The Labor-Management Council of Greater Kansas City

The LMC reminds those in the construction industry of resources to keep workers safe on the job, including the “Care for Construction Heroes” (816) 595-4164 hot line; the Builders' Association COVID-19 Resource Center at www.buildersassociation.com; and the Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council web site, www.buildkc.org .

The LMC sends condolences to the family of Missouri State Rep. Bill Kidd on the death of his son, Taylor Hancock, last month.

The LMC mourns the death of Jim Baker from COVID-19. Jim, an attorney with Spencer Fane and a former Missouri state representative, was an active supporter of the LMC before his retirement. The family suggests contributions to Parkinson's Foundation Heartland, Guadalupe Center or Duck Unlimited and the family plans a celebration of life later this year.

The LMC mourns the death of the Rev. Ted Schroeder in an auto accident last week. Ted was very active in community issues and was a vocal supporter of labor-management cooperation as well as help for the most vulnerable in society. He will be greatly missed. His wife Linda, also very active, was injured in the accident. She is recovering. Ted's obituary can be found at https://kccremation.com/ObituaryDetails.aspx?id=24511

LMC member the Builders’ Association was asked to put together a video presentation for the American Labor merit badge. Due to the pandemic, the more traditional process for earning merit badges has been interrupted, so the Scouts are working on new delivery models. The video will soon be posted on the Heart of America Council’s ScoutConnect online merit badge courses site.

https://www.hoac-bsa.org/scoutconnect

Richard Bruce headed up the project and wrote the script, Miles Boyer from our Springfield office edited and produced, and LMC vice co-chair Greg Davey of the Builders' is the video star. Below is a sneak preview. Please share with those Boy Scouts interested in earning the badge:

We are sad to report the death of Mary Taves, officer-in-charge of the National Labor Relations Board Kansas City-region office. Mary also served many years on the Mid-America Labor/Management Conference planning committee. Not only did she work hard and bring many resources to the conference, she also brought a bright and fun-loving personality as well as her husband George Mayer who also volunteered for the conference. Mary was a great friend to labor-management cooperation and to the mission of the NLRB. She will be greatly missed.

Katie Castro has joined The Builders’ Association as Membership Services Director. She leads a team that works collaboratively to enhance the membership experience for the Association’s 750 member companies. “Katie’s background and experience is exactly why we selected her for this role,” said Don Greenwell, President of The Builders’ Association and LMC treasurer. “We are excited about what she can bring to our membership. She is the right person to help us advance our mission of improving people’s lives through commercial construction. She is a servant leader who embodies our core values of Commitment, Collaboration and Advancement.”

Because of the city of Kansas City, Mo., extension of the stay-at-home order to May 15, the May 12 Construction Industry Committee meeting will not be held in person. More details later.

The LMC is sad to report the death of the Rev. Peter Ely, S.J., past president of Rockhurst University. Fr. Ely was a strong supporter of the LMC during his tenure as Rockhurst president. He was teaching at Seattle University when he died.

As the COVID-19 crisis ravages our world, we at the Labor-Management Council of Greater Kansas City are thankful for the first responders, health care professionals and retail, transportation and construction workers who risk their lives for our health and safety. We can also be grateful for the many instances of labor-management cooperation in facing the crisis.

The LMC and Kansas City’s two Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service commissioners, Jim Albano and Stephanie Haynes, are available to help with any cooperative efforts between labor and management in the region. FMCS can help with video conferencing sessions as well. Jim and Stephanie can be contacted at, respectively, [email protected] and [email protected].