IBEW GrassrootsPolitical Program

Political/Legislative DirectorRick Diegel

National Grassroots CoordinatorBrian Baker

International Vice Presidents

District Coordinators

State Coordinators

Local Business Managers

Local Union Presidents

AFL-CIO Council Activities

Local Union Registrars

Rank and File Members

w w w . i b e w . o r g

Brian Baker is used to early starts. Hewas only 10 years old when he firsthelped his father put up signs forpolitical candidates in Lorain, Ohio.

Today, the journeyman inside wireman andformer business manager of IBEW Local 129 isnational director of the IBEW’s new grassrootsprogram to get the jump on electing morelabor-friendly candidates and a new presidentin 2008. The effort builds upon the success ofthe IBEW and the labor movement in 2006.

Early action is the key. With presidentialprimary elections being pushed forward onthe calendar and many states holding earlyvoting by absentee ballot, the first aim is toincrease the number of registered voterswithin IBEW locals, among families of mem-bers and the greater labor community.

“I’m hopeful that, by starting now, ourgrassroots program will educate, register andmobilize our members to make a lastingchange for working families in 2008,” saysIBEW International President Edwin D. Hill.“The 2006 elections resulted in many positivechanges for us, but we have seen every daythat we need to elect a president who won’tveto legislation that is important to workers.But if we do, we need a Congress that hasthe numbers to override a veto.”

The 2008 plan is based upon a chain ofcoordination from the International Office tothe rank and file and back. (See adjacentflow chart). The appointment of registrars byeach local union to sign-up new voters is atthe heart of the effort. An improved state-by-

state plan to get members to vote by mail orabsentee ballot can avoid the missed oppor-tunities of the last election cycle.

“This plan isn’t about issuing ordersfrom the International Office. It’s about ourentire organization coming together toquickly learn what works and to make a goodprogram even better,” says Baker. ManyIBEW members already hold local politicaloffices, for instance. “We want more mem-bers to start right now to run for office or towin endorsements for others who are on ourside,” says Baker.

The program aims to increase communi-cation via e-mail with younger members andto get them to vote by absentee ballots, whileengaging retired members by speaking toissues high on their agenda. Everyone will beasked to get at least five more family mem-bers or neighbors registered and informed onthe issues. Local unions who do not currentlycontribute to IBEW’s PAC fund will be askedto participate in the program.

As the former president of the LorainCounty AFL-CIO Central Labor Council,Baker knows how difficult it can be to getdifferent affiliates to work together. But healso knows from labor’s success in Ohio in2006 how rewarding it can be. As more IBEWmembers volunteer to help the electoralefforts of central labor councils, theBrotherhood’s political clout will grow. TheIBEW’s influence will also spread when moremembers volunteer to help political partyorganizations and run as delegates to stateparty central committees.

“Our grassroots campaign is about build-ing political power from the bottom up tohelp every branch of our union,” saidInternational Secretary-Treasurer JonWalters. “When the votes are tallied, we wantevery candidate, whatever his or her party, toknow the IBEW counts in the decisions thatthey make.” z

I N T H I S I S S U E

I n t e r n a t i o n a l B r o t h e r h o o d o f E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r s Vol. 1 | No. 3 | July 2007

2Court reporters win

TXU sale yields gains for IBEW

3War hero honored

Court setback for government workers

4IBEW to Comcast: Play fair

5Organizing Wire

6Circuits

New feature: North of 49°

7Transitions

8Local Lines

14Editorials

Letters

What Do You Think?

Who We Are

16Spotlight on Safety

FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1893

Grassroots Political Mobilization Program Goes Full Time

Chicago Court Reporters Win First Contract

After a 16-year struggle to form aunion and harsh negotiations whichnearly triggered a strike, more than200 Illinois court reporters over-

whelmingly ratified their first contract inlate February. The settlement, achieved withthe support of a federal mediator, balancedthe scales of justice between the courtreporters and judges in Cook County whohad maneuvered for years to deny them vic-tory using a full arsenal of legal and illegalroadblocks. (See “Illinois Court ReportersClose to Winning Fight for Representation,”IBEW Journal, July, 2006).

“We hope that the new contract willsave our profession from the administratorswho would destroy it,” says Renia Boykin, a12- year court reporter and one of the lead-ers of the organizing drive, which was initi-ated by Chicago, Local 1220 after a failedattempt by the Teamsters. Jurisdiction overthe court reporters was turned over toChicago Local 134 in 2005.

Boykin says that lack of respect fromsome in the judicial system administrators,pay issues and the absence of a grievanceprocess have kept trained court reportersfrom applying for permanent jobs. The short-age of employees has resulted in members ofthe bargaining unit being forced to work longhours at the courthouses, then late into thenight at home typing transcripts.

The contract settlement, ratified 119 to19, raises wages of all employees by more than11 percent and includes longevity increases ofup to $8,000 per year for the most senior mem-bers of the bargaining unit. Fees for typed tran-scripts were also increased, boosting pay by upto $30,000 for some reporters. The agreementincludes compensation time for reporters whowork over 35 hours in a week. Many havesymptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, a handinjury resulting from repetitive use.

After 24 tough bargaining sessions, theparties were closing in on the one-year mark

2 T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007

Court reporters inCook County, Ill.,who waged a 16-year struggle toorganize theirbargaining unit,ratify their firstcontract negoti-ated by ChicagoLocal 134.

however, TXU workers were hit by a corporateearthquake. In February, TXU and an investorgroup led by private equity firms Kohlberg,Kravis, Roberts and Co. and Texas PacificGroup, announced a deal to buy the utility for$45 billion, the largest private buyout in U.S.corporate history.

Once again, IBEW activism, from thework site to the board room, saved the day.The eventual termination of the outsourcingplan was only the first of several landmarkagreements between the union and the newowners. TXU’s commitment not to reducestaff has led several unorganized classifica-tions of TXU workers to approach the IBEWabout representation. An active campaign isin the works.

TXU had plans to outsource all of thehighly skilled transmission and distributionwork, compromising the safety and reliabilityof electric service to thousands of customersin North Texas, says Seventh DistrictInternational Representative GeorgeCrawford. The union actively fought the out-sourcing plan before the Texas Public UtilityCommission.

After the takeover announcement,IBEW leaders and representatives of TXU’sprospective owners met to lay the ground-work for resolving the outsourcing issue andother conflicts. Later, the IBEW asked the

AFL-CIO to contact equity firm representa-tives involved in the buyout and emphasizethe importance of reaching a broad under-standing between the parties. The prospec-tive owners agreed to terminate theoutsourcing venture upon closing of the buy-out. The IBEW agreed to support the dealbefore the public utility commission.

The pact was just the start of “buildingand maintaining a productive relationshipwith the new owners that is based on hon-esty, openness and trust,” says Crawford.

Other agreements reached with the newownership group provide for: no staff reduc-tions in any TXU business, a commitment tobargain in good faith with newly-organizedIBEW members and the investment of bil-lions of dollars expanding former TXU divi-sions Oncor and Luminant Energy, to supportjob growth and economic development inTexas. They agreed to quarterly meetingswith the IBEW. Members of Dallas Local 69will now enjoy parity with other IBEWemployees at Oncor.

“This agreement illustrates the impor-tance of political and economic forces beingapplied away from the bargaining table tosettle complex issues in labor negotiations. Itis a great victory for the IBEW and TXUworkers,” says Jon Gardner, Seventh DistrictInternational Vice President. z

Having traveled the road from victoryto apparent defeat and back, IBEWmembers at TXU are seeking tobuild a stronger union at the largest

utility in Texas.After workers at TXU won a December

organizing victory, they were hopeful that theycould defeat their employer’s plan to outsourcework. (See “IBEW Takes on Subcontracting atTexas Utility and Wins 254-218,” IBEW Journal,Jan.-Feb. 2007). Before negotiations began,

IBEW Builds on Success at TXU

since the court reporter bargaining unitvoted 146 to 19 for IBEW representation in2006. “The court’s attorney was obviouslyunder orders to stall the negotiations, hopingthey could frustrate reporters into decertify-ing the union,” says Rich Murphy, Local 134

business agent. Two federal mediators werebrought in and did a fine job, he says.

Despite the February settlement,administrators are refusing to implementlanguage that would provide for one hour ofcompensation time for reporters who are

forced to work through their lunch. “This is arespect issue,” says Boykin, who says thatsometimes reporters have been forced to sitin court while judges eat lunch because theywere never told that they could take a break.

“I can’t say enough about the courage ofour court reporters,” says Murphy. “From theirfirst day of organizing—with the full-support ofLocal 1220—they refused to bow down to pow-erful people in black robes who went to unbe-lievable lengths to thwart their basic rights.”

IBEW political lobbying was a criticalfactor in the court reporters’ victory.Between 2003 and 2005, the Brotherhoodand its allies successfully pushed the Illinoisstate legislature to pass two laws giving courtreporters the same rights to organize as therest of the state’s employees and transferringtheir supervision from the state’s SupremeCourt to various county circuit courts.

Approximately 300 unorganized Illinoiscourt reporters will benefit from the eco-nomic gains achieved in Cook County. Local134 members are reaching out to encouragethem to organize and win a grievance proce-dure and other union protections. z

z Skilled Labor Shortage?

z Taking on Global Warming

z NECA/IBEW Family HealthCare Plan update

z Utility Branch IBEW SisterLeads Arizona AFL-CIO

z IBEW and NECA SponsorRising NASCAR Star

z Pipe Bending Training:Staying Ahead of the Curve

w w w. i b e w. o r g T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007 3

In early May, the hopes of civilian workersat the Department of Defense, including12,000 IBEW members, were raised whenthe House Armed Services Committee

voted to restore their collective bargainingand disciplinary appeal rights which hadbeen stripped by the Bush administration’sNational Security Personnel System.

The support from Congress was yetanother victory in a campaign by the UnitedDoD Workers Coalition, a 36-union bloc, to stopunion busting at the department. The groupand other unions representing workers at theDepartment of Homeland Security had alreadywon three separate court decisions holdingthat the administration overstepped theauthority granted them by Congress in revisingpersonnel policies in both departments.

Only two weeks after Congress acted, how-ever, a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals forthe District of Columbia reversed lower courtdecisions and upheld sections of the NSPS.

Government unions are intensifying theircampaign to defend collective bargaining. Thenew personnel system is the “creation of for-mer Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeldand much like his tenure at the Pentagon, ithas been a complete failure,” said a pressrelease from the International Federation ofProfessional and Technical Engineers. Unionshave 45 days to decide whether to challengethe Court of Appeals decision.

“Federal sector unions will not give updefending our collective bargaining rightsthrough political lobbying and court action,”says IBEW Government Employees Depart-ment Director Chico McGill. “We owe it to our-selves and the rest of organized labor to stopunion busting before more harmful precedentseeps down on workers in the private sector.”The coalition is paying close attention to discus-sions in the Senate, where the Armed ServicesAppropriations Committee is considering thesame issues that were voted on in the House. z

Apprentice students at theMinneapolis Local 292 training cen-ter found out June 6 that there ismore to life than learning a trade and

doing it well. The local dedicated its trainingcenter to longtime member Charles W.“Chuck” Lindberg, the last surviving memberof the original U.S. flag-raising at Iwo Jima.

“When you walk into the building, yousee a hero’s name up there,” said Local 292Business Manager Steve Claypatch, whoemphasized Lindberg’s selflessness andcourage. “Leadership is completely differentfrom textbook content.”

Minneapolis Local Honors War Hero

Minneapolis Local 292 dedicated its training center to member CharlesLindberg, a World War II vet-eran and Iwo Jima survivor.

Locals of the six building trade unionsthat make up the Mechanical AlliedCrafts alliance have had a busyspring, building new local MAC coun-

cils and preparing new bylaws to be adoptedby the MAC. Across North America, MACcouncils—which are made up by the busi-ness managers of each of the local memberunions—have been meeting over the last fewmonths to elect council officers, create duesstructures and draft by-laws.

“Councils have been popping up allaround the country,” said MAC ExecutiveDirector Thomas Panconi. (See “MechanicalCrafts Form New Alliance,” April 2006, IBEWJournal.) “We now have at least one in eachstate and province throughout most of the U.S.and Canada. In some states we have more.”

MAC was founded in March of 2006 inorder to improve market share and customersatisfaction in addition to building strongerrelations between the six member unions: thePlumbers and Pipe Fitters, the Iron Workers,the Insulators, the Sheet Metal Workers, theElevator Constructors, and the IBEW. “We wantto partner with contractors to produce goodquality work with union labor,” Panconi said.

“MAC gives us the opportunity to workclosely with people who have the same sharedinterest as us and want to work togethertowards the same goals,” said Seventh DistrictInternational Representative Steven Speer.

In New England, Second DistrictInternational Representative Brian Maherhelped organize two regional MAC meetingsthis spring. MAC councils were formed foreach state in the region and a closer workingrelationship between the member unions—both on the worksite and in the state capi-tol—were formed. “We have the memberunions together on the same page on issuesthat are of concern to all of us, like licensinglaws and prevailing wage rates,” Maher said.

At MAC’s national committee meetingon June 11, a final set of by-laws wasreviewed which after being approved by eachinternational president will be sent out to allMAC local councils for approval.

