At
Louisianas Outstanding Apprentices gathering are Coye E. Wigley
of Local 130, New Orleans; Christian Barras of Local 861, Lake
Charles; A.J. Pearson, NJATC Executive Director; Christopher Chance
of Local 1077, Bogalusa; Stuart Azlin of Local 194, Shreveport;
Outstanding Louisiana State Apprentice Trey Burbank of Local 995,
Baton Rouge; Robbie Hodges of Local 446, Monroe; and Todd Stafford,
NJATC Instrumentation Specialist.
L.U. 995 (i,o,rts&spa), BATON ROUGE, LACongratulations to
all of the Outstanding Apprentices who competed in the statewide
competition in May. Special accolades should go out to Thomas
D. "Trey" Burbank, III who won the competition and all
brothers and sisters in Baton Rouge area should be especially
proud of him. Trey will be attending the NJATC National Training
Institute this year where he will be able to take several courses
in new technology and as an outstanding apprentice it will not
cost him anything.
We have graduated our fifth-year class, to become new journeyman
inside wiremen. They received both state and national certifications
upon graduation. They now realize that you cannot put a dollar
amount value on the training they received through the IBEW/NECA
apprenticeship program.
This year however, we missed one individual who was to graduate
this year, but instead was called up to serve our country in Iraq.
Brother Jesus P. "Jesse" Magallon answered his second
call to duty in ten years and he should serve as an example to
all of us about what patriotism is all about. We wish the best
for him and hope he comes home safely to complete his apprenticeship.
Work is slow in the Baton Rouge area at this time and there is
not a place in the country that a person can walk through. This
country is basically shut down, as consumer confidence is nowhere
to be found. The officers and membership of the local union have
chosen to target jobs in the area in order to provide more work
opportunities for our membership. Even taking this extreme action
will not provide enough work for all.
During this idle period, a lot of brothers and sisters are taking
the time to participate in journeyman continuing training, particularly
in instrumentation and voice-data-video. Some of our members now
realize that by learning new skills we strengthen our memberships
ability to perform work in other areas of our industry. These
classes are conducted at night, in conjunction with apprenticeship
and intermediate journeyman classes. If you might be interested
in taking some of these classes, contact Mike Clary at the hall.
Pray for peace and prosperity with a future that includes an
adminstration that is friendlier to the working mans cause. All
of this can happen, but only if we stick together and vote right!
L.U. 1049 (lctt,o&u),
LONG ISLAND, NYAs of this writing, our locals several major
initiatives include the review and updating of our local union
bylaws for presentation to the membership for their approval,
the establishment of health reimbursement accounts for our craft
members and preparations for contract negotiations with our largest
employer, KeySpan Energy Corporation.
It is extremely important for our members to recall the lessons
learned during our last negotiations with KeySpan, particularly
the need to remain united in our attempts to gain improvements
during bargaining. It was through the solidarity of all
Local 1049 members that Bus. Mgr. Ranghelli and the bargaining
committee were able to secure a contract that was overwhelmingly
ratified by our members. In these difficult economic times we
must remain strong and committed in our efforts not to allow employers
to erode what we have achieved over the years.
Many times members ask, "What can I do to make Local 1049
stronger?" Remember, the first letter in Union is "U".
You can join one of our many committees, get involved in the political
process or one of our many community-based volunteer efforts.
You can talk to a non-union worker about the benefits of being
a union member or wear a Local 1049 hat or T-shirt to display
your union pride.
Before and during the negotiations there are bound to be a lot
of rumors floating around. You can attend the monthly meeting
to get the correct information firsthand. Stand tall, be a proud
member and together we will succeed!
L.U. 1141 (i,rts&spa), OKLAHOMA CITY, OKOn May 8, 2003,
a devastating tornado hit the Oklahoma City General Motors Assembly
Plant. Most believed the damage was so severe that it would take
many months to rebuildbut the strength of union labor and union
contractors in our area proved to be greater than they imagined!
