3747 S. High School Road, Indianapolis, Indiana 46241

(317) 856-3771 fax (317) 856-7547 Toll-Free (800) 872-0155

www.ualocal440.org

December, 2017

Volume 32, Issue 6 Plumbers, Steamfitters, & HVAC Service Technicians Local 440

Mark Your Calendars:

Dec. 25 Holiday as per contract;

Offices Closed

Dec. 26-Dec. 29 Training Office

Closed

Jan. 1 Holiday as per contract

Offices Closed

Jan. 22 4:30pm Officers &

Stewards Meeting

Jan 22 7:00pm Union Meeting

Feb. 10 Local 440 Apprentice-

ship Contest

Feb. 17 9:00am Retirement

Seminar

Feb. 26 Union Meeting

Inside this issue:

Business Manager’s Report 2

Business Agents’ Reports 2-4

Training Director’s Report 5

Photos & Announcements 6-11

Health & Welfare report 12

Activate Local 440 Family

Health Center

● 5550 S. East St., Suite B,

Indianapolis

● (317) 879-5206

HOURS:

Monday, Friday 6am—4pm

Tuesday, Thursday 9am—6pm

Friday 6am—12pm

● wwwactivatehealthcare.com/

local440

● Serving participants of the

Plumbers & Steamfitters Lo-

cal 440 Health & Welfare Plan

Fill the Foxhole Day

Ralph ‘Boomer’ Culver

(center) holds the Resolu-

tion presented by Indian-

apolis Mayor Joe Hogsett

proclaiming December 2,

2017 as Fill the Foxhole

Day in Indianapolis.

Flanking Boomer are (L-R):

Bus. Mgr. Bubba Johnson,

MCAA President Greg

Fuller, Boomer, Mayor Joe

Hogsett, and International

Rep. David Posey. More

photos from this event are

on pages 6-7.

Merry Christmas

and Happy New Year

from the Officers & Staff of

Local 440

James M. (Bubba) Johnson, Business Manager

“If you are in

need or know of

a brother or

sister who is,

please contact

the Local 440

Indianapolis

office.”

Page 2 Plumbers, Steamfitters, & HVAC Service Technicians Local 440

James M. (Bubba) Johnson

jjohnson@ualocal440.org

Although the holiday season is a great time to celebrate and spend time with loved ones, it is also a time to help those who are in need. I want to thank the membership for once again stepping up and allocating funds for our annu-al Local 440 Christmas Relief Fund. The monies allocated will go to assist Local 440 members and community or-ganizations set up to help those struggling to make ends meet. If you are in need or know of a brother or sister who is, please contact the

Local 440 Indianapolis office.

LOOKING BACK

2017 began strong with an abundance of work opportuni-ties in and around our jurisdic-tion. As has been the case in the previous couple of years, the associated projects are spread over many sectors of our industry. The man-hours worked are associated with energy , pharmaceut ica l , health and hospital, manufac-turing, school, and residential projects. As evident by the jobs reports included in the Business Agents articles, this trend will continue as we en-

ter 2018.

During the first quarter Local 440 not only had full employ-ment, we were also able to assist 67 UA locals around the country by securing jobs for over 250 travelers, and at the

same time increased our membership numbers through organizing those with the skills that are in demand – yes, those with weld certifica-

tions.

As spring and summer rolled around and the school pro-jects got underway we saw ourselves once again search-ing for manpower. Although we were ultimately able to fill our contractor’s requests, it also necessitated the use of travelers and once again the need to organize. This time, that need was licensed plumb-

ers.

In addition to organizing we also increased our apprentice-ship numbers to over 200 with the June addition of 45 new first-year apprentices. Apprenticeship has stood the test of time and will continue to be the way we develop the future leaders of our industry. Whether those of us of a cer-tain age want to believe it or not, the Millennials will re-place the Baby Boomers in short order. Let’s all work together to give our apprentic-es the tools needed to suc-

ceed.

July brought a different issue with it – the Indianapolis Air-port’s need to purchase our property in its entirety. Five months have passed, and alt-hough nothing has been final-ized, it is evident that in the near future we will be operat-

ing from a different location.

