Happy Labor Day

I would like to wish all of the members of Local 66 a happy, safe, and enjoyable Labor Day. As we honor working people and I reflect back, I am proud of what our members have done over the past year. It is no secret that we face challenges at every turn. This year, our members stepped up to push a prevailing wage bill that would have closed the loopholes that developers use to get around paying a fair, union wage. Our members stood up to big developers and demanded that construction on Long Island be done union.

Our union brothers and sisters have also stood up for our right to protest. One of our strongest symbols at a protest is Scabby the Rat and anti-union forces in D.C. want to make Scabby illegal. However, our union will not allow that and Local 79 is fighting and winning that battle in court.

This year union members united to protect our apprenticeship training. When the Labor Department talked about weakening apprenticeship standards, LiUNA and other trade unions sprung into action. Over 325,000 people contacted the Department of Labor to express their anger at this plan, an unprecedented number.