Local 98's Barnhart enters retirement

Jim Barnhart, long-time officer at Plumbers Local 98, eased into retirement on Jan. 12 during a party given in his honor at Eastpointe Manor.

He served as Local 98's financial secretary-treasurer for the last 15 years, and before that, as business agent for six years.

"Jim took care of the local's financial business, be he also did all the little things that most members wouldn't see," said Local 98 Business Manager Gary Young. "He never wanted any credit for all the work that he did, he just wanted things done the right way. He had a real compassion for the membership."

Some 300 friends and well-wishers came from around Detroit and Michigan and across the country to honor Barnhart. Among them were wife Linda, daughter Amy and son Joe. The 59-year-old retiree plans on spending more time on the golf course, and fixing a cabin he has in northern Michigan.

Barnhart's successor is Tom Delehant, formerly a Local 98 business agent.

"I guess what I liked best about the job was that it was like a big family," Barnhart said. "I really enjoyed the friendships that I made in the office with the members. It was a big satisfaction watching the apprentices come through and become journeymen, and they would become second- or third-generation plumbers. I made a lot of friends in the local and in the building trades, and I was really proud to serve."

Trades appeal: hands off PLAs

Despite a 9-0 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that upholds the legitimacy of union-only construction project agreements, the administration of George W. Bush is expected to issue an Executive Order that would ban the agreements.

"In the spirit of civility he espouses, the president should sit down with the 15 heads of our unions before he issues an order affecting hundreds of thousands of workers and their families," said Edward C. Sullivan, president of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department. "To unilaterally destroy agreements validated 9-0 by the U.S. Supreme Court is nothing short of a declaration of war on construction workers."

PLAs, widely used in the public sector, are also used on many federally funded construction projects. They establish common work rules, wages and benefits and prohibit strikes. The Supreme Court upheld PLAs in 1993.