“The movement in the field has beengood. I’d say that over 85 percent of our localunions have been pretty well on their way tocreating local councils that will make MACmore of a reality on the ground,” saidPanconi. “We’re still moving forward.” z

MAC Moves Forward Defense Department UnionsFight Court Setback onAnti-Union Rules

Lindberg, 87, was atop Mount Suribachiduring the World War II battle that memori-alized Iwo Jima for the image of Marinesstruggling to hoist the flag. But Lindberg, a40-year IBEW member, was part of the flag-raising that came four hours earlier, beforeJoe Rosenthal arrived to capture the iconic

Pulitzer Prize-winning photo. Lindberg is thelast surviving member of that group.

The ceremony to officially rename thecenter the Charles “Chuck” W. Lindberg JATC292 Electrical Training Center was attendedby local leaders, members and state and localdignitaries. Lindberg and his wife Vi were also

on hand for the event, which also featured anF-16 flyover and a color guard presentation.

“I am proud to be a member of theIBEW,” Lindberg said at the ceremony. “Inmy 40 years as a Minnesota electrician, theIBEW has always been fair and dependable,and we always got the job done right.” z

“In my 40 years as a

Minnesota electrician, the

IBEW has always been

fair and dependable, and

we always got the job

done right.”

— Charles “Chuck” W. Lindberg

4 T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007

Nearly 50 IBEW and CWA membersand their supporters called onComcast to reform its corporategovernance and end unfair pay

practices at the company’s annual sharehold-ers meeting in Philadelphia on May 23.

Union members called on Comcast to giveshareholders a say in how much executives arepaid by instituting a “one share, one vote sys-tem.” Currently Comcast CEO Brian Robertshas an automatic one-third voting bloc—despite only holding three percent of shares—effectively blocking the democratic rights ofmost shareholders. Last year Roberts’s paypackage totaled over $27.8 million, 900 timesthat of an average Comcast employee.

The IBEW and CWA also called for anend to the practice of paying union membersless than nonunion employees in an attemptto drive out the union. Downers Grove, Ill.,Local 21 member and Comcast employeeJose Hill makes seven dollars less an hourfor the same work. “I find myself fighting formy family the way I fought in Iraq,” said Hill,an Army veteran, to the local press.

The IBEW and CWA represent over1,400 Comcast employees. Philadelphia Local98; Sheffield, Ala., Local 558; Bethlehem, Pa.,Local 1600; and East Windsor, N.J., Local 827also represent workers at Comcast.

While Local 21 members were con-fronting Roberts in Philadelphia, back inChicago the local was holding negotiationsfor the approximately 100 members workingat the company’s West Cortland facility. Theircurrent contract—won after a difficult five-year struggle—was set to expire on May 31and the local was fighting to eliminate theunfair wage differentials between union andnonunion employees. Nonunion employeesstart out making three dollars more per hourthan Local 21 members. “We can make moreper hour at McDonalds and get some freefood too,” one Local 21 member said. Themembership voted overwhelmingly to givethe local strike authority at its May 30 meet-ing after the company refused to discuss theunion’s wage demands.

Local 21 also filed a complaint with theChicago Cable Commission, arguing that thecompany’s bias against union members con-stitutes a violation of the city’s cable ordi-nance which prohibits pay discrimination.

Bargaining resumed on June 5, but thelocal says that no agreement can be reacheduntil Comcast agrees to the principle ofequal pay for equal work said Local 21Business Representative Dave Webster. z

Union Members Call for Fair Play and Corporate Reform at Comcast

Congressional Subcommittee Acts to Improve Railroad Safety

IBEW and CWA members rally at Comcast’s shareholder meeting in Philadelphia.

After years of indifference to the com-plaints of railroad workers and pas-sengers, a House subcommittee hasapproved a bill to improve safety and

worker protections on the nation’s railroads. The May action by the Transportation and

Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads,Pipelines and Hazardous Materials wouldnearly double the number of railroad inspec-tors, increase employer fines for safety viola-tions and require more automated traincontrol systems, which could put more railroadelectricians to work. The bill would alsoimpose fines on employers who retaliateagainst whistleblowers filing safety complaints.

“It’s about time our leaders inWashington spend some time looking out forthe safety of the American public and railroadworkers instead of just protecting the profitsof the big carriers,” said IBEW RailroadDepartment Bill Bohne. The IBEW representsapproximately 11,000 railroad electricians.

Under the bill, the amount of time thatrailroad workers are allowed to work wouldbe reduced. While not directly affectingIBEW members, other railroad unions saythat fatigue has caused accidents as rail car-riers fail to hire adequate replacements forretiring workers and demand that engineerswork excessive hours.

In 2004, two trains collided inMacedonia, Texas, releasing chlorine gas.

Three people diedand 30 suffered respi-ratory injuries. TheNationalTransportation SafetyBoard’s accidentreport described awork schedule where11 of the engineer’sprevious work dayswere 14-hour days,with one 22-hour day.

The rail safetybill has a long roadahead before passage.Rep. James L.Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairmanof the Transportationand InfrastructureCommittee, has givenRepublicans moretime to negotiate thedetails of the sub-committee’s measurein return for theirvoice vote in favor ofthe bill.

The Transportation Trades Department,AFL-CIO, vows to keep the pressure on untilmeaningful railroad safety legislation issigned into law. z

Proposed legislation would protect workers like ClevelandLocal 912 member GaryMurphy, a CSX employee.

w w w. i b e w. o r g T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007 5

Nebraska Municipal Workers Vote IBEWIn a unanimous vote, 21 workers at a munici-pal wastewater treatment plant voted to berepresented by Grand Island, Neb., Local1597 in early June. The mail-in balloting wasconducted by the Nebraska Commission ofIndustrial Relations.

The new bargaining unit members, whocover responsibilities from accounting tooperations and maintenance, asked theIBEW for representation. They are the lastgroup of eligible workers in the city to organ-ize. Local 1597 has represented the city’sutility workers for many years. The FraternalOrder of Police, the firefighters and theAmerican Federation of State, County andMunicipal Employees represent other units.

“Because of the productive bargainingrelationship between Local 1597’s utility unitand the city, we didn’t face strong oppositionto our organizing drive,” says Eleventh DistrictInternational Representative David Feller.

Public worker organizing in Nebraska isgoverned by unique procedures. The state’sCommission of Industrial Relations setswages and benefits of public employees byconducting surveys of workers on comparablejobs in other municipalities across the nation.The surveys, paid for the requesting party,union or management, often cost $10,000 ormore. While Feller expects smooth negotia-tions on a first contract for the water treat-ment plant unit, the IBEW is prepared tomeet any obstacles along the way.

With support from the InternationalOffice, several local unions in Nebraska havepooled monies to pay for any funds to estab-lish public worker pay and benefits. Theeffective use of these monies, says Feller, isresponsible for the IBEW organizing 19 pub-lic bargaining units in Nebraska.

Big Sky Country is Now IBEW CountryMontana has always been home to big skiesand beautiful scenery, but now it is alsohome to 126 new members thanks to thehard work of the Montana IBEW andInternational Lead Organizer Bob Brock.

“There are tons of employees outside ofconstruction who want to go IBEW,” saysHelena Local 233 Director of Organizing KeithAllen. “Having a lead organizer like Brock totake the reigns on this has been vital.”

In the fall, three Montana locals—Billings Local 532, Helena Local 206 andKalispell Local 768—worked together to signup former IBEW telecommunication mem-bers. The workers had lost their collectivebargaining rights when their jobs were trans-ferred from Rocky Mountain Contractors Inc.

to Continental Line Builders Inc., anonunion “alter-ego” company set up by MDUResources Group, a North Dakota based cor-poration that also owns Rocky Mountain. Thethree locals not only won back collective bar-gaining rights for over 70 CLB employees butwon a monetary settlement from the com-pany when it chose to settle unfair laborpractices charges filed by IBEW.

A grassroots volunteer organizing commit-tee made the difference in winning a NLRB-supervised election at Mid-Rivers Telephone inDecember. Using phone banks and the help ofmembers, Local 206 was successful in organiz-ing the 30 professional workers who were dis-persed across eastern Montana. In late April,they successfully negotiated their first con-tract. The campaign was also coupled with astrong internal membership drive among thealready organized technicians at Mid-River,picking up another 20 members.

In Libby, the eight employees atFrontier Telephone, a mix of technicians andclerical workers, voted unanimously in aNLRB supervised election to join Local 768after seeing their benefits cut year after year.

Local 206 organized more new memberswhen it signed up a dozen cell phone salesrepresentatives at Qwest Communications.

As reported last month, employees atIntralot, a private contractor that installsand maintains lottery machines for the state,voted 6 to 2 in favor of joining Helena Local233 in March, while employees of the City ofTroy’s Public Works Department signed upwith Local 768 in February.

“There were a lot of targets, but whenyou have these large geographic locals, theyjust didn’t have the resources to organize,which is why the regional organizing councilhas been so great,” Brock said.

Organizing Thrives in Ninth DistrictIBEW construction locals are working hard tobuild market share in the areas where popu-lation is expanding and new homes, build-ings, schools and hospitals are needed. Hereis a summary of recent organizing success insome growth areas of the Brotherhood’s NinthDistrict. For a more detailed report of thesesuccesses and more, check www.ibew.org.

Sacramento, Calif., Local 340New schools and buildings are flourishing inthe foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountainrange east of Sacramento, Calif. Without anearby signatory contractor, Local 340 wasmissing out on new growth. Help is now onthe way since the owner of All ActionElectric toured the local’s training centerand decided that the IBEW was his ticket tosuccess. Over 17 journeymen and appren-

Organizing Wire

tices have been dispatched to complete pub-lic works projects.

Jentek Integrated Systems, a sound andcommunications firm signed with Local 340in May. Jentek currently employs three IBEWmembers and two installers hired from thelocal’s out of work list, installing fire alarmsand security systems. IBEW member DaveEllison, founder of Ellison Electric, signedwith the local and now has three journeymenand two apprentices assigned to small com-mercial and public works jobs.

Roadway Electric Works Inc., a signatoryof Modesto, Calif., Local 684, working nonunionin Local 340’s jurisdiction, signed in March.

Efficient Energy Concepts is a three-man shop in Chico, Calif. Local 340 AssistantBusiness Manager Dwight Evans worked withowner Rob Peters for three or four years lead-ing to Peters signing letters of assent to Local340’s inside agreement. Two new journeymenand one apprentice have been initiated tohelp grow the company’s public work projectsin the northern part of the local’s jurisdiction.

Martinez, Calif., Local 302Daryl Bowers, a nonunion electrician whowas organized into Local 302 in 2000, openedup Bowers Electric in 2005. Bowers soongrew tired of hunting for manpower for hiscommercial and custom residential clients byadvertising in the daily newspaper. Bowerssigned with the IBEW in early March. With ajourneyman and an apprentice now workingsteady, he’s hoping to grow.

The Martinez local also signedInterMountain Electric, a signatory contrac-

tor with Dublin, Calif., Local 595, who wasworking nonunion in Local 302’s jurisdiction.

Las Vegas, Nev., Local 357FAST Systems Inc., a six-employee commer-cial fire alarm system contractor, signedLocal 357’s inside construction and sound/communications agreements in March.

TM Electric, started by a former projectmanager at Siemens, became a signatoryemployer and signed Local 357’s inside con-struction agreement in February.

Santa Barbara, Calif., Local 413Central Coast Environmental Controls, asmall, family-owned Lompoc, Calif. company,had a 30-year history of working alongsideIBEW journeymen and apprentices.

With technology changing, the time hadcome for Central Coast to sign with the IBEW.That was the message that David Poorbaugh,an IBEW general foreman at Santa MariaElectric, brought to his friends who ownedCentral Coast. On March 1, Central Coastbecame the local’s latest signatory contractor.

Advanced Cable Systems, a nine-year-old nonunion company, worked with IBEWsignatory contractors Imperial Electric andSmith Electric on many projects. After win-ning a lucrative contract to upgrade the com-munications system a hospital in SantaBarbara, turnover of employees became aproblem. The company’s owners called theLocal 413 hall and asked for a meeting. Theysigned the local’s inside agreement and, ashort time later, asked the local to dispatchthree electricians. z

Tune in to celebrate the success of ourBrothers and Sisters across North America!

This edition’s feature story involves the Brotherhoodbeating back the competition to become the electricians’of choice at a nuclear plant in Canada. Rememberthere’s always something new on Hour Power!

ElectricTV.net showcases theteamwork of IBEW-NECA that makes us the best choicefor the customer!

Just a click away are stories on the shape of the electrical grid, an IBEW-NECA-installed new landmark in Portland, Ore., and much more. It’s just like watching television over the Internet! ElectricTV.net

IBEWHourPower.com,IBEWHourPower.com,your “IBEW TV Network” delivered online.

6 T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007

New Training Initiative Promotes Uniform StandardsNascent cooperation at the highest level of the Canadian electrical contracting industry and theIBEW could soon mean a set of national standards for all wiremen and outside linemen.

The National Electrical Trade Council (NETCO) is a new partnership between the IBEWFirst District and the Canadian Electrical Contractors Association. Its first order of businessis to unify training standards, which vary among Canada’s 10 provinces and three territories.

“We’re hoping to create an NJATC for Canada,” said First District Vice President PhilFlemming, referring to the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, which devel-ops and standardizes training for members of the International Brotherhood of ElectricalWorkers and the National Electrical Contractors Association in the United States. Flemmingserves NETCO president.

NETCO Treasurer Eryl Roberts, who is executive secretary of the Canadian ElectricalContractors Association, said the provinces already have a standard—the Red Seal certifica-tion—for inside wiremen. But NETCO will help prevent a splintering of the trade. “There area lot of special interest groups that would love to carve out pieces of the trade and break itdown into skill sets to get away from having to hire a full trained electrician to do the work,”he said. “We’re not going to stand for that. We support a broadly based and well trained jour-neyman classification.”

Today, Roberts said, 60 to 70 percent of electricians have the Red Seal certification. “If youpass your journeyman exam in Ontario, that is recognized across the country,” Roberts said. “Oneof our major concerns it that various jurisdictions will start to head off in their own direction andbreak down national standards.”

North of 49°

Circuits

Verizon’s New England Sale Spells Trouble for FairPointOver 200 IBEW and CWA members and supporters rallied in early June on the shore of LakeChamplain in Burlington, Vt. to stop Verizon’s sale of its landlines in the state to FairPointCommunications.

In Maine, the IBEW has sponsored radio spots asking citizens to support a bill in thestate legislature which requires the state to subject sales of public utilities to greater scrutiny.The measure was defeated in June, but sponsors are working on a modified version.

The rally and the radio spots step up the high-profile campaign by the IBEW to preventVerizon from abandoning consumers in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine in favor of a com-pany that could, according to recent reports, be headed for rough financial waters. (See “IBEWand CWA Challenge Verizon’s Sell-Off in New England,” The Electrical Worker, May 2007.)

Verizon has the financial prowess to invest in new high-speed Internet services to con-sumers and businesses. But the northern New England states and Verizon workers could suf-fer if FairPoint runs short on cash. Financial analysts at Morgan Stanley conclude that isalready happening, leaving FairPoint coming up short for its shareholders, with or without thesale. Verizon, meanwhile, avoids up to $700 million in taxes by exploiting a little known partof the tax code to cover the sale.

One week after the rally, the Vermont Department of Public Service, which must approvethe sale, held a hearing to assess the Verizon transaction’s impact on customers. ChristopherCampbell, head of the telecommunications unit of the department, said, “The company[FairPoint] will need to do more in our opinion in order to demonstrate that the transaction isin the best interest of Vermonters.” The “awareness has been raised and there is a lot of doubtabout the deal” in the state, says Mike Spillane, business manager, Montpelier, Vt., Local 2326.

The Maine law would have required the state’s public utilities commission to approveany merger, consolidation, reorganization or sale involving public utilities with over$50,000,000 in revenues only if the proposal will advance the economic development andinformation access goals of the state, result in economic benefits to ratepayers and be consis-tent with the interests of investors.

The bill was defeated because it would have retroactively covered the FairPoint deal,said Bob Erickson, Telecommunications department New England coordinator. “If the dealgoes through, it may cause the legislature to pass a tougher measure in the future,” he said.

“My Skills” Web Site Connects Broadcast Workers to JobsThe broadcast industry is expanding. Cable is offering more news coverage. Sports that rarelymade it to prime time, like volleyball, are now on the tube. Viewers are demanding more cam-era angles and replay footage during professional sporting events. With all of this activity, TVoutlets, including IBEW signatory contractors like Fox Sports, still need technical and utilitypersonnel—sometimes at the last minute and nearby—to cover a football game in Cincinnatior a NASCAR race in Texas.

“We need to be able to assist our signatory contractors like CBS, Fox Sports and any ofthe hundreds of local stations that may need our help. And by becoming a proven resource tothese employers, we will have better success making inroads to unorganized employers,”IBEW Broadcasting Department Director Peter Homes said.

To help fill spots and increase the union’s viability in the broadcast industry, theBroadcasting Department has launched a new Web site, entitled “My Skills.” The easy-to-navi-gate site, found at www.ibew.org\myskills is open to union members and unorganized workers.

The site is designed to give workers in the broadcast branch and others a chance to listtheir job skills and previous employers in a kind of digital resume while establishing a data-base of workers. Signing up is quick and easy. Broadcast workers are invited to provide feed-back on the site and to change their information as their skills grow.

“Knowing the broadcasting skill sets available in cities and towns across the country isthe best way to ensure that our members (and those that may become our members) willhave the best opportunities for employment going forward,” Homes said.

St. Joseph’s Day Breakfast Honors Helmets to Hardhats ProgramThe Helmets to Hardhats program—which helps returning veterans find work in the buildingand construction trades—was honored on May 9 at the 10th Annual St. Joseph’s DayBreakfast sponsored by the Faith and Politics Institute.

On hand to honor the program included Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Sen. GeorgeVoinovich (R-Ohio), Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), AFL-CIOExecutive Vice-President Linda Chavez Thompson and Building and Construction Trades

Department, AFL-CIO, President Edward Sullivan.Among those honored as representatives of the Helmets to Hardhats program included

Akron, Ohio, Local 306 member Sgt. Martin Helms. Helms, who serves in the U.S. ArmyReserves, signed up to be an apprentice with the IBEW after hearing about the Helmets toHardhats program when his active service was up. “I got a memo from the army about it,”Helms said. “I worked as a nonunion electrician and as a reservist I needed the protectionoffered by the union.”

Also honored was Spc. Rocco Chidoni, an apprentice with the Sheet Metal Workers andLarry Thompson, owner of Thompson Electric in Akron—a signatory company that is commit-ted to the Helmets to Hardhats program. z

Attendees at the 10th Annual St. Joseph’s Day Breakfast: Pictured from left, Edward Sullivan, President ofthe Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO; Barbara Easterling, Secretary Treasurer,Communication Workers of America; Darrell Roberts, CEO of Helmets to Hardhats; Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio); Specialist Rocco Chidoni, Sheet Metal Workers Local 19; Sergeant Martin Helms, Akron, Ohio, Local306; Jim Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Larry Thompson, President of Thompson Electric; DeborahBrown, U.S. Army Chaplain; Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio); Nihal Balci, Associate of the Rumi Forum; andRev. Cletus Kiley, President of the Faith and Politics Institute.

w w w. i b e w. o r g T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007 7

DeceasedKenneth R. Edwards

The IBEW regrets toannounce the death ofKenneth R. Edwards.Brother Edwards diedMay 18 at his home inRockville, Md., at theage of 75.

An expert in thearea of apprentice-

ships, employment testing, and technologicalchanges in the electrical and electronicindustries, Edwards was a member of theBrotherhood for over 40 years and served asdirector of what was then the Research andTechnical Services Department at theInternational Office for six years.

Receiving his bachelor’s degree in psy-chology, Edwards was initiated intoAlbuquerque, N.M., Local 611 in 1959. Hewent on to serve his local as recording secre-tary, on the executive board and as chairmanof the apprenticeship committee.

Before joining the IBEW, Edwardsworked as an engineering designer atNorthrup Aircraft, Inc., in California, revisingdrawings of modifications made to missilesand chase aircraft.

Edwards’s passion for developing train-ing and apprenticeship programs began as anadult educator in the Albuquerque publicschools where he taught electronics andindustrial safety.

Appointed an InternationalRepresentative by International PresidentGordon Freeman in 1968, Edwards assisted indeveloping standardized trainings and assess-ments for the electric utility industry. Hewould become director of the TechnicalServices Department before his appointmentin 1994 as director of the newly createdResearch and Technical Services Department.

Edwards’s expertise led him to work as aneducational consultant to the U.S. Departmentof Education, the U.S. Department of Laborand the U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment. Brother Edwards also servedas a guest lecturer at various universitiesand educational centers, including OhioState University, Notre Dame University andthe University of Maryland. He also pub-lished over a dozen papers and articles indifferent journals.

In addition to his service with the IBEW,Edwards also assisted the Polish trade unionSolidarnosc develop its own training andapprenticeship program after the IronCurtain fell.

Brother Edwards leaves behind his wifeof 48 years, Maria; four children; and threegrandchildren.

The IBEW extends its deepest sympathyto Brother Edwards’s family and friends.

DeceasedRichard Willaert

Retired InternationalRepresentative RichardWillaert of the formerInternational OfficeAgreement ApprovalDepartment, died onMay 10 in Davenport,Iowa. A native ofMoline, Ill., Brother

Willaert was initiated into Rock Island, Ill.,Local 145 in 1948 and completed his insidewireman apprenticeship. He was 81 years old.

Willaert served on several Local 145 com-mittees, including health and welfare and pen-sions and apprenticeship and training beforebeing elected assistant business manager in1962. He became business manager in 1967.

“Dick Willaert was always straightfor-ward with the members about their workhabits. That sometimes wasn’t easy back inthe days when the books were full and wecarried 200 travelers,” says Kurt Donnelly,Local 145 president. “He was a very smartand competent business manager.”

A vice president of the Tri City BuildingTrades Council, Willaert attended the AFL-CIO Labor Studies Center and took leader-ship classes at the University of Illinois andthe University of Iowa. He was chairman ofthe Illinois State Construction Conference.

A Navy veteran of the South Pacific inWorld War II, Brother Willaert was appointedInternational Representative in 1977 byInternational President Charles Pillard. Heserved in the Agreement ApprovalDepartment of the International Officebefore retiring in 1991.

After moving to Washington, D.C., Willaertenjoyed and supported the museums of theSmithsonian Institution and the NationalGeographic. He was an avid sports fan and par-ticipant and took pride in his rose gardens.

Brother Willaert is survived by three chil-dren, Mary Kay Hasson, Mich.; Kathy Nicholsonand Richard Willaert and several grandchildrenand great-grandchildren. His wife, Bette Jane,preceded him in death in 1997.

The officers and members of the IBEWextend our deepest condolences to BrotherWillaert’s family. z

Transitions

NETCO has been slowly forming over the past 10 years, the first suggestion coming as a rec-ommendation of labour-management representatives in a national labour market study.Delegates to a 2004 symposium co-sponsored by the IBEW and the Canadian contractors’ associa-tion reinforced the need for more information sharing and collaboration of training resources.

“NETCO enriches the industry-funded labour-management training partnerships thatexist in the electrical industry at provincial and local levels by providing national coordina-tion and support,” Flemming said.

Just as they are in the United States, joint apprenticeship committees are the foundation ofapprentice training. But in Canada, training directors often rely on materials and resources fromthe NJATC, whose services are not as available in Canada. NETCO seeks to serve as a nationalclearinghouse for training as well as a forum for labour-management discussions. z

Une nouvelle initiative afin de promouvoir l’uniformisation desnormes nationalesGrâce à une collaboration naissante au niveau le plus élevé de l’industrie canadienne desentrepreneurs en électricité et la FIOE, des normes nationales seront bientôt élaborées pourtous les électriciens et les monteurs de lignes.

Le Conseil national des métiers de l’industrie électrique (CNMIÉ) a donc été créé suite àun partenariat entre la FIOE—Premier District et l’Association canadienne des entrepreneursélectriciens. Son mandat principal est d’unifier et promouvoir des normes nationales sur l’ap-prentissage et la formation, lesquelles varient dans les dix provinces et les trois territoires.

« Nous espérons pouvoir créer un Comité conjoint national sur l’apprentissage qui seraitl’équivalent du NJATC » déclarait le Vice-président du Premier District, Phil Flemming enréférant au National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee aux États-Unis lequelComité élabore les normes sur l’apprentissage et la formation pour les membres de la Fraternitéinternationale des ouvriers en électricité et pour l’Association nationale des entrepreneurs élec-triciens aux É.-U.

Le Secrétaire exécutif de l’Association canadienne des entrepreneurs électriciens, M.Eryl Roberts, qui agit comme Trésorier du CNMIÉ, soulignait que les provinces ont déjà lacertification interprovinciale Sceau rouge pour les électriciens. La tâche du CNMIÉ consis-tera à prévenir que le métier de l’électricité soit fragmenté en plusieurs secteurs. «Plusieurs groupes d’intérêt voudraient s’emparer de certains secteurs du métier et avoirdes normes basées sur les compétences requises pour chaque secteur ce qui leur permet-trait de ne pas avoir à embaucher un électricien qualifié, chose que nous n’accepterons pas.Nous n’apportons notre appui qu’à une classification de compagnon ayant reçu une forma-tion adéquate et qui est globalement étendue » ajouta-t-il.

Soixante à soixante-dix pour cent des électriciens sont actuellement détenteurs de lacertification interprovinciale Sceau rouge. Comme le mentionnait M. Roberts, l’examenpassé en Ontario est reconnu partout au pays; certaines juridictions vont sûrement tenterde contourner les normes nationales à leur avantage et cela nous inquiète beaucoup.

C’est dans une étude nationale du marché de l’emploi parue il y a plus de dix ans que la pre-mière suggestion de créer un CNMIÉ avait été amenée, sur une recommandation d’intervenantssyndicaux-patronaux. Puis en 2004, les délégués assistant à un Symposium commandité par laFIOE et l’Association canadienne des entrepreneurs électriciens ont insisté sur le besoin de plusd’échange d’information et de collaboration pour l’élaboration de ressources d’apprentissage.

Selon M. Flemming, l’apport d’une coordination nationale et d’une assistance offerte parle CNMIÉ, enrichira les partenariats patronaux-syndicaux financés par l’industrie à l’échellelocale et provinciale.

