Change The World, Never Give Up

In Remembrance of Jack Casparriello

Jack Casparriello, SOAR Emeritus Executive Board Member was presented with the first Lynn Williams Award in May, 2013. He passed away in December 2014, after a lengthy illness. He was 82.

Jack retired in 1987, after 25 years of service from the United Steelworkers. He served our union members as a Staff Representative and Sub-District Director.

Brother Casparriello started his union career after he was discharged from the Army. He served four years active duty in Korea and two years in the reserves. He worked for Continental Can in Baltimore, Maryland and was a member of Local 4340. While there, he held numerous positions for his local; including grievance committee chair and president.

Jack became involved with SOAR shortly after he retired. He served as treasurer of Chapter 8-1 and represented District 8 on the SOAR Executive Board from 1988 until USW International President Leo W. Gerard appointed him Emeritus member in 2013. SOAR Director Jim Centner stated that, “Jack was a true trade unionist. He felt very strongly that workers and retirees needed a voice in both the workplace and in the political arena. Jack also had a real knack for raising money and was one of the best at collecting PAC (Political Action Committee) dollars. At every board meeting you could always locate Jack. He would be the one selling PAC raffle tickets.”

What Is PPA? Primary Progressive Aphasia

GLUE: Gorgeous Ladies Unionizing Everywhere

Gary Service Department retired

Members of SOAR who used to work for nipsco in the Gary service department and many of which are also members of SOAR Chapter 30-18 meet every other Thursday for breakfast but also an annual Christmas lunch.

I'm going to try to get their names straight and maybe even spelled correctly. Let's begin with the front row. Left to Right are: Jane Eaton, Jim Myers, Tonie Sheffer, Blanca Aranda, John DeVaney, Elaine DeVaney, Kathy Cochran and Janice Kleinstick.

In the Back row Left to Right are: Tammy Wood, Bill Eaton, Elaine Myers, Joe Romaniak, George Sheffer, Steve Romaniak, Helen Campbell, Leroy Campbell, Violet Sistovaris, John Bires, Ray Eck, Delphine Eck, Cindy Mundell, Bob Mundell, Nick Meyer, Sam Kolczak, Greg Kleinstick, Vi Kolczak and Cindy Admave.

Meet The fleet 1940

Penmanship

Columbia Gas and NiSource get grilled

USW Rapid Response

A Brighter Future for Retirees in 2019

Retirees Can Look Forward to a Brighter 2019

by Robert Roach, Jr.

In a sure sign that things may be looking up for retirees, new leadership is about to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In rejecting Senator Mitch McConnell’s mid-October pledge to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to pay for the deficit created by last year’s tax cuts for the wealthy, voters sent a clear signal that voters are against cuts to these critical programs.

Democrats also captured governorships in seven formerly Republican-held states and more than 300 Republican-held legislative seats across the country. This will be important when congressional districts are redrawn following the 2020 census. In addition, Idaho, Utah and Nebraska voted to expand Medicaid, increasing access to affordable health care for over 320,000 Americans.

This past year we survived attempts to decimate the Affordable Care Act and take away protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions. We also withstood the stated intention of several elected leaders and their top lieutenants to go after our hard-earned Social Security and Medicare benefits.

Now we must go on the offensive. We must press Congress to bring drug prices down and make health care more accessible and affordable. As our leaders strive to expand Social Security, we must strengthen and protect our existing benefits so that the burden of saving for retirement isn’t so cumbersome.

If we continue to speak truth to power we can carve a better path for current and future retirees.

Robert Roach, Jr. is president of the Alliance for Retired Americans.  He was previously General Secretary‐Treasurer of the IAMAW.  For more information, visit www.retiredamericans.org.

And the Winners Are....

And the Winners Are...

Women were the big winners in the November 2018 mid-term election with a record number of at least 113 females expected to be seated in the 116^th Congress beginning in January. There also may be another less talked about winner because of November’s popular vote – America’s infrastructure. 

The success of women congressional candidates has created a Democrat majority in the U.S. House of Representatives where 103 women are expected to be sworn in (when all results are certified). Women have never held more than 84 of the 435 seats in the House and will now comprise nearly one-quarter of the members of the lower chamber. 

When elected in 2016, President Trump promised an aggressive infrastructure policy, but implementation has been unsuccessful during the first two years of his administration. With Republicans maintaining their hold of the Senate, the president will now be forced to work diligently with both parties to advance his infrastructure agenda. 

On the heels of the women’s election wave, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will once again become Speaker of the House and has expressed a willingness to work with the administration on finally funding America’s infrastructure. When the president took office in 2017 he proposed an infrastructure plan of nearly $1.5 trillion but it was to be funded with a paltry $200 billion federal stipend with the remaining investment coming from privately-held companies.

Both Democrats and Republicans have been longing to repair America’s failing roads, bridges, transportation systems, electrical grids, water systems, airports and more for years. The President and members of our next Congress are showing signs of working together to return America’s infrastructure to one that is the envy of the Western world.

Pelosi has already had conversations with the president and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, both of whom expressed a willingness to work with the Democratic House on a major infrastructure package.

“Those infrastructure initiatives will create good-paying jobs and will also generate other economic growth in their regions,” said Pelosi. “Hopefully we can work in a bipartisan way.” Polling overwhelmingly suggests elected representatives of both parties and most Americans support repairing and rebuilding our aging infrastructure.

It’s time for compromise and there are initial signs that our newly-elected Congress can get it done. It’s what is good for all Americans. Both men and women.

Jeff Bonior, Staff Writer for the Alliance for American Manufacturing

Celebrate the Union Wave

Celebrate the Union Wave but Beware of the Grinch

Voter turnout hit a 50-year high in the midterm elections which concluded on November 6.  Looking at the outcomes, it appears many Americans (or at least enough to determine election outcomes) are unconvinced by the policies of the current administration and are still looking for answers.  

There is no denying that many union-dense states with economies that rely on manufacturing jobs took a chance in 2016, and voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump over the candidate endorsed by their union.  However on November 6, 2018, the vast majority of those states went against the president’s endorsements, and instead voted for numerous first-time and labor-backed candidates.

Voters in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois knocked out incumbent governors, and opted for leaders who pledged to put an end to anti-worker “Right to Work” laws that have been passed since 2010.

In states like Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Minnesota, labor-endorsed candidates won when they ran on a platform of strengthening unions, reigning in corporations, refusing corporate campaign contributions, and protecting our right to health care and Social Security.  Labor-friendly candidates also came incredibly close to pulling off historic upsets in Texas (U.S. Senate) and Georgia (Governor).  

According to a report by the AFL-CIO, more than 743 union members ran for office and won election up and down the ballot; including the Governorship in Minnesota, and in Congressional Districts, State Legislatures and local governments from California to New Jersey.  Additionally, union election campaigns accounted for nearly 2.5 million door knocks, 5 million worksite fliers, and more than 12 million mail pieces.  

However, we shouldn’t become complacent with the elections being over.  Many of the candidates who won an election on November 6, defeated incumbents who seized on “lame duck” sessions in 2010 to rush through controversial, anti-union measures before newly-elected legislators took office in January 2011.  

It is important for us to keep in mind how legislators have used “lame duck” sessions as an opportunity to do some very bad things while voters are complacent and focused on their busy holiday routines.  We should certainly enjoy our holiday season, but be prepared and watchful just in case the Grinch decides to come early.

Julie Stein, SOAR Director