The Electrical Worker November 2009

W W W . I B E W . O R G

It’s a frigid January night in upstateNew York. The temperature is a biting23 degrees, and it feels even colder,thanks to a ferocious wind whipping

across a massive snow bank—the rem-nants of a fierce winter storm that knockedout power to thousands of homes.

On a street lit only by the flashingorange lights of utility trucks, Bob Elliott, hiswhite hair covered by a hardhat, emergeswearing a thick jacket emblazoned with thelogo of Central HudsonGas and Electric.After almost 40 winters on the job, Elliott isgetting ready to once again scale the slick,icy rungs of a three-story power pole. Hismission, in the wake of another wickedNortheast storm, is to get the electricity flow-ing to customers stuck in the dark and cold.

“It’s a rewarding job,” Elliott, 63, saidin an interview recounting his four decadesof work as an IBEW journeyman. “After abig storm, you can see how you’ve helped.I think I’ll miss that the most.”

Elliott, a working foreman and mem-ber of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Local 320, madehis final winter climb last year. He is retirednow and plans to move to Colorado tospend time with his son and three grand-children. “It’s been a great job, and soon it’llbe a whole new life,” he said.

And Bob Elliott is far from alone. The util-ity industry is facing amassive wave of retire-ments over the next five years—more than at

any other time in its 127-year history. At least athird of the nation’s elec-trical utility workers—atotal of about 160,000employees—are eligibleto leave their jobs by2013. That aging workforce could leave the

power industry deeply unpre-pared for the future, accordingto a group of energy experts.

“Amajor transformationis coming,” said JimHunter,director of the IBEWUtilityDepartment inWashington.“We need people who can helppickupwhere theseworkersleave off, plus construct andrun new systems of power.”

Hunter is part of apanel—made up of corporateexecutives, economists, laborand political leaders—con-vened by the NationalCommission on Energy Policyto examine the future of elec-trical utility jobs in the U.S.

A report issued inOctober by the Task Force on

America’s Future Energy Jobs said a plan torebuild and modernize the nation’s electricpower infrastructure is in “serious jeopardy”due to a lack of qualified workers in thepipeline. The report asked troubling questionsabout the future of the utility industry, includ-ing: who will fill the tens of thousands of openutility jobs, will the applicants be qualifiedenough to keep the power running, and willthey have the expertise to build an advanced,

I N T H I S I S S U E

F IRST PUBL I SHED IN 1893

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. 3 | No. 11 | November 2009

UTILITY INDUSTRY continued on page 2

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ASHORTAGEOFSKILLEDWORKERS

Will UtilitiesBe Prepared toFaceUncertain Future?

2 | Web-based training boosts skills

3 | CE/CW classifications buoy Md. local

4 | North of 49

5 | Transitions

Circuits

6 | Independent Auditor Report

10 | Local Lines

18 | Editorials

19 | Letters to the Editor

Who We Are

More than a third of U.S.utility workers arescheduled to retire withinthe next five years.

2 T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r | N o v emb e r 2 0 09

Unprepared Utility Industry

Continued from page 1

low-carbon electrical grid that canpower the nation into the future?

The issues facing the industrycome into focus at places like Pepco,the power utility serving Marylandand Washington, D.C.

Forty to 50 percent of the com-pany’s union work force will be eligi-ble to retire in the next few years,said John Holt, president and busi-ness manager of Largo, Md., Local1900. He believes Pepco’s hiring hasnot kept pace.

During testimony before theD.C. PublicService Commission twoyears ago, Holt urged the company to“aggressively hire new workers” tomeet the demand. At the time, thecompanymade about 30 new hires.“They didn’t take it as seriously as Ihoped they would,” Holt said.

During contract negotiations inJune, Pepco agreed to hire aminimumof 120 craftworkers over the next threeyears. Holt said 400workers are eligi-ble to retire during that same time.

Advanced power systems—likenuclear, renewable energy, advanced

coal with carbon capture and smartgrid—will mean a need for evenmoreenergy workers. Asmany as 300,000new jobs could be created by 2030.Many of themwill require special,advanced skills.

The IBEW is helpingmeet thisneedwith its National Utility TrainingTrust—a joint effort between the unionand fourmajor utilities to establishregional training facilities thatwillprepare the next generation of work-ers. (See “Regional TrainingCenters:Solutions to UtilitySkill Shortage,”IBEW Journal, Winter 2008.)

“There’s a huge opportunity forus,” Hunter said. “This is a chanceto improve the country’s economyand the environment while also cre-ating new high-skilled, high-paying

jobs for our members. But certainthings have to happen first.”

The task force said thenation’s educational infrastructureneeds improvement, includingmeasures to deal with low gradua-tion rates, a lack of technical skillsand a shortage of teachers trainedin industry-specific subjects.

The panel wants the govern-ment to create new regional trainingcenters, to keep better trackof theenergy sectorwork force and to cre-ate a series of “best practices” forthe energy industry, outlining stan-dards for future energyworkers. It alsorecommends government-fundededucation and amore intensive focuson science andmath for studentsseeking a career in the energy sector.

The 2009 American Recoveryand Reinvestment Act is already pro-viding an infusion of cash to carryout the recommendations. Of the$45 billion in new energy spending,the act sets aside about $500 mil-lion for job training programs.

If qualified applicants are notavailable to fill the open jobs in theyears to come, both unionworkersand the general public could pay theprice, according to the group’s report.IBEWandother unionmembersmightface stiffer competition fromnon-union contractors hired to fill openslots. The publiccould seemore poweroutages,more downtimeand longerwaits for repairs aftermajor storms.

Back in upstate New York, retir-ing lineman Bob Elliott said, in spiteof the dire predictions, he believes ina bright future for the power industryand has confidence in the generationof power workers to come.

“I see this new group of youngpeople coming in. They’re good attheir jobs and they’re hard workers,”he said. “I feel good leaving thingsin their hands.”

But for the experts, the questionremains: howmany handswill be leftto power America into the future?

Download the full task forcereport atwww.ibew.org. �

W ith hundreds of thousands of potential new jobs coming tothe energy sector over the next two decades, IBEWmembersand other workers have discovered a high-tech way to get

new, specialized training. More and more of them are turning to onlineprograms that let them learn a trade without ever leaving home.

“We are already experiencing a lot of growth,” said Joan Kleven, alead advisor at Bismarck State College in North Dakota, where studentscan choose from six online energy programs.

The college’s National Energy Center ofExcellence offered the nation’s first training pro-gram for power plant workers back in 1976. It hasgrown steadily ever since, with enrollment jump-ing 25 percent from 2007 to 2008.

“This industry is sustainable. It’s not goingaway,” Kleven said. “We’re preparing people tofill jobs at a time when that’s really needed.”

Students earn associate’s degrees or pro-gram certificates in the areas of electrical powertechnology, electrical transmission systems,nuclear power technology, power plant technol-ogy or process plant technology. The associate’sdegree takes about two years to complete.Certification programs can be finished in as littleas seven months.

The college also offers an online bachelor’s degree program inenergy management, designed for current power workers who want topursue supervisory or management positions.

“This kind of training really gives the opportunity to advance theskills we use in our trade,” said David Poklinkoski, business manager ofMadison, Wis., Local 2304, one of several locals whose members havetaken online courses offered by the college.

“It’s a great way for ourmembers to get qualified for other jobs in theutility industry as it transitions over the next decade,” Poklinkoski said.

Complete information about the online energy education program atBismarckState College is available atwww.bismarckstate.edu/energy. �

MembersGoOnline InSearch ofNewSkills

A student at Bismarck State College demonstrates the school’s onlineutility training program.

“Amajor transformation is coming. Weneed people who can help pick up wherethese workers leave off, plus constructand run new systems of power.”– Jim Hunter, director of the IBEW Utility Department in Washington

“We’repreparingpeople tofill jobs at atimewhenthat’s reallyneeded.”– Joan Kleven,Bismarck StateCollege, N.D.

T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r | N o v emb e r 2 0 09 3


As local unions work tokeep members on thejob, rigid journeyman-apprentice ratios are

being altered to strengthen the cus-tomer base of signatory contractors.And new classifications (CE/CW) arebeing more widely applied.

It’s not an easy life for unionleaders who choose this route, saysGary Griffin, business manager ofBaltimore Local 24. When the localunion proposed a new addendum tothe inside wireman collective bar-gaining agreement in 2007, “Manymembers, especially journeymen,were very opposed and skeptical,afraid of losing their jobs to lowerclassified employees,” says Griffin.

Two years later,more than 30projects have been completed, apply-ing provisions of themodified collec-tive bargaining agreement thatapplies to construction projects under200,000 square feet—including officebuildings, funeral homes, hospitals,motels and residential buildings.

The modifications include flexi-ble work schedules, no overtimepaid until 40 hours in the work weekor 10 hours in the day, and a ratio ofone inside wireman to four non-jour-ney-level classifications.

While veteran members wereconcerned that contractors woulduse the addendum to cheapen thewages and benefits on projects thatthey would have been awarded any-

way, the results show otherwise,says Griffin.

As of July 2009, more than 30addendum jobs have been com-pleted in Local 24’s jurisdiction.More than half of the jobs were doneby contractors from other venues.“Having those contractors be able tocome in and do jobs our local signa-tories weren’t pursuing amounts totaking money out of nonunion con-tractors’ pockets,” says Griffin.

Local 24’s CE/CW program isnow over 200-strong, complementing475 apprentices. Despite a sufferingnational economy, Local 24’sman-hours are ahead of 2008 figures.

The addendum and theCE/CWprogram aren’t the sole reason Local24 ismoving in the right direction,says Griffin. There aremany factors,he states. “However, they [addendumandCE/CW program] are definitely apiece of the puzzle, nomatter howbig or small,” he concludes. �

www.ibew.orgFrom breaking news to video stories, ourupdatedWeb site has information notavailable anywhere else. Visit us toconnect with the IBEWon Facebook andto follow International President Edwin D.Hill on Twitter!

IBEW on theHuffington PostPresidentHill hasanewblogchampioninggreen jobsandmore. Read it atwww.huffingtonpost.com.

YouTubeThe IBEWhas its ownchannel on YouTube,devoted exclusively to videos about theunion and its members. Watch online atwww.youtube.com/user/theelectricalworker.

HourPowerPresident Hill talks withthe membership aboutthe importance ofregaining market shareby going after big andsmall jobs alike at

www.IBEWHourPower.com.

ElectricTVAt www.electricTV.net, we give you thehard facts on the New York TimesCompany’s new building and show youhow the NECA-IBEW team did the installwith the future in mind.

IBEWMEDIAWORLD

In addition to your monthly issueof The Electrical Worker, checkout the wealth of IBEW-relatedinformation in cyberspace.

CorrectionDue to a technical error, a line was left off of last month’s story, “San FranciscoContractor Facing 48 Felony Counts for Cheating Immigrants.” The final sen-tence should have read: “Contractors that cheat workers out of wages andcheat on insurance costs undercut good, law-abiding union contractors.”

The story also contained some errors of fact. NBC is based in Oakland,not San Francisco. The civil case against NBC is proceeding, not held inabeyance. NBCworkers met at Local 6’s hall and joined that local, not Local595. Local 595 did not strip electricians from NBC nor help them pass thejourneyman wireman’s test.

Fifty members of Baltimore, Md., Local 24 worked on a project forinvestment firm T. Rowe Price. From left: Russ Main, CW; Rita Aiello, CW;Bob Fifield, journeyman wireman; Bill Bollinger Jr., journeyman wireman;Gary Griffin, business manager; Bert Bollinger, foreman; Mike Nulf,apprentice; George Cerutto, journeyman wireman; Michael Lynch, generalforeman; William Ebberts III, V.P., Enterprise Electric; Jack Beck, owner,Enterprise Electric; Tom Bethke, shop steward.

Baltimore Local GrowsDespite Down EconomyThis is the third article in a series on how locals are expanding market share and creating opportunities for contrac-tors, local unions and members looking for careers in the electrical trade.

The continuing economicdownturn and a politicallyunstable parliament with aprecarious Conservative

governing minority has convincedmany IBEWmembers in Canada thatit’s time to step up grassroots politi-cal organizing efforts.

At the First District progressmeeting in late summer, held inCharlottetown, Prince Edward Island,developing a national political actionprogramwas a top priority.

“We have to make sure theBrotherhood’s voice onmajor leg-islative issues is heard across thecountry—in federal, provincial andmunicipal politics,” said First DistrictVice President Phil Flemming.

While many locals have beenenergetic in building political actioncommittees and encouraging elec-toral activism, many others arelargely disconnected from the politi-cal process and have little communi-cation with their elected officials.

Toronto Local 353 PresidentBarry Stevens, who since lastFebruary has been the politicalaction/media strategy coordinator forthe First District, found this out whenhe did a political survey of businessmanagers at the progressmeeting.

“The resultsmade it clear thatthe FirstDistrict needs to step up itsefforts to educate ourmembers on thewhys of political action,”Stevens said.

It’s a critical time for the labourmovement in Canada. The recessionhas led to historic levels of unem-ployment, threatening the health ofkey social programs, while the fed-eral government remains in thehands of anti-labour Conservatives.

PrimeMinister StephenHarper’s right-wing government cameto power in 2006 promising to trimthe influence of unions and cut backon vital social services, an agendathat has only been checked due to itsminority status.

Currently the Tories hold 143parliamentary seats, with the opposi-tion divided among the Liberals, NewDemocrats and the BlocQuébécois.While surviving recent votes of noconfidence, many question how longHarper can hold onto power, making

union voters a decisive constituencyin the next election.

For many in the IBEW, the firststep is grassroots education. “Toomany of our members still don’tunderstand the importance of politi-cal activity,” said Vancouver, BritishColumbia, Local 213 BusinessManager Rick Dowling.

For Dowling and othermembersin BritishColumbia, staying out of pol-itics isn’t an option. The provincialLiberal government of PremierGordonCampbell has beenworking to under-

mineworkers’ rights since first com-ing to power in 2001. His attacks havebrought IBEW locals from throughoutthe province togetherwith the B.C.Federation of Labour tomobilize work-ing families—writing letters, lobbyingMLAs and blitzing themedia. It’s alevel ofmobilization that leaders inthe First District say needs to be repro-duced around the country.

Stevens wants to set up anonline labour history class for busi-ness managers as a first step. “Weneed to remind them that the things

we have and take for granted—health care, employment insurance,pensions—were fought for by ourforebears in the labour movementand we’re in danger of losing themunless we keep fighting.”

On a federal level, the IBEW’spriorities are preventing Harper fromgaining a majority while supportingcampaigns for employment insur-ance and pension reform.