Les comités conjoints sur l’apprentissage tels qu’ils sont aux États-Unis, représentent labase des activités de l’industrie électrique en ce qui a trait à l’apprentissage. Au Canada, lesdirecteurs de l’apprentissage doivent s’appuyer sur les ressources pédagogiques et les possi-bilités de formation offertes par le National Joint Apprenticehip Trades Committee des É.-U., car de tels services ne sont pas encore disponibles. Le CNMIÉ tentera donc de devenir uncentre d’information national sur l’apprentissage et la formation ainsi qu’une tribune pourles discussions patronales-syndicales. z

Au nord du 49e parallèle

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8 T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007

Informational PicketsL.U. 1 (as,c,ees,ei,em,es,et,fm,i,mt,rts,s,se,spa,st&ws), ST. LOUIS, MO—In late March, Local 1launched a massive informational picket campaignto educate St. Louis metro area consumers aboutcurrent business practices of Best Buy Corp. BestBuy recently had begun construction on a newretail location in Wentzville, a suburb of St. Louis.The electrical contractor paid its employees wagesand benefits below area standards. Despite Local 1attempts to resolve this issue, Best Buy has con-tinued to use the original contractor.

To inform the public that Best Buy is payingsubstandard wages and benefits for electriciansin the St. Louis area, on March 24 our local com-menced pickets at all 10 metropolitan area Best

Tip of the HatL.U. 9 (catv,govt,lctt,o&u), CHICAGO, IL—Theannual “Old Timers” party was held April 13.Over 1,000 members turned out to honor recentretirees and to enjoy a corned beef and cabbagedinner. Many old friends were reunited and manyold lineman tales were told.

Please visit the union hall to see a beautifulmural, “A Day in the Life of Local 9,” done by Bro.Gary Pierson. The mural depicts all aspects of theLocal 9 jurisdiction. It is an 8’ x 10’ acrylic on can-vas. A tip of the Local 9 hard hat to Bro. Pierson.

Make sure to attend the upcoming Local 9Night at the Races, the golf outing and our annualpicnic. Information on these events is available atthe Local 9 Web site www.ibew9.org. Many otherresources are also available at the Web site suchas downloadable insurance claim forms and gen-eral information about Local 9 services.

Best of luck to Diane Bronis, who is retiringafter 25 years of service in our union office.Thanks for a job well-done, Diane, and enjoy allyour travels around the world!

John Conroy, Pres.

Membership On the RiseL.U. 17 (catv,em,lctt,o&u), DETROIT, MI—Theunion wishes IBEW members and their families ahappy Fourth of July holiday. The Local 17 workpicture remains steady. The union has been innegotiations for the line clearance tree trimmingagreement and at this writing a tentative agree-ment has been reached. In addition, membershipis on the rise at Local 17. As of January 2007 wehave obligated 38 new members.

On the political front, Local 17 representa-tives have been busy with legislative matters inLansing. The Michigan Legislature is currentlylooking to change our customer choice legislation(electric deregulation); as it stands now the busi-ness model is not sustainable. We are working withProtect Michigan, a group formed by local unions

Buy stores. From open to close, every Saturdayand Sunday, 100 Local 1 members picketed out-side every area store.

Wages that are put back into the economybenefit everyone. We continue to hope Best Buywill understand that by using Local 1 members,they will get the “best buy” in town.

We mourn the deaths of: Herbert Story,William Wobbe, Frank Southard, Ronald Moon,Lester Schisler, Richard Flotron, George Ashwell,James Buffington, Mabel Seda, Glennon Schulte,Gerald Lux, Melvin Sutton, Paul Sculin, WilliamHandley, John Bruce Jr., Richard Fitzgerald andDonald Einsporn.

Matt Gober, P.S

during the 1990s as an attempt to influence legis-lation to re-regulate Michigan’s electric utilities.

With sadness we report the deaths of: Bros.Lester Anderson, Raymond Bitner, William C.Catalfio, Barton R. Clinard, Gerald L. Fane,Brandon P. Faulkner, Joseph M. Fowler, PatrickGallow, William F. Harriman, Philip Jensen, JohnLambert, Joseph LaFriniere, Leo J. Lapointe,Ronald Lehl, Fred C. Maurer, Leo Parker, WarrenPenney, Jerome Purves, Russell Schuyler, JeffreyH. Smith, Jesse Eugene Suiter, James R. Varneyand Floyd Walker Jr.

James Beaubien, P.S.

Mobilizing for JobsL.U. 21 (catv,govt&t), DOWNERS GROVE, IL—Over 500 telecom workers converged on theIllinois State Capitol in May to gain support forHouse Bill 1500. Members from every corner ofIllinois and northwest Indiana traveled toSpringfield to lobby legislators to pass H.B. 1500,the Cable and Video Competition Law of 2007.

H.B. 1500 would allow telecom companies toget a statewide video franchise agreement ratherthan having to negotiate separately with eachtown. A dozen other states have passed similar leg-islation, and AT&T and other providers respondedby adding hundreds of new jobs. H.B. 1500 createsthe right environment for job growth in the Illinoistelecommunications industry, and will create alevel playing field between unionized employerslike AT&T and the viciously anti-union, low-roadpredatory employers like Comcast.

The IBEW, including Local 21, the IllinoisAFL-CIO and the Chicago Federation of Labor, sup-port passage of this legislation because it will cre-ate good union jobs that support Illinois families.

Negotiations for a second contract areunder way for 100 members working at Comcastin Chicago. Local 21 has two other bargainingunits at Comcast and preparations are under wayto build our union stronger there as well!

Thomas Hopper, P.S.

Local Lines

(as) Alarm and Signal

(ars) Atomic Research Service

(bo) Bridge Operators

(cs) Cable Splicers

(catv) Cable Television

(c) Communications

(cr) Cranemen

(ees) Electrical Equipment Service

(ei) Electrical Inspection

(em) Electrical Manufacturing

(es) Electric Signs

(et) Electronic Technicians

(fm) Fixture Manufacturing

(govt) Government

(i) Inside

(it) Instrument Technicians

(lctt) Line Clearance Tree Trimming

(mt) Maintenance

(mo) Maintenance and Operation

(mow) Manufacturing Office Workers

(mar) Marine

(mps) Motion Picture Studios

(nst) Nuclear Service Technicians

(o) Outside

(p) Powerhouse

(pet) Professional, Engineers and Technicians

(ptc) Professional, Technical and Clerical

(rr) Railroad

(rtb) Radio-Television Broadcasting

(rtm) Radio-Television Manufacturing

(rts) Radio-Television Service

(so) Service Occupations

(s) Shopmen

(se) Sign Erector

(spa) Sound and Public Address

(st) Sound Technicians

(t) Telephone

(u) Utility

(uow) Utility Office Workers

(ws) Warehouse and Supply

Trade Classifications

Local 1 members distribute informational flyers at a Best Buy store in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Mural on displayat the Local 9union hall.

IBEW Local 21stewards andactivists lobbyfor cable andvideo law.

Work safe, give 8 hours’ work for 8 hours’pay and attend your union meetings. This iswhere it all begins.

Dan Pridemore, B.R./P.S.

Tribute for ServiceL.U. 53 (lctt,o,rts&u), KANSAS CITY, MO—Wewish to honor three of our past business man-agers. Two of these gentlemen, Bro. Bill Jamesand Bro. Keith Querry, former IEC member,received service pins at the regular union meet-ing on April 18. Bill James was awarded his 65-year pin and Keith Querry his 50-year pin. Wethank and congratulate these brothers for a jobwell-done. Their contributions to Local 53 aremany and are greatly appreciated.

We also congratulate former Bus. Mgr. JamesLynch, who was appointed IBEW InternationalRepresentative assigned to the Eleventh Districtoffice, effective March 7. We wish him all the bestand thank him for his years of service to Local 53.Bro. Lynch has made countless contributions toLocal 53 and its members. We wish him well in hisnew post.

Local 53 welcomes newly appointed Bus. Mgr.Bob Stuart. Congratulations and best wishes, Bro.Stuart. We also wish to acknowledge new Bus. Rep.Brett Stone. Our future is in good hands.

Congratulations to all retired members whoreceived service pins at the retirees luncheon onMay 3.

Duane Pearce, P.S.

All About Our MembersL.U. 77 (lctt,mt,o,t&u), SEATTLE, WA—Members …it’s all about our members, past, present and future.

Past Members: We pay tribute to departedbrothers and sisters for their service to our local.

Present Members: Our present memberscame through a rough and windy season.Hundreds of thousands of people throughout ourjurisdiction lost power last winter and our mem-bers worked long hours to restore electricity.Thanks to the members for their hard work. Atthis writing we were looking forward to the thirdannual Andrew York Rodeo on June 23 inWenatchee, WA. Local 77 members were sched-uled to compete in this lineman’s rodeo.

Future Members: A huge “way to go” forOrganizer Chris Martin. He has organized severalnew members. To name just a few, these include:the City of Seattle construction and maintenanceequipment operators, M & L Construction, andthe City of Sumas. With the continued support ofall our members, we can move our local towardgrowth with proactive organizing.

Our current work outlook is great and westill need journeyman linemen.

David Wheeler, P.S.

Great Safety RecordL.U. 83 (u), BINGHAMTON, NY—How aboutthose Westover brothers and sisters! The mem-bers at AES Westover have worked over 500,000man-hours without a lost time accident! That’sover four years! In addition to the 500,000 hours,95,545 hours were logged in July and August oflast year—over 95,000 hours in a two-monthtime frame.

On June 28, 2006, the Susquehanna Riverflooded and dumped about 4 million gallons ofwater in New York. At the peek of the restorationefforts, the work force reached 300 people. Theplant came back on line just after Labor Day.Congratulations, Westover. Keep up the safework practices.

Don S. Tuttel, P.S.

‘Boston Shines’L.U. 103 (cs&i), BOSTON, MA—The 25th annualBrotherhood Basketball and Hockey Game washeld on the campus of U. Mass, Boston. The jour-neyman hockey game saw the apprentices win anexciting double-overtime game, 5-4. MVP wasapprentice goalie Bill O’Neil. The journeyman -apprentice basketball game saw the journeymenprevail 103-90. MVP was journeyman JeffHoward. The kids enjoyed their own hockeygame and basketball shoot-outs.

On Sat., April 28, Mayor Tom Menino onceagain spearheaded “Boston Shines,” an annualcitywide community cleanup effort to help keepBoston a beautiful place. A longtime friend of

labor and Local 103, Mayor Menino’s consistentadvocacy on our behalf has made the city ofBoston, where so many of our members live, atrue bedrock for organized labor. Special thanksto our members who participated.

The annual AFL-CIO scholarship awardpresentation was held May 2 at Local 103. Thisyear’s Local 103 scholarship winners are as fol-lows: James Smart (son of Michael and AnnSmart), Daniel Lord (son of Michael and EileenLord), Lauren Eng (daughter of Paul andPatricia Eng), and Kelly Keegan (daughter ofLawrence and Debra Keegan).

Bill Molineaux, P.S.

Tragic Loss of LifeL.U. 125 (lctt,o&u), PORTLAND,OR—On April 30, 2007, Local125 members mourned the tragicloss of Brent Larwick, a 22-yearold 5th step apprentice lineman.Brent received a fatal electricalshock while working for Potelcoin Bremerton, WA. All of us whowork in the electrical industrywere reminded of how vitallyimportant it is to observe safe

work rules on the job.The family, along with Local 125, has estab-

lished the Brent Larwick Memorial Fund, which willbe donated by the family to the Oregon EmanuelBurn Center in Brent’s name. No amount of supportwill bring Brent’s smiling face back to our trade.However, all must be reminded to maintain aware-ness on the job. Performing work properly with theuse of all safe work practices and personal protec-tive equipment may prevent the loss of another lifein the future. Donations can be sent to BrentLarwick Memorial Fund, IBEW Local 125, 17200N.E. Sacramento Street, Portland, OR 97230.

Travis Eri, B.M.

Optimistic for FutureL.U. 145 (em,i,o,rts,spa&u), ROCK ISLAND, IL—Summer will be in full swing at the time of thisreading. Spring was strong with a 190-man outageat our local nuclear plant. We thank all the broth-ers and sisters who helped staff this work. Thework outlook is good for 2007. We have a few proj-ects on the books that have not yet started (dueto delays) but remain optimistic for the future.

Our condolences to those family memberswho have lost loved ones this year.

Congratulations to members who recentlyretired! Thank you for your many years of serviceto our local and this industry.

Our local JATC added on to its existingapprenticeship training facility. The 3,000 squarefoot addition will provide additional trainingopportunities for members.

w w w. i b e w. o r g T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007 9

Honor BestowedL.U. 37 (em,o&u), FREDERICTON, NEWBRUNSWICK, CANADA—Distinguished honorwas bestowed on Bro. William “Bill” Simms ofIBEW Local 37. Int. Pres. Edwin D. Hill and Int.Sec.-Treas. Jon F. Walters, during a visit to thePoint Lepreau nuclear generating plant, pre-sented Bro. Simms with his 30-year service pin.

Bro. Simms is a dedicated IBEW member,having served previously in former IBEW Locals1733 and 2309, which were amalgamated intoLocal 37. Bro. Simms has served as an industrialmechanic in various capacities for many yearsand is currently a member of the Win Team atthe Point Lepreau generating plant.

