COLD SPRING, NY – Edward Doyle, President of the Westchester-Putnam Building and Construction Trades Council, endorsed Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell for re-election as the two met and walked with tradesmen through the Friendship Center in Philipstown project on the former Butterfield Hospital property in Cold Spring.
“MaryEllen’s leadership and her commitment to good fiscal management and strategic capital investments provide a foundation for economic vitality and job growth in Putnam County,” said Doyle. “MaryEllen has always stood with us to make sure that our families earn a fair wage in a safe workspace. She reduced the threshold on project labor agreements to include any county projects over $1 million so that there were more opportunities to put our tradesman and women to work. We are going to stand 100% with her to make sure that she wins re-election as County Executive.”
The Building and Construction Trades Council of Westchester and Putnam and its 36 union affiliates consists of 35,000 members.
“I am grateful to be endorsed by the 35,000 men and women of the Building and Construction Trades Council,” County Executive Odell said. “These hardworking men and women are the middle-class workers who go to work every day building up our towns and villages with the goal of making a better living for their families and a better place to live for all of us.”
With a Aa2 Moody’s Bond Rating, Putnam County continues to have the lowest county portion of the property tax bill out of all 62 counties in New York State and the lowest unemployment in the Hudson Valley. Under Odell’s leadership, the county has reduced its long-term debt and eliminated its short-term debt by a total of $40 million. It paid off the NYS pension amortization early and ensured that the pensions would be there for those who earned them.
County Executive Odell was able to do that while investing in the reinvigoration of problematic county assets that her administration inherited and transformed those properties into the gateway destinations that are now known as the Putnam County Golf Course and Banquet Center and Tilly Foster Farm & Educational Institute, which improve the quality of life for Putnam County residents. She also allocated funds to key capital projects such as the Friendship Center in Philipstown and the rehabilitation of the Carmel Friendship Center to enhance the services for senior residents.
In addition, County Executive Odell and her administration are also working on several sewer infrastructure projects —the Brewster/Danbury sewer line, Mahopac Route 6 sewer line and the Kent corridor sewer line, to continue keeping union families working and bring a strong economic future to Putnam County.
The following union affiliates are part of The Building and Construction Trades Council of Westchester and Putnam:
Plumbers/Steamfitters Local 21
Teamsters Local 456
Teamsters Local 814
Asbestos Workers Local 91
Ironworkers Local 40
Operating Engineers Local 137
Teamsters Local 813
Ornamental Ironworkers Local 580
Painters District Council 9
Boilermakers Local 5
Ironworkers Local 417
Bricklayers Allied Crafts Local 5
Heavy Construction Local 60
Tile, Marble & Terrazzo Local 7
North East Regional Council Of Carpenters L279
Building Laborers Local 235
Road Sprinkler Local 669
Dockbuilders Local 1556
Metallic Lathers Local 46
Resilient Floor Covers Local 2287
Electrical Workers Local 3
Operating Engineers Local 15d
Sheet Metal Local 38
Elevator Constructors Local 1
Iuoe Local 30
Stone, Derrickmen & Riggers Ironworkers Local 197
Plasterers Local 262
Sheet Metal Workers Local 137
Cement Masons Local 780
Metal Polishers
Millwrights Local 740
Union Of Roofers Local 8
Electrical Workers Local 363
Bridge Painters Local 806
Glaziers Local 1087
Photo Caption: Putnam County Executive shakes hands with Edward Doyle, President of the Building and Construction Trades Council, as he endorses her for re-election as other union leaders look on. Pictured left to right: Pedro Galaviz, Ed Cooke, Tom Capurso, Edward Doyle, Anthony Tortora, County Executive MaryEllen Odell, Al Liberatore, Louis Picani and Joe Sansone.