IAM Local Lodge 778 is a united Lodge representing workers in western Missouri and eastern Kansas.  We are located in south Kansas City just 1/2 mile west of 71 Highway or 1 mile west of I-435 at 9404 Grandview Road.  Meeting on the 2^nd Saturday of each month.

Mailing address is:

Kansas City, MO. 64132

This Web Page last updated on Sunday, January 04, 2009 07:35 PM

1/4/2009

"Happy new year" said BR Joe Capra, who reported on that Local Lodge 778 retires meet today and elected a NEW Executive Board for 2009:

• Clifford Wall  -  President

• Bill Ballew  -  Vice-President

• Ollie Harbin  - Recording Sectary

• Ruth Shobe  - Treasure

• Bertha Peters  - Conductor Sentinel

• Jaunita Howe  - Trustee

• Tom Russell  - Trustee

• Jim Shilt  - Trustee

click on pictures to enlarge

7/14/2007

Special Birthday Wishes to IAM Centenarian
Paul Watson

If knew Paul send him a card in care of
Fred and Susan Watson
3208 W. Chipeta Ct.
Clifton, CO 81520.

11/23/2005

IAM Retiree named

I asked Bill what wisdom he could pass on to the youth of today he replied saying, “You need to think of more than yourself, we all are in this together.  Strength is gained through numbers.”

What’s a Centenarian you ask, it is a person who is 100 or more years old.  Robert Conley is such a person.  Retired IAM Member Conley celebrated his 100 birthday August 21, 2005 with the acceptance of an IAM Life Member Card.  Robert said his actual birthday was August 23, but his daughter Lois arranged for a celebration that Sunday afternoon. 

Directing Business Representative Joe Capra, on behalf of International President Thomas Buffenbarger and General Vice-President James Brown, presented Brother Conley with a Gold Life Member Card, certificate from the Grand Lodge for 50 years of continuous service, and a 50 year Gold Service Pin with diamond.  Brother Conley was ecstatic with the presentation, it made the day complete.  He put his wallet out and replaced his old retiree’s card with his new Life Member Gold Card.  Yes, 35 years after retiring he still carries his Union Card!

Robert started working for the Bendix Corporation, Kansas City Plant, in 1952 as a Heat Treater.  Brother Conley said, “Bendix was a great place to work, they treated the employees good.”   The Kansas City Plant made non-nuclear components for nuclear weapons.  After 18 years of service to his country, Union and Bendix Robert retired at the age of 65, September 4, 1970. 

Born in La Cygne, Kansas in August 23, 1905 Brother Conley has experienced a lot of life.  The house he was born in is still standing and people live there.   Did you catch that Robert was born at home; in 1905, not many babies were born in hospitals.  He has lived through 18 U.S. Presidents, 2 World Wars, the Great Depression and roads when from dirt to Interstate Highways.  Robert worked many jobs through the years. In his youth, he framed. He was too young for World War 1 and old for World War 2, but he did his part.  Brother Conley built B-25s at the North American Bomber Plant in the Fairfax area of Kansas City, Kansas during the war.  After his retirement from Bendix, Robert could not sit still.  He worked as a guard at the La Cygne Power Plant, then as a gas meter reader.  He severed as on the La Cygne City Council for 6 years. 

Graduation picture of Robert's daughter Lois and his wife Marie

I asked Robert about his long life and he said, “You can’t sit around you got to keep moving.”   Still today at a 100, he walks every day and does his laundry at the local laundry mat.  Before leaving Brother Conley with family and friends, I asked if I could meet with him next year.  Robert reply, “If you’re up to it I’d be more then happy to meet again.”

Brother Conley also received a birthday letter from the President of the United State of America, George W. Bush and his wife Laura congratulating him on his 100th birthday.

IAM member Ollie Harbin bowled a prefect game.  You say, “that’s good, but not great news?”  Well what if the bowler is over 79 years old and bowls a prefect game.  That’s just what Ollie did!  Sister Harbin, a retiree from Honeywell FM&T, bowled her perfect game on July 27, 2005. She entered the record book as the second oldest woman to bowl a prefect game.

“It was great,” Ollie said of her score. “I had shot 277 and 279 before, but up until then, I just couldn’t get up to 300. But that day, it came natural. I threw a perfect ball every time.” 