As I said, nothing has been finalized, but I have been told that the timetable will allow us to remain in our buildings into 2019. The majority of our land, including the pond and our east parking lot, will be turned over to the Airport once the purchase agreement is completed. Parking on the north side of our building will remain, with the addition of parking to the west of High School Road for school and

meeting overflow.

CLOSING

Thanks once again go to Boomer, Alice, and all the vol-unteers who participated in Fill the Foxhole day on Decem-ber 2nd. What a great way to close out 2017! Through Boomer and Alice’s yearlong planning over 200 volunteers, including Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, met the goal of packing 440 care packages for those men and women of our armed forces who are away from their families dur-ing the holidays. Great job by

all!

Merry Christmas and

Happy New Year!

As the year of 2017 comes to an

end, I would like to stop and give

thanks for the many opportuni-

ties of employment our member-

ship has enjoyed this year. As a

Local our work has continued to

be very plentiful for the member-

ship and our signatory contrac-

tors. I witnessed several instanc-

es where our members turned in

a termination slip and walked

out of the main office with a re-

ferral, just like the “good old

days.”

I would like to wish all of the

members and their families a

Merry Christmas and a Happy

New Year. May this season be

filled with joy, love of family, and

prosperity. In the spirit of time

honored traditions please help

the local economy by spending

like a fitter working seven

twelves with spotty overtime.

Work in the southern part of the

Gary R. Beaman, Business Representative Columbus area

Gary R. Beaman

gbeaman@ualocal440.org

Page 3 Volume 32, Issue 6

Robert R. Stieneker, Business Representative Indianapolis area

Work in the West is holding

steady and should be that way

throughout the winter months.

Work at the Hendricks Regional

Hospital is finishing up and I

would like to acknowledge the

work that was performed on

this facility. It is wonderful to

see the local news agencies

reporting on the state-of-art

medical facilities that are being

built and knowing that our

members played an integral

part in making it happen. So a

“Tip o’ the Hard Hat” goes to

the members who worked tire-

lessly to make this job a huge

success.

Quite a few members have

asked me when the next Local

440 Retirement Seminar will

be. The date has been set for

Saturday February 17th. The

seminar is open to all pre-

retirement members and

spouses, although the targeted

audience is those ages 50 and

older who want to make sure

they are maximizing all of the

benefits available to them as

they make plans for retirement.

Representatives from Health &

Welfare, PNC (record keeper for

the 440 Defined Contribution

Plan), and Social Security will

be on hand. In addition, I will

be presenting on the National

Pension Fund application pro-

cess.

The Trustees for the Health &

Welfare Plan had our quarterly

meeting and I would like to re-

port on a few things that we as

members can do to help save

the plan money. First we had

396 Emergency Room (ER) vis-

its that were deemed as avoida-

ble for the 3rd quarter of 2017.

What this means is that these

visits could have been handled

by going to the Local 440 Clinic,

a Prompt-Med facility, or by

utilizing the Live-Health-On-Line

(LHOL) service. On these visits

the plan covered $481,000 in

medical charges. The average

cost of an ER visit has risen to

around $1,600 compared to

$60 for LHOL or $200-$300 for

Prompt-Med. Remember that if

you use the LHOL app and are

referred to the ER, the $20 co-

pay is refunded to you.

Another way to help the Plan is

by monitoring your prescription

medication. Many doctors pre-

scribe the brand name medica-

tion without offering the generic

equivalent. Always ask if there

is a suitable generic for any

medication that you are pre-

scribed. This not only saves the

plan money but also saves you

money as well. I recently re-

ceived a call from a member

who was prescribed a brand

name medication that was

$900 to fill at the pharmacy.

By contacting Sav-Rx we found

out that there was a generic

available for $110. In this case

it saved the plan around $640

and the member saved $160 in

co-payments. For those of you

who have prescriptions filled at

CVS or Walgreens you may

have seen an increase in the

cost, even in generics. They

have made a business decision

to increase prices, but you can

also make a decision. What I

am saying is that at this time of

the year when we are all shop-

ping, we always hunt for the

best deal on anything we buy,

so why not our medications?

The Health & Welfare Fund be-

longs to all of us, and we

should all be stewards in how

our money is being spent.