The First District also hopes toencouragemore provincial activismbyassisting smaller locals in pooling

their energy and resources to forge acommonpolitical program.Themajor-ity of labour law and skilled trades’regulations are decided provincially,andwith threewestern provincesalready in the hands of anti-labourgovernments, the future of the IBEW isdependent on building a strong politi-cal presence in each of the provinces.

“We have to build solidarityamong labour unions as wide as wecan, so we can speak with one voiceon the key issues facing workingCanadians,” Flemming said. �


North of 49° | Au nord du 49° parallèle

Grassroots PoliticalMobilization atTop of Agenda for IBEWCanada

Lamobilisation politique à la base:une priorité pour la FIOE au CanadaL e ralentissement persistant de

l’activité économique ainsique l’instabilité politique et

parlementaire, avecun gouverne-ment conservateurminoritaire, ontconvaincu plusieursmembres de laFIOE à travers le Canada que le tempsétait venu d’intensifier leurs effortsd’organisation politique de la base.

Lors de la Conférence canadi-enne annuelle du Premier Districtqui s’est tenue durant la semainedu 31 août 2009 à Charlottetown,Î.-P.-É., la principale priorité futl’élaboration d’un programmenational d’action politique.

“Nous devons nous assurer quela voix de la Fraternité sera entendueà travers le pays sur les principauxenjeux touchant la législation à tousles niveaux—fédéral, provincial etmunicipal.” déclare Phil Flemming,Vice-président international.

Alors qu’un bon nombre desections locales font preuve dedynamisme en mettant sur pied descomités d’action politique afin d’en-courager le militantisme, plusieursautres S.L. se tiennent largement enretrait du processus politiquen’ayant ainsi aucune communica-tion avec leurs députés.

C’est ce qui ressort du sondagepolitique effectué auprès desgérants d’affaires à la Conférencepar Barry Stevens, Président de laS.L. 353 de Toronto en Ontario. Le

confrère Stevens agit également àtitre de Coordonnateur de l’actionpolitique et de la stratégie média-tique pour le Premier District depuisla fin du mois de février.

“En se basant sur ces résultats,il est clair que le Premier Districtdoit multiplier ses efforts en vue d’é-duquer les membres sur les raisonsmotivant la nécessité de l’actionpolitique.” dit le confrère Stevens.

C’estunepériode crucialepour lemouvementsyndical auCanada.Avecla récession, le tauxde chômageaatteintunniveauhistorique,menaçantla santédenosprogrammessociaux,tantquedesanti-syndicalistes conser-vateursdemeurerontà la têtedugou-vernement fédéral.

Lors de son élection à la tête dugouvernement de la droite en 2006,le Premier ministre Stephen Harperavait promis d’affaiblir l’influencedes syndicats et de réaliser deséconomies dans le secteur des serv-ices sociaux, un programme qui apu être ralenti en raison du statutminoritaire du gouvernement.

Actuellement, lesConservateursdétiennent 143 sièges à laChambredes communes, alors que l’oppositionest forméepar les députés libéraux,néo-démocrates et bloquistes. BienqueStephenHarper ait survécu auxrécents votes de confiance, plusieursse demandent combiende temps ilrestera aupouvoir, d’où l’importance

des électeurs des syndicats dans ladécision du corps électoral, lors desprochaines élections.

L’éducation au niveau localserait une première étape pourplusieurs membres de la FIOE. “Tropde membres ne semblent pas com-prendre l’importance de l’actionpolitique; nos sections localesrestent à l’écart, partisanes del’esprit de clocher.” déclare RickDowling, Gérant d’affaires de laS.L. 213 de Vancouver, en C.-B.

Éviter toute implication poli-tique n’est pas une option pour leconfrère Dowling et d’autresmem-bres enColombie-Britannique.Depuis sa victoire à l’élection provin-ciale en 2001, le premierministrelibéral GordonCampbell ne cesse deminer les droits des travailleurs. Pourrépondre à ces attaques, les sectionslocales de la FIOE de la province sesont regroupées avec la Fédérationdu travail de la C.-B., pourmobiliserles familles ouvrières [Lettres, lobby-isme et pressions auprès desdéputés et campagnesmédiatiques].C’est ce niveau demobilisation queles dirigeants du Premier Districtdésirent reproduire à travers le pays.

Le confrère Stevens veutd’abord présenter un cours en lignepour les gérants d’affaires, sur l’his-toire de la classe ouvrière. “Il fautleur rappeler que les avantages dontnous bénéficions et prenons pour

acquis, notamment les soins desanté, l’assurance-emploi et lespensions ont été obtenus grâce auxefforts de nos ancêtres au sein dumouvement syndical et que nousrisquons de les perdre si nous ces-sons de nous battre.”

Les priorités de la FIOE auniveau fédéral sont d’empêcherHarper d’obtenir une majorité enappuyant les campagnes pour laréforme du régime de l’assurance-emploi et de pension.

Le bureau du Premier Districtdésire également encourager le mili-tantisme provincial en venant enaide aux sections locales de moin-dre envergure en regroupant leursforces et leurs ressources en vued’établir un programme politiquecommun. La plupart des législationsouvrières et des règlements sur lesmétiers spécialisés sont adoptés auniveau provincial - alors considérantque trois provinces de l’Ouest duCanada sont dirigées par des gou-vernements anti-syndicalistes,l’avenir de la FIOE repose sur l’étab-lissement d’une présence politiquesolide dans chacune des provinces.

“Nous devons réussir à dévelop-per la solidarité entre les syndicats,afin qu’ensemble nous puissionsêtre la voix des travailleuses et destravailleurs canadiens sur les princi-paux enjeux qui touchent leur vie.”conclut le V.P.I. Flemming. �



APPOINTEDSherilynWright

InternationalRepresentativeSherilynWrighthas beenappointedExecutiveAssistant to the

International President. She succeedsLizShuler, whowas electedSecretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO inSeptember.

“Now is the best opportunitywe’ve had in a long time to makechange happen for the union move-ment,” said Wright, who, as part ofthe Political and Legislative AffairsDepartment, coordinated a nation-wide grassroots campaign duringthe historic 2008 election campaign.“This is the time when we can makea real difference.”

Born and raised in Denver,Wright faced a tough job marketwhen she graduated in 1983 with abusiness degree from the University

of Colorado at Boulder. A friendencouraged her to apply as a meterreader. She took the job, joining thePublic Service Company of Coloradoand Denver Local 111.

A turning point in Wright’scareer came nearly ten years later,when the company tried to break theunion with a painful round of firings.“When I saw them harassing andintimidating my co-workers, I’d hadenough,” she said. “The union wasthere to stand up for us and eventu-ally won everyone their jobs back.”Following the year-long fight, shebecame the chief shop steward andtreasurer of the local union.

Wright joined the local staff in1999 as a business representative,also serving on the human rightscommittee. In 2000, she took the jobof political coordinator, helping labor-friendly candidates win the ColoradoSenate for the first time in nearly fourdecades. “At first, I was hesitantabout politics, but I quickly realizedthat getting out and talking to people

about issues important to the unionwas really what I loved to do.”

In 2005, International PresidentEdwin D. Hill appointedWright to herposition at the International Office inWashington. She spent two years lob-bying legislators onCapitol Hill beforeoverseeing the IBEW grassroots cam-paign that helped put a labor-friendlyadministration in theWhite House.

“The IBEW’s role in that victorymakes me very proud,” she said.“I’m excited about the opportunitywe have now to make real progressfor working people.”

The officers and members wishSister Wright great success in hernew position. �

Transitions

Illinois Local AnnouncesScholarshipWinners

Rising college tuition rates are put-ting a squeeze on many families’pocketbooks—but for 10 lucky IBEWfamilies, some help is on the way.Downers Grove, Ill., Local 15announced the winners of its firstannual Local 15 scholarship award inSeptember to help students pay fortheir classes and supplies.

Award recipients earned $500toward tuition at any accredited col-lege or technical school.

“It’s not a ton of money, but itcan go a long way to help lessensome of the load students have tocarry,” said Local 15 BusinessManager Dean Apple.

Applicants, whomust be Local15 members or dependents, werejudged on the basis of academicachievement, leadership skills andcommunity involvement, as well as awritten essay in which candidateshad to explain how coming from anIBEW family has affected their lives.

Apple and other members ofthe selection committee said theywere moved by many of theresponses, in which students talkedabout how the wages and benefitsprovided to their family by the uniongave them the opportunity to pursue

a college education.Apple says the committee was

overwhelmed by the response thescholarship program got, with morethan 70 applications submitted.

This is the program’s first yearand Apple says the local is planningto do it again. “The membership is100 percent behind the program,”Apple said. “It’s a little somethingwe can do to help our members andtheir families.” �

Chicago-Area Local Hitsthe Road toHelpVets

Whenmembers of Lisle, Ill., Local 701,wanted to do something to help theircommunity back in 2008, reachingout tomilitary veterans during a timeof war seemed like a logical choice.

“We wanted to show the vetswe’re behind them,” said ExecutiveBoard member Guy Rossi.

Two years later, the local’scharity event “Riders for HomelessVets” has become a huge success.The latest ride, Sept. 13, broughttogether more than 150 motorcy-clists for a 100-mile trip from theunion hall in Warrenville, throughthe Illinois countryside and back. Itraised more than $8,000 for a veter-ans’ shelter.

“A tear rolled down one vet’scheek when we showed up with thecheck last year,” Rossi said. “It feltreally good.”

TheMidwestShelter forHomeless Veterans, inWheaton, Ill.,provides housing and other servicesto help veterans re-enter civilian life. �

Members of Local 701 present a check to the Midwest Shelter for HomelessVeterans in Wheaton, Ill.

Give It Your Best Shot

Have you got an eye for captivating images? Visitwww.ibew.org to enter this year’s competition, in which$500 in prizes will be awarded to the best artists. Likelast year, IBEWmembers will vote on their favorite photos—so break out those cameras and see what develops!

DEADLINE: November 30, 2009

FULL CONTEST RULES AT WWW.IBEW.ORG

Enter the 2009 IBEW Photo Contest Today!

Now—Enter online.Visit www.ibew.org.

Circuits


Report of Independent AuditorsTo the International Executive Council of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers:

We have audited the accompanying consolidated statements of financial position of the InternationalBrotherhood of Electrical Workers and subsidiaries (collectively the “International Union”) as of June 30,2009 and 2008, and the related consolidated statements of activities and of cash flows for the years thenended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the International Union’s management. Ourresponsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States ofAmerica. Those standards require that we plan and perform an audit to obtain reasonable assurance aboutwhether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes consideration ofinternal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in thecircumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the InternationalUnion’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit alsoincludes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financialstatements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by the InternationalUnion’s management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe thatour audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consoli-dated financial position of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and subsidiaries as of June 30,2009 and 2008, and the consolidated changes in their net assets and their consolidated cash flows for theyears then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Washington, DCSeptember 9, 2009

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Financial PositionJUNE 30, 2009 AND 2008

2009 2008

Assets Unappropriated Appropriated Total Total

Cash and cash equivalents $5,668,478 $ – $5,668,478 $2,662,696Receivables

Loans and advances tochartered bodies 2,660,000 – 2,660,000 3,247,325

Per capita tax receivable 10,580,789 – 10,580,789 9,449,294Due from Trust for the

IBEW Pension Benefit Fund 967,983 – 967,983 1,622,681Accrued interest and dividends 765,525 – 765,525 897,130Security sales pending settlement 7,784,129 – 7,784,129 2,959,076Other 1,438,356 – 1,438,356 1,055,864

Total receivables 24,196,782 – 24,196,782 19,231,370Investments—at fair value 178,802,859 153,060,555 331,863,414 388,821,224Unbilled rent receivable 4,678,587 – 4,678,587 3,726,436Cash collateral held for

securities on loan 15,404,074 – 15,404,074 12,863,763Property and equipment—at cost

Land, building and improvements 129,741,480 – 129,741,480 130,020,910Furniture and equipment 44,928,739 – 44,928,739 43,729,023

174,670,219 – 174,670,219 173,749,933Accumulated depreciation (28,637,288) – (28,637,288) (22,677,545)Net property and equipment 146,032,931 – 146,032,931 151,072,388

Other assetsDeferred leasing, organization and

financing costs (net of amortization) 3,561,140 – 3,561,140 4,060,884Prepaid expenses 473,108 – 473,108 493,544Inventory of merchandise and

office supplies, at cost 1,624,084 – 1,624,084 1,496,570Deposits 8,000 – 8,000 8,000Other 375,115 – 375,115 1,008,190Total other assets 6,041,447 – 6,041,447 7,067,188Total assets $380,825,158 $153,060,555 $533,885,713 $585,445,065

Liabilities and Net Assets

LiabilitiesAccrued expenses $5,415,065 $ – $5,415,065 $4,052,728Excess of projected benefit

obligation overpension plan assets 98,840,354 – 98,840,354 27,030,223

Liability for postretirement benefits – 153,060,555 153,060,555 144,885,210Security purchases pending

settlement 15,292,602 – 15,292,602 3,274,852Deferred per capita tax revenue 5,030,114 – 5,030,114 5,422,869Reciprocity Agreement funds

pending settlement 1,749,293 – 1,749,293 –Liability to return cash collateral

held for securities on loan 15,404,074 – 15,404,074 12,863,763Mortgage loan payable 69,575,211 – 69,575,211 71,934,849Other 1,140,689 – 1,140,689 1,031,901

Total liabilities 212,447,402 153,060,555 365,507,957 270,496,395Unrestricted net assets 168,377,756 – 168,377,756 314,948,670

Total liabilities and net assets $380,825,158 $153,060,555 $533,885,713 $585,445,065


Consolidated Statements of ActivitiesYEARS ENDED JUNE 30, 2009 AND 2008

2009 2008

Unappropriated Appropriated Total Total

Operating revenuePer capita tax $93,548,392 $ – $93,548,392 $90,861,889Initiation and reinstatement fees 1,430,482 – 1,430,482 1,669,703Rental income, net 13,531,407 – 13,531,407 12,333,648Sales of supplies 967,450 – 967,450 1,072,131Other income 4,096,925 – 4,096,925 2,689,918

Total operating revenue 113,574,656 – 113,574,656 108,627,289Program services expenses

Field services and programs 82,487,760 10,736,469 93,224,229 86,956,442IBEW Journal and media relations 6,970,485 342,277 7,312,762 6,629,878Industry trade program 11,279,975 1,497,685 12,777,660 11,606,324Per capita tax expense 7,304,718 – 7,304,718 8,165,451Legal defense 2,401,281 – 2,401,281 2,359,848

