June 2014

Brother and Sisters:

In construction, if you dont produce youre down the road. When a carpenter is given a job to
do, and there is no change, you are out the door. Since I was elected as President oI Local 157,
I thank you Ior your conIidence, I thank you Ior your support, I thank you Ior the opportunity
to work Ior you, to produce Ior you and make positive changes Ior you. Brothers and Sisters,
change began in March 2013 and I want to tell you about it.

My marching orders...the marching orders oI everyone were loud and clear. Be the Members
Voice and get this union working Ior the members again. Rebuild our local union, get the
members involved, get the pride back.

Carpenters don't have problems, we have solutions. We are builders, we make the best oI what
we have and we overcome all obsticles. Local 608 and Local 257 were the two most powerIul
locals in the UBC. Proud Locals with long histories. Our locals were taken Irom us but our
memories were not. Together, united, as one, our combined local must lead this District
Council in the 21st century.

We must work together, stand strong and strengthen our local. We must build our local on a
solid Ioundation so it can stand strong and tall. I took look at everything we were doing at the
local and asked myselI, is what we are doing beneIiting the members, and does it make sense.

Change is never easy, the work took time and was hard. We know the challenges we Iace, the
dangers we must battle. The heart and soul oI the carpenter will triumph. The real owners oI
this union are the working members on the thousands oI job sites around the City. As a 33-year
union carpenter and Job Steward working with my tools on a daily basis, I know Iull well the
needs and concerns oI the everyday working member.

In March 2013 I announced the Presidents Agenda for Change, a focused and innovative
plan oI action to help build our Iuture and build a better tomorrow. I kept my Iocus on the
Agenda for Change at every Executive Board meeting and made reference to the Agenda at
every single membership meeting since March 2013 to provide a yardstick oI reIerence and
accountability on the progress oI the Executive Board. I am proud to say that the majority oI
the goals of the Agenda for Change were achieved in the last 14 months.

June 2013
The Presidents Agenda for Change is a membership driven agenda, I pushed the envelope,
and set new policies in place at Local 157 that never were implemented beIore anywhere.
Everyone knows including the Review OIIicer that the NYCDCC has a problem with member
apathy and lack oI member participation.

I created the Member Outreach Project to address the problem. At every meeting we had a
member opinion survey to help guide decision making by your Executive Board and give the
members say in policy. We had delegate sign in sheets, why would someone vote Ior a delegate
(or even a member) that never attends local union meetings? We published the attendance
results at the December 2013 meeting. We did right by the members that took the time aIter a
days work to attend a local meeting by providing Iood and beverages Ior our members at every
meeting.

The Agenda for Change attempted to increase attendance at meetings by raffling off gift
cards at every meeting. We had inIormational handouts and had guest service providers Irom
NY LiIe and ALFLAC. BeneIit Funds Director Ryk Tienery accepted my two invitations to
speak to and answer vital questions Ior the members oI Local 157. There is support oI Iree
speech at Local 157 meetings and the regulars know that. Local 157 is the only local union in
the District Council that does all these things Ior its members at meetings.

The Member Outreach Project was also a success at the local union office. Lets face it, the
membership loves union tee shirts and hardhat decals. Local 157 distributed 2100 tee shirts last
year, 800 winter hats and over 40,000 hardhat decals, Iar above and beyond any other local in
New York. The members are right, it is their dues money and we gave them what they wanted
under my watch.

The Presidents Agenda for Change includes my Legislative Participation Initiative, which
established the Local 157 Delegate Committee Chaired by Greg Kelty which meets beIore
Delegate meetings to discuss the business at hand. We conducted Delegate Forums where
members were given a chance to interact with their delegates at monthly meetings. Its never
been done beIore. There are reports Irom the Executive Committee Member John Daly at all
meetings, and 2013 Voter Participation Drive helped turn out 1500 voters. The members oI
Local 157 voted in an all working carpenter delegation in a landslide victory over a ticket that
consisted oI mostly council employees. I am proud to be a part oI the working carpenter
delegation and being your voice at the District Council.
June 2014
One oI the primary tasks oI a Local Union Executive Board is to oversee member services, and
this election is about electing an Executive Board to run Local Union 157. The Presidents
Agenda for Change included the Members Services Improvement initiative.

When I took oIIice as President, I Iound that most oI the local union oIIice equipment was
outdated and needed replacement. We purchased all new computers, components and soItware
at competitive prices. The oIIice staII oI Local 157 has been increased Irom three to Iive to
better serve our hardworking members. There is now an on staII Notary Public and a on staII
accountant. Two staII members are proIicient with QuickBooks soItware. The dues window
opens early when the quarterly dues rush is on to improve member services.

The Agenda for Change included improving business practices at the local union. I set in
place the Local 157 Internal Financial Disclosure Reporting Policy, draIted by the local union
lawyers, it Iollows US Department oI Labor Standards. With our on staII accountant, we are
paying the bills in a more timely Iashion and have eliminated late charges by service providers.
All spending at Local 157 is under review by a CertiIied Public Accountant and our Trustees.
All checks issued by your local union are reviewed one by one by the CPA and your Trustees
on a monthly basis. Rest assured that all increases in member-oriented services are done in a
responsible and sustainable manner. We have also entered into an interest bearing CertiIicate oI
Deposit to boost our treasury.

