Steward Report

February, 2020

I hope this article finds all my union brothers and sisters healthy and safe…

It was recently brought to my attention the quality of work being performed at some sites. I felt embarrassed by some of the pictures I was confronted with, and wondered why not help our fellow brother or sister become a better gas worker instead of focusing on exposing their mistakes?

While working with this company, I have met some of the most professional and hard-working peers. Like most of us, I take pride in my work and thus expect the same from all of you. Pride, by definition, is the “delight or elation arising from some act”. In this case, however, it appears that some of us have forgotten all about pride, or the feeling of being proud. Having a great job with this company is something to be proud about – especially when we work so hard to keep each other and the city of Chicago safe. Furthermore, be proud of the fellowship of Local 18007 and all the effort we collectively have put forth to keep safety and the well-being of all the membership a priority.

We earn a good rate of pay, but with this good rate of pay comes an ethical agreement – “a good day’s pay goes together with a good day’s work”. A day’s work we should be proud of. One where we could take someone to any site and proudly say “You see that? My crew and I did this!”

In the future, if you happen to see some work that may not look entirely right or may be sloppy, don’t take pictures and ridicule. Maybe a little heartfelt conversation with that person/crew may go a lot further than making an example someone of how not to do a job.

In solidarity,

Mike Konrath

Union Steward

Distribution – Central Shop