Reaching Out
- Ashley Slovinski
- June 24, 2010
When the market took a turn for the worst, many construction companies were facing a bleak reality in terms of less work and more layoffs. Adjustable Forms, which boasted a 400 person employee base just last year, has since then been forced to lay off almost all of its workers. Company Owner James Lindquist did not want to let their remaining core group of employees go.
Lindquist worked to keep this from happening by donating labor to different charity organizations. In two months, Adjustable Forms has donated $500,000 in labor to 13 different Chicagoland non-profits. This amount covered the employees’ wages and benefits during that time.
The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 has taken extensive measures through the course of recession to keep members fed, insured and working.
- The Local 150 Food Bank was formed in early 2009 to provide boxes of food to members struggling to make ends meet.
- By utilizing the Member Assistance Fund and Union treasury dollars along with federal stimulus dollars, Local 150 was able to reduce a member’s self-pay from more than $1,200 per month to just over $200.
- Instead of waiting for the housing market to recover, Local 150 built alliances that got work going again on roads, bridges, wind farms, and other projects.
- Local 150’s state of the art Apprenticeship and Skill Improvement Program
- held an extended training schedule this year, encouraging members to hone their skills on equipment like pavers, rollers and other road building equipment.
Other articles covering financial recovery in this month's issue of The Builder include: