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IST Lee Announces Retirement

Chilia Appointed as IST, Cooper and Walter fill IVP and IEC Vacancies

April 1, 2011

International Secretary-Treasurer Lee, left, will step down in May. Fourth District Vice President Sam Chilia will take his place.

Secretary-Treasurer Lindell K. Lee retires May 1, 2011, bringing a more than 40-year IBEW career to a close.

Says International President Edwin D. Hill:

Brother Lee took the helm of Secretary-Treasurer in the midst of very tough times. But his steady hand and clear thinking helped the Brotherhood navigate the rough waters of the economy, and we were very fortunate to have him on board. I wish him and his family all the best.

A Missouri native, Lee was initiated into Kansas City, Mo., Local 124 in 1969, after four years in the U.S. Navy. A graduate of the University of Missouri, he was first elected to Local 124’s executive board in 1981.

Serving as Business Manager for nearly a decade, he was appointed Eleventh District Vice President in 2005. Understanding that the top priority of any union leader must be to organize, he spearheaded an aggressive organizing strategy that led to some big wins, including a victory at Milbank Manufacturing which organized more than 150 production workers in his home state.

Appointed Secretary-Treasurer in 2008 – in the midst of the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression – Lee kept the IBEW’s retirement and health benefits strong, even in the worst of financial times.

As trustee of the National Electrical Benefit Fund, he followed a path of prudent financial investment to secure the retirement funds of tens of thousands of IBEW members – investments which went straight back into projects that created good, union jobs.

He also helped to expand saving options for members by working to get the IBEW 401(k) plan off the ground. Coming to Washington in the midst of the health-care debate, Lee played his part by working to expand the IBEW/NECA Family Medical Care Plan to every member of the Brotherhood.

Says Lee:

The IBEW has been my life’s commitment from the moment I first strapped on the tools, and it has been no greater opportunity for me than to serve the membership of this union – from the union hall to the International Office. I’ve been blessed to work with great leaders like President Hill and all our International Officers, and I know that Fourth District Vice President Sam Chilia has what it takes to carry on the great traditions of my predecessors in this office.

Salvatore (Sam) Chilia has been appointed International Secretary-Treasurer to replace Lee.

A former business manager of Cleveland, Ohio, Local 38 and Third District IEC member, Chilia has served as Fourth District International Vice President since replacing Paul Witte in 2007.

Says Hill:

No IBEW member is better prepared to protect our union membership’s benefit funds and our Brotherhood’s legacy than Sam Chilia.From staunchly representing his local union to his service on the IEC and as Vice President, Sam has always put the union membership first.In these challenging days for our organization, experience and selfless commitment are absolutely essential. Brother Sam Chilia has both in great measure.

Initiated into Local 38 in 1967, Chilia graduated from his inside wireman apprenticeship in 1971, working for various electrical contractors until 1989. He was elected to his local’s examining board in 1977 and its executive board in 1980.

After serving as chairman of all of his local’s pension and benefit funds, Chilia was elected business manager in 1997. In 2001, he was elected to serve on the International Executive Council.

Brother Chilia instituted his local union’s 401(k) plan and full retirement at age 55. He is a leader in negotiating project labor agreements, including those covering construction of the Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians stadiums and the Cleveland Clinic.

Chilia’s civic and labor activism earned him a place in Leadership Cleveland’s Class of 2001, which brings together recognized leaders from the private, nonprofit and government sectors for seminars on the challenges and dilemmas facing the region.

A vice president of the Cleveland AFL-CIO,Brother Chilia has also served as treasurer and board member of the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades.

The officers and members of the IBEW wish Brother Chilia great success in his new position.

Fourth District International Representative Kenny Cooper will replace Chilia as Vice President on May 1. A member of Mansfield, Ohio, Local 688, Cooper was business manager of that local for nine years before heading west to serve as assistant business manager of Las Vegas Local 396 for five years. In 2006, he returned to the Fourth District, where he has been servicing utility, telecommunications, railroad, manufacturing and maintenance locals from West Virginia to the Eastern Shore since 2006.

Cooper said he plans to continue to implement some of the innovative programs that Chilia put into place. Said Cooper:

In Local 688 as an apprentice wireman, I was always told that I was charged with one thing – leaving the IBEW better than when I found it. I take that to heart.

Michael Walter, business manager of St. Louis Local 1439,has been appointed Fifth District IEC member, replacing Steven Schoemehl, who has resigned.

Initiated into Local 1439 in 1979, Walter served as a shop steward for 14 years and a business representative, as well as serving for nine years on the local’s executive board. Walter was appointed business manager in 2007 and elected to the position in 2008.

Walter has negotiated more than 24 contracts with nine municipal and 15 investor-owned utilities. He is chairman of the Missouri Utility Workers Conference and will soon serve as president.

A member of the Missouri Energy Workforce Consortium, Walter has served as vice president of the South St. Louis County Labor Political Organization. He is currently chairman of the St. Louis County Board of Zoning Adjustments.

Says Walter:

Early in my career, I realized the value of the IBEW and made a decision to be active. I am grateful to be appointed to the IEC under the present leadership of our International Office. I feel my work with the IBEW is nowhere near complete. I am 54 years of age and feel that I have much more to learn, accomplish and teach to others in my work with the IBEW.