Member Spotlight
Chuck Hutchins: With a Little Help From His Friends
Chuck Hutchins of Bricklayers Local 8 is an independent guy who likes to do things his way. But when kidney disease threatened his life, it was support from his union and fellow trades people that kept him going.
Hutchins' father had been a well-respected mason contractor in Brookfield and Mequon, and Chuck learned the trade at a very young age. By the late 1990s, he had become an accomplished mason.
Hutchins joined the Bricklayers Local 8 in 1991, but later left during a slow period to work with a non-union contractor. It was during this time that he started experiencing migraines and intense fatigue. “I could fall asleep waiting at a traffic light,” he recalled. He was diagnosed with kidney disease, likely as a result of an earlier illness. “You can't ignore it,” Chuck admitted, “but I dealt with it and kept my life as normal as possible for several years.”
In 2000, he came back to the Bricklayers Local 8. His health was stable, thanks to a healthy lifestyle, but a bout with pneumonia in 2001 changed things dramatically. In 2002 he was starting dialysis.
Even through the treatment, Hutchins continued to work full-time as much as possible. “I had good days and bad days,” he recalls. “As your kidneys fail, you get weaker and weaker. I had some really bad days where I couldn't get from one side of the job site to the other. That's when everyone – the guys, the foreman, even the field supervisor – all were very supportive. They did whatever they could to help keep me on the job, mostly because they all knew I needed to keep working to get paid. They carried me when I needed it.”
As Hutchins' condition deteriorated, he sought a kidney donor. “Every person in my family offered a kidney,” he says. “It turned out my brother Kelly was a perfect match.” Surgery was scheduled.
A month before the surgery, Hutchins' friends decided to hold a fundraiser for him to defray expenses. “The most supportive people were fellow union tradesman, some I'd worked with and some I didn't even know. They raised $11,000. That was amazing to me, because I didn't ask for it. They just gave.”
The funds allowed Hutchins to recuperate for 20 weeks before returning to work. That was in 2004, and he's been back to work full-time ever since. “When I went back, I was back for good,” he says. “I still take anti-rejection drugs, but so far so good.”
Hutchins credits the Local 8 helping him through a very difficult time. “It wouldn't be wrong to say that without the good position I was in, I wouldn't be here,” he says. “Nothing would have gotten me to this point if I wasn't in the union.”
Hutchins still gets recognized by colleagues. “They say ‘oh you don't look like you're sick',” says Hutchins, grinning broadly.
“Without them all, things would have turned out very differently.”
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