In closing this month’s article I

want to wish all of you a Merry

Christmas and a safe and joy-

ous New Year.

PS: Pitchers and Catchers re-

port the 2nd week of February!

Bob Stieneker

bstieneker@ualocal440.org

“Work in the

West is holding

steady and should

be that way

throughout the

winter months.”

jurisdiction is busy and should

remain steady for at least the

first and second quarter of

2018. Work at the Masonic

Home in Franklin, Franklin Col-

lege, Johnson Memorial Hospi-

tal, Cummins Columbus, Walnut

Grove Elementary in Bargers-

ville, and the Toyota expansion

in Columbus should give several

of our members the opportunity

to work at home in the months

ahead.

In the spirit of Christmas our “Fill

the Foxhole” campaign has once

again left me very honored and

humbled to be a member of Lo-

cal 440. The examples of kind-

ness from Brother Ralph

“Boomer” Culver, his wife Alice,

the apprentices of local 440,

and the generosity of our mem-

bership have made Fill the Fox-

hole an enormous success. Be-

cause of their dedication to this

cause we are going to send well

over 400 care boxes to active

military personnel who are away

from home during the Christmas

season so we can all live in the

Land of the Free.

Merry Christmas to All!

Gary R. Beaman, Business Representative, Columbus area

“Work in the

southern part of the

jurisdiction is busy

and should remain

steady for at least

the first and second

quarter of 2018.”

Jamie Fife, Business Representative Kokomo area

Jamie Fife

jfife@ualocal440.org

Page 4 Plumbers, Steamfitters, & HVAC Service Technicians Local 440

Jack E. Neal Jr., Business Representative Muncie area

“ Work in the

North East was

steady throughout

fall and remains so

going into winter.”

Jack Neal

jneal@ualocal440.org

“Overall, work

should reamin

steady throughout

this winter and

into spring.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Where did this year go? It

seems like just yesterday that

we were hanging out on the

boat or taking weekend trips on

the bike - now we are scraping

our windshields! Still no deer

in the freezer, but I have only

been in the woods twice so far

this year.

I hope everyone had a great

Thanksgiving and was able to

spend time with family, I know

we sure did. Santa will be here

before we know it, and with my

grandson living with us now it

will rekindle the excitement of

waking up to Christmas morn-

ing. I am looking forward to

that for sure! I hope everyone

has a blessed Christmas this

year with family and friends.

Although work in the Kokomo

area has slowed down since

my last report, Quality Plumb-

ing & Heating has secured a

project at Park Place Apart-

ments which received exten-

sive tornado damage earlier

this fall. Sixteen apartment

buildings have been gutted and

QPH will be doing all the plumb-

ing and HVAC on them begin-

ning at the first of the year.

Overall, work should remain

steady throughout this winter

and into spring. Newjac is in-

stalling a new line at the Skodjt

-Barret baby food plant in Leba-

non that should take a few ad-

ditional journeymen. The Eli

Lilly work is starting to fill up

manpower wise, but will still

take a few before the end of

the year. Word is also that

there is more work ready to bid

at Rolls-Royce after the first of

the year and Pioneer Agro in

Tipton also has a project on the

books.

At this time I would like to give

a big “Shout Out” to Brother

Ralph Culver and his wife Alice

for putting together another

successful “Fill the Foxhole”

project. With the help of sever-

al volunteers, on December

2nd, we filled 440 boxes with all

kinds of goodies to be sent to

our Troops overseas for Christ-

mas. I would personally like to

say “Thank You” to Boomer,

Alice, and all the volunteers

who made this happen.

I wish all my Brothers and Sis-

ters Happy Holidays and a

Blessed New Year!

Brothers and Sisters,

Work in the North East was

steady throughout fall and

remains so going into winter.

Blue Buffalo Pet Food Manu-

facturing in Richmond is mov-

ing ahead. Freitag-Weinhardt

is working on-site and it looks

like they have met their man-

power requirement for now.

The next two phases of this

project have not been awarded

at this time; hopefully we will

know something by the end of

the year. We also have some

hospital work going on in An-

derson and Muncie.