Total program services 110,444,219 12,576,431 123,020,650 115,717,943Supporting services expenses

Governance and oversight 6,491,802 764,626 7,256,428 6,790,843General administration 7,020,485 1,312,810 8,333,295 8,355,702

Total supporting services 13,512,287 2,077,436 15,589,723 15,146,545Total operating expenses 123,956,506 14,653,867 138,610,373 130,864,488

Change in net assets fromoperations before investmentandother income (10,381,850) (14,653,867) (25,035,717) (22,237,199)

Investment income (loss)Interest and dividends 8,754,575 – 8,754,575 11,391,953Net depreciation in fair value

of investments (52,619,502) – (52,619,502) (30,397,340)Investment expenses (907,612) – (907,612) (1,141,065)Net investment income (loss) (44,772,539) – (44,772,539) (20,146,452)

Other income (expense)Gain (loss) on sale of property

and equipment 27,249 – 27,249 (37,450)Currency translation adjustment (1,123,133) – (1,123,133) 3,444,484

Total other income (expense) (1,095,884) – (1,095,884) 3,407,034Change in net assets before pension-related and postretirement benefitcharges other than net periodicbenefits costs (56,250,273) (14,653,867) (70,904,140) (38,976,617)Defined benefit-related charges

other than net periodicbenefits costs

Pension benefits (76,700,970) – (76,700,970) (51,642,732)Postretirement health

care benefits – 1,034,196 1,034,196 24,896,052Change in net assets (132,951,243) (13,619,671) (146,570,914) (65,723,297)Unrestricted net assets

at beginning of year 314,948,670 – 314,948,670 380,671,967Appropriation for postretirement

benefit costs (13,619,671) 13,619,671 – –Unrestricted net assets

at end of year $168,377,756 $ – $168,377,756 $314,948,670




Consolidated Statements of Cash FlowsYEARS ENDED JUNE 30, 2009 AND 2008

2009 2008

Cash flows from operating activitiesCash flows from

Affiliated chartered bodies $94,422,074 $92,175,735Interest and dividends 8,886,180 11,877,251Rental income 12,579,256 10,819,530Participant contributions collected on behalf of PBF 51,912,499 52,004,402Reimbursement of administrative expenses from PBF 3,150,000 3,150,000Other 5,463,726 2,267,811

Cash provided by operations 176,413,735 172,294,729Cash paid for

Salaries, payroll taxes, and employee benefits (75,479,283) (75,214,460)Service providers, vendors and others (37,609,176) (37,571,417)Participant contributions remitted to PBF (52,032,800) (51,581,854)Per capita tax (7,307,503) (8,158,666)Interest (7,539,660) (4,230,494)

Cash used for operations (179,968,422) (176,756,891)Net cash used for operating activities (3,554,687) (4,462,162)

Cash flows from investing activitiesLoans and advances made to chartered bodies (500,000) -Repayments on loans and advances made to chartered bodies 1,087,325 1,092,408Purchase of property and equipment (2,012,088) (5,033,645)Leasing commissions paid (93,822) (833,497)Purchase of investments (157,116,037) (394,018,281)Proceeds from sale of property and equipment 30,820 79,031Proceeds from sale of investments 171,918,408 401,459,377Cash held in escrow for tenant improvements – 5,045,819Net short-term cash investment transactions (3,271,366) (5,169,085)

Net cash provided by investing activities 10,043,240 2,622,127Cash flows from financing activities

Payments on mortgages and other notes (2,359,638) (2,230,753)Net cash used for financing activities (2,359,638) (2,230,753)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash (1,123,133) 3,444,484Net increase (decrease) in cash 3,005,782 (626,304)Cash and cash equivalents

Beginning of year 2,662,696 3,289,000End of year $5,668,478 $2,662,696

Reconciliation of change in net assets tonet cash used for operating activities

Change in net assets $(146,570,914) $(65,723,297)Noncash charges (credits) included in income

Depreciation and amortization 7,641,540 6,985,801Net depreciation in fair value of investments 52,619,502 30,397,340(Gain) loss on sale of property and equipment (27,249) 37,450Currency translation adjustment 1,123,133 (3,444,484)

Changes in accruals of operating assets and liabilitiesReceivables (727,684) (387,163)Unbilled rent receivable (952,151) (1,514,118)Other assets 525,997 128,037Excess or deficiency of pension plan assets over projected

benefit obligation 71,810,131 44,958,332Accrued expenses 1,362,337 184,284Accrued postretirement benefit cost 8,175,345 (16,670,959)Deferred revenue (392,755) 494,915Reciprocity Agreement funds pending settlement 1,749,293 -Payroll deductions and other liabilities 108,788 91,700

Net cash used for operating activities $(3,554,687) $(4,462,162)


Notes to Consolidated Financial StatementsYEARS ENDED JUNE 30, 2009 AND 2008

Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting PoliciesNature of Operations—The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is an international labor unionestablished to organize all workers for the moral, economic and social advancement of their condition andstatus. The significant portion of the International Union’s revenue comes from per capita taxes of memberspaid by the local unions.

Basis of Presentation—The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the InternationalBrotherhood of Electrical Workers, its wholly-owned subsidiary, Headquarters Holding Company, Inc., and theIBEW Headquarters Building LLC, of which the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers owns 99%.Headquarters Holding Company, Inc. held title to real estate that was sold during 2004. Headquarters HoldingCompany, Inc. had no activity during the years ended June 30, 2009 and 2008. The IBEW HeadquartersBuilding LLCalso holds title to real estate, an office building that was acquired in June 2004, which beginninglate-January 2005 serves as the headquarters for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. All inter-organization accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The International Union main-tains an appropriated fund designation for internal tracking of postretirement benefits.

Method of Accounting—The financial statements have been prepared using the accrual basis of accountingin accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Investments—Generally, investments are carried at fair value.Changes in fair value of investments are recognizedas unrealized gains and losses. For the purpose of recording realized gains or losses the average cost method isused. Purchases and sales are recorded on a trade-date basis. The purchases and sales pending settlement arerecorded as either assets or liabilities in the consolidated statement of financial position. Pending sales representamounts due from brokers while pending purchases represent amounts due to brokers for trades not settled. Allpending transactions at June 30, 2009 and 2008 settled in July 2009 and July 2008, respectively.

Property and Equipment—Building, improvements, furniture and equipment are carried at cost. Majoradditions are capitalized. Replacements, maintenance and repairs which do not improve or extend the livesof the respective assets are expensed currently. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line methodover the estimated useful lives of the related assets, which are as follows:

Building and improvements 10-40 yearsTenant improvements Life of respective leaseFurniture and equipment 2-10 years

Accounts Receivable—Trade accounts receivable are reported net of an allowance for expected losses. Based onmanagement’s evaluation of receivables, the allowance account has a zero balance at June 30, 2009 and 2008.

Inventory—The International Union maintains an inventory of supplies for use and for resale to local unionsand individual members. Inventory is stated at average inventory cost which approximates the selling priceof items held.

Canadian Exchange—The International Union maintains assets and liabilities in Canada as well as theUnited States. It is the intent of the International Union to receive and expend Canadian dollars in Canadaand not, on a regular basis, convert them to U.S. dollars. For financial statement purposes all assets andliabilities are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.

Canadian dollars included in the consolidated statement of financial position are translated at the appropri-ate year-end exchange rates. Canadian dollars included in the consolidated statement of activities are trans-lated at the average exchange rates for the year. Unrealized increases and decreases due to fluctuations inexchange rates are included in “Currency translation adjustment” in the consolidated statement of activities.

Statement of Cash Flows—For purposes of the consolidated statement of cash flows, cash is considered tobe amounts on hand and in demand deposit bank accounts subject to immediate withdrawal.

Estimates—The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generallyaccepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect certainreported amounts and disclosures. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Note 2. Tax StatusThe Internal Revenue Service has advised that the International Union qualifies under Section 501(c)(5) ofthe Internal Revenue Code and is, therefore, not subject to tax under present income tax laws. HeadquartersHolding Company, Inc. and IBEW Headquarters Building, LLC are not taxpaying entities for federal incometax purposes, and thus no income tax expense or deferred tax asset has been reported in the financialstatements. Income of the Companies is taxed to the members in their respective returns.

Note 3. InvestmentsThe following methods and assumptions were used to estimate the fair value of each class of financialinstruments which are listed below. For short-term cash investments, the cost approximates fair valuebecause of the short maturity of the investments. Generally, government and government agency obliga-tions, corporate bonds and notes, stocks, the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, and mutual funds fair val-ues are estimated using quoted market prices. For mortgage loans, the fair value is determined based onthe discounted present value of future cash flows using the current quoted yields of similar securities.

June 30, 2009

Net FairFair Value Value ofof Securities Securities

Cost Fair Value on Loan on Hand

Short-term cash investments $16,270,365 $16,270,365 $ – $16,270,365Government and governmentagency obligations 27,818,177 28,755,174 4,146,111 24,609,063

Corporate bonds and notes 64,874,742 65,570,588 689,787 64,880,801Stocks 158,849,018 137,045,806 10,216,350 126,829,456Mortgage loans 43,504,600 43,504,600 – 43,504,600Mutual funds 491,782 432,655 – 432,655Limited partnership 25,000,000 26,689,732 – 26,689,732AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust 14,069,646 13,594,494 – 13,594,494

$350,878,330 $331,863,414 $15,052,248 $316,811,166


June 30, 2008

Fair Value Net FairValueof Securities of Securities

Cost Fair Value on Loan on Hand

Short-term cash investments $18,302,396 $18,302,396 $ – $18,302,396Government and governmentagency obligations 20,304,421 21,514,511 – 21,514,511

Corporate bonds and notes 83,638,659 82,706,851 103,709 82,603,142Stocks 173,419,631 178,371,628 12,241,404 166,130,224Mortgage loans 44,168,546 44,168,546 – 44,168,546Mutual funds 350,273 358,189 – 358,189Limited partnership 25,000,000 30,799,217 – 30,799,217AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust 3,437,203 12,599,886 – 12,599,886

$378,621,129 $388,821,224 $12,345,113 $376,476,111

During the year ended June 30, 2009, the International Union adopted Statement of Financial AccountingStandards No. 157, Fair Value Measurements. For assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recur-ring basis during the period, this Statement requires quantitative disclosures about fair value measure-ments separately for each major category of assets and liabilities. This standard clarifies the definition offair value for financial reporting, establishes a hierarchal disclosure framework for measuring fair value andrequires additional disclosures about the use of fair value measurements.

The three levels of the fair value hierarchy under FAS 157, and their applicability to the InternationalUnion’s investments, are described below:

Level 1 – Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for iden-tical, unrestricted assets or liabilities.

Level 2 – Quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, or inputs that are observable, either directly or indi-rectly, for substantially the full term through corroboration with observable market data. Level 2 includesinvestments valued at quoted prices adjusted for legal or contractual restrictions specific to the security.

Level 3 – Pricing inputs are unobservable for the asset or liability, that is, inputs that reflect the reportingentity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or lia-bility. Level 3 includes private portfolio investments that are supported by little or no market activity.

The adoption of FAS 157 did not have a material impact on the International Union’s financial statements.

The following is a summary of the inputs used as of June 30, 2009, in valuing investments carried at fair value:

Total Quoted Market SignificantOther SignificantInvestments at Prices for Observable Unobservable

Description June 30, 2009 Assets (Level 1) Inputs (Level 2) Inputs (Level 3)

Short-term cash investments $16,270,365 $ – $16,270,365 $ –Government and governmentagency obligations 28,755,174 5,613,480 21,141,774 1,999,920

Corporate bonds and notes 65,570,588 – 65,570,588 –Stocks 137,045,806 104,881,406 9,433,650 22,730,750Mortgage loans 43,504,600 – 43,504,600 –Mutual funds 432,655 432,655 – –Limited partnership 26,689,732 – – 26,689,732AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust 13,594,494 – – 13,594,494

$331,863,414 $110,927,541 $155,920,977 $65,014,896

AFL-CIOChanges in Level 3 Government Limited Housing Investment

Category bonds Partnerships Stocks Trust Total

Beginning balance –7/1/2008 $2,000,000 $30,799,217 $21,230,750 $12,599,886 $66,629,853

Net gains (losses)(realized/unrealized) (80) (4,109,485) – 362,165 (3,747,400)

Purchases, issuances,settlements – – 1,500,000 632,443 2,132,443

Transfers in/outLevel 3 – – – – –

Ending balance –6/30/2009 $1,999,920 $26,689,732 $22,730,750 $13,594,494 $65,014,896

Net losses (realized and unrealized) reported above are included in net depreciation in fair value of invest-ments on the statement of activities for the year ended June 30, 2009. The amount of the net losses relatedto investments held at June 30, 2009 was $3,747,400.

Note 4. Securities Lending ProgramThe International Union has entered into an agreement with the bank that acts as custodian for theInternational Union’s investments which authorizes the bank to lend securities held in the InternationalUnion’s accounts to third parties.

The International Union receives 70% of the net revenue derived from the securities lending activities, andthe bank receives the remainder of the net revenue. “Interest” reported in the consolidated statements ofactivities includes $125,478 and $109,823 earned by the International Union during the years endedJune 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively, in connection with the securities lending program.

Under this program, the bank must obtain collateral from the borrower in the form of cash, letters of creditissued by an entity other than the borrower, or acceptable securities. Both the collateral and the securitiesloaned are marked-to-market on a daily basis so that all loaned securities are fully collateralized at alltimes. In the event that the loaned securities are not returned by the borrower, the bank will, at its ownexpense, either replace the loaned securities or, if unable to purchase those securities on the open market,credit the International Union’s accounts with cash equal to the fair value of the loaned securities.

The International Union’s securities lending activities are collateralized as described above, and the terms ofthe securities lending agreement with the custodial bank require the bank to comply with government rulesand regulations related to the lending of securities; however, the securities lending program involves bothmarket and credit risk. In this context, market risk refers to the possibility that the borrower of securities will beunable to collateralize the loan upon a sudden material change in the fair value of the loaned securities or thecollateral, or that the bank’s investment of cash collateral received from the borrowers of the InternationalUnion’s securities may be subject to unfavorable market fluctuations. Credit risk refers to the possibility thatcounterparties involved in the securities lending program may fail to perform in accordance with the terms oftheir contracts. To date, the International Union has experienced no realized losses in connection with thesecurities lending program. At June 30, 2009 and 2008, the fair value of the collateral held was as follows:

2009 2008

Cash $15,404,074 $12,863,763Securities – 20,901Total $15,404,074 $12,884,664

The fair value of securities loaned was $15,052,248 and $12,345,113, respectively. In accordance withStatement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 140 the value of the cash collateral held and a correspon-ding liability to return the collateral have been reported in the accompanying statements of financial position.

Note 5. Pension PlansThe International Union maintains two defined benefit pension plans to cover all of its employees. There areno employee contributions and all employer contributions to the plans are based on actuarial costs as cal-culated by the actuary. The actuarial valuations are based on the projected benefit method with aggregatelevel normal cost and frozen initial liability.

The annual measurement date is June 30. The net periodic pension cost for the plans for the years endedJune 30, 2009 and 2008 is summarized as follows:

2009 2008

Service cost $9,955,739 $9,220,901Interest cost 17,506,553 16,918,458Expected return on plan assets (18,741,797) (20,278,354)Net amortization of (gain) loss 201,425 –Net amortization of prior service costs 2,444,157 2,444,157Net periodic pension cost $11,366,077 $8,305,162

Included in net periodic pension cost for 2009 is $2,444,157 representing the amortization of amountspreviously recognized as changes in unrestricted net assets but not included in net periodic pension costwhen they arose. The amount expected to be amortized into net periodic pension cost for 2010 is$1,927,779. Total amounts recognized as changes in unrestricted net assets separate from expenses andreported in the statement of activities as pension-related changes other than net periodic pension cost forthe year ended June 30, 2009 are as follows:

Net actuarial loss $(79,145,127)Amortization of prior service cost 2,444,157

$(76,700,970)

Amounts that have not yet been recognized as components of net periodic pension cost as of June 30, 2009consist of the following:

Net actuarial loss $108,913,358Net prior service cost 3,155,916

$112,069,274

The net periodic pension cost is based on the following weighted-average assumptions at the beginning ofthe year:

2009 2008

Discount rate 6.00% 6.00%Average rate of compensation increase 5.00% 5.00%Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets 7.00% 7.00%

The plans’ obligations and funded status as of June 30, 2009 and 2008 are summarized as follows:

2009 2008

Fair value of plan assets $220,889,720 $281,083,467Projected benefit obligation 319,730,074 308,113,690Deficiency of plan assets over

projected benefit obligation $98,840,354 $27,030,223



Benefit obligations are based on the following weighted average assumptions at the end of the year:

2009 2008

Discount rate 6.00% 6.00%Average rate of compensation increase 5.00% 5.00%

Employer contributions and benefit payments for the years ended June 30, 2009 and 2008 were as follows:

2009 2008

Employer contributions $16,256,916 $14,995,734Benefit payments 20,253,983 19,737,426

Total expected employer contributions for the year ending June 30, 2010 are $15.4 million. Total expectedbenefit payments for the next 10 fiscal years are as follows:

Year Ending June 30, 2010 $20,443,6202011 20,705,6232012 20,985,8432013 21,400,1302014 21,990,865

Years 2015–2019 123,114,439

The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets of 7% reflects the average rate of earnings expected onplan assets invested or to be invested to provide for the benefits included in the benefit obligations. Theassumption has been determined by reflecting expectations regarding future rates of return for plan invest-ments, with consideration given to the distribution of investments by asset class and historical rates ofreturn for each individual asset class.

Total pension plan weighted-average asset allocations at June 30, 2009 and 2008, by asset category, areas follows:

2009 2008

Asset categoryCash and cash equivalents 3% 6%Equity securities 58% 67%Debt securities 21% 21%Real estate and other 18% 6%

100% 100%

The plans’ investment strategies are based on an expectation that equity securities will outperform debtsecurities over the long term, and that the plans should maximize investment return while minimizinginvestment risk through appropriate portfolio diversification. All investments are actively managed by adiversified group of professional investment managers, whose performance is routinely evaluated by a pro-fessional investment consultant. Target allocation percentages are 60% for equities, 25% for fixed incomesecurities, 10% for real estate, and 5% for other investments (principally limited partnerships).

The International Union also contributes to a multiemployer defined benefit plan on behalf of its employ-ees. Contributions to this plan were $832,722 and $774,937 for the years ended June 30, 2009 and 2008,respectively.

Note 6. Postretirement BenefitsIn addition to providing pension benefits, the International Union provides certain health care, life insurance andlegal benefits for substantially all employees who reach normal retirement age while working for the InternationalUnion.

Postretirement benefit costs for the years ended June 30, 2009 and 2008 include the following components:

2009 2008

Service cost $5,814,622 $5,453,248Interest cost 8,839,245 8,362,447Total postretirement benefit cost $14,653,867 $13,815,695

The accumulated postretirement benefit obligation and funded status at June 30, 2009 and 2008 are as follows:

2009 2008

Postretirement benefit obligation $153,060,555 $144,885,210Fair value of plan assets – –Excess of postretirement benefitobligation over plan assets $153,060,555 $144,885,210

The above postretirement benefit cost does not represent the actual amount paid (net of estimated MedicarePart D subsidies) of $6,644,000 and $5,702,692 for the years ended June 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively.The net actuarial loss that will be amortized from unrestricted net assets into net periodic benefit cost during2010 is $8,009,867.

Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net postretirement benefit cost at beginning of year:

2009 2008


Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligations at end of year:2009 2008


The assumed health care cost trend rates used to measure the expected cost of benefits for the year ended June30, 2009, were assumed to increase by 10% for medical, 9% for drugs, 9% for Medicare Part D subsidy, 5% fordental/vision, 6% for Medicare Part B premiums, and 3% for legal costs. Thereafter, rates for increases in medical,drug costs and the Medicare Part D subsidy were assumed to gradually decrease until they reach 5% in 2023.

Total expected benefit payments, net of Medicare Part D subsidies, for the next 10 fiscal years are as follows:

Year Ending June 30,2010 $7,074,0082011 7,483,5562012 8,032,8662013 8,639,4892014 9,233,833

Years 2015–2019 55,885,861

The International Union appropriated investments of $153,060,555 at June 30, 2009 to pay for futurepostretirement benefit costs.

Note 7. Mortgages PayableThe IBEW Headquarters Building LLC(the “Company”) has two mortgages payable, $40 million to MassachusettsMutual Life InsuranceCompany and $40 million to NewYork Life InsuranceCompany, secured by substantially allof theCompany’s assets. The mortgage loans bear interest at an annual rate of 5.63% and are payable in monthlyinstallments of principal and interest totaling $529,108, and mature on July 1, 2019, at which time the remainingprincipal and interest amounts of $37,191,698 are due in full. Future minimum payments on the mortgage obli-gations are due as follows:

Year ending June 30, 2010 $6,349,2962011 6,349,2962012 6,349,2962013 6,349,2962014 6,349,296

Thereafter 68,938,197100,684,677

Less interest portion 31,109,466$69,575,211

Note 8. Royalty IncomeThe International Union has entered into a multi-year License Agreement and a List Use Agreement with theAmerican Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) under which the AFL-CIOhas obtained rights to use certain intangible property belonging to the International Union, including therights to use the name, logo, trademarks and membership lists of the International Union, in exchange forspecified royalty payments to be paid to the International Union by the AFL-CIO. In turn, the AFL-CIO hassub-licensed the rights to use the International Union intangible property to Household Bank Nevada, N.A.,for use by the bank in connection with its marketing of credit card and certain other financial products tomembers of the International Union. These agreements commenced on March 1, 1997.

For the years ended June 30, 2009 and 2008 the International Union recognized as revenue $2,673,447and $1,497,401, respectively.

Note 9. Functional ExpensesThe financial statements are prepared in accordance with the provisions of Statement of FinancialAccounting Standards No. 117, Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Organizations (Statement No. 117).Statement No. 117 establishes standards for general purpose, external financial statements of financialposition, activities and cash flows. It requires that the International Union’s net assets and its revenues,expenses, gains and losses be classified between unrestricted, temporarily restricted, and permanentlyrestricted based on the existence or absence of donor imposed restrictions. For the years ended June 30,2009 and 2008 all of the net assets and activities of the International Union were classified as unrestricteddue to the nonexistence of donor imposed restrictions. Statement 117 also requires that the InternationalUnion expenses be classified on a functional basis, that is, expenses broken down into classifications thatreflect the purpose (or function) of the major services and activities conducted by the International Union.

Note 10. LitigationThe International Union is a party to a number of routine lawsuits, some involving substantial amounts. Inall of the cases, the complaint is filed for damages against the International Union and one or more of itsaffiliated local unions. The General Counsel is of the opinion that these cases should be resolved without amaterial adverse effect on the financial condition of the International Union.

Note 11. Related Party TransactionsThe IBEW provides certain administrative services to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’Pension Benefit Fund (Fund), for which the International Union is reimbursed. These services includesalaries and benefits, rent, computer systems, and other administrative services. The amount reimbursedtotaled $3,175,000 and $2,650,000, for the years ended June 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively.

In addition, the International Union collects and remits contributions received on behalf of the Fund frommembers.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS continued on page 19

Local Lines


UnionSportsmen’s AllianceL.U. 1 (as,c,ees,ei,em,es,et,fm,i,mt,rts,s,se,spa,st&ws), ST. LOUIS,MO—At this season of the year,manymembers look forward to outdoor activities. TheSt.Louis region offers an abundance of activities for out-doorsmen, andmanymembers are passionate aboutdeer hunting, duckhunting and even fall bass fishing.

The IBEW, along with several other AFL-CIOaffiliated unions, belongs to the Union Sportsmen’sAlliance. The Alliance, in partnership with theTheodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, pro-vides valuable information for conservation-mindedunionmembers, retirees and families who hunt, fishand enjoy the outdoors. TRCP is a coalition of thenation’s leading conservation organizations, laborunions, and individual hunters and anglers workingtogether to “guarantee all Americans a place to huntand fish.” To join other unionmembers and gaininformation about all things outdoors, from hunt-ing/fishing trips and tips to special offers on gear,visit Web sitewww.unionsportsmen.org. Good luckout there and be safe!

Wemourn the followingmembers’ deaths:LeathaStanley, Raymond Kyle, Jerry Hayes, FredThurauf Jr., Walter Benwell, LloydMagruder, ClarenceGaylord, Earl Myers Jr., Paul Neal, JosephMarciante,GlendonShockley, George Gilltrap, MatthewWahlig,Michael Newton, JamesCasper, Adell Emerson,AudreyMae Risher andGerald Solmonson.

Matt Gober, P.S.

Marshall GoldblattMournedL.U. 11 (i,ts&spa), LOS ANGELES, CA—Mayor AntonioVillaraigosa was our special guest for the AnnualIndustry Barbecue held at the Electrical TrainingInstitute. An official ribbon-cutting ceremony washeld for the new auditorium.

Themayor spoke of his commitment to Local 11unionmembers and the success of project labor agree-ments. He congratulatedBus.Mgr.Marvin Kropke forhis outstanding leadership and for expanding appren-ticeship training opportunities to somanyduring theeconomicdownturn.We thank themembers and con-tractorswhohelpedmake this event a great success.

The ETI is holding classes for members inter-ested in solar training and certification. Manymem-bers have become California solar-installercertified. Opportunities abound in photovoltaic andother fast-growing green industries where demandfor qualified union electrical workers exists. Toreceive this high-level training, sign up today totake this exciting course.

We are saddened by the passing of retired Bro.Marshall Goldblatt. Marshall was a longtime assis-tant businessmanager and also served at the LosAngeles Electrical Workers Credit Union. AtMarshal’smemorial service, many rose to speak of his dedica-tion to Local 11members and the IBEW.MayGodblessMarshall Goldblatt. He will bemissed.

Bob Oedy, P.S.

MidwestGeneration ContractL.U. 15 (u), DOWNERSGROVE, IL—OnAug. 13, ourmembers atMidwestGeneration LLCoverwhelminglyratified a two-year contract extension that provides fora 6 percentwage increase and some changes toworkpractice rules. The nextmilestone for this group is thepension/medical package negotiations in 2010.

Also in August, Midwest Generation dedicatedthe installation of one of the first activated carboninjection systems at its Joliet andWill County generat-ing stations. The system is designed to greatly reducethe amount ofmercury emissions to the atmosphere.

To celebrate our union office “mortgage burn-ing,” the local provided each member an opportu-nity to receive “free-of-charge” a Local 15 shirt tocommemorate the occasion.

Our local continues to deal with the new fatiguerules outlined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commissionfor enforcement and how this relates to our contrac-tual provisions.

With the downturn of the economy and thehousing market, as well as more late payments (ornon-payment) of electric bills to ComEd EnergyDelivery and other factors, our local is working hardwith Exelon management to secure job protectionand keep the work in-house as much as possible.

Our goal is: “Our Work; Our People.”We have great hopes that 2010 will be a much

better year.

Ronald V. Welte, P.S.

Regional UtilityTraining CenterL.U. 17 (catv,em,lctt,o&u), DETROIT, MI—Local 17 isproud to announce the grand opening of the IBEW’sfourth Regional Utility Training Center and also thesuccess of the NJATC ‘s National Training Instituteearlier this summer. Several IBEW representativesas well as IBEW Sixth District Int. Vice Pres. JosephF. Lohman attended the celebrations. When therecession ends the IBEW will be on track to advanceits proud tradition of providing a well-trained andqualified work force of choice thanks in part tothese two great institutions.

Our 6-17-A construction work force is half ofwhat it was just one year ago. Detroit Edison is mak-ing cuts we haven’t seen in 20 years. The work pic-ture is expected to remain poor throughout this year.

As of press time, we anticipate a tough roundof contract negotiations on several agreementsincluding: the 6-17-A, City of Wyandotte, Thumb Co-op and Line Clearance Tree Trimmer agreements.

Another proud development for our localrecently is the recognition of our Tree TrimmerApprentice program by the Department of Labor.

Wemourn the loss of: Bros. JamesCasey Jr., JohnDernberger,MarcelCoulombe, Ed Falls, ArnoldTillman,PaulMitchell, TimRenner andRichardMcCleery.

Dean Bradley, P.S.

Bus.Mgr. PlumboRetiresL.U. 23 (u), ST. PAUL, MN—Bus. Mgr. Joseph “Joe”Plumbo retired from Local 23 on Aug. 11 after dedi-cating 31 years of service to the membership.

The Executive Board appointed Bro.Mike Hoppeto fill the position of interim businessmanager untilthe next election in 2011. In addition, Bro. BrianWaldwas appointed as recording secretary and Bro.Plumbowas appointed as amember of the ExecutiveBoard to continue his service to ourmembership.

Joe began work in 1968 as a laborer at the GasStreet section of Northern States Power Company(Xcel Energy, Inc.) and advanced to gas operationsdispatcher. He was elected to the Executive Boardin 1978 and as business manager in 1981. In his 28years guiding our union through mergers, downsiz-ing and contentious negotiations, he always hadthe best interests of our members at heart.

