Heat and Frost Insulators News and Events

Apollo Beach, Fla. — Hundreds of local youth and their families gathered Saturday, Nov. 2, to celebrate the dedication of a new boardwalk and fishing pier at the Suncoast Youth Conservation Center (SYCC) in Apollo Beach, Florida.

On Oct. 7, Insulators Local 6 Training Coordinator Rick Rothwell and Brother Joe Gallagher met with a Democratic Presidential Primary candidate.

Dr. Michael Harbut, a world-renowned researcher and physician with several decades of experience treating asbestos exposed patients, leads a team of occupational hazard researchers at the St. John Providence Health System in Michigan. Harbut is the medical advisor to The Breath of Life Foundation since inception in 2009 and continues to be a trusted partner with the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers. Dr. Harbut is available if any members of our Insulators Union family have questions regarding diagnosis or the approach your doctor might be taking for as asbestos-related disease. Dr. Harbut can be reached at 248-849-3107.

The HFIAW Local Unions that make up the Central States Conference, in conjunction with their Contractors Association, hosted the 7th Annual Breath of Life Foundation Motorcycle and Classic Car Rally in Dayton, Ohio.

The Insulation Industry International Apprentice and Training Fund (IIIATF) held its annual Trainer Enhancement program for instructors from the U.S. and Canada at the Maritime Institute in Maryland.

This proved to be a busy summer, as we worked to ensure our priorities, especially those of Canada’s Insulators, who are featured in our federal election on Oct. 21. At the same time, our provincial representatives are busy ensuring Insulator priorities are front and centre, as provincial capitals wrestle with budget cuts and energy policies, which could impact the bottom line of the insulation trade.

The Seattle skyline changed this summer, when crews finished construction of a new skyscraper on the Amazon campus. Named re:Invent, the 37-story high-rise is the third tallest building on the internet retail giant’s main campus. Checking in at 1.2-million-square-feet, the high-rise can hold up to 5,000 employees.

On the first weekend in September, our Brothers and Sisters across the U.S. and Canada celebrated Labor Day in a wide variety of ways.

Labor unions serve a great purpose for their members, as they work to negotiate better pay, better health care and pension benefits and a safer work environment. In the case of building trades unions, including the Insulators, unions also train the next generation of skilled workers through apprenticeship programs.

The US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee has developed a Subcommittee on Energy that will hear At Large International Vice President Tim Keane testify on Friday, September 20, 2019. The hearing is entitled “Building a 100 Percent Clean Economy: Solutions for the U.S. Building Sector" and will also include testimonies from American Institute of Architects 2018 AIA President Carl Elefante, FAIA, U.S. Green Building Counsel Senior Policy Counsel Elizabeth Beardsley and American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy Executive Director Steven Nadel.