Pres. Hill and Sec. Treas. Walters enjoyed aplant tour while at the station and met severalbrothers and sisters during working hours. Honorwas once again bestowed on Local 37 by havingPres. Hill and Int. Sec.-Treas. Walters attend theunion meeting of Local 37, held that same after-noon at the Maces Bay Seniors Hall.

Douglas Wallace, P.S.

Dominic Rivara RetiresL.U. 51(catv,lctt,o,rtb,t&u),SPRINGFIELD, IL—Dominic Rivara, busi-ness manager/ financialsecretary, announcedhis retirement effectiveJuly 28, 2007. Bro.Rivara was initiatedinto the local in 1964.He joined the Local 51staff in 1975, where healso served as presi-dent, business repre-sentative and assistant

business manager. Bro. Rivara served as businessmanager since 1995. Local 51 congratulationsDominic on his retirement and wishes him goodhealth and happiness.

Negotiations are continuing for Local 51members employed by AmerenCilco, AmerenIP andthe University of Illinois. Members employed byDynegy Midwest Generation, J. F. Electric (meterreading) and Frontier Communications recentlyratified their respective bargaining agreements.

Our work scene for our power and lineclearance members continues to be good whileteledata work remains slow. Check out the JobsBoard at www.ibew.org for our manpower needs.

Congratulations to the following memberswho completed their apprenticeships andadvanced to journeyman lineman status: AdamClaussen, Chris Crafton, Calvin DeBoer, GerryLee, Matt Parsons and Jason Smith.

Local 37 member William Simms (center) receivesservice pin presented by IBEW Int. Pres. Edwin D.Hill (right) and Int. Sec.-Treas. Jon F. Walters.

Local 51 Bus. Mgr./Fin.Sec. Dominic Rivaraannounced his retirement.

IBEW Local125 mournsapprenticelineman Brent Larwick.

Attending Local 53service award presen-tation, from left: IBEW11TH District Int. Rep.James F. Lynch, retiredIEC member Lyle KeithQuerry, retired Bro. BillJames, and Bus. Mgr.Bobby Steward. Bros.Lynch, Querry andJames are former Local53 business managers.

Local 145membersemployed withAcme SignCompany. Anew three-year contractwith Acmerecently wasratified.

IBEW Local 103 members volunteer for the “Boston Shines” community service event.

Inside contract negotiations have openedagain this year for a wage package. We thank allmembers who worked on that committee.

We look forward to the local union’s regularsummer activities including our golf outing andunion picnic!

Alan Anderson, P.S.

911 Unit SuccessL.U. 193 (i,lctt,o,rts,spa&u), SPRINGFIELD, IL—The 911 Unit of Local 193 won a long-fought battlewith city officials on a new contract. Pay increasesof 30 percent to 65 percent were achieved inorder to retain professional members in thesedemanding jobs. Step raises were initiated to raisethe pay levels to those of county deputies and fire-men. Long-term retention of our 911 personnel isan improvement for our county and its bargainingunit members. Nine new 911 employees begantraining classes in May.

CWLP negotiations start soon, as areas are electing negotiating teams and formulatingproposals.

Inside wiremen held a ratification vote May9 and the inside agreement was ratified. Local 193tree trimmers realized a 4 percent wage increasein a new contract, the highest in the region.

Bob Brandon was named CWLP employee ofthe year. Bob was recognized for his outstandingwork during the “Twin Tornadoes” that devastatedSpringfield in March.

The Inside Branch is starting 12 appren-tices as of this writing.

Please pause to remember George Colvin,Irvin Todd Jr., William Ascher, and MarkMcLaughlin, brothers who passed away recently.

Don Hudson, P.S.

New JourneymenL.U. 231 (i,rtb,spa&u), SIOUX CITY, IA—Congratulations to recent apprenticeship gradu-ates, who have now attained journeymanwireman status: Kyle Davis, Josh Grimsley,Nathan Hall, Aaron Hoelker, David Hoesing,Jeremy McPherson, Tyler Postello, LeathenRichards, Nick Rol, Jeff Schmidt, Matt Sorensen,Jesse Steeg, Kurt Thompson and Jason Ward.

At this writing the inside electricians are innegotiations. Hopefully, by the time you read thisan acceptable contract will have been reached.On the union’s negotiating committee are:Michael Rich, David Schulte, Thomas Zeman andBus. Mgr. James Kavanaugh.

Local 231 wishes Alfred J. Patocka a happyretirement. Al joined the IBEW in 1971 and workedas a journeyman wireman for local contractors aswell as jobs on the road. He retired Feb. 28, 2007.

The local mourns the recent loss of twomembers. Jim Fox, a third-generation unionelectrician, lost a battle to diabetes. Jim was avolunteer for the Metro Zoo and other charities.For six years he taught children with spinal cordinjuries how to sail.

Jack Garrett, lost a long battle with cancer.Jack was from a three-generation IBEW family.He served Local 349 as recording secretary andentertainment committee member. Jack also wasa Little League football coach.

On a happier note, pictured here is Hilder“Hildy” Brand with his Union Man Award formany years of cooking hot dogs for union meet-ings and picnics. Thanks, Hildy.

Let’s not forget our troops overseas. Wehope they come home safe.

Naples/Ft. Myers is growing. Asst. Bus. Mgr.Mike Nagle and his organizers have their hands full.They have organized five companies and 53 CW/CEs.Their memberships have just about doubled.

Remember to support your local union.Attend union meetings. Help out in the local;make it make strong. Work safe!

Frank Auberry, E-Brd./P.S.

Union Contracting CourseL.U. 357 (c,i,mt&se), LAS VEGAS, NV—LasVegas is aggressively working to recapture ahigher percentage of the electrical work in ourarea. One of our strategies is to grow new con-tractors from within our ranks.

Our JATC and our E-Board, with the mem-bership’s approval, sponsored a course promotingunion contracting, in hopes of getting more smallshops to bid some of the smaller jobs that our bigcontractors do not bid. The first class was held inAugust 2005.

On May 4, 2007, the second contractingcourse was held. (See photo, page 11.) The three-day class provides instruction about starting abusiness and becoming a union contractor. ProUnion Consulting Inc. Pres. Matt Kolbinsky andOrganizing Consultant James P. Cole were inspira-tional in their presentation. Also speaking wereBank of Nevada senior Vice Pres. ChrisSchlaffman, attorney James W. Claflin, certifiedaccountant Dennis K. Mesevy, automatic data pro-cessing expert Michael Taff, NECA Chapter Mgr. F.Ross Farr, Local 357 Bus.Mgr./Fin. Sec. David R.Jones, and Business Development Dir. Al D. Davis.

Local 357 thanks the speakers and the 40members who attended. We wish all involvedluck starting their new adventure. Let’s get allour work back.

Timothy W. Bolton, P.S.

Carolina InitiativeLOCAL 379 (i,o&rtb), CHARLOTTE, NC—TheCarolina Initiative is under way. Int. Pres. EdwinD. Hill and staff kicked off the initiative at ourunion hall in March. The IBEW committed acoordinator and lead organizer, who will workwith existing local organizers to get the programstarted. More field organizers will be added. Theinitiative will target the construction industry inthe Carolinas. Existing union contractors andany others coming into our area are expected togo after the work, using tools such as the SmallWorks Agreement. We need to provide these con-tractors with skilled manpower. This is a greatopportunity for the Carolinas to regain unionmarket share!

10 T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007

Local 193 journeyman wireman Neil Hervey tiesdown 5-inch pipe at the new Dallman 4 power sta-tion in Springfield, IL.

Our condolences to the families of retiredBros. Thomas Corrigan and Richard Moses, bothof whom recently passed away. Bro. Corriganjoined the IBEW in 1950 and retired as a jour-neyman wireman in 1988. He passed away Feb.21, 2007, at age 81.

Bro. Moses joined the IBEW in 1951 andretired as a journeyman wireman in 1988. Hepassed away March 7, 2007 at age 80.

Debby Spencer, P.S.

Summer Work ArrivesL.U. 245 (govt,lctt,o,rtb&u), TOLEDO, OH—Summer is here and so is the work. Our outsideconstruction work is good presently. We still havea need for linemen. On the TV scene:Negotiations with WGTE TV 30 are under way.Contract negotiations for City of Rossford fire-fighters and EMTs are ongoing as of press time.

As for the utility sector, the average age ofworkers continues to get younger as new peopleenter the field through FirstEnergy’s work forcereplenishment program. We will enter negotia-tions with FirstEnergy in the fall.

On behalf of Local 245 officers, members andstaff, we thank recently retired Fourth DistrictInt. Vice Pres. Paul J. Witte, as well as retired Int.Reps. Charles Graft and Nicholas Greco, for theirservice to the local over the years. We wish them along and enjoyable retirement.

Work safe and go home the same way youcame to work.

Ray Zychowicz, P.S.

Members Step UpL.U. 269 (i&o), TRENTON, NJ—Members donnedtheir green IBEW 269 shirts and their best “Irishspirits” as they proudly represented our union inthe St. Patrick’s Day parade sponsored by theBucks County, PA, central labor council, AFL-CIO.

Congratulations to Asst. Bus. Mgr. WayneDeAngelo on his nomination as Democratic can-didate for the New Jersey General Assembly fromthe 14th District. The general election is Nov. 6,2007. Bro. DeAngelo’s hard work and abilitieshave long been appreciated by our Local 269members, and as assemblyman he will serve NewJersey’s 14th district well.

In the rank and file, Bro. Bruce Prendergastis running for the Bristol Township School Boardand Bro. Dave Rivella is running for the MorrisvilleCouncil. Good luck to our brothers as they work tomake a positive impact in our communities.

May 8 saw many members roll up theirsleeves to donate blood for the Community BloodCouncil of New Jersey. Each member received afree T-shirt commemorating the day as well asfood, a movie and raffled prizes. Thanks to all forgiving the gift of life for someone in need.

D.B. Proctor, P.S.

Commitment to ExcellenceL.U. 309 (i,lctt,mo,mt,o,rts,spa&u), COLLINSVILLE,IL—Our office remodel is completed and we intendto break ground on our addition to our training cen-ter. Thanks to the membership’s support in fundingthese projects, we continue to be progressive in dis-playing our image in our community as well as ourcommitment to excellence.

The work picture for our inside and outsidebranches continues to improve. We are employ-ing traveling members in both branches. Anethanol plant, a casino project, and some big-boxstore developments brightened our work picture.

For members employed by Ameren Illinoissubsidiaries, the situation remains tenuous. TheIllinois Legislature threatens a rate freeze due tospiraling electricity costs under a deregulatedmarket. Ameren argues that if it can’t pass onthe price it pays to unregulated generators tosupply power, it will bankrupt the distributionand transmission subsidiaries causing mass lay-offs for IBEW members. We strive to influenceour legislators to find a solution that benefits all.The situation is compounded by the fact thatAmeren/IBEW contracts expire July 1, 2007, withmany issues to bargain.

Despite major challenges, Local 309 contin-ues to prosper through the hard work and dedi-cation of our officers and members. We havemuch to be thankful for.

Jim Berger, B.M.

Organizing ProgressL.U. 349(em,i,mps,rtb,spa&u),MIAMI, FL—Our local’sEaster egg partyfor kids was heldat PBA park.Lots of kidscame out andenjoyed the fun.Pres. David

Karcher and hisentertainment

committee did a great job keeping everybody happy.At this writing, contract negotiations were

scheduled to start around May. Here’s hoping fora good outcome for workers.

Local 231 Negotiation Committee, from left: MichaelRich, Thomas Zeman, David Schulte and Bus. Mgr.James Kavanaugh.

IBEW Local 269 membersand their families gatherfor St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Local 349 Bro. Hilder “Hildy”Brand displays award.

Our local recently held its election of offi-cers; at this writing result were not yet available.Newly elected officers begin their terms in July.

The Charlotte JATC graduation ceremony for29 graduates is July 20. This will help with skilledmanpower needs. Congratulations, graduates!

The Carolinas are a great place to live andwork, so if anyone wishes to relocate and join theunion growth taking place please contact Local379 or any of the other Carolina locals. This will bean exciting time for the local and the Carolinas.

Bob Krebs, B.M.

Lifesaving AwardL.U. 387 (em,lctt&u), PHOENIX, AZ—Bus. Mgr.Bob DeSpain and Pres. Sam Hoover presentedthe IBEW Lifesaving Award to Bro. Mike Barrettfor his heroic response in saving the life of a resi-dent in Parker, AZ. Congratulations, Mike, onreceiving this honor.

At this writing, elections were taking placefor Local 387 officers. Ballots were mailed in Mayand the vote count was scheduled for June. Thisarticle went to press before results were available.

Also at press time we were looking forwardto the local picnic scheduled for May 19. All wereinvited. Thanks to the apprentices for their hardwork making picnic preparations.

Sam Hoover, P.S.

Steward Training SessionL.U. 459 (ees,em,so,govt&u), JOHNSTOWN,PA—Local 459 held its annual steward trainingApril 26 in Clearfield, PA. We had a goodresponse from our stewards. Even though wehave stewards from the 28 different companieswe represent, all deal with similar issues.

Bus. Mgr. Don Hoak welcomed the groupand noted a need to improve some of the ways wedeal with the membership. The process by which

w w w. i b e w. o r g T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007 11

we deal with grievances was the major topic ofconcern. There is a lot of good dialog between thestewards and Local 459 leadership. Also empha-sized was how important it is that stewards veryactively welcome new members onto our proper-ties and spend time explaining where and howmembers’ wages and benefits came about. Twoattorneys presented valuable information aboutlabor law and worker compensation.

