With summer ending, we look forward to Labor Day Weekend. Once again, I hope that we all take the time to consider what this holiday means. Although the day is commonly associated with backyard barbecues and back to school events, the real symbolism goes much deeper. Labor Day reaches to the heart of who we are and what we represent as union members.

Labor's story is an ongoing struggle and one we're all part of. The nation is slowly pulling out of a major economic crisis that has hit workers especially hard. As union members, we're involved in the labor movement's ongoing struggle for workers' rights. This Labor Day, let's celebrate our proud heritage with our families and friends, and then join with our fellow brothers and sisters to continue the challenge of defending all we've won in the past and securing what we need to insure the future.

One issue of vital importance to our members concerns the allocation for this year's money for the B Maintenance contract, the Communication contract and the Construction & Residential contracts. I first reported on this matter in the Spring issue of the News and Views.

To recap: this year, for the B Maintenance contract there was an allocation of $2.16-with $1.59 going to the Annuity, 32 cents going to Health and Welfare, and 25 cents into Pension Plan 4. On the Communication side, there was an allocation of $2.50. Of this, 77 cents is going to Health and Welfare, 53 cents to the Annuity, 60 cents into the Health Retirement Account, and 60 cents to the Vacation Fund. And on the Construction & Residential side there was an allocation of $3.00. From this, 50 cents is going to Pension Plan 5, and the remaining $2.50 to the H & W Plan.

Brothers and Sisters, that $2.50 into our H & W Plan should be alarming to everyone. It certainly is to me. The Health and Welfare Fund is something we all depend on, and I've asked our fund actuary to run different scenarios and projections. But the truth is we have to look hard at what we need to do as trustees to stabilize and protect our Health and Welfare Fund.

According to one scenario that our actuary recently gave me, over the next four years, the hourly contribution rate would increase from $13.83 to $23 an hour. The $13.83 includes the newly added $2.50, but this still represents an additional increase of $9, and we just can't afford it.

If we continue the way we are, it's possible that we'd end up with a health care package that costs more than some non-union electricians earn on their paychecks. Again, we simply can't afford that.

Another scenario that has me very concerned shows our reserve money decreasing rapidly, and the plan going negative in three and a half years. This is based on the current $13.83 per hour for each of the next three years. We are not going to let that happen; that means we have to plan ahead and make changes now.

As we move forward, we must do everything possible to protect the membership and our families. This is a challenging issue, and I assure you that we will continue to work closely with the fund actuary and our fund attorney to try to formulate a solution to help stabilize the Health and Welfare Fund.

Another matter of importance to the local concerns our building and union hall. The City of Chicago continues to press us into keeping up with improvements that are being made to other older buildings in the area. We have been holding off, but we can't hold off much longer. We need to develop and implement a plan that recognizes the city's requests but also takes into account both the short-term and long-term plans needed for the union.

With this is mind; I've asked President Gary Niederkorn to form a committee to investigate the options we have concerning possible changes to both the interior and exterior of our building. I'll have more information to report on in the future as the committee makes its recommendations.

I began this column talking about Labor Day, and I'm going to close with a few words about the upcoming election in November. The two events are linked-the people we elect this fall will influence decisions at the state and federal levels that will directly impact all of us. In the coming months you're going to hear more from the local about the candidates and the issues. Essentially, we're choosing between Democrats and Republicans. There are startling differences between the two parties' attitudes toward working men and women.

The Republican Party continues to shamelessly align itself with big business and big money. In recent months, on four separate occasions, Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would extend unemployment benefits for the nation's unemployed. Later, these same "leaders" blocked a bill that would provide long-term medical care for the nearly sixty thousand rescue and recovery workers at serious risk from exposure to the toxic rubble from the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Republicans claim they are taking a stand against deficit spending but at the same time, they stalwartly defend tax cuts for the wealthy that would pump $700 billion into the economy over the next decade.

It's the Democrats who stand with us. They're fighting to send state and local governments desperately needed financial aid that would save or create nearly a million jobs for teachers and public employees like police officers and firefighters. Democrats are battling to extend unemployment benefits, pass a jobs stimulus bill and increase taxes on the ultra rich. Recently President Obama said that if he was a worker and wanted to improve his life, he "would join a union." Now, that's what I call a strong endorsement for the union cause, the nation's labor movement and America's middle class.

Come November, it won't be hard to remember where our best interests lie.