June 17, 2020
Arkansas/Oklahoma training center closed through June
Local 1000 office closed due to COVID-19 quarantine
Millwright Local 1000's Tampa, Florida, office is closed after staff came in contact with an individual who is COVID-19 positive. Staff members are being tested for the virus today and are self-quarantining.

Local 1000 members can still contact their business agent, Cliff Tucker, at 813-990-9857 or ctucker@ssmrc4070.org, or Logan Brown, Eastern Region director, at 803-599-5937, 706-414-5533, or lbrown@ssmrc4070.org.
September and October programs at UBC International Training Center cancelled
All September and October membership programs at the United Brotherhood of Carpenters International Training Center in Las Vegas have been canceled. We will keep you updated as the UBC continues to review the calendar.
June Member Spotlight:
Meet Calder Manley, a Local 1192 journeyman
Calder Manley is a 33-year-old military veteran who has been a millwright and member of Local 1192 for six years. He currently works as a millwright steward at the $1.6-billion Mazda-Toyota manufacturing plant under construction in Huntsville, Alabama, where he lives.
 
Read more about Manley in the Q&A here .

The SSMRC is going to recognize one member per month through the Member Spotlight. These members will receive an "Essential Union Worker" T-shirt and Stanley lunch kit. To nominate a union brother or sister or yourself for the Member Spotlight, see the item below.
We want to recognize and reward our members!
If you know a brother or sister millwright who should be recognized in the SSMRC Member Spotlight or Wright Moves Community Service Challenge, please nominate him or her. You also can nominate yourself.

To nominate someone for the Member Spotlight, please send the nominee's first and last name and local number to info@southernstatesmillwrights.org or call/text the information to 855-57-SSMRC (855-577-7672). Also tell us why you think this person should be highlighted.

See participation instructions here to nominate someone for the Wright Moves Community Service Challenge. Challenge winners will receive a $250 gift card in addition to the T-shirt and lunch cooler.
Celebrate National Safety Month by reviewing the tips below from SSMRC training and regional directors
Avoid heat-related illness
Heat-related illness is a big safety concern for millwrights this time of year. Check out these tips for staying hydrated. -James Rowland, Western Region director
How to properly wear and remove a respirator
OSHA has released a new video
and poster that show how to properly wear and remove a respirator. -Jimmie Jordan, Florida Carpenters Training Trust Fund state director
Steer clear of snakes
Snakes are out and about. Wear protective boots and be especially careful when picking up items in the lay-down area. Use a forklift when possible. See more tips here . -Logan Brown, Eastern Region director
Refresh yourself on lockout/tagout procedures and Safety Data Sheets
See this OSHA fact sheet on controlling hazardous energy and this OSHA brief about Safety Data Sheets, which contain information about handling, storage, precautions, and first aid related to hazardous chemicals. -Shon Douglas, director of education and training, Southeastern Carpenters Training Trust
Register to vote this November
Here are four things to do now to make sure your voice is heard this fall.

If you haven't registered to vote, do that now.
You can register to vote at Vote.gov or in person at your state or local election office. You might also be able to register at a motor vehicle department or armed forces recruitment centers. Check with the actual location first. Learn more about voter registration at www.usa.gov/register-to-vote.

Verify your voter registration.
Use this verify tool to make sure you’re registered to vote at your current address. If you’ve moved, changed your name, or haven’t voted in a while, you might need to re-register to vote.

Be aware of election changes.
There have been a number of election changes because of the coronavirus. This voting & COVID-19 page can keep you in the loop.

Fill out your census form.
The census is only taken every 10 years, and 2020's census also will decide our future. Completing the census online takes only a few minutes. Information collected in the census is used to allocate billions of dollars in federal funding every year and to determine how many seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. An accurate census will help ensure a more representative government.

If you need one and are eligible, apply for an absentee ballot.
Voting by absentee ballot is safe and secure. Each state has its own rules about who can vote absentee, but some states have expanded eligibility because of the coronavirus . Applying for an absentee ballot at vote.org/absentee-ballot takes only 2 minutes.
SSMRC members contribute to two community service projects
SSMRC volunteers help build weigh-in pavilion at Smith Lake
Union volunteers, including members of Millwright Local 1192, have completed site work and construction of a public fishing weigh-in pavilion at Alabama’s Smith Lake. Click here to read more about the project and view additional photos.
Apprentices build ‘fish attractors’ for Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Alabama fisheries biologists are restoring reservoir habitat with spider block fish attractors built by apprentices from SSMRC Millwright Local 1192 and Carpenters Local 318 apprentices. Click here to read more.
Update on fall outage season from David Bonds, nuclear representative
I am currently receiving information from our nuclear contractors for the fall season. Two outages will begin in mid- and late September, and five others are scheduled for October. The possibility of members working more than one outage in the SSMRC jurisdiction is relatively small, as it stands now, because the dates of the scheduled outages overlap. Of course, this could change as schedules are adjusted. Traveling outside our district to participate in outages is also an option for our members. Be safe, take extra care when out, and practice social distancing. The pandemic is not over.
Regional work updates
Western Region:
 