Joe’s participation in the labor movementextends beyond our local. He participated on manylabor-wide and community service committees,including International, IBEW state council andUnited Way committees.

We are pleased by the appointment of Bro.

Hoppe and we know he will continue Joe’s dedi-cated service to Local 23 members.

Bruce Ohmann, P.S.

Reliant EnergyNegotiationsL.U. 29 (u), PITTSBURGH, PA—Over the summer, weheld our annual events, our golf outing, the annualpicnic/meeting in the park and our traditionalBeaver Valley corn roast. These events are always agreat success.

We are also very busy on the business side.At this writing we are in negotiations with ReliantEnergy. A federal mediator was called in to helpmove things along. Among multiple take-backs thecompany wants to eliminate seniority. It appearswe have a long road to travel in these negotiations.At press time, a five-year proposal had just beenrejected by the membership.

Our Community Service Committee held a car-nival at the Auberle House, a home for disadvan-taged children. In November a gun bash fundraiseris planned. Its success will enable the local to con-tinue its much needed help in the community.

Our political team is always on the scene inWashington, D.C., and in Harrisburg. It appears ourteam spends as much time in the capitol as our leg-islators do.

Thanks to everyone who marched in theannual Labor Day parade.

Kim Washburn, R.S.

MilestoneSafetyRecordL.U. 37 (em,o&u), FREDERICTON, NEW BRUNSWICK,CANADA—Recently, the employees of NB Power’sGrand Lake Generating Station celebrated a won-derful milestone of 10 years without a lost-time acci-dent. A number of safety records have been reachedby IBEW Local 37 members and their employers;however the achievement of the Grand Lakeemployees is especially noteworthy.

Grand Lake Generating Station is the oldestthermal plant in the NB Power system, and it hasbeen scheduled for closure. As a result, workershave had the multiple challenges of an aging plantthat requires significant manual operation, as wellas reduced staffing levels as some workers werereleased for opportunities in other locations.Despite these challenges, employees have showntheir commitment to the principle that the mostimportant thing is for workers to be able to go homesafely to their families at day’s end. By working

Trade Classifications(as) Alarm & Signal (ei) Electrical Inspection (lctt) Line Clearance Tree Trimming (mps) Motion Picture Studios (rr) Railroad (spa) Sound & Public Address

(ars) Atomic Research Service (em) Electrical Manufacturing (lpt) Lightning ProtectionTechnicians

(nst) Nuclear Service Technicians (rtb) Radio-Television Broadcasting (st) Sound Technicians

(bo) Bridge Operators (es) Electric Signs (o) Outside (rtm) Radio-TelevisionManufacturing

(t) Telephone

(cs) Cable Splicers (et) Electronic Technicians (mt) Maintenance (p) Powerhouse (u) Utility

(catv) Cable Television (fm) Fixture Manufacturing (mo) Maintenance & Operation (pet) Professional, Engineers &Technicians

(rts) Radio-Television Service (uow) Utility Office Workers

(c Communications (govt) Governmentmow) Manufacturing Office Workers

(so) Service Occupations (ws) Warehouse and Supply

(cr) Cranemen (i) Inside (ptc) Professional, Technical &Clerical

(s) Shopmen

(ees) Electrical Equipment Service (it) Instrument Technicians (mar) Marine (se) Sign Erector

Efforts are made to make this list as inclusive as possible, but the various job categories of IBEW members are too numerous to comprehensively list all.

Local 11 mourns retiree Marshall Goldblatt,former assistant business manager.



together, they have achieved this excellent safetyrecord, and they can be an inspiration to all of us.

To commemorate this achievement, a barbe-cue was held at the local community centre for plantstaff. At this event, Local 37 Bus. Mgr. RossGalbraith presented members of the Grand LakeJoint Health and Safety Committee a certificate rec-ognizing the employees’ commitment to safety.

Ross Galbraith, B.M.

Benefit FundraiserMilestoneL.U. 41 (em,es,govt,i,se&spa), BUFFALO,NY—Local 41was fortunate this past summer to have adecentworkpicture.Thankyou to our traveling brothers and sisterswhohelpedus fill the calls formanpower. Althoughourworkhas slowed, there are jobswaiting to start orgetting ready for bid.Wehopewe canweather the fallandwinter seasonwith lowunemployment.

I thank all ourmembers and their families whoparticipated in the Labor Day parade. The ExecutiveBoard’s idea to display ourmini wind turbine in theparade was a great idea.

Our annual outing, once again, was a greatsuccess. It is always a pleasure to get together withour brothers, sisters, friends and guests for a day offun, food and brotherhood. Thank you to all whomade this great day possible.

The Local 41 Annual Golf Outing to benefitMercy Flight hit amilestone this year. All foursomeswere sold out, and to date we have raisedmore than$40,000. We all hope we never need itsmedicaltransport services, but it is great to knowMercy Flightis there in case we do. Thank you to all who work sohard every year tomake this golf outing a success.

In solidarity, be safe and stay united!

Anthony S. Coppola, B.M.

Memorial Golf TournamentL.U. 43 (em,i&rts), SYRACUSE, NY—Jobs were steadythroughout July and August but by September thework picture was slowing down. Most of our sum-mer work involved schools and colleges; as theschools started to open, more members were find-ing their way back to the hall.

We recently held our 14thAnnual Frank KiteMemorial GolfTournament. It was a beautiful dayand over 64 golfers participated.Once again the proceeds from thisevent will be used to award collegescholarships to three graduatinghigh school seniors—two forChittenango HighSchool, inmem-ory of Bro. Frank Kite, and one forHamilton HighSchool, inmemory ofBro. Austin Joerger. This is a fittingway for us to honor these two finebrothers for their contributions to

our industry. Thanks to all who helpedmake thisevent a huge success. This year’s golf tournamentwinners are pictured in the photo below.

Jim Corbett, P.S.

SCEAgreementsRatifiedL.U. 47 (lctt,mo,o,u&uow), DIAMOND BAR, CA—Happy Thanksgiving and special thanks to all mili-tary veterans, especially those in the IBEW, for yourservice to our country.

We congratulate Liz Shuler on her election asAFL-CIO secretary-treasurer. Shuler is the firstwoman ever elected to that office.

Our Southern California Edison members rati-fied a successor benefits agreement this summer.

A newSCE unit onCatalina Island ratified a first-ever agreement. Local 47welcomes the newmembersinto the Brotherhood. The local signed several con-tractors to ourOutsideConstruction Unit as part of aproject labor agreementwithSCE on commercial solarprojects. The PLA includes language ensuring that themajority of this workwill be done by our sister IBEWlocals’members inSouthernCalifornia.

We won an NLRB election with GuzmanGardens, a line clearance contractor.

Ourmunicipal utilitiesmembers are strugglingwith the economicdownturn that has afflicted all lev-els of government throughout southern California.

At the IBEWMembership DevelopmentConference in Las Vegas, it was reported that Local47 had the largest membership gain in the IBEWover the last five years.

We are saddened by the passing of Bros.PatrickMcCord and Gary Sunderland. Our prayersare with their families.

Stan Stosel, P.S.

Labor Day in BloomingtonL.U. 51 (catv,lctt,o,rtb,t&u), SPRINGFIELD, IL—OnSept. 5, 1882, the first Labor Day was celebrated inthe United States. The holiday for workers was basi-cally a reconciliation effort by the government withlabor, following the loss of life by workers engaged

in union activities. Although the character of LaborDay has changed through the years, the effort ofworking families to make the American dream areality remains the same.

One of the biggest Labor Day celebrations inthe Local 51 jurisdiction is held in the Bloomington—Normal area. This year there weremore than 100parade entries, and 3,000 unionmembers and theirfamilies participated. Local 51 thanksmembers of theBloomingtonUnit aswell as all unionmembersandtheir familieswho took time topay tribute to the contri-butions workers havemade to the strength, prosper-ity andwell-being of our great nation.

As of this writing, our work scene is steadywith five journeyman linemen on Book 1 and 86 onBook II. We hope 2010 will bring the projects neededto return to the levels of employment we were expe-riencing nationwide prior to the financial meltdown.For ourmanpower needs, check out the jobs boardatwww.ibew.org.

Remember to work safe, give eight hours’ workfor eight hours’ pay and attend your unionmeetings.

Dan Pridemore, Pres.

Election ofOfficersL.U. 81 (i), SCRANTON, PA—Local 81 held its electionof officers on Saturday, June 13. Jack Flanagan wasre-elected to his seventh consecutive three-yearterm as business manager/financial secretary.

Also re-elected to their seventh termswere Pres.RichardSchraeder andTreas. GinoArcurie. PaulCasparro was re-elected as vice president, and JasonWalshwas re-elected as recording secretary. Newlyelected to the Executive Boardwere:Michael Brust,Thomas J. Joyce,MichaelMcDermott, KevinShaughnessy and KennethWeiksner. Bros. FlanaganandSchraederwere also elected as Local 81 dele-gates to the 2011 IBEW International Convention. Bro.Casparro was elected as alternate delegate.

Kevin Bartell, P.S.

Legislation PassedL.U. 83 (u), BINGHAMTON, NY—On July 2, the NewYorkState Legislature delivered toGov. David Paterson“HotStick - Gloving” legislation to be signed. BillS2577was sponsored bySen. David Valesky andA6530 byAssemblymanWilliamMagnarelli.

Gov. Paterson signed the bill into law, which“makes permanent Chapter 206 of the laws of 1974,relating to industry work practices, procedures andstandards applicable to energized high voltagelines.” Basically, the law sets a limit of 15 kV thatcan be gloved from a bucket and 4,800 volts from apole. Hot sticks must be used for higher voltages.

Justification for the bill was safety: “The menand women who, day in and day out, work on highvoltage lines do so realizing it is a very dangerousprofession. These individuals deserve not only ourpraise and thanks but also our best efforts in ensur-ing that they are provided with the tool they need tomake this job as safe as possible.”

Special thanks to Sen. Valesky andAssemblyman Magnarelli for sponsoring the legisla-tion, and to Gov. Paterson for signing the bill.

Don S. Tuttel, P.S.

Five-Year Contract RatifiedL.U. 111 (em,govt,lctt,mt,o,rtb,spa&u), DENVER,CO—Our PSCOmembers successfully ratified a new five-

year agreementwith PublicServiceCompany ofColorado (Xcel Energy), afterthe company presented its last, bestand final offer, narrowly escaping inter-est arbitration. Some of the highlightsinclude: a wage increase of 2 percent, 4percent and 4 percent in the first throughthird years, respectively, with awages-only opener for the final two years of theagreement; changes to the retirementmultiplier for employees hired after Jan.1, 2010; and changes to the retirementcalculator for persons retiring after Jan. 1,2012. This process took23 negotiationsessions, two sessionswith amediator,and the union filing for interest arbitrationbefore the company proposed its last,best and final offer.

Dennis Z. LeTurgez, P.S.

Shuler Elected AFL-CIOOfficerL.U. 125 (lctt,o,t&u), PORTLAND, OR—On behalf ofour members, staff and Executive Board, congratu-lations to Liz Shuler for her election as secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO. In July, the Oregon AFL-CIOformally endorsed the Richard Trumka, Shuler, andArlene Holt Baker ticket. Trumka was elected AFL-CIO president to fill the position vacated by JohnSweeney, who retired, and Arlene Holt Baker was

IBEW Local 37 Bus. Mgr.Ross Galbraith (fourthfrom right) presents acertificate of achievementto all employees of GrandLake Generating Station.Accepting on behalf of theemployees are JH&SCChairperson Kenny Fraser(third from left) andcommittee members.

Local 43 golf tournament winners, from left: Mark Blakeman,Pete Olivia Jr., Danny Olivia and Pete Olivia Sr.

Local 51members andtheir familiesmarch in theBloomington,IL, Labor Dayparade.

Local 81 officers are sworn in. From left, seated, are: Bus.Mgr./Fin. Sec. Jack Flanagan, Pres. Rick Schraeder, Treas.Gino Arcurie and Vice Pres. Paul Casparro. Standing: Local81memberDick Kearney, who administered the oath ofoffice; Executive Boardmembers KenWeiksner, MikeBrust, Kevin Shaughnessy and Tom Joyce; Rec. Sec. JasonWalsh; and Executive BoardmemberMikeMcDermott.

Local Lines


re-elected as executive vice president. The new offi-cers were voted in at the AFL-CIO ConstitutionalConvention held Sept. 13-17 in Pittsburgh.

Prior to serving as executive assistant to IBEWPres. Edwin D. Hill, Liz worked as an organizer andpolitical director for our local. As she moves into herrole at the AFL-CIO, we know she is up to the manychallenges facing today’s labor movement. Liz hasour confidence and trust that she will never forgether IBEW roots. Good luck, Liz!

Marcy Putman, P.S.

ApprenticesGraduateL.U. 145 (em,i,o,rts,spa&u), ROCK ISLAND, IL—Our localproudly announces the recent inside journeymanwire-man graduating class. [Seephoto, above.] This classgraduated in style as their graduation ceremony/din-nerwasheld at a recently completed$150millionland-based gambling casino. IBEWmembers per-formedall the electrical and communicationsworkonthe casino under a project labor agreement.Wewel-come the graduates to an industrywhere their skillsand contributionswill be needed to helpmeet theever-increasing and constantly changing demands.

Local 145’s annual picnic held Aug. 1 was well-attended. A petting zoo was fun for the little onesand there was Bingo for the big ones! Special thanksto the PicnicCommittee for another job well-done.

Inside journeyman wireman work remainsslow and we do not anticipate getting into Book IIuntil the upcoming outage at the Cordova NuclearPlant scheduled for March 2010. The Outside line-man work is starting to pick up, with some work fora few Book II members. Our Residential andTeledata work has remained steady.

Our prayers are with our recently deceasedmembers and their families.

Alan Anderson, P.S.

Seasonal LightingDisplayL.U. 159 (i), MADISON, WI—The work picture in theMadison area is still slow. Even with our aggressivetargeting practices, things haven’t improved asmuch as we would like. A couple of projects on thehorizon give me some hope. We’ll see if our contrac-tors can land them.

On July 12,more than600members and theirfamilies attended our annual IBEWLocal 159Dayat theMallards, our local semi-pro baseball team. Everyonehad a good time. Also in July, weheld our annual golfouting to benefit ourSuchomanScholarship fund.

By the time you read this article, wewill bepreparing for our annual Holiday Fantasy In Lights.Local 159 takes ourOlin Park inMadison andputs upseasonal lighting displays.This is a free, drive-through

event that is our gift to the community. This yearwe aregoing greenby replacing andusing LED lights for ourdisplays. If you’re in the area, check it out.