Greiner Brothers is on site at

Ball State University's new

Medical Building. This project

has been slow coming out of

the ground, but this will

change as the basement walls

come up and they begin pour-

ing floors. I also expect sever-

al new projects to be an-

nounced for Ball State in

2018.

Other new projects coming to

the area include HVAC work on

multiple schools, expansions

at Ivy Tech-Muncie, and vari-

ous water treatment plant pro-

jects. I will keep an eye on

these projects as they develop.

As a reminder, All Journeyman

and Contractor Indiana State

Plumbing licenses will expire

on 12/31/2017. Failure to

renew by the end of the year

will result in a $50.00 late fee

and could prevent you from

taking a job call. Renewal in-

formation can be found at

h t t p : / / i n . g o v / p l a /

plumbing.htm

As we celebrate the Holiday

Season, let’s not forget that

we still have young men and

women serving our Country

overseas. I would to thank

Ralph Culver and the Appren-

tices for their work on the Fill

the Foxhole program. With the

support of additional volun-

teers, they put together over

400 care packages. I am sure

our Troops will appreciate the

packages they receive while

they are away from home dur-

ing the Holiday Season. If you

have a moment, please say a

little prayer for their safe and

timely return to their families.

I wish everyone a Safe and

Happy Holiday from my family

to you and your family. Merry

Christmas and Happy New

Year.

Page 5 Volume 32, Issue 6

Brothers and Sisters,

I want to give sincere thanks

for all the prayers and well

wishes received following my

surgery. Anyone that doesn’t

know, on October 9th I had

complete replacement of my

left hip. The surgery went ex-

ceptionally well and as of now

rehab is ahead of schedule.

The surgeon said it would get

better for up to a year, so the

workouts will continue to in-

tensify.

Thanksgiving at the Bough

house was full of family and

included Christmas with Mom

and all her great grandchil-

dren. A good time was had by

all. I hope your time spent

with family was also enjoyable

and I also want to wish all our

members and their families a

very Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year.

This year’s National Appren-

ticeship Week was held across

the Country from November

13-19. We participated in

many career fair events during

the week spreading the word

of our Apprenticeship Pro-

gram. This included a social

media blitz for Built to Suc-

ceed, a statewide awareness

and recruitment program de-

veloped by The Indiana Ca-

reers in Construction Associa-

tion. Built to Succeed was

recognized at the Pacers

game on Friday the 17th and

was also advertised heavily at

the IHSAA state football cham-

pionship games at Lucas Oil

Stadium and on television

broadcasts.

The initial Infection Control

Risk Assessment (ICRA) clas-

ses are set to begin. ICRA is a

new certification offered

through ASSE and the UA in

reference to work in existing

hospitals. All 1st year appren-

tices will be scheduled for an

8-hour awareness program.

The full certification class,

which requires 24 hours of

training, is recommended for

any supervisors working in

hospital settings. The first

certification class is scheduled

for three 8-hour Saturdays,

February 17th through March

3rd. If you are interested in

this certification, call the train-

ing office to register.

I leave you with this quote:

"Whatever their faults, unions

have been the only powerful

and effective voice working

people have ever had in the

history of this country."

--*Bruce Springsteen*--

Don’t forget to buy American

and union whenever you

can ! ! !

Donald J. Bough, Director of Training

Don Bough

dbough@ualocal440.org

“ICRA is a new

certification offered

through ASSE

and the UA…”

Class Updates and Information—contact Training Office to register 317-856-6426 Upcoming Classes

Plumbing Contractors and Journeyman Plumbing License: Current licenses will expire December 31, 2017. You can renew online at

https://mylicense.in.gov/eGov/ by using your license number (including PC or JP) as the login ID and the last 4 digits of your Social Security

number as your password.

Recertification Dates: Recertification dates for Industrial Rigging, Medical Gas Installer or NCCCO Signalperson are: February 10, 2018,

March 17, 2018 or April 7, 2018. Please contact the Training Office to register.

Continuity Reminders: Med Gas continuity payments are $30.00. Update reminders for Med Gas and Weld certifications are mailed the

month before your expiration month. THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY NOTIFICATION FROM THE TRAINING OFFICE REGARDING YOUR EXPIRA-

TION.