Bro. Hoak thanked the stewards for alltheir work and noted that Local 459 runs wellbecause we have good stewards throughout thelocal. Special thanks to Bro. Robert Ashbaugh fororganizing the event.

Kenneth L. Richards, Pres.

Lynn Johnson MournedL.U. 499 (u), DES MOINES, IA—On March 25Lynn Johnson, business manager/financial secre-tary, passed away following a short illness. Lynnwas appointed assistant business manager in1982 and became business manager in 1990.

During his funeral so many family, friendsand Local 499 members attended that peoplehad to stand outside. For the drive to the ceme-tery there was a line of cars, line trucks and gastrucks with their strobe lights flashing as far asyou could see. Some of our linemen had placedtwo bucket trucks at the entrance to the ceme-tery with the booms forming an arch and ourIBEW Local 499 banner hung between themwhere the funeral procession passed underneath.Lynn’s family was overwhelmed by the sight.

After the burial a luncheon was held at ourunion hall. Many IBEW members worked non-stop to make the luncheon a huge success. Theyincluded: Sisters Sandy Opstvedt and FranBrownell from Local 55; Bros. Mike Kriegermeierand Mike Johnson from Local 109; Betty Brimm-Hunter, lobbyist for the IBEW State Conference;and Local 499 members JoAnn McKibben, TonyaFlinn, John Dunlap and George Fong. Local 499will deeply miss Bro. Johnson.

Don Krause, B.M.

Service Pin AwardL.U. 547 (rr), GALESBURG, IL—In May theIBEW issued a certificate and service pin for 55-years of membership to Earl Fitch of Osceola, IA.Local 547 is proud to have Bro. Fitch as a mem-ber and we congratulate him on his tremendousaccomplishment.

Earl joined the CB&Q Railroad TelegraphDepartment in 1952. He worked in Illinois, Iowa,Nebraska, Colorado and Missouri covering a ter-ritory from Chicago to Denver and Burlington,IA, to St. Louis, MO. He retired from theBurlington Northern Railroad in 1989 after 37years of service. Earl and his wife of 60 years,Elva, have enjoyed 18 years of retirement. Theyhave four children, nine grandchildren and eightgreat grandchildren.

Paul D. Miller, F.S.

Jobs Break LateL.U. 557 (i,mt,rts&spa), SAGINAW, MI—Michiganweather has been unusual in recent months. Awarm January was followed by some cold weeks.As of late April, a cold spring and the zero-degreedays continued to make heating costs high andjobs break late. In late March calls for a semicon-ductor substrate manufacturer upgrade jobstarted putting hands to work, and in April schoolupgrade jobs were moving forward.

Finally after being part of the MichiganHealth plan for some years, the body decided byballot vote to modify the Saginaw ElectricalWorkers plan, which has been overhead inten-sive, to be a check-off funded plan that will stillinclude jury duty and disability funding and alsoadd a supplemental unemployment fund. Therehas been a nearly decade-long dialogue creatingthis fund and with lack of change in unemploy-ment compensation the need is evident.

Look for another picnic to be scheduledsoon and enjoy the summer.

John E. Clemens, P.S.

Community ServiceL.U. 569 (i,mar,mt,rts&spa), SAN DIEGO, CA—Asst. Bus. Mgr. Johnny Simpson led 150 energeticLocal 569 members in this years’ “Christmas inApril” effort. The members split into severalgroups and worked on nine homes in the SanDiego County area in dire need of our members’electrical expertise. Our members carried outsuch tasks as replacing switches, receptacles,light fixtures and troubleshooting faulty wiring.The families receiving the free services wereextremely thankful for the time our members gaveto ensure their homes were free from electricalfaults and to assure them a safe home. One eld-erly homeowner was tremendously pleased tohave her kitchen counter reconfigured to allowher to access her sink from her wheelchair. Ourmembers will continue to support this worthyeffort to help people in our community. Manythanks to Dynalectric, Southland, Neal, and BakerElectric for the use of their service vehicles.

Nicholas J. Segura Jr., P.S.

Lawrence University ProjectL.U. 577 (em&i), APPLETON, WI—It has beenseveral years since we last were awarded work atLawrence University in Appleton. With someencouragement by a local union general contrac-tor, our IBEW employers were replaced at thisfacility by a nonunion competitor.

Early March saw the release of bid docu-ments to construct a new student center at theuniversity. Two IBEW and two nonunion electri-cal contractors submitted bids for thedesign/build project. After all interviews werecompleted, Excellence Electric, a local unionemployer, was awarded the project. The cus-tomer’s decision was not influenced by a low bidbut based on a fair price, a reputation for highquality installations and completing projects ontime with a skilled IBEW work force.

The Appleton/Oshkosh Joint ApprenticeshipCommittee recently recommended apprenticesfor inside journeyman wiremen status.Congratulations to: Nathan Beck, Craig Bennin,

Local 387 member Mike Barrett (standing,second from left) receives the IBEW LifesavingAward presented by Bus. Mgr. Bob DeSpain (second from right) and Pres. Sam Hoover (right).Mike’s father, Chuck Barrett (left), retired assis-tant business manager extends congratulations.

An IBEW Local 557 display at a HomebuildersShow features a photovoltaic system. From left,Bus. Mgr. Bob Orr and apprentices Rich Mateviaand Jason Combs.

Local 357 members attend a union contracting course.

In tribute to late Local 499 Bus. Mgr. Lynn Johnson,line trucks and gas trucks join the funeral procession.

Local 547 member Earl Fitch (front row, left), nowretired, participated some years ago in a lineman’spole top rescue class. Pictured at a class sessionare, from left, front row, Fitch, Dick Ross, NorbertBentley and Larry Haskins; back row, Dave Shride,Mike Seastedt, Frank Sumner and Jim Rollen.

IBEW Local 569’s “Christmas in April” crew.

Eric Hietpas, Cody Johnson, Jason Johnson,James Kraft, Daniel Raspotnik, Robert School,Michael Schroeder, Joseph Thiel, Ryan Wendtand David Zerbe.

One of the changes to the recently negoti-ated voice-data-video agreement was the inclu-sion of the annual safety training language. AllLocal 577 members are encouraged to attendthese classes. The August newsletter will containthe fall semester courses.

Greg Breaker, B.M.

Apprentice GraduatesL.U. 611 (catv,es,govt,i,lctt,o,spa,t&u), ALBU-QUERQUE, NM—Congratulations to Local 611’snewest journeyman wiremen. We commend thefollowing for successfully completing the insidewireman apprenticeship program in 2007: NickChavez, Curtis Scott, Justin Kunz, Miguel AngelGallegos, Keith Quintana, David Hennessey,Jorge Luis Reyes, Ramsey Triana, Calvin Pedro,Jamie Anderson, Stephanie Amijo, TimothyBeebe, Patrick Cota, Chris Esquibel, RayMontoya and Alexandra Uentillie. Jorge LuisReyes was selected as outstanding apprentice ofthe year. Congratulations to all.

The UNM Children’s Hospital project hasstarted to wind down with only about 20 to 30wiremen left on the job. The job had 1.5 millionhours for crafts people with only one recordablelost-day accident, not bad for a job of that size.Great job, guys.

As of this writing the local is trying to pickup part of the $1 billion tool re-install at Intel.The project is at Intel’s Fab 11x.

Local 611 sends condolences to the familiesof the following members who passed awayrecently: Charles J. Stein, Elmer J. Bone, GlennRigg, James E. Douthit, Fred Gallagher, WalterPilnock, Oscar D. Roberts and Johnnie M. Holmes.

Darrell J. Blair, P.S.

Hershey Plant ClosingL.U. 625 (ees,em,i,mar&mt), HALIFAX, NOVASCOTIA, CANADA—Hershey Company is closingthe Moirs plant in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Morethan 600 employees will lose their jobs by theend of 2007. The workers include six IBEW Local625 members, 42 Teamsters members, and 550Bakery, Confectionery & Tobacco Workers mem-bers. Some of the plant’s production will bemoved to Mexico. Hershey is also closing itsSmith Falls, Ontario, plant (400 workers) and itsOakdale, California, plant (575 workers). Twentypercent of Hershey production in North Americareportedly will move to Mexico. Maybe free tradedeals should be renamed “Job Export Deals.”

Congratulations to Bro. Tim Peitzche forachieving journeyman status. Congratulations toRonald Peitzche, Tim’s dad, on his retirement.Also retiring this May are Bros. Ron Fitzgeraldand Bob Gogan.

I reported in the March-April issue that ournew collective agreement contained an increasein vacation and holiday pay to 12 percent. After agrievance and unsuccessful arbitration, our V +H pay was restored to 8-, 9-, and 10 percent.

Raffle tickets for a 2007 Harley Davidsonare available at the union hall. A total of 625tickets will be sold for $100 each. The draw isAug. 16, 2007; proceeds go toward our 100thanniversary celebration.

Tom Griffiths, Pres.

New Skybus TerminalL.U. 683 (em&i), COLUMBUS, OH—We have hadan opportunity to work on some interesting proj-ects lately. Royal Electric installed a terminal forthe new start-up airline, Skybus, which hasColumbus as its main hub. The project put about40 IBEW 683 members to work over most of thewinter. This was a very unique project in that itwas a fast-track, design-build project.

Approximately 200 Local 683 members withThe Superior Group and Royal Electric installedthe electrical and fire alarm systems on a largedata center called Project Buckeye. Over 132 milesof conduit were installed underground alone.

We had the opportunity to host the IBEWFourth District Progress Meeting in June.

Barry Hughes, V.P./P.S.

Windsor ProjectL.U. 773 (as,em,i,mo&o), WINDSOR, ONTARIO,CANADA—Work remains fairly strong, with proj-ects including the new Daimler Chrysler paint shopand retooling of the body shop. Other projectsinclude Casino Windsor with Mid South Electricand Black and McDonald at the Casino power-house. Windsor is finally getting a new HockeyArena Sports Complex, where the Windsor Spitfireswill play, and the IBEW and Vollmer and Associatesare on the job. We are waiting for an officialannouncement on the Ford Powerhouse Co-Genand the new paint shop at Navistar in Chatham.

The 13 construction locals in the Provinceof Ontario are now working under a new three-year collective agreement, with a wage increaseof $3.80 over three years.

At press time, the local is in the midst ofelection of officers. We thank the current officersfor a job well-done, and have best wishes for theofficers elected to lead Local. 773.

Our night school program JATC had a largegraduating class and these apprentices are noweligible to write for their certificate of qualifica-tion for electrician’s license. Best of luck to all.Journeyman and apprentice training classes areongoing. The local thanks the trainers for alltheir hard work throughout the year.

David Spencer, P.S.

Leadership TransitionL.U. 965 (em,govt&u), MADISON, WI—EffectiveMarch 1, 2007, Local 965 Bus. Mgr./Fin. Sec.Shawn Reents was appointed by Int. Pres. EdwinD. Hill as an International Representative assignedto the Membership Development Department.

The Local 965 Executive Board appointedthen-Asst. Bus. Mgr. Tony Bartels to fill the vacatedbusiness manager’s post for the remainder of theunexpired term. Bro. Reents, in his letter of resig-nation, wrote: “Tony has been aggressively involvedin our labor movement. … As a chief steward ofthe general office, Executive Board member, presi-dent, and assistant business manager since 1999,he has served our sisters and brothers well. …”Tony “knows our contracts, the labor laws” and willlead the local well, Bro. Reents added.

The local thanks to Bro. Reents for his lead-ership through difficult times and wishes himsuccess in his new position.

At this writing, the local had just reached atentative agreement with its largest employer,Alliant Energy—Wisconsin Power & Light. Atpress time, a ratification vote was under way.

Kurt A. Roberts, P.S.

Appointments AnnouncedL.U. 1049 (lctt,o&u), LONG ISLAND, NY—Therehave been several leadership changes at Local1049, due to retirements, as reported in June.Newly appointed Bus. Mgr. Bob Shand started hiscareer as an apprentice lineman for the LongIsland Lighting Company in 1973. He transferredto substation maintenance in 1974 and became aworking foreman. He was appointed to the busi-ness staff in 1990 and in 2004 was appointedassistant business manager.

Bus. Mgr. Shand announced the new busi-ness staff. Newly appointed Asst. Bus. Mgr. JoeHerbert, a 27-year member, served as businessrepresentative for nine years. Pat Guidice andEllen Redmond will continue in their roles asbusiness representative and director of External

Affairs, respectively. Bob Podlaski will continueas an organizer and business representative. Thenewest business representatives are PierceBrennan and Bob Porfert.

Ed Conklin was appointed president; MikeWhalen, vice president; and Ron Bauer,Executive Board member.

After 36 years of dedicated service ExecutiveBoard member Robert Schellhorn retired. A proudVietnam veteran, Bob will continue to be anactive, dedicated member. Bob’s replacement onthe Executive Board is Kevin Quinn.

The new officers and staff bring a tremen-dous mix of experience and talent. We all lookforward to facing future challenges.

Thomas J. Dowling, R.S.

Annual Picnic a SuccessL.U. 1191 (u),WEST PALMBEACH, FL—Ourannual picnic wasagain a successwith plenty of foodand beverages forall. Retiring Bros.Steve Rogers andHarry Thomas, both37-year members,received a goldwatch and pin fromour local. RetireeCoordinator EddieBrowder made thepresentation.

