News & Updates
Transit Day Shift Super Production
Have they canceled it yet? 😂
Who wants to take bets it'll be cancelled but Nightshift will have to come in the following Saturday?
Yippee
Stephen Muldoon
TY I remember this was out there just not sure how to get to it? Do you put it in your FB?
What's the odds? I might take the bet with them canceling it yet again.
Profit Sharing Statement
Isn't it sometime in March we get it?
Robin u can get us pizza the day we get it. Thanks the team appreciates you
That $ amount is a little off don’t ya think
Thankfull for our past members who fought for our rights to profit sharing!! Without them it wouldn’t be possible! !! Together we’re strong, divided & we fall for sure!! An army of ants can be a force to be reckoned with against the right adversaries
Yeah!!! Thank you UAW. Now it would be a show of Solidarity if we all ponied up $10, 20, or ? to share with our members who aren’t fortunate enough to receive it.
Dave Weaver
Cecilia
Yay! A bone us!
Bob waterfield
Local 249 supports Kaye’s Corner annual toy drive
By Robin Taylor
On December 17, Kaye’s Learning Corner held their annual toy drive to help low income families provide Christmas gifts for their children. This event was held at the Kansas City Missouri East Patrol Campus, 2640 Prospect Ave.
Kaye’s Learning Corner is an inner city childcare center. They provide a safe space for children in low-income families to learn and grow. The owner Crystal Turner has a degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Special Education. Crystal saw a need for affordable childcare in the inner city. She paired that with her background in education and opened a learning center offering affordable childcare with individual and family rates. Kaye’s offers a variety of learning experiences, before & after school care, and a second language of French is taught as well.
The Women’s Committee volunteers with Kaye’s throughout the year by volunteering their time for debris removal behind the center, touch up painting, participating in their Easter egg hunt, and back to school events. Last year the Women’s Committee donated toys and bicycles for the toy drive.
This year, Crystal contacted the Women’s Committee, asking if they were able to donate and participate again. Crystal said, “the need for bicycles are great, can Local 249 donate 25 bicycles?”
The Women’s Committee asked the President, Executive Board, and all the standing committees if they could donate at least two bicycles per committee for this event. Being the compassionate, dedicated members of Local 249 willing to support an organization in our community, and a great cause, they gladly answered the call.
Local 249 donated 32 bikes, ranging from toddler bikes to beach cruisers. Committee Chairpersons Josh Curtis, Darrell Stewart, and Jay Bosler went above and beyond to make sure little girls and boys were going to get a bicycle for Christmas.
On the day of the deadline, we were a few bikes short. That day Curtis and the Motorcycle Committee, along with Stewart and the Chaplaincy Committee purchased more bicycles to make sure we met and exceeded our goal.
Bosler offered his truck to transport the bicycles from the Union Hall to the daycare and Police Station. After the annual Breakfast with Santa event hosted at the Union Hall. Women’s Committee Chairperson Robin Taylor and member Kaylee Nowland attend the event.
Nowland was dressed in a Grinch costume that tied into their toy drive team. Nowland and Taylor participated in assisting the parents with shopping for toys and choosing a bicycle. It was an honor and privilege to put a smile on all the kids faces for Christmas. Thank you to all Local 249 standing committees, and volunteers for your participation in this event. We are truly proud of our Local 249 President, the Executive Board, our standing committees and members of Local 249 who displayed the true spirit of Christmas.
Wreaths Across America honors veterans
By Erica Eckart
Every year, members from Local 249 are honored to participate in the Wreaths Across America ceremonies. This year the Motorcycle Committee, along with the Veterans Committee, donated 5,000 dollars for wreaths to be placed at Terrace Park, a national Wreaths Across America cemetery where many veterans were laid to rest.
“The Motorcycle Committee has been doing this for five years and the Veterans committee for three years now,’’ said Josh Curtis, Chairman of the Motorcycle Committee. “Several UAW members and volunteers show up on these bitter cold days to participate in the ceremony and then proudly place wreaths on the graves of our fallen soldiers.”
One of the volunteers, Jim Eckart, husband of Erica Eckart, Chairperson of the Member to Member Committee, had this to say about his first experience: “This has to be one of the most honorable and memorable events that I have had the opportunity to participate in, it is one thing to hear about these types of events, but participating brings a whole other level of gratitude for the amazing things that Local 249 does for our community. It was bitterly cold, and everyone was so happy to be there, and I was honored to be a part of it and look forward to next year.”
