Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Last month, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America celebrated its 140th birthday. It’s a source of great pride for our Regional Council that the UBC was founded right here in Chicago by visionaries who knew that forming a Union presented the best opportunity to give skilled carpenters a voice, protect them at their workplace, and provide them with robust salaries and benefits to take care of their families.
Our growth didn’t happen organically. It happened because every day for the past 140 years we’ve been fighting tooth and nail for our members and negotiating the industry’s best wages, healthcare and retirements benefits through our collective bargaining.
We wouldn’t have leverage with contractors and developers if we did not have the best damn workforce in the United States! I want to thank each and every member for the hard work you put in every day to be the best in your craft and set the bar for what is possible in our industry.
Rest assured this Union will always have your back! As we’ve seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Union will always be in your corner to provide dues credits, health insurance eligibility extensions, wage increases and other temporary benefits when times get tough. We consider it our honor to be able to fight on your behalf and make sure every union carpenter has representation.
Thank you again for your commitment, and together we will continue to improve the lives of working families in the Labor movement!
Happy Labor Day!
In Solidarity,
Gary Perinar
Executive Secretary-Treasurer