The Presidents Agenda for Change called for greater oversight of local union business by
our Local Union lawyers. All aspects oI local union business and policy are monitored by our
lawyers including every aspect oI union elections to protect the local union interests. Our
lawyers successIully deIeated a mistaken demand Ior payment to the BeneIit Funds in the
amount oI $680,260 Ior the Retirement and Pension Plan to the Iormer oIIice staII oI Local
608. The local union lawyers also corrected the Local 157 Voluntary Dental BeneIit so there
would be no liability exposure to our local union.

Local 157 is on a solid Iooting oI accountability to the legal community which includes the
Inspector General, ChieI Compliance OIIicer and most importantly, the Review OIIicer,
Dennis Walsh. RO Walsh and his staII reviewed and scrutinized all our spending, business
practices and minutes on a monthly basis to ensure adherence with the 2010 Stipulation and
Order and the Consent Decree. Please note that Mr. Walsh Iiled no charges and issued no
vetoes during my tenure as your local union President.
June 2014
Those oI you that attend our meetings know that there is Iull transparency oI local union
business to the membership. We read all monthly membership meeting and executive board
minutes at all meetings. We read all expenses to the membership and give Iull disclosure and
get approval oI proposed spending initiatives. We are ultimately accountable to you, most im-
portantly, to the voters at the ballot box on June 19th.

As you know, I am seeking to be re-elected as President oI Local 157. The above is a detailed
account oI my work serving you, the members oI Local 157 since March 2013. Clearly, I am
the most qualiIied candidate on the ballot to serve as president as my resume indicates. With
the foundation work of the Agenda for Change completed, I am focused on my Blueprint for
Our Future for the next three years.

My vision for the Blueprint for Our Future is to expand on our membership-oriented agenda.
We need to restore the power oI the Local Union. We have been working on a Supplemental
Disability BeneIit and it is close to completion. I want to see Local 157 oIIer a Accidental
Death and Dismemberment BeneIit to be a part oI your dues dollar. I put out a survey and the
membership agrees we should pave the way to oIIer access to a credit union. I have the goal
oIIering liIe insurance and other services as a part oI your membership in Local 157.

Labor unions are a people business. They were built by people not computers. You heard me
say it many times that you cannot run a union out oI a computer. We need to get the members
involved in the union again. The Blueprint for Our Future includes a push to get the mem-
bers interested and active in our union. The Organized Labor movement is under assault and in
trouble, I have a plan oI action to set the Iocus oI the Local 157 Executive Board on getting our
members on a solid Iooting oI social networking along with individual and collective action to
strengthen our organization.

I am not one to make promises I cannot keep. I preIer to under promise and over deliver. But
as carpenters we know we must set goals to work towards. The Blueprint for Our Future is
practical and attainable. The reality check here is no President oI any local union can stop
PLAs and restore our beneIits. That is the in the scope oI District Council Delegates. As a
District Council Delegate I voted against every single PLA, made a motion Ior membership
ratiIication oI contracts and other membership-oriented action. Check the record.

This election is about setting in place a local union Executive Board and electing one Delegate
to the NYCDCC along with three Trial Committee Members.
June 2014
To set the record straight, yes it is true that Vice President Kevin Corrigan called me at 9:30 am
on the day oI nominations to inIorm me that he was running against me Ior president on
another ticket. Yes, it is also true that Trustee Bill McKenna inIormed me a Iew hours beIore
nominations he was leaving to join Vice President Corrigan on the opposing ticket. Yes, we all
engaged in negotiations to come to an agreement to prevent a split in the 157 coalition. But it
was ultimately a group decision, not mine alone, that lead to the split tickets.

I endorse and commend my colleagues on the Members Voice Executive Board team, they are
all capable and motivated to get the job done Ior the members oI Local 157. All members oI
our ticket have over 25 years oI UBC membership we have the combined experience oI over
263 years in the industry. Our slate has both members Irom Local 608, 257 and Local 135 on
board. We have seated NYCDCC Delegates, 157 Executive Board members, Stewards and
Ioremen on our ticket Ior a balanced representative team to better serve our membership.

This is my union history Ior your consideration. You will Iind that I have more union
experience then either oI my two opponents running Ior president:

33-year UBC Member
2nd Generation Union Carpenter
Job Steward 1988-2014
UBC Volunteer Organizing Committee 1998
UBC Delegate Training 1999
Elected Alternate Delegate 2000 UBC Convention
Local 157 Communications OIIicer 2001-2011
Elected NYCDCC Delegate 2005-2008
Elected Local 157 Recording Secretary 2008-2011
Local 157 By Laws Committee 2009
UBC Organizer Training 2010
Elected Delegate 2010 UBC Convention
Local 157 Recording Secretary Pro-Tem 2012-2013
Elected Local 157 President 2013-2014

To close, I ask you to vote Ior experience and know-how to lead Local 157 Ior the next three
years. On Thursday June 19, Irom 6 am to 6 pm, at 395 Hudson Street, please vote the middle
column, the Members Voice Executive Board. Thank you Ior your consideration.