Here’s a little backstory to how Wreaths Across America got started: Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester wreath company of Harrington, Maine, was a 12-year-old paper boy for the Bangor Daily News when he won a trip to Washington D.C. His first trip to our nation’s capital was one he would never forget. While there he visited the Arlington National Cemetery which was formally established on June 15, 1864, which now is a sprawling 639 Acres and the resting place of over 400,000 fallen soldiers including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The experience made an impression on young Morril and followed him throughout his life and successful career, reminding him that his good fortune was due, in large part, to the values of this nation and the Veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their Country. Fast forward to 1992, Worcester wreaths found themselves with a surplus of wreaths nearing the end of the holiday season. Remembering his boyhood experience at Arlington, Morril Worsester realized he had an opportunity to honor our country’s veterans. With the aid of a Maine senator, arrangements were made for wreaths to be placed in one of the older sections of the cemetery.
This ultimately grew into a nonprofit organization called Wreaths Across America that has continued to expand all over the country.
“This year’s event was a little more special for us at Local 249,” said David Cox, recording secretary of the Veterans Committee and Region 4 Veterans Missouri State Chair. “One of our own Local 249 members, Courtney Anchors, was there to help honor her father and grandfather who were both laid to rest in that very cemetery. I was fortunate enough to have the honor of passing the wreaths to Courtney to place on each one of their graves. We gave each one a moment of silence and a salute to honor them and all they have done. It was very emotional and humbling to be a part of that.”
“This was my third year participating in this event with the Motorcycle and Veterans Committees,” said Jay Bosler, Chairman of the Cap Committee and Local 249’s Sergeant at Arms. “All of the volunteers for the event laid out 1,500 wreaths for these American heroes. I think I can speak for Local 249 volunteers and say it was our honor and privilege to be a part of this awesome celebration!”
Local 249’s Motorcycle and Veterans committees as well as the volunteers, take pride in honoring our fallen soldiers every year with a goal to ultimately increase the wreaths we can place every year. For more information on how you can participate, reach out to the committees, or contact the hall to sign up. If you would like to learn more about the history of this event, visit Wreathsacrossamerica.org. Special thanks to everyone that helps to make this event a success.
This touches my heart in so many ways. I just put my father to rest 3 days before Thanksgiving he was a vet and loved his motorcycle. We were escorted to the vets cemetery by motorcycle committee for vets and the full salute. I'm proud to be in the local 249. This means so much. ❤
Love this program ❤️
Rusty Dennis if you need an extra volunteer let me know !!! Next year !
Great article! Just to add how our local got involved. Rusty Dennis brought this great cause to the attention of motorcycle committee when he was a member. The Motorcycle Committee is doing great work!
Local 249 brings Santa to developmentally disabled
By Pat Hayes
Rudolph was still vacationing in Florida and the sleigh was in the shop being readied for Christmas deliveries. So, with characteristic ingenuity, Local 249’s Motorcycle Committee – with help from the elves in the other union standing committees – brought Santa and Mrs. Claus to meet developmentally disabled residents of the Harry S. Truman Neurological Center at the union hall Dec. 8 in a 770 Horsepower Kansas City built Shelby Ford 150.
“You ought to see the joy it brings to their faces. It’s something amazing,” said Motorcycle Committee Chair Josh Curtis.
The Harry S. Truman Children’s Neurological Center was founded in 1949 as the Cerebral Palsy Foundation is now known as the TNC Community. The nonprofit provides support and care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities across Missouri. The group advocates for interdependent living, education, and community inclusion for individuals with developmental disabilities.
“The Christmas party you hosted for the individuals we support at TNC Community was absolutely fantastic,” wrote Kelly McGillis, TNC’s Chief Executive Officer in a note to Curtis. “The preparation and effort that went into the celebration really showed.”
The union hall atrium was decorated with multiple Christmas trees and the railings were festooned with garlands as TNC residents met Santa and Mrs. Claus, opened presents delivered by Santa’s elves and sang Christmas carols to celebrate the holiday. More than 50 residents from the TNC Community received holiday gifts.
“I was moved by the incredible joy you brought to everyone – from the visit by Santa and singing of carols together, to the personalized gifts and the way volunteers took time to talk to individuals and make them feel special,” added McGillis.
“The holidays and celebrations like this mean so much to the people that we support. Many of them have no family. They wouldn’t know what it’s like to have people that love and care about them,” said McGillis.
“It’s all about making their day special because a lot of them have fallen through the cracks. A lot of people don’t come visit them, so we want them to feel special,” Curtis said.