Throughout the upcoming holiday season,please remember safety first, at home and on the job.

Joel Kapusta, B.A.

Membership DevelopmentL.U. 177 (bo,ees,i,mo,o&pet), JACKSONVILLE, FL—Recently, more than 100 unemployed membersattended the Membership Development VolunteerCommittee meeting. A salting orientation, as well asa résumé and application class, was presented anda great barbecue lunch was enjoyed.

With the leadership of Bus. Mgr. Russell Harperand Organizers Joe Roberts, Bill Stuart andCarlosNunez, on a recentSaturdaymorningmore than 60unemployedmembers attempted tomake applica-tion with a nonunion electrical contractor that hasthe contract on the new courthouse project. This proj-ect will be watched closely by the organizing staff.

Theworkoutlook in the Jacksonville area remainsbleak. I thank those locals that have been able toemploy our traveling members in these hard times.

Alan Jones, Pres.

NewVideoScoreboardL.U. 191 (c,i,mo,rtb&st), EVERETT, WA—Local 191 andNECA, in partnership with the LMCC, are proud tobe part of the new video scoreboard at the EverettMemorial Stadium for the Everett AquaSoxminorleague baseball team. [See photo, top right.]

How fitting that the video scoreboard was fin-ished and debuted on Union Solidarity Night. Thestructure is 44-feet high and 40-feet wide, with aLED video board that is 16-feet high and 26-feetwide. Financing for the project was made possiblethrough a six-year corporate partnership agreementwith NECA Cascade Chapter, IBEW Local 191 andother corporate partners. The new video board,reportedly the largest in the Northwest League, will

add many new features to the game-day experiencefor fans. Cameras allow for instant replays andincreased fan interaction. Several popular in-gamepromotions will utilize the new technology as well.Thanks to everyone involved in this project. It’s agreat investment in our community.

The local is still experiencing a slowdown.Special thanks to all the travelers for your help.

Robert De Velder, P.S.

Habitat for Humanity ProjectsL.U. 193 (i,lctt,o,rts,spa&u), SPRINGFIELD, IL—TheLocal 193 Labor Day picnic for members and theirfamilies was a great success.

Labor Day was enjoyed at the Lake BeachHouse in Springfield. IBEW Locals 193, 15 and 21,along with the building trades, celebrated andmarched in the annual downtown Labor Dayparade. Solidarity forever!

InsideBooks 1&2are slow, as is theworkscene.The newStrattonOffice Building is awaiting stimulusmoney.Wehope the projectwill start by latewinter.

Dec.12 is the date for the Christmas Dance atthe Secret Recipes Banquet Hall—and the estimated

completion date for Local 193’s newunion hall!

Local 193 contractors HaenigElectric and Lewis Electric are highlyskilled at solar photovoltaic installa-tion. Please promote IBEW Local 193contractors in this exciting new“green” sector of our industry.

Habitat forHumanity completedfourhomes recently, and 20 are in theworks for 2010.Thanks to Local 193contractors andmembers for a nice job.

The Rick Ross Memorial GolfOuting was held Sept. 26 at CountryHills Golf Course. Money was raised

for the H.E.L.P. Fund. Rick, as always, is still smiling!The 193 softball team finished a respectable 3-2

in the IBEWStateTournament! Congratulations to all.Please remember our brother William A. Ryan,

who passed away.

Don Hudson, P.S.

Marriott Hotel ProjectL.U. 197 (em&i), BLOOMINGTON, IL—Work in our areapicked up over the summer. As fall approached,some projects were finishing up. At press time, theMarriott Hotel and Conference Center in Normal, IL,were nearing completion. Anderson Electric had theinside work on the job. [See photo, at bottom.]

KenMcLean, a 32-yearmember, was generalforeman on the project. Bro. McLean retired Oct. 1and the local wishes him a happy retirement. Wewill see him often, as he will be a teacher at our JATC.

Our apprentices are ready for a new class year.Congratulations to second-year apprentice JacobGoar, who received a ULScholarship. He was nomi-nated by Local 197 Training Dir. Renee Riddle.

This summer, our local’s softball team repre-sented us well. They travelled to tournamentshosted by Chicago Local 134 and Champaign-Urbana, IL, Local 601.

Our team received the travelingSportsmanship Trophy in remembrance of SandyRobertson, who suddenly passed away this sum-mer. Bro. Robertson is sadly missed. He was theultimate “Brother.”

Our golf committee of Jack Roberts, RobinRoberts and Dan Uhlir did another fine job organiz-ing our annual golf outing at Fair Lakes Golf Course.

Wewelcome Kurt Neulib back home safely fromAfghanistan. SeanTibbs and FrankHarold are in ourprayers as they continue to serve in Afghanistan.

Mike Raikes, P.S.

Tribute to aUnionBrotherL.U. 225 (u), BURLINGTON, KS—Local 225 suffered ahuge loss with the death of Bro. Les Mead on June14 following a vehicle accident. Les was laid to restin Garnett, KS, with a military gravesite service. His“last ride” through town was escorted by 150 ridersof the Patriot Guard. It was an awesome sendoff foran awesome brother. God bless the Mead familyand all who have lost loved ones.

At our July meeting, new officers were sworn inby then-Int. Rep. Duane Nordick. Duane announcedhis retirement effective July 31 and received wellwishes from the local membership. He served asInternational Rep for 16 years and is a 40-plus yearIBEWmember. We appreciate his support, leader-ship and guidance.

Newly elected Local 225 officers are: Bus. Mgr.Doug Morris, Pres. Ray Rogers, Vice Pres. RickyYeager, Rec. Sec. Pam Handley, Fin. Sec. AngelaJohnson, Treas. Stacie Parks; and E-Board membersSteve Dawson, Craig Barbee, Tim Burger, BrianGoddard and Bernie Handley.

A big welcome to our newmembers. It is goodto have the participation of our new brothers andsisters at the local meetings. We hope and believethis trend will continue and encourage all membersto share the benefits of IBEWmembership.

Albert R. Halfmann, P.S.

IBEW Local 191 and NECA logos areprominently displayed on the new state-of-the-art video scoreboard installed at theEverett, WA, Memorial Stadium for theAquaSox minor league baseball team.

IBEW Local 197AndersonElectric crewdisplays IBEWbanner at theMarriott Hoteland ConferenceCenter projectin Normal, IL.

Local 145 apprentice graduating class, from left: Cory Tarchinski, Elin Serrano, ShanonWeninger, Curtis Bealer, Benjamin Abbott, Michael Hurt, Troy Gustafson, Jeffrey Edmondson,Robert Helms, Steve Long, Amanda Piper, Jeffrey Johnson Jr., Joel Dwinal, Matthew Hancks,Grant DeSmith, Brian Beadle, Michael Guldner, Brad Childs and Lucas Radech.

Organizers present a salting orientation class to theLocal 177 Membership Development Volunteer Committee.



Projects in PlanningStageL.U. 291 (i,o,rtb&rts), BOISE, ID—Work in the TreasureValley area is slowwith nearly half ourmembers outof work. Several good-size projects are planned; wehope they start sooner rather than later.

Congratulations to Local 291 Organizer JoeSchneehägen on organizing S.C. Jones Services Inc.of Yorktown, VA, a service contractor providing mili-tary housing maintenance at Mountain Home AirForce Base in Idaho.

Local 291 is also pursuing the new GatewayWest Transmission Line project stretching 1,150miles from Glenrock, WY, to Murphy, ID. This jointproject between Idaho Power and Rocky MountainPower is scheduled for completion in 2014.

Congratulations to Local 449 on winning theannual 449/291 Golf Shootout in Jackpot, NV. Alsogreat fun for all was the Local 291 golf tournamenton Aug. 8 at Warm Springs Golf Course in Boise.

Many thanks to the Negotiating Committee.After taking our case to the CIR, we were able towalk away with a salary freeze.

Our ongoing Code of Excellence classes pre-sented by Int. Rep. Benny Antunes draw a goodturnout and benefit our craft.

Thanks to Shawn Evins, Mike Gregory, Bus.Mgr. Greg Oyama, Toby Groves, Pres. Dea Roth andall who came to Municipal Park at 5 a.m. to cook forthe terrific summer picnic. Service pins and prizeswere awarded.

We thank the locals providing work for ourmembers on the road.

Ron Ely, P.S.

Code of Excellence ClassL.U. 307 (ees,es,i,o&u), CUMBERLAND, MD—Local307 officers and Western Maryland JATC instructorsrecently completed the Code of Excellence TrainingClass put on by Int. Rep. Mike D’Amico. The classwas well-presented and packed full of informationon how we can do our part to build and improverelationships with the customer.

The work picture in our jurisdiction hasslowed recently. We do have a few projects that arevery slow in getting started and some that are outfor bids. Let’s hope this dry spell will be short-lived.

The local’s annual family picnic was heldAug. 22 at the Hidden Valley Campgrounds. We hadgood food, gorgeous weather, a terrific turnout andeveryone had a great time. Special thanks to every-one who worked hard to make the picnic enjoyable.

The Children’s Christmas Party will be Dec. 6,and the Holiday Social is Dec. 19. Hope to see youthere! Local 307 officers and members extend warmwishes to all for joyous holidays.

Jon “Rosey” Rosenberger, R.S.

WorkPicture UpdateL.U. 309 (i,lctt,mo,mt,o,rts,spa&u), COLLINSVILLE, IL—Our work picture on the inside should remain goodfor the remainder of the year with the two majorprojects in Granite City, IL, starting to wind down inmid- to late fall.

Both projects were built with 100 percentunion labor, in part because of the strong relation-ship between our building trades and labor friendlylocal and state elected officials.

Work on the outside remains steady, as main-tenance on Ameren properties continues and the345-kV project in Red Bud, IL, progresses.

Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto of a bill to allow the useof STAR bonds jeopardizes plans tomove on a $1.5billion retail and entertainment district in GlenCarbon, IL. As of press time, the legislation had towait for the general assembly to convene in Octoberfor a veto session. Approximately 10,000 constructionjobs were estimated to be needed for the project.

Special thanks to Kevin Williamson and allwho helped make the annual picnic a success.

Scott Tweedy, A.B.M.

‘Solidarity in HardTimes’L.U. 313 (i&spa), WILMINGTON, DE—Congratulationsto the 2009 apprentice graduates. Special recogni-tion goes to our two top apprentices, Sister TerriThomas and Bro. MathewWeaver. Graduates are:Joseph K. Peeke, Andrew S. Johnson, William J.Orga, Charles L. Bull, Brian J. Markowitz, Matthew J.Weaver, Joseph A. Zoladkiewicz, Douglas V. Ware,Timothy C. McDevitt, Terri L. Thomas, Julius T. Inge,Mark A. Foster, Michael P. Klosowski, Kevin A.Kaiser, Michael J. DeLuca, Justin D. McClure, ShaneB. McCollum, Tyrone Robinson, Tobie S. Bennett andJames P. Brainard.

Thanks to all who showed up in Wilmington tomarch in the annual Labor Day parade. The largeturnout showed your support for organized laborand reminded us of the importance of solidarity inhard times. Always remember, united we bargainand divided we beg.

Local 313 congratulates retirees for their loyalIBEW service. Bus. Mgr. Doug Drummond, Pres. PaulCampbell and Retirees Club Pres. Francis “Moe”McKinley recently presented service pins. Among therecipients were: 50-yearmembers William Alls andIvan Smith, and 55-yearmemberMartin Mulrooney.

Congratulations to the Local 313 golf tourna-ment champs—Robert Scott, John Abegglen, DavidHayes and Alan Billingsley. Thanks to our entertain-ment committee for another great tournament. Weshowed that even when times are tough we canenjoy brotherhood, have fun and stick together.

Robert MacLennan, P.S.

Labor Hall of Fame InducteeL.U. 317 (i,o,rts,t&u), HUNTINGTON, WV—Local 317 isproud to congratulate Bro. Pete Vaughn on hisinduction into the Southwestern District LaborCouncil Hall of Fame. Pete has been very active inLocal 317 for more than 30 years. He is a longtimeadvocate for union workers on the political frontand currently holds the office of registrar.

We are also pleased to announce the ongoinggrowth of Local 317 with our new construction takingplace. We are building a new facility to house appren-ticeship training and journeyman upgrade courses.

This year social activities for our memberscontinued to grow. The annual golf outing drew arecord crowd. Most recently, our annual picnic wasalso rewarding. We had another great turnout fromapprentices, active members, retirees and families.

Work is currently steady for our local but weanticipate a decline due to the current economy bythe end of the year. Our outside jurisdiction contin-ues to look good with the current work in the mid-to northern part of the state.

Charles Shane Wolfe, Pres.

Voice YourSupportL.U. 347 (em,i,mt,rtb,rts&spa), DESMOINES, IA—Local 347 has the same economic issues thatmostlocals are facing presently with commercial, indus-trial and residential construction work in a decline. Itseems to me this is a good time to remind ourelected representatives in Washington, DC, as wellas here in Iowa, what organized labor expects ofthem. Instead of letting the paid lobbyists frame andpackage the issues, wemustmake our voices heard.

Voice your strong support for the EmployeeFree Choice Act, a major priority for working peopleand organized labor. We were disappointed thatcard check was removed in committee. The only waywe can counter the opposition of corporate lobby-ists is by speaking loudly and frequently.

We must send a message to the lawmakers:this is not a country of the corporations, by the cor-porations and for the corporations, but of the peo-ple, by the people and for the people. Let yourcongressional representatives know that labor iswatching their performance on the issues and wedon’t want to be forced into downsizing them.

Mike Schweiger, P.S.

Great Picnic AttendanceL.U. 351 (c,cs,i,it,lctt,mt,o,se,spa&t), FOLSOM, NJ—Our annual picnic was Saturday, Aug. 1, at Morey’sPier in Wildwood. It turned out to be our best-

attended picnic ever. We had more than 530 mem-bers attending and 2,240 in total attendance.

Our contractors donated 371 door prizes, rang-ing from $25 gift cards to $500 gift certificates. Theweather was perfect and everyone had a great time.Special thanks to the picnic committee members,who helped make the day a success.

Daniel Cosner, P.S.

NewUnionHall UnderWayL.U. 357 (c,i,mt&se), LASVEGAS, NV—OnSept. 3, incelebration of Nevada workers, IBEW Local 357 andtheSouthern Nevada Building Construction TradesCouncil put together a Labor Day rally for unionmem-bers and their families. There wasmusic, free food,and activities for the kids. Mayor Oscar Goodmanand several other local politicians were also present.U.S. SenateMajority Leader Harry Reid was also thereto discuss issues concerning working people.

