HFIAW Local 50 grows membership through aggressive organizing campaign

Business Manager of International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators Local 50, Dan Poteet, joined America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss a potential record contract for members of Local 50. He also provided an update on the Local’s organizing campaign to get enough members to handle the growing workload in Central Ohio.

Poteet, who’s in the middle of contract negotiations, talked about a potential record contract for his members. While he can’t give many details, he said he expects improvements to the wages and benefits for apprentices and journeymen at Local 50. Thanks to the hard work and reliability of his members in the field, the Local can negotiate from a strong position and he is excited to deliver members a reward for their hard work. With the workload increasing in the future, these negotiations will help attract new talent and retain current members.

As part of an ongoing recruitment campaign with America’s Work Force Union Podcast’s producer BMA Media Group, Poteet updated listeners on the success Local 50 has made. He said there have been over 1,800 leads, and 55 new members, leading to an increase of over 40 percent in their membership. It’s been a wonderful experience, Poteet said, not only is he excited for the future of Local 50, but his contractors are excited for the potential of the new members.

As diversity and inclusion have been an ongoing effort to improve in the trades, Local 50 is now the most diverse it has ever been.  Poteet said it’s been rewarding seeing the hard-working individuals coming into Local 50 from underrepresented communities around Central Ohio. With the work outlook in the area, he expects that Local 50 will be able to grow membership to more than 350 members over the next seven years from the 220-member Local they started in 2024.

For more on Local 50’s organizing attempts please listen to the show above.