Local 216
Arkansas has extended it’s phase II re-opening due to COVID spikes. However, there is some possible work in Arkansas at Kimberly Clark in Maumelle and a project in Morrilton as well. The major expansion with Barton Mallow at Nucor in Blytheville is still expected to start within the next couple of weeks.
 
In Oklahoma there is a small project at OSU that has kicked off. The expansion at Goodyear in Lawton has been postponed, possibly until October, and the maintenance crew has been significantly reduced .
 
Local 729
Louisiana has started to get back to normal. There is upcoming work at Dow St. Charles and Plaquemine. Exxon in Baton Rouge and Ineos also have work coming up. There is a possibility of upcoming work at Shin-Tec and Aranda Aluminum. Local 729 is also getting prepared for the upcoming nuclear outage at Waterford.
 
Local 1421
Turbine projects are still ongoing with some emergency outages taking place. The July 4 th outage at GM is still questionable at this time. The United Parcel Service project with MHS in Arlington is still going strong and should continue throughout most of the year.
 
Local 2232
Maintenance crews are back at Shell Deer Park with significantly reduced crews for the time being. There are projects coming up at Shell in Deer Park and at Air Products and Valero in Port Arthur.

Central Region:

Alabama
  • Redstone Arsenal members returned to work on May 18.
  • The Toyota/Mazda project continues as scheduled with safety guidelines in place for members.
  • U.S. Steel Fairfield Works has ceased work due to falling gas prices.

Mississippi
  • Nissan in Canton is re-opened its doors June 1.
  • The Toyota plant in Blue Springs re-opened June 1.
  • Plant Daniel work is ongoing as planned.

Tennessee
  • The Bridgestone manufacturing plant in LaVergneis has delayed production temporarily.
  • Arconic has shut its doors temporarily.
  • The Forest Resolute outage is scheduled for June 1.
  • Nissan is resuming work as planned.
  • General Motors is back to business.
  • Tennessee Valley Authority is resuming work.

Eastern Region:
 
Local 1000
  • Work with Walbridge at the Amazon facility is ongoing.
  • There is airport work in Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando, and Miami.
  • GCI and Central Maintenance have work at the Big Bend outage and maintenance and phosphate mines.
  • Siemens is working at Sanford.

Local 1263
  • Siemens is doing work at Lincoln County Power in Stanley, North Carolina, and at W.S. Lee Station in Belton, South Carolina.
  • Western Industrial was awarded an expansion of a FedEx distribution center in Atlanta and will begin hiring around 30 millwrights in June.
  • Vulcan is at the Plant Bowen outage.
  • Cleveland is at Toyo tire, Wrigley’s, and General Mills.
  • RCC and TurbinePROs are at Vogtle (reduced numbers).
  • SRS is starting to filter a few at a time back to the site.
  • Walbridge Equipment installation group is working at the BorgWarner plant.
  • CR Meyer is at Kimberly Clark and Graphic Packaging, and will be doing new machine installation in Macon.
  • Doral is at Dr. Pepper and Keurig.
  • Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 construction project is continuing with the precautions noted below due to COVID-19 cases among workers. During the past nine days, 1 new case was reported. This brings total cases to 233.

Additional information for Vogtle workers:
Update on COVID-19 cases and precautions: Since June 4, there have been four additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the project, raising the total to 237.

Local 2411
  • WW Gay is at U S Gypsum, GP Perry, Rayonier and GP Palatka and at Duke Energy in Gainesville.
  • Milton J Wood finishing up at U S Gypsum, International Paper Port Wentworth and GP Palatka.
  • Coker Industrial Columbia Grain, WestRock in Fernandina and Jacksonville and Rayonier in Fernandina.
  • APM has small outages at JEA energy Stations.
  • Siemens is finishing a Generator replacement at Gainesville Regional Utilities Deerhaven.
  • Outages at paper mills have been postponed because of COVID-19 and will be rescheduled.
See daily updates of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and more in your county and state
The Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center is one of the most comprehensive sources of COVID-19-related data. You can stay up to date on the number of cases and deaths in your area and learn about local health-care resources and more through this site. Zoom in on the map and click your county.