Weld Shop: The weld shop is open Monday through Friday during the day. There is also open welding on Thursday nights and Saturdays

(registration required.) Please contact Todd Hendrickson at (317) 856-6426 Ext 114 to register for weld sessions or weld tests.

Like Us on Facebook: Be sure to “Like” the Training Center’s Facebook page for updates on classes, reminders and any other news related

to the Training Center.

CFC Certification Saturdays January 6 – January 13 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM

Human Relations Saturdays January 6 – February 3 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM

Backflow Saturdays January 6 – February 3 7:00 AM – 3:30 PM

Foreman Certifica-

tion

Tuesdays January 16 – May 15 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM

Foreman Certifica-

tion

Thursdays January 18 – May 17 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM

NCCCO Certification Wednesday January 17 – March 14 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM

NCCCO Certification Thursdays January 18 – March 15 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM

Industrial Rigging Saturdays February 3 – March 10 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Page 6 Plumbers, Steamfitters, & HVAC Service Technicians Local 440

2017 Fill the Foxhole

Page 7 Volume 32, Issue 6

2017 Fill the Foxhole

Plumbers, Steamfitters, & HVAC Service Technicians Local 440

Announcements

Page 8

UA General President Mark McManus with Local 440 member and Mechanical Con-

tractors Association of America President Greg Fuller (right) at the recent 2017 Labor

Relations Conference.

7 Time Management Tips for the Holidays and Every Day

1. Ditch multitasking: Jumping from task to task can

actually waste time, and multitaskers could be low-

ering productivity by as much as 40%.

2. Take a single view and prioritize: We all want to do

it all, but there are only 24 hours in a day. If it

won’t hurt to miss it, it may be time to let it go.

3. Prepare for delays and downtime: Have an easy

activity to use waiting time wisely, and taking time

out to rest helps us re-focus and get more out of

our remaining hours.

4. Carve out ‘me time’: Once in a while it’s OK to put

up the ‘busy’ sign and spread the word that now is

not the time you want to be disturbed.

5. Schedule and use a ‘to-do’ list: If there’s no plan in

place in the beginning, then there’s nothing to be

flexible with.

6. Leave extra time: Adding a little padding to the cal-

endar is necessary, especially during the holidays.

7. Practice saying ‘no’ in a nice way: Too busy? Ex-

plain that you’d like to say yes, but can’t right now.

Or, offer to reschedule at a mutually-convenient

time in the future.

Source: Healthways

Page 9 Volume 32, Issue 6

Announcements

Flu Immunizations are available at the

Local 440 Activate Family Medical Center

at no cost to you. Appointments are re-

quired, and you must be an eligible par-

ticipant in the Local 440 Health & Wel-

fare Fund. (317) 879-5206

Clinic hours are:

Monday & Wednesday: 6am-4pm

Tuesday & Thursday: 9am-6pm

Friday 6am-12pm

Reminder: Your 2018 Health Information Form and Beneficiary Form from the Local

440 Health & Welfare Fund have been mailed to you. You must complete these forms

every year, even if no information has changed.

Congratulations to Holly Moyer, Medical

Assistant at the Local 440 Activate Family

Medical Center. She was awarded the Ac-

tivate 2017 S.E.R.V.I.C.E. Award, and she

was specifically named the Outstanding

Activate Associate in the Central Indiana

Region. Any associates (including provid-

ers) are eligible to be nominated, and

from the Central Indiana Region there

were 10 people nominated, and Holly was

one of two chosen by a vote.

Pictured at left are (L-R): Activate Presi-

dent Nathan Mowery, Holly Moyer, and Ja-

son Vore, Activate Healthcare of Indiana

Central Region Practice Manager.

Page 10 Plumbers, Steamfitters, & HVAC Service Technicians Local 440

Announcements

PLUMBING LICENSE RENEWAL

The PLA online renewal service is quick and available 24/7 with a credit or debit card. Visa, Master-

Card, and Discover are all accepted forms of payment.

Your license number (including PC or JP) is the login ID and the password is the last 4 digits of your

Social Security number. An enhanced security feature has been added to the renewal process request-

ing you create a security question and an answer, as well as create a unique login ID and password for

future use. You will use this newly-created ID and password for any future logins.

