward to continuing to provide our members with all the required training. I would also like to thank John Gaffny. John served as Training Coordinator for over ten years and all of us at the Training Center wish him the best as he returns to the field. He was extremely helpful and supportive with my transition to this new role. The incredible office staff led by Office Manager Michele Maimone as well as instructors Tom McEvoy, Peter Carpenter, Andy Franzen, and Peter Gardiner have been hard at work providing training to our members under these unprecedented circumstances. Peter Gardiner replaced Bill LaFlamme in the Medway facility when Bill retired in August. The Training Center would like to thank Bill for his many years of service and wish him well in retirement.

The Training Center remains busy as we welcomed a new apprentice class and begin the 2020/2021 school year starting on September 15. We are offering continuing education and forklift classes online. These classes are well attended and very successful in providing our members the training needed to stay up-to-date on licenses and certifications during the coronavirus pandemic. We are working closely with the International Training Center in search of ways to provide Hazmat courses. As of now they remain closed due to COVID-19, but we are hopeful that they will be able to safely open soon and begin processing Hazmat certifications. I will keep you updated as Hazmat training and in-person classes become available. The Training Center received approval to purchase a CAT 322 rubber-tired excavator. We are excited to have this machine for our members. Operators for this type of equipment are in very high demand. We hope to take delivery in October, having this state-of-the-art equipment will provide great employment opportunities to our members. Please feel free to call the Training Center with any questions or to schedule training.

In closing, I would again like to thank Business Manager Bill McLaughlin for this incredible opportunity to serve Local 4. I am looking forward to working with all of our members as Local 4 continues to thrive throughout these difficult times.

Michael Carey
Training Coordinator