As many of you already know, our local hasoutgrown our current location. We are building anew hiring hall, which should allow us room togrow. This new hall will be almost 35,000 squarefeet and it is designed to be a convenience for themembers. It will house a satellite office for ZenithAdministrators so the members will be able to takecare of their Trust Benefits, such as Health andWelfare, or pension without leaving the building.The new hiring hall is being built one block north ofour current hall and JTC, at 808 North Lamb Blvd.

Tim Bolton, P.S.

OfficersSworn InL.U. 363 (catv,em,govt,i,t,u&ws), NEW CITY, NY—We recently swore in our newly elected officers for athree-year term: Bus. Mgr./Fin. Sec. John Maraia,Pres. A. Peter Kazolias, Vice Pres. Gary Colandrea,Treas. Edward Lewis, Rec. Sec. John Leichter;Executive Board members Gary DiMatteo, JohnDispensa, Francis A. Dollbaum Jr., Richard Gilmore,Joseph M. Hillman, Richard McGinley, Robert Nigro;and Examining Board members Paul Romeo, PhilipJ. Rotella III and John Wilson.

Timothy Poulin, P.S.

IBEW Local 307 officers and Western Maryland JATC instructors attend a Code of Excellenceclass taught by Int. Rep. Mike D’Amico (front row, left).

Local 351 picniccommittee members:seated, Buddy Blatcher,Greg Berwick. Ken Jones,Sean Newlin, Ed Reiser,Dennis Kleiner, VinceTorelli and DennisAbriola; standing, RayListman, Wayne Bumm,Joe Trumbetti, DanCosner, Frank Hannum,Bill Hosey, T.J. Wolfe, DukeCollins and Ron Shaiko.

Local 357’s new union hall is underconstruction.

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Orange County JATCGraduatesL.U. 441 (as,i&rts), SANTAANA,CA—In June, Local 441and theOrangeCounty JATChonored the 63 graduatingapprentices of 2009.Graduates listed belowwith anasterisk (*) were “OutstandingAchievement”winners.

Inside graduates—Jason Blee*, KevinCariveau,TimofeyDobrenen, HectorMadrigal, ScottManning,RobertMorales, EdMunson, LuanNguyen*, LarrySicat, ScottWestland, Luis Arostigue, George Butcher,RubenGonzalez, RobertGutierrez, David Kessel*,Michael Klein, Christopher Landay,MikeManley,WesPackard, Ryan Powell, JoshuaVaxmonsky, OmarVazquez, Danny Zuniga*, Rodrigo Arrua, RickBartos,Chad Bradley, KyleCalley, ShawnDarak,MarkFerguson, Neil Hamre, Travis Heathington, VictorHernandez, Stelian Jejeran, Andrew Kim, JoshuaLanders, RussMeyer, Javier Perez, German Ramirez,Chris Rose, FredericWatson,WadeWieding*, FrankBravo, BrandonCecil, Brian Donohue, Nelson Fonte,JosephHorspool, Kenneth Lincicum, EmanuelPetruescu, Lance Privett and RobertSalcedo.

Sound graduates—David Duarte*, JeffreyKlein, Sergio Laris, Jordan Nelson, Nelson Pleitez,Octavio Sanchez, Garrett Whalen, Daryl Baker,Roman Cisneros*, Dale Flees, Octavio Murillo,Trevor Staiger and Jason VanMalsen.

On Aug. 22, Local 441 held its annual deepsea fishing trip out of Newport Beach, CA. Severalmembers were able to bring family with them.Everyone had a great time.

Richard Vasquez, B.R.

Health Care ReformNowL.U. 449 (catv,em,i,o,rtb,rts,spa&u), POCATELLO,ID—Our members attended picnics, baseballgames, fishing derbies and golf outings over thesummer and enjoyed each other’s company atthese events. I thank all the volunteers who helpedmake these functions a success.

Ourgovernmentneeds tomakehealth carereforma reality. Asunionmembers,wepayapremiumforourhealth care; in the lastnineyearsourpremiumshave tripled.Contact yourU.S. representativesandsen-ators and tell themwewanthealth care reformnow.

Keep the Brotherhood alive in everything youdo and be amentor to your union brothers and sis-ters on and off the job. The union is only as strong asitsmembers. When themembership works together,the union’s value is stronger. When ourmembers tellfriends and neighbors the value of the union, thenthe community believes in the value of the union.When the community believes the union has value,then the union is strong in helping working peopleobtain a better life for themselves and their families.It all starts with believing. Let’s be believers.

Local 449 extends condolences to the familyof Bro. Richard Murray, who passed away. He will beremembered.

Bob Bodell, B.M./F.S.

Golf TournamentBenefitL.U. 455 (em&u), SPRINGFIELD,MA—The fourthannual Dave’s Scramble Fore Cancer Golf Tournamentwas heldMay 30 atSt. Anne’s Country Club.

This annual tournament put on by ExecutiveBoard member and cancer survivor Dave Brodowskiwas once again a huge success. This year 133 golfersand an additional 32 people attending the banquetraised $8,475 for The Cancer House of Hope.

Congratulations to Dave and all those whohelped put together the tournament. A great time,once again, was had by all.

Jim Dibernardo, P.S.

OfficersSworn InL.U. 457 (u), MERIDEN, CT—Local 457 officers wereinstalled at the July 2009 Executive Board meeting.

Sworn in to office were: Bus. Mgr./ Fin. Sec.Rich Sank, Pres. John Fernandes, Vice Pres. PaulGagnon, Treas. Dave Smigel, and Rec. Sec. SteveRyder. Executive Board members are: Tom Penfield,Jeff Burnham, Fred Andrulat, FrankMarkey, Jr.,Dalton Strom, William Storey, Larry Polaske, PatrickHoban, Ed Chviek Jr., and Mike Violette.

The officers look forward to working togetherfor the good of the union and its members.

Rich Sank, B.M./F.S.

Strong inSolidarityL.U. 459 (ees,em,govt,so&u), JOHNSTOWN, PA—Local 459 recently had a labor dispute withPenelec/First Energy. The local represents 28 unitsin all, and Penelec/F.E. is the second largest withapproximately 520 members. On May 21, 2009,with an expired contract, Local 459 membersemployed by Penelec voted to strike. The membersstayed together and fought hard to protect theirjobs. After 59 days, the members voted to return towork after the company removed language thataffected our hours of work.

We had a lot of support from other localunions and surrounding IBEW locals as well. Therest of our membership also gave strong support tothe striking members.

Local 459 thanks all the locals that supportedus, and we also thank our other unit members fortheir strong support and encouragement.

Kenneth L. Richards, Pres./A.B.M.

Report at Year’s EndL.U. 499 (u), DESMOINES, IA—This year is one thatwill live on in most of our members’ minds for theirwhole career. It started off with our office manager,JoAnn McKibben, retiring after 40 years of workingfor Local 499. At the same time, we entered intonegotiations with Chariton Valley rural electric coop-erative and MidAmerican Energy.

The negotiations at the RECwere handled dif-ferently this year, with the RECbringing in a newattorney to do its negotiating. A new agreement wasratified in late February. We thankBradSinclair, line-man, for serving on the union negotiating committee.

MidAmerican Energy was a whole differentstory. The company gave the union a lockout noticeearly in negotiations and it went downhill from there.The company gave the union a last, best and finaloffer, which was taken out for a vote with a “no” rec-ommendation. The company had hired 1,600 peopleto come in as replacement workers if the contract wasrejected. Ourmembership had a choice: to be lockedout andmaybe permanently replaced or live to fightanother day. They chose to live and fight another day.

Donald D. Krause, B.M./F.S.

Holiday FoodBasket FundL.U. 503 (t&u), MONROE, NY—This year’s 10thAnnual Golf Outing in August was yet another suc-cessful event for the local. Everyone had a greattime, and the committee raised plenty to donatetoward the Family Holiday Food Basket Fund. Specialthanks to Bros. Brian Hutchings, Tom Arone, PatGrieven and Rob Decker for a job well-done, and toJackie Sanchez for the photography posted on ourWeb sitewww.IBEW503.org.

The Toys-For-Tots Drive is always a success dueto the generosity of our members. Let’s make thisyear no exception by continuing to help those lessfortunate. Drop-off points are clearly markedthroughout the facilities.

Bro. Steve Altieri’s recovery is a slow and painfulprocess, but he’s a real trooper. His positive attitudewill get him through this, alongwith the support of hiswife, Lisa, his infant son, Anthony, the entire Altierifamily, aswell as his Local 503 family. We all look for-ward to his full recovery and return towork.

The officers wish all IBEWmembers a happyholiday season with your families and friends.

Much happiness, health and success in the upcom-ing year for us all!

Mary M. Casey, P.S.

‘Best in theDesert’ ChampL.U. 543 (mo&t), SAN BERNARDINO, CA—In January2009, Chris Willing of Local 543 was in Nevada andsaw an advertisement for the “Best in the Desert:Vegas to Reno—The Long Way” racing competition.

Chris approached his friend Dave Richardsonabout entering the race as a team. The race wouldbe daunting, and entering as an amateur in the“Iron Man” competition would make it even moreintimidating, as they would ride the entire 1,000miles without switching riders.

Dave accepted the challenge and arranged thelogistics to get sponsors and recruit pit crewmem-bers, many of whomwere fellow Verizon employees.August rolled around, and although Dave’s bike hadmechanical issues during the race, Chris finishednot only in first place as an amateur IronMan, butalso first overall for IronMan quads, beating out thepro-class riders on his first competitive desert race!

Congratulations, Chris! FellowVerizon employeeand off-road enthusiast JohnHumphreywas teammanager and contributed enormous time and energyto the success of the “CnD” racing team.To readmoreaboutChris andDave, visitwww.cndracing.com.

Local 543 thanks Heather Fatzer, a ‘CnD” teammember, for writing this article.

Jerry Koger, B.M.

‘A BusyPlace’L.U. 551 (c,i&st), SANTA ROSA, CA—The annualLabor Day pancake breakfast was well-attended byarea politicians and union members.

Recently, we helpedmove ourNorth BayCentralLaborCouncil, withCLCExecutive Dir. LisaMaldonado,into a vacant office space at our Local 551 building.Thanks to our IBEWvolunteers, with their cool trailersand trucks, formaking themove possible in half aday. [Photo, pg. 15.] Also in the building isMichaelAllen, former eight-termCLCpresident, now runningforState Assembly.We have a busy place andwe arehonored to share the spacewith shakers andmovers.

As of press time, we expect to soon have workagain at the Geysers Power Plant, as Local 551 Bus.Mgr. Jack Buckhorn negotiated a project laboragreement for this project.

More work on the horizon—the SonomaCounty Water Agency will hold publicmeetings tooutline plans to put electricity producing wave gen-erators in the ocean.

Congratulations to Bus. Mgr. Buckhorn on hiselection as North Bay CLCpresident.

Congratulations to Organizer John Lloyd, who

Santa Ana, CA,Local 441’sannual deepsea fishingtrip was agreat success.

Local 455 Exec. BoardmemberDave Brodowskispeaks at golf tournament benefit event.

Local 457 officers were sworn in on July 28.They include, from left: Treas. Dave Smigel,Bus. Mgr./ Fin. Sec. Rich Sank and E-Boardmember Ed Chviek Jr.

Local 543“Iron Man”racingchampChrisWilling(right)crosses thefinish line.



received theAbove andBeyondAward from theInternational office for his achievements for the union.

Also, congratulations to Bus. Rep. DeniseSoza on receiving the Women of Labor Award pre-sented by state Sen. Patricia Wiggins.

Denise D. Soza, P.S.

‘SomeWinterWork’L.U. 557 (i,mt,rts&spa), SAGINAW, MI—Rain and cooltemperatures dominated mid-Michigan this sum-mer. At our annual picnic in late August, theweather was cold and rainy so attendance was low.

As of the summer, calls were not coming in forlong-term employment and more than one-third ofthe local hands were laid off here, even with someschool remodeling in the area. Future jobs are antic-ipated as the semiconductor plant expansion con-tinues; but as of press time no hiring had begun.

It is nice to have a new building project at theairport, an armory, and a new nursing building atSaginaw Valley State University—some winter workthat surlywill put a fewhands towork, aswell asmoreexpansionworkatHemlockSemiconductor.

Kudos to recent apprentice graduatesDanielAlcock II, DavidHayward,WilliamMiner, ToddCramerandRichardDilts.

Our health plan encourages periodic physicalsand I encourage all to participate. Use your benefitand the plan may help prevent serious illness andthe need for costly treatment.

Have a safe and healthy holiday season.

John E. Clemens, P.S.

Training Center GrandOpeningL.U. 569 (i,mar,mt,rts&spa), SAN DIEGO, CA—OnAug. 21, our local held the grand opening of our newImperial Electrical Training Center in Imperial County.

Our local’s jurisdiction includesSan Diego andImperial Counties. Imperial County is being touted asthe renewable energy capital of the nation withmanyprojects in the planning stages to utilize the area’sabundance of sun, wind, geothermal and biomass.

Our goal is to provide our Imperial Countymem-bers and futurememberswith the best electricaltraining available to wire these projects—and to beable to performmuch-needed energy efficiency auditsand retrofits on buildings throughout Imperial County.

Many area elected officials praised our effortsand commitment to the Imperial County work forcewith our state-of-the-art training center. U.S. Rep.Bob Filner of California stated, “This is a win-win forthe working people, the local community and greenenergy business. As the green economy ushers innew opportunities, I am working to ensure we arecreating good jobs with health care, skilled training

and benefits here in the Imperial County. IBEWLocal 569 will be a great partner in this endeavor.”

The new 5,000 square-foot training centerhouses our JATC classrooms, labs, and offices toservice our Imperial County members.

Nicholas J. Segura Jr., P.S.

ChampionsAgain!L.U. 595 (c,govt,i&st), DUBLIN, CA—Local 595’sannual picnic at Rowell Ranch in August was atremendous success. Congratulations to our picniccoordinator extraordinaire, David Nelson, his com-mittee, and all the volunteers. Thanks also to all themembers and their families for coming out andenjoying the event.

California’s 10th Congressional District held aSept. 1 special primary election to fill the seatvacated by former U.S. Rep. Ellen Tauscher. We arepleased to have a strong Democratic candidate, cur-rent Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, as top-vote getter.John will run against his Republican opponent in theNovember general election, and Local 595 is workinghard to elect this friend of labor to Congress.

These are very difficult times for our out-of-work members as our unemployment rate isunprecedented. We hope 2010 brings a strongturnaround for construction in California andacross the country.