The renewal fee for a plumbing contractor is $105.57 ($100 renewal fee plus $5.57 in online pro-

cessing fees). The renewal fee for a journeyman plumber is $34.17 ($30 renewal fee plus $4.17 in

online processing fees).

Please make sure your email address and phone number are up-to-date before submitting the re-

newal. License cards may be purchased online after your renewal has been processed for

$13.77. You may also print your own card for free. Paper renewals may be printed from the Renewal

Information webpage and must be mailed to the Commission.

Online renewals submitted after 12/31/2017 at 11:59 p.m. EST will be assessed a $50.00 late fee

and online processing fees. Paper renewals postmarked after 12/31/2017 will only be assessed a

$50.00 late fee.

You may contact the Board by email at pla14@pla.in.gov or visit us on the web.

Dues Increase Effective January 1, 2018

From the Archives...Building and Property History on High School Road March 23, 1987 Regular Meeting Minutes excerpt:

Brother Carr then presented a proposal to purchase the property adjoining the Local Union

property. The Finance Committee and Building Trustees recommended to present it to the

membership. The cost would be approximately $26,500.00.

Motion was made and seconded to purchase the property. Motion was voted on and carried.

Part 2 of ??? Look for the next installment in the February newsletter.

Volume 32, Issue 2 Page 11

Annoucements

Recent Retirees

Rick Mallory, Jr., 66,

passed away October

14, 2017. Initiated on

February 18, 1994, he

was a retired plumber.

James E. Wright August 1, 2017

James R. Myrick November 1, 2017

J. Gregory Elkins December 1, 2017

Charles E. Whaley, 83,

passed away October

23, 2017. Initiated

October 23, 1968, he

was a retired pipefitter.

Member Obituaries

James C. Couch, 82,

passed away October

10, 2017. Initiated

September 23, 1964,

he was a retired

plumber.

James A. Wycoff, 81,

passed away Novem-

ber 9, 2017. Initiated

September 28, 1966,

he was a retired

plumber.

Retirement Seminar: Saturday,

Feburary 17, 2018

Location: Local 440 Meeting Hall

9:00am

Representatives from Social Se-curity Administration, Health & Welfare, and PNC Bank will be presenting valuable information. Information on your National Pension Plan will also be re-viewed. Don’t miss this pre-retirement planning seminar! This is open to all members and spouses.

Stewart C. Miller & Co., Inc.

HEALTH & WELFARE

Plumbers, Steamfitters, & HVAC Service Technicians Local 440

3747 South High School Road

Indianapolis, IN 46241

First Class

Presort

U.S. Postage

PAID

Indianapolis, IN

Permit No. 7159

Benefit Areas October '17 November '17 % Paid Dec'16 - Nov '17 12 Mo %

In-Patient Hospital $906,227.39 $538,350.09 27.03% $5,988,475.35 27.79%

Outpatient Hospital $422,522.78 $569,575.30 28.60% $5,792,509.31 26.88%

Diag, X-ray,Lab $118,244.51 $119,616.35 6.01% $1,349,676.05 6.26%

Prescription Program $172,520.38 $209,251.75 10.51% $2,947,030.11 13.67%

Surgical $112,930.28 $154,253.98 7.75% $1,026,158.53 4.76%

Other $145,626.72 $158,339.59 7.95% $1,743,629.23 8.09%

Physician $47,139.90 $60,107.14 3.02% $527,220.52 2.45%

*Prescriptions $18,364.81 $24,134.87 1.21% $315,663.54 1.46%

Psych/Sub Abuse $45,189.38 $42,853.21 2.15% $455,571.04 2.11%

Dental $71,360.31 $64,824.66 3.26% $805,491.98 3.74%

Vision $13,922.78 $17,347.79 0.87% $206,877.38 0.96%

Disability $32,652.31 $20,053.15 1.01% $248,945.71 1.16%

Life Benefits $0.00 $4,500.00 0.23% $59,000.00 0.27%

Taxes $7,778.47 $5,409.64 0.27% $56,948.65 0.26%

Healthy Rewards $7,386.72 $2,800.00 0.14% $28,611.72 0.13%

TOTAL $2,121,866.74 $1,991,417.52 100.00% $21,551,809.12 100.00%