L.U. 44 (catv,lctt,o,rtb,s&u), BUTTE, MTThis years Montana
Lineman Rodeo featuring linemen, tree trimmer, backhoe and ladies
pole climb events was a huge success. Sixty-six apprentice linemen
and line school participants, along with 22 teams participated.
This years rodeos were dedicated to Bus. Mgr. Stan Dupree, who
passed away Aug. 15, 2002.
The top apprentice was Doug Tu from Flathead Electric, a Local
768 (Kalispell, MT) member, followed by Arnie Sorrell from Mission
Valley, also a Local 768 member. Third, fourth, and fifth place
overall apprentices were Local 44 members Shane Dunn from Hill County
Electric, Trevor Keune of PAR Electric, and David Dixon of Danella.
Matt Moore was the top NorthWestern Energy Apprentice finishing
ninth overall.
The top overall team comprised Leo Oates, Cliff McCarthy, and Cliff
Campbell from Clark Public Utilities, followed by Travis Tennison,
Cody Seilstad, and Tao Iseminger from Pride Construction. The top
NorthWestern Energy team, finishing third overall, comprised Chuck
Dixon, Nick Hegge, and Lawrence Moran. Chuck is currently Local
44s president, Nick is our treasurer, and Lawrence is an Executive
Board member.
L.U. 48 (c,em,i,rtb,rts&st), PORTLAND, ORThe state of Oregon
is still leading the nation in unemployed workers. Washington state
is not far behind. There are no large projects on the horizon at
this time and Book 1 is very full.
Local 48 celebrated their annual picnic at Oaks Amusement Park
again this year. Many Brothers and Sisters brought their families
to enjoy a day in the sun down by the Willamette River.
Local 48, with other trade unions, has been active in staging informational
rallies at the G.P. Paper Plant in Wauna, OR. G.P. Paper was given
major tax breaks by the state of Oregon and the area counties to
upgrade and add a production line at the Wauna site. The company
then brought in out-of-state contractors and workers to abuse its
gift from Oregon. Probably state laws will be rewritten to prevent
this from occurring again after this blatant abuse.
L.U. 68 (i), DENVER, COWe have formed a committee to investigate
the rapidly advancing photovoltaic industry. Sister Mary Broderick
is the driving force behind this committee. Her efforts in research
and work with Laurel Scott of our Apprenticeship Training Center
have paid off.
Local 68 and the Denver Joint Electrical Apprenticeship Training
Center have been accepted as partners in the "Million Solar
Roofs" program for the Denver region, a milestone accomplished
in just three months.
We are in the process of requesting a grant from the U.S. Department
of Energy to purchase photovoltaic training modules for the Apprenticeship
Training Center. This partnership will be a real asset to us in
obtaining the grant. Our goal is to be the number one supplier of
highly skilled, trained and qualified electricians to do this workalways
the IBEW goal.
L.U. 90 (i), NEW HAVEN, CT At this writing construction is very
slow. We have several good-sized projects secured, but we have no
idea when these projects will start, thanks to this economy. The
severe slowdown in work has led to insufficient funds being paid
across the board. The local was forced to move its health and welfare
contribution up to $5.42 an hour along with many other benefit fund
changes in an attempt to find ways to keep our funds strong.
We will open a new apprentice and journeyman training area this
fall. Journeyman classes are ongoing. All inquiries for availability,
time and cost should be addressed to Apprenticeship Director Paul
Costello. We are currently in the process of selecting a very small
apprentice class to fill the needs of these hard times.
A special thanks to all of the IBEW locals that found work for
our unemployed members, with a very special thanks to Local 99 in
Rhode Island and Local 103 in Boston.
Attending Local 102s July union
meeting:
from left, IBEW Third District Int. Rep. Wyatt
R. Earp, Local 102 Bus. Mgr. Lou Baram, New
Jersey Gov. James McGreevey, and Third
District Int. Vice Pres. Donald C. Siegel.
L.U. 102 (c,catv,I,it,o&t), PATERSON, NJNew Jersey
Gov. James McGreevey, IBEW Third District Int. Vice Pres. Donald
C. Siegel, Third District Int. Rep. Wyatt R. Earp, and Passaic County
Sheriff Jerry Speziale were honored guests at our July union meeting.
Gov. McGreevey thanked Bus. Mgr. Lou Baram and the membership for
the hard work done during his campaign and assured us that all our
efforts do not go unnoticed. The governor reconfirmed that he signed
Executive Order #1, which encourages the use of PLAs on all state
funded projects. He also saved the $15 billion NJ School Initiative
and has encouraged a PLA for all school projects.
Vice Pres. Siegel recognized the local for our efforts not only
in New Jersey but also in our Pennsylvania jurisdiction, which is
a less labor friendly environment.
At Local 102s Annual Apprentice Beefsteak Dinner, 30 apprentices
were promoted to "small works" wiremen, 66 to journeyman
wiremen, and 26 graduating to teledata technicians. Congratulations
to Thomas Turanik, William Schwenk, Lucrezia Azzolini, Lawrence
Farrell, Dana Tietz, Ben Rizzoto, Timothy Jones, Mark Terpak, Angelo
Nicosia, Mark Mumford, and Chris Plichta for having the highest
GPA in their individual classes; to James Scott Cullen for having
the highest five year GPA; and to all graduates on achieving their
new classifications. Joe Cucuzza, Charles Kazella, and Robert Muldoon
won Unionism Awards.
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