I.B.E.W. Local 163

The February 11th union meeting is going to be canceled. Hope everyone is safe and healthy. Thank you Ray

The office will be closed Monday February 1st and Tuesday February 2nd due to the impending storm. Everyone can still be reached by cell phone or email. Stay safe and warm.... Ray

The January 14th union meeting is going to be canceled. Hope everyone is safe and healthy. Fraternally Ray Sipple

We apologize for any inconvenience, the building is closed due to an exposure to Covid-19. If anyone needs to contact us please call our cell phones or utilize email. We hope to have the building open as soon as possible. Thank You, Ray Sipple

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Brothers and Sisters, After much deliberation, we have decided there is not a safe way to conduct a membership meeting this month (07/09/2020) at our Union Hall. Social distancing recommendations would force us to limit attendance to about 15 people plus the officers. I would rather not have a meeting, than have to decide who gets to stay and who has to go. I have come up with a plan allowing us to safely hold our August meeting at a different location, provided Luzerne Count...y remains in the "Green Phase". I will be sending out a letter addressing the change in venue shortly, so please look for it in your mail! As a reminder: the Union Office is open from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. We are checking the "box" daily for correspondence if you are more comfortable handling business "not in person", and the temporary referral procedure is still in place. Stay safe! Fraternally, John H. Olejnik Business Manager D708672

Attention, some of the professionals related to our funds have had their emails hacked. Do not open or sign into any emails related to our funds.

Good afternoon, Once again I must regretfully inform everyone that due to restrictions related to COVID-19, we needed to cancel our regularly scheduled June 11th Union meeting. I held out as long as I could, in hopes that we could hold it and start returning to normality. Hopefully we can return to our normal schedule for July! Fraternally,... John H. Olejnik Business Manager D708672 See more

Good Afternoon, Due to continuing restrictions related to COVID-19, I must regretfully report that our regular meeting scheduled for May 14th, 2020 must be cancelled. We are continuing to hold E-Board meetings via phone conferencing allowing for the continuance of Local Union business. I hope all is well, and everyone is continuing to be safe. As always if you are in need of anything, please feel free to contact me at: [email protected] Fraternally,... John H Olejnik Business Manager

Good evening, I hope everyone is safe and doing well. I just want to remind everyone that due to restrictions imposed by the state and federal government, our April Union meeting scheduled for tomorrow April 9th has been canceled. Hopefully this will be contained soon, and we can all get back to our normal routines! Stay safe! Fraternally,... John H Olejnik Business Manager

Most recent updates on UC. https://www.uc.pa.gov/Pages/AlertDetails.aspx

Brothers and Sisters, I have made temporary changes in the referral policy addressing the inability to perform in person registration. These temporary changes in the policy will remain in effect until the restrictions are lifted or eased to the point where in person registration is no longer a health risk. Fraternally,... John H Olejnik Business Manager See more

Brothers and Sisters, Due to restrictions put in place by the Governor and the CDC, it has become necessary to cancel the regular membership meeting scheduled for April 9th, 2020. I have taken all necessary steps with the International Office regarding this cancellation, and look forward to seeing you all in May! Please stay safe!... Fraternally, John H. Olejnik Business Manager

Just when we needed his help, the Governor screws us! Northeast Pa Building Trades Council Delegates, Today, Governor Wolf vetoed House Bill 1100, which would have created the Energy and Fertilizer Manufacturing Tax Credit to spur private investment and create construction jobs to build new manufacturing facilities in northeastern Pennsylvania.... The veto is a severe blow to our region, which has struggled with above-average unemployment rates since the last recession. Now more than ever, at this critical moment in history, we need House Bill 1100 to secure our ability to draw investment and economic recovery. Only last week, the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association released an economic impact study identifying the benefits of proposals for new manufacturing facilities under House Bill 1100. It found that the two proposed facilities in Clinton County and Luzerne County would draw $954 billion in private, up-front investment and create over 3,000 direct and indirect jobs, including 2,000 prevailing wage construction jobs. I know many of you have worked hard on this issue, and I thank you for your efforts. House Bill 1100 is a good bill, our success this far should not be understated. We supported this bill to promote new high-paying job opportunities in our region, and to build domestic manufacturing of products that are currently imported. We gained bipartisan support -- for the first time in recent history -- to require prevailing wages to be paid on private work receiving tax credits. We have been assured by our friends in the legislature that our work and efforts will continue on House Bill 1100 in the coming months. However, right now, we are encouraged to put differences aside and work together and support the Governor's efforts to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency. There is no doubt that in the aftermath of this crisis, Pennsylyvania will require unique and individualized stimulus efforts to rebuild its local and regional economies, and to that end, we plan to revisit House Bill 1100 to ensure it is included among these measures. We will keep all informed of upcoming actions, including a potential veto override. Warren F Faust President Northeast Pennsylvania Building & Construction Trades Council

Brothers and Sisters, In accordance with the Governors restrictions, the office is closed. We will be doing our best to work from our homes until this is over. Please use common sense, and keep safe! If you need to contact us we can be reached through our email: Business Manager: [email protected] Business Agent: [email protected]... Membership Development: [email protected] Fraternally, John H. Olejnik Business Manager