Local 1191 congratulates all members whohave retired this year: Ronnie Hardin (BYO),Mike Trexler (OKO), Steve Rogers (WPD),Ronnie King (WPD) and Alvin Glass (GLO).

“Paint Your Heart Out 2007,” a Palm BeachCounty community service project, was held inApril. Some 44 volunteers assisted a needy familywith work on their yard, prepared their house forpainting and painted the house over two week-ends. Thanks to all the volunteers!

The 2007 storm season is again upon us.Preparations should be complete at home and atwork. Hopefully we will have an uneventful sea-son, but we must be prepared. See you at ournext union meeting. Visit our Web sitewww.ibewlu1191.org.

Harry Thomas, P.S.

New Business ManagerL.U. 1249 (catv,lctt,o,t&u), SYRACUSE, NY—Thelocal welcomes William C. Boire as our new busi-ness manager. Bill has served as local presidentand was an assistant business manager for thepast seven years.

Bro. Boire was appointed to fill the unexpiredterm of Bro. John Bishko, who retired Feb. 28, 2007,after serving 11 years as business manager. Johnhas been an IBEW member for 39 years. Thanksagain, John, for all your hard work and dedicationto make the local successful as it is today.

The Local 1249 work picture is very busy.We have several wind projects starting up, aswell as transmission, distribution, and signal andlighting work.

Qualified personnel looking for work, pleasecontact the union hall. Also, our tree chapter isnearing full employment.

Jay Matthews, P.S.

12 T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007

Local 577 apprentice Dan Raspotnik (second fromleft) is named 2007 Apprentice of the Year. From left,Apprenticeship Instructor Terry Johnson, Raspotnik,JATC Sec. Mike Balthazor of Excellence Electric, andNick LaRoche, Klein Tool representative. Local 1191 Bus.

Mgr./Pres. Rian McMahon(seated, left) applauds asRetiree Coordinator EddieBrowder (white shirt) pres-ents gold watches to retir-ing Bros. Harry Thomas(second from right) andSteve Rogers (right).

Some of the Local 611 inside wireman recent graduates.

IBEW Local 683 members helped newstart-up airline Skybus successfullyget off the ground in Columbus, OH.

Local Mourns LossL.U. 1307 (u), SALISBURY, MD—Local 1307 wasdeeply saddened by the passing on March 9 ofPres. Wanda Adkins. Sister Adkins served on theE-Board from 1976 to November 2006, when shewas elected president. Wanda first began workfor Delmarva Power in 1969 in Salisbury. Herleadership will be missed.

On March 23, Bro. Bruce McCabe was tragi-cally killed in an auto accident. Bruce was a leadlineman for Delmarva Power in MillsboroDistrict. He first began work at Delmarva Powerin 1982 at Indian River power plant. Bruce com-pleted his apprenticeship and became a journey-man lineman in 1988.

Tragedy struck again on March 28 with thedeath of Bro. John Bishop in a motorcycle acci-dent. John started with Choptank Electrical Co-op in 1985 as an apprentice tree trimmer. Hecompleted the apprentice lineman program andadvanced to chief lineman. He was a regionalaccount representative in Denton when heretired on March 2, just 22 days before his death.

These three will be deeply missed. Our con-dolences go out to their families.

E.D. Sparks, F.S.

Key SpanL.U. 1381 (uow), HICKSVILLE, NY—The NYSPublic Service Commission has not, as of thiswriting, made a ruling on the National Gridtakeover of KeySpan. The PSC is continuing itssettlement talks with the proposed new companyand interested parties. Concerns regarding serv-ice reliability, as well as ratepayer savings, arevoiced at these hearings. Our local continues tobe an active party in all meetings. Additionally,National Grid and KeySpan have announced anew seven-year agreement with the Long IslandPower Authority (LIPA) to operate the electric-ity transmission and distribution system on LongIsland. This agreement between NationalGrid/KeySpan and LIPA offers additional securityand stability to the union work force. This agree-ment is also an important step for the approvalof the merger between National Grid andKeySpan, targeted for completion in mid-2007.

On April 11, 2007, Local 1381 held nomina-tions for our upcoming election of officers. Bus.Mgr. Donald J. Daley Jr., along with all incumbentofficers and Executive Board members, acceptednominations. Each position has been entirely unop-posed, a strong sign of support from our members.The local leadership will continue efforts tostrengthen our local. Congratulations to all.

Catherine Malinowski, P.S.

Solidarity in St. LouisL.U. 1439 (u), ST. LOUIS, MO—We held our secondJoint Union Solidarity meeting while negotiationscontinued, as of this writing, with the nine unions onAmeren property. Thomas Paine in 1775 wrote apamphlet, “Common Sense,” to galvanize the 13colonies toward freedom and independence fromtyranny. Paine stated: “Tis not in numbers but inunity that our great strength lies, yet our presentnumbers are sufficient to repel those arrayed againstus.” Solidarity is synonymous with unity. Unity cou-pled with truth can never be overcome and willalways be a sure foundation. As a shop steward, Ispeak to all brothers and sisters, and we must beabove reproach in our life, our shop and our union.

Ken Carroll, P.S.

Appointed to Labor PostL.U. 1505 (em), WALTHAM, MA—Local 1505 Bus.Mgr. George Noel was appointed by Gov. DuvalPatrick as director of the MassachusettsDepartment of Labor. Although we are saddenedby Bus. Mgr. Noel’s departure, his appointment isa tremendous opportunity for our local union, theIBEW and the labor movement in Massachusetts.

“I am pleased that George Noel accepted thiscritical post at a critical time in Massachusetts,”said Gov. Deval Patrick. “George demonstratedsolid leadership as a member of our Labor andWorkforce Development working group. I know hewill … help move Massachusetts forward.”

Massachusetts AFL-CIO Pres. Robert Haynessaid, “George Noel is a great choice. As labordirector, George will bring … a commitment toensuring fairness for employees and employersalike. As a labor leader, he understands theneeds, concerns and fights of working families.”

Bus. Mgr. Noel’s appointment underscores theimportance of IBEW COPE. Elections have conse-quences. When labor candidates win, we have avoice. Gov. Patrick demonstrated his commitmentto working people with his choice of Bus. Mgr. Noel.

Bro. Noel served as Massachusetts AFL-CIOvice president and executive vice president ofthe Merrimack Valley Central Labor Council. Heremains an active dues paying member of ourunion. We wish him well.

Betty LaPointe, P.S.

News from AnchorageL.U. 1547 (c,em,i,o,t&u), ANCHORAGE, AK—Chris Tuck, journeyman wireman, was recentlyelected to a three-year term on the AnchorageSchool Board. Bro. Tuck was elected to the seatvacated by IBEW Local 1547 general counsel JakeMetcalfe, who served two terms on the board.

Unit 103 office secretary Linda Gwytherretired after nine years of service to Local 1547.“Sister Gwyther met every task with humor andenthusiasm—and she will be missed,” said Bus.Mgr. Larry Bell.

Bro. John Alexander recently passed away.Bro. Alexander was business rep from 1976-78.He is a former commissioner for the state ofAlaska Department of Labor.

Local 1547 will host our first AlaskaLineman’s Rodeo in June 2008. This event willshowcase the skills and abilities of the line pro-fession. The theme of the 2008 event is “Hookingup the Northern Lights” and will be held at theTom Cashen Electrical Training Facility. Localsinterested in participating should contact LineRep. Tom Nealeigh at (907) 777-7244.

Melinda Taylor, P.S.

Update on ProjectsL.U. 1701 (catv,ees,i,o&u), OWENSBORO, KY—The Examining Board gave the journeyman wire-man exam recently to fifth-year apprentices.Chmn. Larry Boswell reports all passed.Congratulations to our new journeymen.

Our JATC is very busy this year. We’ve had sev-eral continuing education classes for state licensing,OSHA 10, passport training for the powerhouses,and an instrumentation class. More classes arescheduled. Contact the hall for more details.

Bus. Mgr. Gary Osborne reported at ourApril union meeting that the Cash Creek power-house located in Henderson County securedfunding to start construction and hopes to startmoving dirt in late 2007. We expect the newOwensboro Mercy Health System Hospital tobegin construction by 2008. We have a PLA inplace for Cash Creek and Bro. Osborne is work-ing to secure a PLA for the hospital project.

On the political front, we are pleased thatno legislation was passed to harm organizedlabor in the 2007 Kentucky General Assembly.However, our right-to-work and prevailing wageopponents committed to returning in 2008.

In sadness we report the passing of retiredmembers Louis Hawes, Ron Lynch and JackKing. May they rest in peace.

Tim Blandford, Pres.

Work ProgressingL.U. 1739 (i&o), BARRIE, ONTARIO, CANADA—2007 still promises to be a good year for our local.It certainly will be appreciated by those memberswho spent so long on the out-of-work list.

Our local is pleased to be taking part in thestruggle to produce alternative fuels. W.S. Nichollshas employed our members to work on construc-tion of an ethanol producing plant in Collingwood.

Work is progressing on the Orillia SoldiersMemorial Hospital. Patience is a necessity in thepainstaking efforts to modernize the existingsections of the hospital without disrupting thestaff and services still being provided. The dis-covery of asbestos, so popular before its dangerswere known, often slows or stops work in areasuntil its safe removal and disposal. Tracing anddisconnecting circuits when their origins,

records and routing has long been forgotten canbe challenging and time consuming. When mencare and desire to do a good job in reasonabletime for their employer it gets frustrating whenprogress is slow. We are proud of our members asthey persevere in often-trying circumstances.

A special thanks to Bro. Tom “Buzzy”Caldwell for organizing “Pizza Thursdays” com-plete with butter tarts. Thursday is a good day,frustrations or not.

Bill Carson, P.S.

Job Fair AwardL.U. 1749 (u), NEW JOHNSONVILLE, TN—Bus.Mgr./Pres. Jeff Rosentreter accepted an award onbehalf of our local for our support of the recentjob fair held at the union hall. IBEW TenthDistrict, Local 1749 /TVA /CEFA sponsored thisevent to look for some new talent in this area.This is the type of activity we as a union need tosupport for the good of all!

Support your local and come to the meet-ings. Your job depends on it. With all the changesproposed by the Bush-appointed TVA board andall the cost-cutting measures being suggested byboard chairman Tom Kilgore, it’s important thatyou call your senators and congressmen and askthem to vote against the McConnell/Bunting billto privatize TVA. The nine-member TVA boardmet on March 30 and reportedly only two of thenine opposed this bill. You can find the e-mail ormailing address for your congressional represen-tatives on the IBEW Web site www.ibew.org;click on the COPE/Political link.

Register and vote for working familyfriendly candidates

Mark J. DeJuliis, E. Brd./P.S.

Jobs and GrowthL.U. 2323 (t), CRANSTON, RI—Local 2323 cele-brated the second-year anniversary of the FiberSolution Center in Providence. This work centerstarted with 20 members and has increased toover 250 IBEW members. Local 2323 continuesto grow with new jobs. And, with Verizon begin-ning to offer cable TV in Rhode Island in June,prospects for increased membership are high.

Bus. Mgr. William McGowan was reap-pointed by the governor of Rhode Island, andconfirmed by the Rhode Island Senate, to serveon the Human Resource Investment Council andGovernor’s Workforce Board. Millions of dollarsin federal and state job-training programs aredistributed through these boards.

Bus. Mgr. McGowan was also re-elected as

w w w. i b e w. o r g T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007 13

Local 1749 Bus. Mgr./Pres. Jeffrey Rosentreter (sec-ond from left) displays job fair award. From left, Bro.Raul Hernandez, retired fitter from Cumberland CEFA;Rosentreter; Sister Wavine Isaac from MemphisCEFA; and Local 1749 E-Board Chmn. George Potter.

Local 1307 late Pres. Wanda Adkins, shown here at a recent meeting, presents retiring E-Boardmember and former Vice Pres. John Genga a plaque of appreciation.

Local 1739 members enjoya well-deserved “PizzaThursday” lunch break,organized by Bro. Tom“Buzzy” Caldwell (standingleft, wearing cap).

LOCAL LINES continued on page 16

In my travels speaking to IBEW members, employers andothers, I’m encouraged by the many good things that arehappening throughout the Canada and the United States.

We are seeing organizing efforts taking place throughoutthe Brotherhood. Some campaigns are high profile, tellingthe community that we are in there fighting. In other cases,we are cooperating closely with our employers and customersto improve the industries we represent and build a solid basefor the future. There are also many stories of locals negotiatingcontracts and representing workers in ways that improve thelives of our members. The Code of Excellence is part of thecultural change that is transforming this union.

While we are working so hard to improve the quality oflife for working families, others are plotting our demise. Aswe went to press, the U.S. Senate was considering two major

pieces of legislation that could have a serious impact on our future: the Employee FreeChoice Act and immigration reform.

The debate over the Free Choice Act, which would require recognition of a union when amajority of representation cards are signed and mandate arbitration in negotiations for a firstcontract, shows just how little the media and the public know about the cause of labor. Themany editorials repeating right-wing talking points on secret ballot elections betray a totalignorance of the thousands of cases of outrageous union busting that have taken place inrecent decades. We still have a long way to go before America is ready for progressive, realisticlabor reform.

