RETIREES’ CLUB OF L.U. 134, CHICAGO, IL — We hope everyone had a great start to the new year. Last year ended with another fun holiday party with prizes and a delicious luncheon.
At our October 2023 meeting, guest speaker Jim Valleyfield spoke about the needs of homeless soldiers. Our Retirees’ Club donated money for T-shirts, underwear and other needed essentials. In what is becoming a yearly event, in December, the Local 134 Motorcycle Club escorted 3 truckloads of items for homeless veterans to the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center.
In November, guest speaker Candice Mares represented the Midwest Coalition of Labor and informed us that members and families of Local 134 are eligible to take advantage of benefits such as free roadside assistance, financial planning, discount programs, cost savings for legal services, tax preparation and many more. It was good to learn that we have these benefits available to us.
A story from our Chicago Labor History: On Aug. 31, 1933, Local 134 electrical workers employed by the city of Chicago went on strike. At 8 p.m., they turned off more than 90,000 streetlights and all of the traffic lights in the Chicago Loop. They also raised 38 of the city’s 55 drawbridges and left them up. The population in Chicago in 1933 was 3,376,400, so imagine what this did to our city back then.
The Illinois Labor History Society has invited us to a motor coach tour that will take place in early May. Guided by members of the Illinois Labor History Society, we will be touring various sites of importance to Chicago’s labor history. This tour should be interesting and educational.
Thank you to all the Local 134 administrative staff, President Tim Fitzgibbons and Business Manager/Financial Secretary Don Finn for their support.
Sue Kleczka, P.S.
