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In 1971, Walt Disney World opened in Florida, the voting age was lowered to age 18, the most popular song was “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night and the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory premiered. That same year, Terry Hermanson, age 17, started to work for the HFIAW.
Through education, advocacy, campaigning or at the polls, members of the Insulators Union made a political impact this year in both the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., the efforts of our Brothers and Sisters to, ‘Get Out the Vote’ helped stem the tide on what was expected to be a “red wave” at the federal level and allow Democrats to keep control of the Senate and only narrowly lose a majority in the House.
Lee Loftus is a retired Local 118 Business Manager and a proud third-generation Insulator. A member of the HFIAW since 1976, Loftus worked his way up, eventually holding elected positions both with the Local and with the building trades on a city and province level. He was previously the British Columbia Federation of Labour Occupation Health, Safety and Environment Director and has been entrenched in occupational health and environmental issues his entire professional career.
When I raise the issue of banning the use of asbestos, the most common response I get is: “Isn’t asbestos already banned?”
In mid-May, over a dozen Local JATC Training Coordinators and Instructors attended the Advanced Pad Development and Advanced Metal Layout Train-the-Trainers courses at the Local 17 Training Center in Chicago.
The Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) held its annual legislative conference in Ottawa from April 25-28, following two years of virtual events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April, the North America’s Building Trades Union (NABTU) Legislative Conference was held in-person in Washington, D.C. after a two-year break due to COVID-19.
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of The International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers General President Emeritus James A. Grogan, Jr.
Heat and Frost Insulators in Canada have much to be proud of following a busy but productive first half of the year.
In May, the Biden Administration celebrated six months of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) being enacted.