A member of Millwright Local 2232 since 2013, Ben Higginbotham will begin serving as national millwright and pile driver recruiter for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America on July 19. Higginbotham has overseen labor distribution across the eastern United States for Universal Plant Services since 2019. In his new position, Higginbotham, a former Marine, will head recruiting and help manage the UBC Millwrights Veterans Program, which assists service members in transitioning from the military to millwright careers.

Higginbotham talks about his career and his goals for his new job in this Q&A.

At a late June meeting of UBC organizing, political, and communications directors at our International Training Center, SSMRC Political Director Rick Halford gave a presentation about our council's wind-turbine-maintenance initiative.

The new training center under construction in Arkansas will be the hub for the wind-turbine-maintenance initiative in the Southern District. By the end of this year, we expect to have at least 100 technicians working in the wind-turbine-maintenance industry.

Bryan Spradley is the new director of the Arkansas Oklahoma Apprenticeship and Training Trust Fund. Spradley has been a union carpenter for 16 years and began his instructor career in 2013.

He has taught classes for carpenters, millwrights, and floor layers. “I want to take our training program to the next level and grow apprenticeship so that we consistently place the best carpenters and millwrights in Arkansas and Oklahoma,” he said. “I plan to introduce more technology and make learning easier and more engaging."

During his career, Spradley has worked as a foreman, general foreman and assistant superintendent. He is active with Skills USA and was asked recently to judge the Oklahoma competition. He is on the advisory board for the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technical Education, where he introduced the UBC’s Career Connections program.

Did you know there is a Members section of the SSMRC website dedicated to helping brothers and sisters and their family members get the resources they need quickly? Just click on the Members tab at the top of the home page to get info on open jobs, your local, training, health and wellness, our union community and history, and more. You also can pay your dues online and download reciprocal forms.

She spoke about job creation, particularly with regard to the bipartisan infrastructure agreement currently in the hands of Congress. "I want to be clear about the jobs we will create," she said. "You may have heard that the president and I are determined to be the most pro-union administration in our nation's history. The jobs we create through the bipartisan infrastructure framework are going to be good, union jobs."

Union member and U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (pictured first row, middle) met with regional executive secretary treasurers at the UBC's International Training Center last month. Our own EST Wayne Jennings was in attendance. Learn more about Marty Walsh and his pro-union policies:

A provision of the American Rescue Plan that will give eligible union pension plans assistance to pay all benefits due through the plan year ending in 2051 is being implemented through an interim final rule issued July 9.

“This is a historic achievement to secure the pension benefits of hardworking union members and the most substantial policy ever passed to further the solvency of our nation's multiemployer pension plans," said Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. "Unions, their members, and beneficiaries of these plans have been fighting for years for what these workers have earned."

David Weil has been nominated to lead the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division Currently, Weil is dean of the Heller School for Social Policy & Management at Brandeis University. His writings indicate an understanding of construction-industry challenges related to law-breaking subcontractors and labor brokers.

Worksites are high-risk settings for COVID-19 exposures because many people breathe in the same air, for long periods of time, and do not know whether others are infected with COVID-19.

Much information and a wealth of resources surrounding COVID-19 vaccinations are now available. Check out some of them below.

Getting vaccinated can protect you, your loved ones, your co-workers, and your entire community.

Free vaccines are now readily available for adults and kids 12 and older throughout our Southern District. In many cases, no appointment is needed. Click the button below to enter your ZIP code, find nearby vaccination sites, and make an appointment (if required).

You also can text your ZIP code to 438829 or call 1-800-232-0233 to find vaccination sites and possibly access free Uber/Lyft rides to vaccine sites and free childcare to help you or your family members get vaccinated.