Last month, Millwright Local 2411 celebrated its 70th anniversary and honored Paul French, who is retiring as business agent after 12 years in that position and 50 years as a union millwright.

Members wore masks and maintained 6 feet of social distance (except briefly for the group photo). They presented brother Paul with retirement gifts including a box of his favorite cigars, a Zippo lighter, and a bottle of Crown Royal Reserve.

In December, five members of Millwright Local 216 earned service pins. Pictured above, Business Agent Matt Nowlin and Vice President Homer Hon presents pins to (left to right, from top):

Local 1263 member Jeff McCary received his 35-year pin in December. Congratulations, Jeff!

The SSMRC wants to share member announcements and accomplishments on the community page of our new website. We are a union family, and we envision the community page as a place where brother and sister millwrights can keep up with important milestones in each other's lives.

Please send us marriage, birth, and graduation announcements, information about your career milestones, etc. We would appreciate photos to publish with the announcements. You can send announcements and photos to info@southernstatesmillwrights.org.

Our parent organization, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, has announced support of President-elect Biden’s selection of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as Secretary of Labor.

"It’s been decades since a union member was appointed to run the Labor Department, and we’re pleased that such a talented and experienced union brother has been chosen to take on this responsibility in the Biden Administration," the UBC stated. "Choosing Marty Walsh to lead the Labor Department sends a clear signal to working men and women that this administration will make sure our jobsites are safe, our pay is fair and our hard work is respected."

North America's Building Trades Unions and the AFL-CIO also applauded the nomination. Read their statements here and here.

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America released the following statement regarding events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6:

"Throughout the 140-year history of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America we have used peaceful protests as a tool to achieve greater dignity and a higher standard of living for all carpenters. We condemn, unequivocally and as strongly as possible, the use of violence to subvert our democratic system of government."

Read the full UBC statement here.

North America's Building Trades Unions and the AFL-CIO also condemned the riot. Read those statements here and here.

COVID-19 cases and deaths are surging across the United States. On Jan. 12, more than 4,400 coronavirus deaths were reported, and the United States is averaging more than 3,000 deaths per day. Since September, average daily cases have risen from approximately 35,000 to more than 250,000.

You can see more pandemic-related data, including information about your state and local area, on the coronavirus web pages of National Public Radio and the New York Times.

Please help protect yourself and your family, friends, and co-workers by following Centers for Disease Control guidance. If you haven't already, we urge you to take the COVID-19 Preparedness Qualification online course. If you complete the 15-minute course and pass the quiz, this qualification will be listed on your training verification card.

Visit https://ubc-citf.carpenters.org/ and click “Log in with carpenters.org.” (Don’t use the main log-in boxes on this page.)

If you have trouble logging in, contact your local training center. Find contact information here.

Southern Company released the following COVID-19 quarantine/isolation guidelines on Dec. 30. Any member working at a Southern Company facility or considering employment at a Southern Company site should be aware of these guidelines.