Ollie worked at Honeywell for 32 years as an Electronic-Assembler and IAM member before retiring in 1990.  She worked in department 69 most of that time.  Ollie had bowled off and on for years, but only after her husband of 51 years pass in 1997 did she start bowling steady.  Now, she bowls three times a week during the winter.

The United States Bowling Congress reported that Mrs. Harbin at the age of 79 years 7 months had earned a place in its national records as the second oldest woman to bowl a perfect game.  Her prefect game will be on permanent display at the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame in St. Louis.  “I’m very happy about being in the record book,’ Ollie said. “When you get to be my age, every little bit (of fame) makes you feel better.”   I talked to Sister Harbin by phone she said, “I feel great.”  She sounds like a young woman full of energy too.

Bowling is not the only thing Ollie does; she is also the Recording-Secretary for the Machinist Retirees Club.  Sister Harbin still remembers her “family” at Honeywell and enjoys meeting the first Sunday of each month for a Club meeting and dinner.

Click to enlarge

You don't know me but Jack Talley, Cliff Wall, and RT Smith will remember me. I was a member of 314 from 1957 until 1970. Served as a steward and then grievance committeeman from 1959 until 1970. Installed in 1970 along with Jimmy Adams, RT Smith and others by the late GLR Vito Mazzacano who referred to us as the "wrecking crew". We were not held in very high esteem by either the Grand Lodge or District 71. The feeling was mutual. I was the father of the Inspector Physical Test classification and the local was named Atomic Energy Lodge by Jimmy Adams who was President. If memory serves me correctly, we had a wildcat strike in 63, and sanctioned strikes in 66, 69, and the plant was on strike when I left KC in Sept. 1975. Danny Daniels was a third shift steward with potential who I encouraged to run as my replacement as committeeman.

The membership of 314 during the mid 60's was in excess of 4,000 and Lodge 990 had close to a thousand as I recall. We communicated with the membership during negotiations by handbilling the plant at shift change. The Internet or Xerox machines hadn't been thought of yet. A young man named Earl Kobusch, RT Smith, and I along with a few others would say we could overthrow Castro with a typewriter and mimeograph machine. 314 was a renegade local in the eyes of Grand Lodge and the District, a label we wore proudly. At the time 314 membership accounted for half or more of the District which had 9 business agents but we were served by only one. I was selected as spokesperson of the delegates to the GL Convention in Miami, Fla. in 1964 and we voted as a block in opposition to the increase in per capita tax. Shortly after we returned the Local was put under trusteeship by the GL and an in depth investigation of the wrecking crews lost time was underway. I look back with fond memories of my experiences at KC. My first disciplinary case as a rookie union steward in 1959 involved a young Hispanic who had a run in with a plant guard in the parking lot. He was accused of verbally abusing the guard with obscene language and ordered to report to security for an interview (interrogation) by a young lawyer named John O'Hare who would later become Corporate Vice President of Industrial Relations. My advice to him was don't admit anything and ask for union representation. This was before the US Supreme Court heard Miranda and before the NLRB heard Weingarten. I just thought it was fundamentally unfair for a high school dropout to be interviewed by a lawyer without even a witness. I am watching with great interest the progress of your negotiations. I see where the retirees get together every month. I recently attended an UAW retiree luncheon here. Please pass this along to some of the old timers. I would love to hear from any of them.

Oops, my name is Ralph Willig. I retired from Bendix - Allied Signal in May 92 from the Friction Materials Division where I was Manager of Human Resources from 1975 when I left Kansas City Division. I mentioned KC was on strike when I left, I was on the other side of the bargaining table and Danny Daniels got his kicks digging skeletons out of my closet. He knew plenty on me, as we were pretty tight. Anyway we reached tentative agreement at the table and went thru the handshake ritual. Lady by the name of Mary Ellen Kurtz now deceased was on the union team and LL314 recording secretary. When it came time for me to shake her hand, she planted a doozy kiss on my mouth. After the membership turned the tentative agreement down John O'Hare told me he thought they would have to bring me back to KC from upstate NY to get the contract settled. Feel free to use this anyway you like. Home address is 1075 Freewill Road, Cleveland TN, 37312. Ed O'Dower gave me your website. To this day, he says I still have some 314 in me.

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Editor  Greg (Homer) Olson      

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