Membership meetings will be held today. The 3rd shift meeting will start at 7:30 am, the 1st shift meeting will start at 3:30 pm and the 2nd shift meeting will start at 11:30 pm.

Please plan to attend. You are the Union!

The Rotate shift membership meeting will start at 11:30 pm tonight at the union hall. Please plan to attend. You are the Union!

Join us for donuts and good cheer every third Sunday. 

Come meet to discuss our priorities and bargaining in the new year. 

Local 550 Women of Steel Coordinator Kayla Neely organized the local's Toys for Tots event this year. Toys for Tots is a nationwide program that the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve conducts each fall. The organization collects new, unwrapped toys for needy children in the community where the campaign is conducted.

Local 550 President Gary Wilson said the Paducah cleanup site donated $3,000 to $4,000 of toys and over 30 bicycles for less fortunate children. The charity also received financial donations from the local and its Women of Steel program.

"We usually start in October and get boxes put up," Wilson said of the toy drive. "A lot of the members feel this is their Christmas. They look forward to doing this, and we have a few members save toys throughout the year to get prepared for this event."

In addition to Toys for Tots, the local supports three other charities: Cassidy's Cause, Starfish Orphan Ministries and Sunrise Children's Services. This year they raffled a $500 hunting store gift card and were able to donate $1,200 to each charity. The charities also received donations from the site contractors: Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, Mid-America Conversion Services and Swift & Staley.

Working with the site contractors on the toy drive and financial support for local charities helps improve labor relations, Wilson said. "It's one time we don't have to sit down and argue about things. It's one thing we can do together."

Local 550 also collects canned food for a yearly Christmas event in a local park. Christmas lights line the park and people drive through to the Santa house where the local brings canned food and donations.

This year, the local donated $3,100 and two large crates of canned goods for local food banks. "This is another event that everybody loves to do," Wilson said.

"It's good for us to get together and work as a union to help people who need it," he added. "It's a good feeling to do anything charitable."