Local Roundup Jim Davis is pictured grilling it up at the new hall. March 2023 67 construction side. We may not always see eye to eye with the customers we associate with but it is of vital importance that we remain respectful and professional within these interactions. One disrespectful or discourteous interaction can cause us jobs in the future. However, when we provide phenomenal service and respectful conversations these can lead to long-lasting relationships and work for continued years. So be mindful of every interaction you have with customers. Lastly I would like to encourage everyone to attend our monthly union meetings. We have many great things happening at the new hall and are actively working to make it better for future generations. We have been painting, performing lawn maintenance, performing electrical maintenance and completing many other projects to bring our building up to our standards. We are also actively pursuing a new sign for the front which will really make our hall stand out. So thanks to everyone who has chipped in their time on the weekends to make it better; it’s greatly appreciated. So come join us, be vocal and let’s help build a better future. In Solidarity, Luis D. Rivera Jr. Lrivera133jc@gmail.com LOCAL 139 • Orlando, Florida Greetings from Local 139, This is my first article and for those who aren’t familiar with me, I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Michael Falvella, a.k.a. Bunny, and I’m a second-generation member of Local 139, taking after my mom, Liz. For those of you lucky enough to have met her, she was a piece of work, and growing up I heard countless tales about the trade, and the stories from both on and off the job. She was a member of Local 139 for more than 20 years and proudly retired with a Gold Card in her pocket. She passed away in 2021 at the age of 60, but on a daily basis I do what I can to try to make her proud. May her soul rest easy. I’ve been in the trade since 2015 and I have been humbled almost on a daily basis ever since. I was fortunate to pass my Mechanic’s Exam at the end of 2020, and I’ve done essentially all of my career with TKE, doing new installation. I’m a native Floridian and in my free time I enjoy staying active, camping and cooking. Moving forward, I intend to give an update from the hall each month with our state of work, and touch on a safety topic, or a part of our contract in which we should all be more familiar. As I’m writing this, we are in a new year, which means we recently received an increase in pay with the first of the year. Please, let’s make ourselves aware of how much we make, and more importantly, when we should make it. All of the different lines on our paychecks between regular time/double time/cartage/zone pay/etc. can make it difficult to decipher, so let’s make sure each and every penny is accounted for. We are very fortunate to receive a fair wage with excellent benefits but let’s not forget that we didn’t get to the top of the mountain just by landing here. Generations before us fought tooth and nail and sacrificed for us to be where we are now. I thank all of those before me who contributed to this fight. Last, but certainly not least, personally and on behalf of the local, I’d like to give a big thank you to Jim Lane for all he has done for our local continued on next page Brother Chris Tyre, from right here in Local 133 and (right) Brother Elijah Ridgell out of Houston, Local 31, are pictured roping at 6th and Gaudalupe, soon to be the tallest building in Austin. LOCAL 139
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