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March 2004 IBEW Journal
L.U. 557 (i,mt,rts&spa), SAGINAW, MIOur Organizer Dale Wehner recently had surgery on his cervical spine. Prior to surgery, he helped kick off an advertising planwhich, as of this writing, was expected to appear in the media in February, due to monies donated by Briggs & Stratton and Cutler Hammer home products. Contractors tell us work is scant, and the bid lists show that we are not the only area affected; companies bidding for work are from all over. The late fall annual crunch to get work done created some short-term employment, but that didnt affect many hands. The out-of-work list didnt change much, and 60 percent of local members are unemployed. Safe 2 Work safety classes required on some local factory jobs continue. The online aspect of that testing allows for individual training at ones personal convenience. The OSHA class in November was well attended. The state instructors enjoyed having older members with years of experience in the class, those who have encountered many of the hazards covered by the training. Thanks to Democratic friends, we still have access to that programconcern with job safety benefits workers. John E. Clemens, P.S. L.U. 577 (em&i), APPLETON, WIAs 2004 begins, the length of our out-of-work list remains unchanged. Thanks to Local 388 for employing some of our members in January on the paper machine rebuild in Wisconsin Rapids. Because the employer required an OSHA 10 certificate to work on this project, Local 577 members were prepared in advance for the work. The safety-training program these two locals embarked on in 2002 has paid off for those who complied with language in the inside agreement. In early January, M.J. Electric had four members at the Fox Energies project working on temporary power. Calpine and the Northeast Wisconsin Building Trades have met to discuss terms of a project labor agreement. There still is no resolution on an agreement for this project. This customer would be best served to hire union contractors to complete the powerhouse on time and on budget with highly skilled union craftsmen. Wisconsin voters will have indicated their preference for our next president by the time the March Journal is published. Local 577 is forwarding your voluntary contributions to the IBEW Political Education Department to help elect pro-worker candidates. If you havent yet authorized this deduction from your weekly paycheck, please reflect on the recent history of unemployment with the Bushites in control. Are a couple of dollars a week too much to pay to elect representatives who keep working families a first priority? Greg Breaker, P.S.
L.U. 595 (c,govt,i,o&st), DUBLIN, CAOn an icy morning in Hayward, CA, IBEW 595 members posed with their banner to show their work on the largest photovoltaic system in the California State University system. Local 595 members John Small, Matt Murchison, Herman Tovar and Wes Andrews have been working on a 1.05-megawatt system, where the rooftop arrays cover 75,600 square feet on four of the largest buildings at Cal State University, Hayward. The system will deliver 30 percent of the campus peak electricity demands, enough to power more than 1,000 homes annually. The work has been challenging, noted Red Top Electric foreman Wes Andrews. One of the roofs is circular, and we had many 15 degree bends to get the job looking right. Many runs of conduit, combiner boxes, inverters and isolation transformerswith final connections to the utility companydemanded the best skills of Local 595s finest. Congratulations to all involved on a great job! Marta Shultz, P.S.
L.U. 611 (catv,es,i,lctt,o,spa&u), ALBUQUERQUE, NMAs of this writing, we have more than 300 members on Book 1 and about the same number on Book II. Work in our jurisdiction has been slow for some time. In December we had both our annual childrens Christmas party and IBEW party. Both were a huge success. Thanks to all of you who attended. I would like to remind our members that 2004 is an election year. If you are not registered to vote, please do so by calling the hall and someone there will get you registered. Local 611 extends sincere condolences to the friends and families of the following brothers who passed away recently: Eugene Trujillo, Robert B. Bridges and Ted M. Lopez. Dont forget to attend your union meetings and support COPE. Darrell J. Blair, P.S.
L.U. 617 (c,i,o&st), SAN MATEO, CAPictured in the accompanying photo is the first graduating class of Local 617s VDV (voice-data-video) apprenticeship program. The VDV graduation marks an important milestone for Local 617 and highlights our locals commitment to the industry, to education and to organizing. Historically these members would have attended classes and received training in other neighboring locals while retaining their membership with Local 617. We salute the graduates: Mario Barrera, Christopher Brust, John Caldwell, Brian P. Clark, Adolfo Galeano, David Gelman, Hugo Hernandez, Brian J. Smith, Gene Uriza, Joseph Mendiola, Patrick Gallagher and Gary Javier. These members are now lifetime assets to our workforce and a reflection of the joint commitment by the IBEW and NECA to provide quality state-of-the art training. Hats off to Training Dir. Kathleen Barber and instructors Amanuel Yikunoamlak and Patrick Cahill. Pierre St-Cyr, P.S. |
