Effective immediately, and under authority granted to all Business Managers in the nation from General President Callahan, all Local 49 union meetings are suspended for November and December. We will revisit this issue in January. Covid infection rates are growing rapidly in our jurisdiction, the government in MN has put in place stricter rules related to in person gatherings, and it simply doesn’t make sense right now to risk going forward with our meetings. We will be doing Business Manager videos, emailing members, and posting things on social media and the website to inform members about what is happening at the union. We will go back to the old practice of posting executive board meeting minutes in the members only section of the website so members can see the business that is done.
We do not make this decision lightly, we want to have meetings as much as you all do. However, with the capabilities we have to get the membership information via other platforms the risk of spreading infections by having in person meetings far outweighs the benefit of having them.
At this time, training, which can only be done for the most part in person and is vital to the membership, will continue as scheduled both in Texas and Hinckley with the necessary safety protocols in place to protect the membership.
Please be safe and follow the protocols at your jobsites. We want to make sure that you all can stay on the job, and increased covid infection outbreaks jeopardizes that. I have been very impressed with how well members have done following these rules and how few outbreaks there have been in our worksites. Lets continue that good work.
Be well and take care of each other. This pandemic will eventually end, and we will get through it together.
Jason George
Business Manager/Financial Secretary