Within hours of the tornado, teams were assembled to begin reconstruction300
tons of structural steel, 18,000 feet of heavy electrical cable,
500,000 square feet of siding, 500,000 square feet of roofing
and 8,000 tons of water cooling capacity was rebuilt in just 7
weeks. The plant was back up and running as of June 30, 2003.
IBEW Local Union 1141 was just one of the union forces involved
in the effort. We are proud that we could provide a trained, job-ready,
excellent workforce to assist in this rebuilding effort.
General Motors was so pleased that they took out a full-page
color advertisement thanking the Western Oklahoma Building &
Trade Unions in The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Automotive
News and The Daily Oklahoman.
Local
1245s outside construction business representatives Roy Dunkin
(right) and Dave Crawford.
L.U. 1245 (catv,em,govt,lctt,o,pet,
t&u),WALNUT CREEK, CALocal 1245 has recently hired two business
representatives for outside construction: David Crawford and Roy
Dunkin.
Bro. Crawfords base of operations is the locals new headquarters
in Vacaville. Crawford replaces former Bus. Rep. Vern Brown. Bro.
Dunkin was brought on staff to help the local serve members in
the San Diego area. Both new reps have experience working in outside
construction as well as working for general construction at Pacific
Gas & Electric Co.
In other news, the local on July 1 moved into its new headquarters
at 30 Orange Tree Circle in Vacaville. The office is easily accessible
from I-80. If traveling east bound, take the I-505/Orange Drive
exit, and exit on Orange Drive. Turn left at the light, turn right
at Orange Tree Circle. If traveling westbound, take the Leisuretown
Exit. Go left and up over the freeway. Turn right on Orange Drive,
turn left on Orange Tree Circle.
The new mailing address is P.O. Box 2547, Vacaville, CA 95696.
The main phone number is (707) 452-2700. The direct line for the
outside construction dispatcher for the northern area is (707)
452-2722. Outside construction dispatch in the southern area remains
909-784-7507.
L U 1307 (u), Salisbury, MDLocal 1307 bids farewell to three
retiring members, Earle Norman, Linwood (Sonny) Stafford and Edwin
(Robbie) Yates.
Bro. Norman started work with Delmarva Power, now known as Conectiv,
in 1981 and became an assistant plant equipment operator in 1981
and advanced to plant equipment operator in 1982. Bro. Norman
was awarded a control room operator position on Jan. 9, 1989.
When NRG Energy purchased the power plant, he continued in the
position of control room operator and remained in that position
until his retirement took effect on June 1, 2003.
Bro. Stafford was hired in the Grasonville District in 1969 and
advanced through the apprenticeship program to become a journeyman
lineman in the Millington District. Sonny was awarded a lead lineman
position on Nov. 29, 1976, and moved to Chestertown District as
a lead lineman on Sept. 14, 1981. On Sept. 8, 1986, he accepted
a trouble serviceman job in Chestertown and was transferred to
Centreville with the closing of the Chestertown Office. Sonny
remained in this position until his retirement from Conectiv Power
Delivery on Aug. 1, 2003.
Bro. Yates began as a laborer in the Salisbury Storeroom on June
2, 1983, and advanced to stock handler on Feb. 22, 1984. Robbie
transferred to Fleet Services as a laborer on Apr. 1, 1985, and
then was awarded a stockkeeper position on Nov 25, 1985. On Jan.
16, 1996, he was the successful bidder on a meter reader job and
then returned to stockkeeper on Oct. 23, 1997, and remained in
that position until his retirement from Conectiv Power Delivery
on Aug. 1, 2003.
Related Articles
At
Louisianas Outstanding Apprentices gathering are Coye E. Wigley
of Local 130, New Orleans; Christian Barras of Local 861, Lake
Charles; A.J. Pearson, NJATC Executive Director; Christopher Chance
of Local 1077, Bogalusa; Stuart Azlin of Local 194, Shreveport;
Outstanding Louisiana State Apprentice Trey Burbank of Local 995,
Baton Rouge; Robbie Hodges of Local 446, Monroe; and Todd Stafford,
NJATC Instrumentation Specialist.
Local
1245s outside construction business representatives Roy Dunkin
(right) and Dave Crawford.
