Latest / OneLegUpAlex Media / LaborPress Radio Featuring Vinny Alu , Vice President of Local 66, and Alex Garrett 9-5-24

Transcript

LaborPress Radio Featuring Vinny Alu , Vice President of Local 66, and Alex Garrett 9-5-24 · OneLegUpAlex Media

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I'm here with Vinnie Alieu of Local sixty six here
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: in Melville. First of all, what brings you to the
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: high speed rail network today?
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: Well, we love big infrastructure projects like this, So Local
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: sixty six is a laborers union. We've been on Long
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Island for eighty years and the international has been in
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: business for one hundred and twenty one years. You know,
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: we built a lot of the infrastructure that everybody uses
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: every day, and this is the next step. We love
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: the idea of high speed rail coming off of Long
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: Island and through the northeast, and we are huge supporters
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: of this for the benefits of the infrastructure and the jobs.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: So, you know, I just think it's one hundred and
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: ninety years of Long Island railroad. Yeah, what an evolution
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: this would be, right, So talk about how Long Islanders
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: that work you know, on of this in Long Island
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: can actually bring their experience to building a high speed rail.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: I feel like it's very easy to do that, right,
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: I mean, to bring that experience into building this.
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: I'd say that there's a lot of groundwork already laid
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: that it should be. It shouldn't be a monumental lift.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: You know, we have robot cars driving on Mars. I
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: think we should be able to build a high speed
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: rail on Long Islands off along on into the New
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: England region. You know, when we put our heads together,
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: anything's possible.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: Now Local sixty six what kind of shop is and
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: who do you cater to? What's your concentration?
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: Right, so where the general building labor is. Our primary
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: jurisdictions on Long Island and NASA and Suffolk County are
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: concrete mason tending demolition. Currently our members are building hospitals, schools,
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: train stations, airports. We're currently in the redevelopment of the
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: Jakes fifty eight casino. Ye, and all the big hospital work, well,
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: all the big hospital work has our Local sixty six
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: members because we train for you know, specific psych infection
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: control around construction projects and things in the nature.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: So post COVID, this feels like one of the biggest
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: visionary projects to date. So to be at the table
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: here is so important for you guys.
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: Right, yeah, absolutely, you know COVID was you know, a
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: disaster for the for the construction industry. Really every project
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: shut down, with the exception of the COVID tents. You know,
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: So the springboard rebounds. You know, we we we anticipated it,
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: but that you know, the anticipation doesn't come with the
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: extra effort, you know, so we have to you know,
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: we had to re energize the membership, the communities, the funding,
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: soiler and really push forward and then this would be
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: another really nice step and just keeping the momentum going.
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: Gotta ask you this because obviously it would be involving
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: in New York City. How many are members working in
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: New York right now in the city as.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: We speak in New York City not as many. We
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: have assist a local local seventy nine that covers the
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: five boroughs, so sixty six is jurisdiction is Nasal and
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: suffer Counties. Now, we do have members from time to
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: time that jump on cruise and they travel into the
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: city and work with those crews, but our primary coverage
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: is NASA and Suffolk County.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: And you know, labor perps are putting on this. To
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: be connected like this, it means a lot, right to
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: have all of the support behind you.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's huge when you see the list of speakers
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: today and the support is much broader than even just
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: the speakers that we see here today.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: I mean this is.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: Transformational project if it does reach round Konkoma, which I
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: think is the proposed plan. You know, MacArthur Airport is
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: really on the edge of redevelopment, another multi billion dollar project,
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: and to transform that region of Long Island into the
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: hub that it can be with the transit oriented real
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: estate there, you know, and just the whole round concoma
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: areas in the processes of redevelopment, and this would just
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: add so much to it and really you know UHI
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: symbol and signify the importance of Long Islands as a
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: region in New York, you know.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: And of a you know, a hub basically Long Island
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: there's a hub and it's growing. Members in Melville or
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: are people listening that may not be unionized yet, what's
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: your encouragement to them today? Why why join your union?
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: Well, there's a lot of reasons. You know. The multiplying
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: effect of money going into infrastructure investment through the unions
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: is three to one. I think that's probably even a
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: conservative estimate, you know, and quite honestly, in construction industry,
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: even the non union salaries really rely on the union
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: salaries to remain intact. So when you think about you know,
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: households Union households on Long Island that you know, have
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: a steady you know, income of at least one family member,
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: making that one hundred thousand dollars range and creates affordability
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: on Long Island, you know. So, and and that's that's
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: an ongoing issue with living on Long Island.
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: So with the member obviously long terms of day to day,
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: how are you helping your members every day? I feel
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: like it's it's a daily thing, isn't it every day?
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: So I'm the business manager. My phone never stops ringing,
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: you know, And my main focus is member service, you know.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: I mean, obviously I have to negotiate contracts with associations
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: and contractors and development, but really I did when the
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: members call, that's where I step in, you know. So
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: that's it's primary for me.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: Vinie Loud, thanks for joining us at the Labor Press
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: Building America's ice Peed Real Conflict.
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: Thank you for having me appreciate it.