Dear UA Local 393 Members,

Before I say anything else, I want to thank you for adhering to Covid health and safety protocols. Our jobsites have remained open and safe because of the diligence of our membership.

At the onset of the pandemic, Local 393 and the building trades proactively worked with elected leaders and employers to set up worksite policies that allowed us to re-open and stay open. In fact, we haven’t faced large unemployment and have been able to work through almost the entire crisis. 

But the policies are only good if workers like you are sticking to them in the field. To that end, I can say our union brothers and sisters have maintained a standard of excellence on the job sites to ensure people have remained safe. Our industry has been lucky, and not many construction workers have died in the pandemic. So thank you, and please keep up the good work.

For those who have passed away across the country because of Covid, let us take a moment to remember them on April 28th, Workers Memorial Day. Let us also recommit to fighting in their honor to lift all working people through our labor movement.

As more people are vaccinated, more of our country will open up, and we will be faced with new economic and workplace challenges. And we will also have new leadership to drive forward our pro-worker agenda: from President Biden, to Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, to all the local elected leaders we helped win this past November. We also have Jean Cohen, one of 393’s own, taking the helm of the South Bay Labor Council. Together, we can continue to fight for pro-union, pro-worker, pro-community policies in 2021, and in 2022 in the midterm election.

As more people are vaccinated, we can also look forward to coming together as a union in person. I am looking forward to the end of 2021, when I hope we will all be vaccinated and can gather for meetings, for education, for protests, and for our powerful union political program.

Until then, please stay safe. Our health and well being are only as secure as the worker next to us and the worker next to them. Our lives and the lives of our coworkers and families are on the line.

In solidarity,

Steve Flores
UA Local 393 Business Manager