The immigration bill’s guest worker program is a more serious, immediate threat. Itseeks to ensure a steady supply of easily exploitable migrant workers to take construction,service and industrial jobs at substandard wages, benefits and safety standards. While theSenate bill would still have to go to the House of Representatives, we do not want to see theguest worker concept get any kind of momentum or acceptance.

We are living in times that do not allow us the luxury of resting on past accomplishments.We must keep pushing forward.

I n t e r n a t i o n a l B r o t h e r h o o d o f E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r s

HOW TO REACH US

We welcome letters from our readers. The writer should include his or her name, address and, ifapplicable, IBEW local union number and card number. Family members should include the localunion number of the IBEW member to whom The Electrical Worker is mailed. Please keep lettersas brief as possible. The Electrical Worker reserves the right to select letters for publication and editall submissions for length.

Send letters to: Letters to the Editor, The Electrical Worker, 900 Seventh Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001Or send by e-mail to: publications@ibew.org

©2007 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A on Union-made paper.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Electrical Worker, 900 Seventh Street, N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20001. The Electrical Worker will not be held responsible for views expressed by correspondents. Paid advertising is not accepted.

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40011756 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to B&M Mailing Services Limited, 35 VanKirk Drive, Unit 15, Brampton, Ontario L7A1A5.E-mail: bmmail@bellnet.ca

The Electrical Worker was the name of the first official publication ofthe National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in 1893 (the NBEWbecame the IBEW in 1899 with the expansion of the union intoCanada). The name and format of the publication have changed overthe years. This newspaper, along with the IBEW Journal magazine,now published quarterly, now constitute the official publications ofthe IBEW and seek to capture the courage and spirit that motivatedthe founders of the Brotherhood and continue to inspire the union’smembers today. The masthead of this newspaper is an adaptation ofthat of the first edition in 1893.

14 T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007

The squeaky hinge gets the oil…If you don’t getinvolved, don’t complain.” There are dozens of ways toexpress the need for members to not only vote, but to

participate in the political process as the 2008 presidentialelection comes closer.

But saying it doesn’t make it happen. We lead exceedinglybusy lives. More and more members and their spouses are tak-ing second jobs, working overtime or going back to school toget by. Books have been written about how civic involvementis suffering under the pressures of this grinding cycle.

Then there are those who could participate but don’t,saying that there are no candidates worth their time, evensuggesting that our union give up on politics.

Having been disappointed by my share of candidatesover the years, I understand their frustration. But the IBEWwill never surrender to defeatism. That would dishonor thecourage, resolve and hard work of members who have won ordinances, laws and regulationsto protect our jobs and working conditions. To say nothing about thousands of others whohave played a role in actually selecting good candidates to run, or who have served in publicoffices themselves.

So what do we do? In a word, we organize. We create opportunities for all of our mem-bers to participate. We inspire our members who are disillusioned to make a difference. Asmembers and retirees reach out to more co-workers and neighbors, we will maximize theIBEW’s existing strength.

Our program is far from being fully developed. It will only work with your support. Let usknow what you think. Help shape the IBEW’s future and join the fight to make sure that ourdemocracy works not just for the wealthy and powerful, but for the rest of us.

“

F R O M T H E O F F I C E R S

EXECUTIVEOFFICERS

Edwin D. HillInternational President

Jon F. WaltersInternational Secretary-Treasurer

INTERNATIONALEXECUTIVECOUNCIL

ChairmanRobert W. Pierson

First DistrictJoseph P. Calabro

Second DistrictMyles J. Calvey

Third DistrictJohn R. Clarke

Fourth DistrictJackie E. Goodwin

Fifth DistrictStephen Schoemehl

Sixth DistrictGregory A. Lucero

Seventh DistrictPatrick Lavin

Eighth DistrictRick Dowling

INTERNATIONALVICE PRESIDENTS

First DistrictPhilip J. Flemming

Second DistrictFrank J. Carroll

Third DistrictDonald C. Siegel

Fourth DistrictSalvatore J. Chilia

Fifth DistrictJoe S. Davis

Sixth DistrictJoseph F. Lohman

Seventh DistrictJonathan B. Gardner

Eighth DistrictTed C. Jensen

Ninth DistrictMichael S. Mowrey

Tenth DistrictRobert P. Klein

Eleventh DistrictLindell K. Lee

THE ELECTRICALWORKER

EditorEdwin D. Hill

DEPARTMENT STAFF

C. James Spellane

Mark Brueggenjohann

Mike Nugent

Malinda Brent

Len Shindel

Carol Fisher

Alex Hogan

Elizabeth Pultar

Jon F. WaltersInternational Secretary-Treasurer

Grassroots Means Just That

Pushing Forward

Edwin D. HillInternational President

w w w. i b e w. o r g T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007 15

Lettersto the EditorLettersto the Editor

If you have a story to tell about your IBEW experience, please send it topublications@ibew.org.

Who We Are

The rural electric cooperative’s annual reportfeatured a story entitled “Two Lives, Same Line,”to commemorate the friends’ milestone of serviceat the utility which maintains more than 700 milesof power lines near the shores of Lake Superior.

“You read a lot about people retiring in ourindustry and the need for replacements, but Idon’t know how you’ll ever replace the knowl-edge that those two men have,” says ChrisBrelie, CLP’s member services manager.

Dahlstrom and Scoville grew up on farmsfive miles from each other in Grandin, N.D. Aftercompleting eighth grade in a 13-student, one-room schoolhouse, they went to high school inneighboring Hendrum, Minn., graduating in1963. Today, they live with their families, still onlytwo blocks apart.

Tom enrolled in the auto mechanics pro-gram at Wahpeton State School of Science. Dickjoined him at Wahpeton the next year. Dickenlisted in the National Guard. Tom joined himtwo years later. Tom got a job after graduationwith Henning Construction and began learningoutside line construction. The following year Dickwas hired at Henning.

In 1967, Tom answered an ad in the localnewspaper for a lineman at CLP. He was invited toan interview. Since it was a long drive, he askedDick to drive along for company. CLP planned tohire two linemen. There was another interviewscheduled, but the candidate didn’t show up. Dickwas invited to interview and both were hired andbegan working on the same date in 1967.

After a lifetime of living in each other’sshoes, Scoville, 61, expects to keep workingafter Dahlstrom retires. “No problem with that,”he says, “I love my job.” Bobby Kasper, Local31’s business manager is happy to have Scovillearound. “Dick’s a stalwart,” says Kasper. “He’s avery faithful member who attends all meetingsand I’m grateful that he and Tom have set agood tone for their co-workers.” z

What DoYou Think?

Every month we will be asking a different question and inviting reader responses.Please e-mail your response to the following question to publications@ibew.org:

What are you doing to improve safety in your workplace?

These are some of the first responses tolast month’s question:

How would you get your fellow union mem-bers more involved in their local union?For more responses, check www.ibew.org:

I would prove to them that their voice matters! I would “draft” a small percentage of them toanswer everything that I could get away with,when should we do this..., how should we dothat..., etc. We have a rather large local withover 4,000 members so, in our case, I wouldsend out a postcard to 100 of our members,all names drawn out of a hat, asking them thequestion that we needed to answer, and I woulddo whatever the majority of the responses said

we should do and credit them, by name—all100, for their joint decision.

If we were to do that, maybe we wouldend up spending more time working togethertrying to solve our problems instead of com-plaining about how somebody else is doing it.

Bob SoglaLocal 292 member, Minneapolis, Minn.

To get members more involved the union brassshould come out to job sites and see how themen work and ask questions.

Michael BertodattiLocal 589 member, Jamaica, New York

Travel to union meetings in large areas is veryexpensive with respect to the price of fuel andtime. Many members are tired after working hardall day and have already spent $100–$200 aweek (or more) in fuel costs driving to work sites,increasing the financial burden and members’fatigue. I would suggest that union meetings betelevised via the Internet.

All that is needed is the software thatcould be made available upon log-in via down-load thru high speed links.

Let’s demonstrate our knowledge of BOTHthe “electronic element” AND “economic element”of our business by proudly demonstrating it our-selves. Informed people make better decisions.

Paul GiordanoLocal 236 member, Albany, New York

Mark Twain said that familiaritybreeds contempt. That may betrue in some cases, but in thecase of Tom Dahlstrom and

Dick Scoville, their uniquely matchingexperiences have only brought themcloser. The pairstarted out as theonly students in theirgrade at a one-roomschoolhouse in a tinyNorth Dakota townand just completed 40years of service atMinnesota’s IBEW-organized CooperativeLight and Power.

“We were here before half of our co-work-ers were born,” says Scoville, a lineman fore-man and member of Duluth, Minn., Local 31.He says that his bond with Dahlstrom, the com-pany’s operations manager who started out inthe union ranks, only demonstrates the healthyrelationship between the parties, where onecontract was settled in 45 minutes.

Tom Dahlstrom (left), CooperativeLight and Power operations manager,and Dick Scoville, lineman foreman,a member of Duluth, Minn., Local 31,celebrate 40 years of service and lifetime friendship.

Two of a Kind

Good going!I really like your new format and newspaper publication. It was very attractive, had inter-esting articles, and generated a sense of strength with the style, color and placement ofthe logo. I look forward to your next issue. Good job!

Jan DeutchmanSpouse of Local 1999 member, Mankato, Minn.

Follow the MoneyIn reply to Brother Bill Miner’s letter in the May issue of The Electrical Worker asking “if weallow our jobs to go overseas, who will finance our national debt?” It’s already happening:China, a country that imprisons and tortures labor activists, forces abortions and poisonsmany thousands of citizens yearly with largely unchecked industrial pollution already ownsover one TRILLION dollars of our debt. If we allow things to continue, our grandchildrenwill work for Chinese-owned companies and have only memories of what unions and adecent life for workers once were. We all need to work to wake up our government NOW!

Fred J. Geiger Local 234 member, Santa Cruz, Calif.

Politicians and plebesA bill allowing 200,000 or 600,000 undocumented workers to stay in the United States issimply a number to politicians, a number that might as well be their bank statement. Thedecisions he makes (other than voting himself a raise or a three-month vacation) will neveraffect his own life directly, which contradicts the idea of representative democracy. This stan-dard of democracy is almost as ridiculous as believing that 11 million illegal immigrants willsimply leave because the state tells them to.

One might find working class Americans have more in common with immigrantworkers (legal, illegal, undocumented) than our supposed elected officials or the policethat enforce their laws. Immigrants are going to remember whose side American workerswill take, and eventually there will be consequences.

Jonny TsagakisLocal 6 member, San Francisco

16 T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r x July 2007

Experts say there is a lot people can do to minimize the risks of health problems related to summertime activities, so remember these.

Spotlight on Safety

SUNBURN• Limit exposure time and

use sunscreen

INSECT BITES• Use repellents with DEET• Check for ticks and seek

medical attention if necessary

BEE STINGS• Don’t leave food or drinks

outside uncovered• Remove stinger if stung• Watch for allergic reactions

HEAT ILLNESS• Drink plenty of water and

other fluids• Limit time outside if possible

FIREWORKS AND GRILL• Let the professionals handle

the fireworks• Beware of propane leaks• Treat burns quickly and seek

medical attention if necessary

POISON IVY AND POISON OAK• Identify plants and avoid if possible• Remember “leaflets of three,

beware of me”• Wash affected area immediately

with cool water and treat ifnecessary

chairman of the R.I. Board of Examination andLicensing Telecommunication System contrac-tors, technicians and installers.

Pres. Kevin Desmond continues to promoteIBEW COPE. Local 2323’s support of U.S. Sen.Sheldon Whitehouse (D), who co-sponsored theEmployee Free Choice Act, shows the value ofunion members’ political participation.

Vice Pres./Organizer Craig Duffy was unbowedby a tough organizing campaign at Cox, whichresulted in four NLRB charges against Cox. Craigcontinues to vigorously pursue numerous organiz-ing campaigns in Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Craig Duffy, V.P.

Utility WorkshopSYSTEM COUNCIL U-7, JOHNSON CITY, NY—System Council U-7 hosted the Third DistrictUtility Workshop April 18-20 in Corning, NY.

Council delegates included: Local 966 Bus.Mgr./Pres. Brian Beakman, Local 966 Vice Pres.Michael Lutz, Local 249 Bus. Mgr./Pres. MarkValerio, Local 249 Vice Pres. Larry Townley, Local1143 Bus. Mgr./Pres. Scott Fiacco, Local 83 Bus.Mgr./Pres. Dan Addy, and Local 83 Vice Pres. GaryBonker. They were gracious hosts to the manyThird District representatives. Local 83 Pres. DanAddy chaired the meetings in Local 320 Bus.Mgr./Pres. Frank Maher’s absence and many top-ics were covered. Thanks to Douglas Russell,financial advisor, for his attendance and help atthe workshop. Special thanks also to Int. Rep.Mike Flanagan and Local 2199 Bus. Mgr./Pres.William McMahon for their help at the workshopand Utility Labor Council meetings. Best wishes toLocal 29 Bus. Mgr. Tim Moran on his retirement.

Don S. Tuttel, P.S.

System Council U-7 Pres. Danny Addy (right) andSCU-7 Vice Pres. Gary Bonker (second from left)congratulate Local 29 Bro. Tim Moran (second fromright) on his retirement. Joining the retirement cele-bration, at right, is Mrs. Tim Moran.

Local Lines continued from page 13