Local 595’s softball team is again the cham-pion. The IBEW Ninth District Softball Tournamentwas held Aug. 9-10 in San Diego. Our team wontheir sixth championship, going undefeated andnarrowly holding off Orange County Local 441’s Ateam to win the final game. We thankSan Diego

Local 569 for hosting a fine tournament and we’ll beready to do the same next summer as we defendour championship!

Tom Mullarkey, B.R.

Softball TournamentL.U. 601 (i&rtb), CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, IL—IBEWLocal 601 held its 33rd Annual Invitational SoftballTournament on Aug. 8-9. [Photo, below.] Sixteenteams were invited and 15 were able to attend.Participating were: IBEW Locals 34 Peoria, 117 Elgin,134 Chicago, 146 Decatur, 150 Waukegan, 176 Joliet,193 Springfield, 197 Bloomington, 309 Collinsville,364 Rockford, 461 Aurora, 538 Danville, 649 Alton,701 Lisle (Dupage County) and 725 Terre Haute.

Wehad a great group this year. Tournamentwin-nerwasWaukegan Local 150, andPeoriawon the con-solation bracket.We thankeveryonewhohelpedmakethe tournament a success.

Our work is holding its own. We have 20mem-bers on book one and approximately 496 on booktwo. The wind turbine projects are continuing and arefully staffed at this writing. LaSalle Nuclear PowerPlant is scheduled for the shutdown in February 2010.For several other projects, we are waiting on thefunding to keep all our local members working.

Dan Hatter, P.S.

AwesomeAnnual PicnicL.U. 611 (catv,es,govt,i,lctt,o,spa,t&u), ALBU-QUERQUE, NM—We had a great turnout for the IBEWannual picnic, the largest in recent memory. Asusual there was plenty of food, entertainment forthe kids and lots of prizes. Many thanks to all onthe picnic committee for such an awesome job: Paul

Kress, Randy Cummings, Pete Trujillo, Carl Condit,Alan Shepherd, Terry Peters and Nicholas Konwin.

As of this writing, the work picture has beensteady with calls to Los Alamos, Albuquerque andEunice. In case some haven’t heard, the local nowhas only one union meeting in Albuquerque—onthe third Saturday of the month.

Local 611 extends condolences to the familiesof members who recently passed away: Henry“Hank” Carnell, Mike Barrera, James W. Tate, PatrickG. Duffy, Sherwell S. Buoy, Alvin Steen Jr., MikeSalway, Wayne Faul, Harold L. Law, Leo Victor Jonesand Willard J. Cook.

Darrrell J. Blair, P.S.

Apprenticeship ProgramL.U. 681 (i,o&spa), WICHITA FALLS, TX—Thework situa-tion remains slow but steady. As of press time, we’vehad one large Inside job finish up and a couple ofOutside jobs that are nearing completion. There is talkof a couple of jobs on the horizon, andwe anticipatethatwe should get some of the future linework that issupposed to happen inTexas in the next few years.

We are starting our new school year and wehavemore apprentices than ever. [Photo, at bottom.]The program is doing very well due to the quality ofapplicants we have been getting; it makes the selec-tion process difficult but we are able to turn out qual-

San Diego Local 569 celebrates the grandopening of the new Imperial County ElectricalTraining Center. From left are: Local 569Organizer Daniel Machain, Local 569 Bus.Mgr. Allen Shur, U.S. Rep. Bob Filner andLocal 569 Pres. Nicholas Segura.

Local 595 softball tournamentchamps are, from left: MattMurchison, Al Brady, AnthonyLociero, Jacob Brahmst, RickMayer, Jesse Martinez, TeamMgr. Gary Damele, JustinFurtado, J.D. Taylor, MVP JasonKaneko, Travis McIntyre, MarkDavis, Derrick Branco, AnthonyMartinez, Herman Tovar, FelixSifuentes and John Small.

Local 601 softball team: front row(L-R), Shawn Davis, Ryan Logsdon,Matt Logsdon, Blake Withers, DaveLogsdon; back row, Cody Nichols,Ryan Kelly, Shane Street, MarkLowry, Ted Burgin, Keith Grob,Mike Siems, Doug Dahl, KennySchrock, Bob Kacich, Rick Muellerand Tony Hubbard.

Volunteers turn out to assistwith the CLC move to its newlocation. From left, backrow: Local 551 membersCraig Foley and Bill Farman,Bill Manners of theCarpenters, Local 551members SamWimmer andCharlie O’Neil; front row,Local 551 members EamonO’Halloran (kneeling),Larry Albini and Dee Soza,business representative.

Local 611membersJoe Blea(left) andCarl Brownattend unionpicnic.

Local 681’s new first-year apprenticeship class members gather for a photo with Math TechInstructor Steve Cox (at far left).

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ity journeyman electricians, which is the ultimategoal of the program. Our apprenticeship program isvery proud to have two first-year students in theAbilene, TX, area—which is a sign of a new beginningfor the IBEW in that region. We are accomplishing thisby a distance learning program over the Internet.

Leland Welborn, A.B.M.

‘Replace Jobs Lost’L.U. 683 (em&i), COLUMBUS, OH—Would bringingcasinos to Ohio help? Maybe casinos could help theIBEW get back to work and put others to work aswell. If people are going to spend their money ongambling in other states, why not keep the moneyhere in Ohio? We need to replace the jobs lost fromoutsourcing somehow and this could be a start torecovery; and the tax dollars wouldn’t hurt.

Congratulations to the following Local 683members who won the Golf League Championship:Wil Wilhelm, Fred Moore, Jim Laemmle, MarkBrigner and Bob Liston.

Also, congratulations to the winners of thePheasant Hunt Raffle: Mario Ciardelli, Gary Hurst,Ted Glass and James “Bulldog” Jenkins.

Members should be aware that to take a refer-ral to a contractor in the OSHA Partnership, you willneed to have OSHA 10, NFPA-70E and Code ofExcellence classes.

We extend condolences to the families ofrecently deceased members: Larry R. Brown, JamesA. Rogers, Michael P. Haines and John J. Mancini.

Rick Deime, V.P./P.S.

GoingGreen in TampaL.U. 915 (i&mt), TAMPA, FL—IBEW Local 915 goesgreen! Florida Power and Light pickedArcadia, FL, asthe site for a 25MWsolar generation station. This wasPhase 1 of the DesotoCountySolar ArraySystem—with the job going to a successful union contractor,Newkirk ElectricAssociates. This employer is basedout ofMuskegon,MI, with an office inSarasota, FL.

This job was targeted using the Florida SmallWorks Addendum. The client, Sun Power Corp./FP&L, was impressed with the way Local 915’s dis-patcher, organizers and our apprenticeship directorrallied the manpower in very short order even withthe remoteness of the project.

This project is the first of its kind in our area.The peakmanpower was 107 electricians, appren-tices, CEs and CWs. The $5 million project utilizedmore than 100,000 man-hours worked. IBEWmem-bers installed approximately 88,000 photovoltaiccells on the 400-acre site.

The superintendent says the success of the

project is due to the quality of the people who werereferred from the very start. The job showed no lostman-hours and will meet the deadline. This is thebeginning of the future for electrical energy andLocal 915 is proud to be a part of it.

Theresa King, P.S.

Fall Contract NegotiationsL.U. 953 (catv,em,lctt,o,spa,t&u), EAU CLAIRE, WI—At press time, Local 953 has 17 contracts coming upfor negotiations this fall. Eight are municipal con-tracts, eight are Rural Electric Cooperatives (RECs),and one is a Telecom Unit. As we start these negoti-ations, management representatives across theboard are asking for concessions, give backs, orone-year extensions of existing contracts.

In further news, we filed with the WisconsinPublic Service Commission for intervener status onXcel Energy’s rate increase. As a local, we are con-cerned that Xcel has a plan in place to deal with theaging work force in the company’s request for therate increase.

As a community service and for the good ofthe union, Local 953 Bros. Dennis Luehman, ChadBilderback, Todd Bergmann and Ed Mathys volun-teered to paint and assist in wiring a Habitat forHumanity house in Amery, WI. Congratulations toall on a job well-done and appreciated by your fel-low union members.

Arlin Ziemann, B.M./F.S.

Contracts RatifiedL.U. 1049 (lctt,o,u&uow), LONG ISLAND, NY—In lateAugust, we concluded negotiations on behalf ofmembers who work under our Direct Hire andTransfer Agreements for National Grid Home EnergyServices. Negotiating a new bargaining agreementin today’s economy presented unique challengesfor the Main Negotiating Committee. Despite thesechallenges the committee, under the leadership ofBus. Mgr. Robert Shand, brought back contractsthat were overwhelmingly ratified by members.

At thiswriting, we are preparing for contractnegotiations in our LineClearanceTreeTrimDivision.Since themergerwith former IBEWLocal 1381, wehavesuccessfully negotiated fourbargaining agreements.

The sale of former IBEW Local 1381’s unionhall is completed. The money from the sale will beused to make improvements to our union hall andto enhance our ability to service our members.

Local 1049, along with Locals 3 and 25,recently hosted the 39th Annual IBEW SoftballTournament. Despite heavy rain Friday andSaturday, teams from across the U.S. and Canadaplayed a single elimination tournament on Sunday.

It is always great to see our Brotherhood cometogether at this event. Local 3 took first place in theupper bracket and Local 1049 placed second. Lowerbracket champions were Local 102, and Local 3apprentices placed second.

Thomas J. Dowling, R.S.

NVEnergyNegotiationsL.U. 1245 (catv,em,govt,lctt,o,pet,t&u), VACAVILLE,CA—Members of Local 1245 hunkered down for atough confrontation in Reno as NV Energy set thestage for negotiations by announcing the closure ofall but two customer service offices statewide. Thecompany’s opening bargaining proposals tookdirect aim at retiree medical benefits and attackedcontractual protections on several fronts.

“The company proposal cuts out retirementmedical for anyone hired after the next agreementtakes effect,” said Brian Ralston, a transmissiondispatcher. Another major issue in the negotiationsis wages for clerical members, who have not had ageneral wage increase in four years.

The poor economy has produced confrontationswithmanagement atmany of the local’s public sectorproperties, including City of Roseville, City of Ukiah,City of Redding and AlamedaMunicipal Power.

Members at Pacific Gas & Electric overwhelm-ing ratified a new benefits agreement that willincrease company contributions to medical premi-ums for current retirees and establishes RetirementMedical Savings Accounts to improve medical bene-fits for future retirees.

Safety remains amajor concern, Bus. Mgr. TomDalzell told the local’s Advisory Council. The localknows of four recent instances where employeesrefused to work in dangerous situations, and in somecases “they were disciplined for refusing to performunsafe work,” Dalzell told the council. Recent trendsin hiring at PG&E suggest that the company is failing

tomaintain proper staffing levels. In recentmonthsstaffing has fallen for both gas and electric.

In Outside Construction news, negotiationsare underway for first contracts with several compa-nies. Work has been slow in 2008 but hopes arehigh for a much better year next year.

Eric Wolfe, P.S.

UnionBloodDriveL.U. 1253 (i), AUGUSTA, ME—We welcome a newclass of apprentices and wish them success.

Local 1253 joined with the Red Cross on Sept. 5at the Greater Bangor Area Labor Temple in Brewer,ME, to host a blood drive. Challenges were issuedto locals of other union affiliations to help make theday a success.

Members of Locals 567 and 1253met with U.S.Rep. Michael Michaud on Aug. 20 on Peaks Island,ME. It was a good opportunity to discuss issues dearto working people in Maine and across the country.

Wemourn the loss of retiredmemberMarlinTaylor and activemember Brian “Stretch” Bradstreet,who succumbed to leukemia. They aremissed by all.Please keep their families in your prayers.

William Gifford, P.S.

Kudos toUtility RetireesL.U. 1307 (u), SALISBURY, MD—We congratulate thefollowing members on their retirement: DonnaWadkins, WilliamWest, Michael White, LawrenceWright and Herman “Dickey” Dickerson.

Sister Adkins began work at ChoptankElectrical Co-Op in 1989. She worked as consumeraccount clerk, customer service rep and office spe-cialist. She retired in November 2008. Donna wasfinancial secretary for former Local 1707 prior to thatlocal’s merger into Local 1307.

In 1987 Bro. West started with ChoptankElectrical as an apprentice lineman and advancedto chief lineman. He retired Nov. 1, 2008.

Bro. White worked as a chief tree trimmer withChoptank Electrical from 1989 until his November2008 retirement.

Bro. Wright began at Choptank Electrical in1973 and advanced to engineering fieldman. Heretired November 2008.

In 1969 Bro. Dickerson was hired by DelmarvaPower. He worked at the Indian River Power Plant,the Salisbury station and the Vienna Power plant.He began as a laborer and advanced to a qualifiedelectrician, and later to controls specialist. InFebruary 2009, he retired from NRG Energy, whichearlier purchased the power plants from DelmarvaPower. He served Local 1307 on several committeesand was elected treasurer and E-Board member.

May these retirees enjoy a happy retirement.

Edward D. Sparks Jr., F.S.

Arial view of 25-megawatt solar generationstation project in Arcadia, FL. IBEW Local 915members installed approximately 88,000photovoltaic cells for the project.

Local 953 volunteers Dennis Luehman, ToddBergman, Chad Bilderback and Ernie Mathysperformed electrical work on a Habitat forHumanity project.

60-YearService AwardOn July 24,retired Bro.RandolfHowell ofDemopolis,AL, Local1053 waspresentedwith hisIBEW 60-year serviceaward.

At Local 1245, Sean Kimble, Damond Piereand Jahmari Butler, who are amongapproximately 80 newmembers atUnderground Construction, take the IBEWoath at a special meeting after work.Administering the oath was Asst. Bus. Mgr.Ron Cochran.

Local 1253 Bro. Brian “Stretch” Bradstreet(1951-2009) was a proud IBEWmember for34 years. He was always there for anyonewho needed his help.

PhotobyAeroPhoto.



‘In andAroundSt. Louis’L.U. 1439 (u), ST. LOUIS, MO—Local 1439 was veryvisible in the annual Labor Day parade. IBEW Locals1, 2, 4, 1439 and 1455 jointly celebrated at the localpark with entertainment for the kids, including ponyrides and a petting zoo. We had a “washers” tourna-ment, live music, food, refreshments and atten-dance prizes.

Contract negotiationswere completedwith theCity of Potosi. This bargaining unit wentwith the IBEWMedical Plan and continues to give it rave reviews.

We are currently in negotiations with Entergy.As of this writing, we have put together what

we hope is another winning team for the 2009Lineman’s Rodeo as well as three excellent appren-tices to represent the local and the Eleventh District.

Utility company Ameren/UE has hired 28apprentice linemen and we have seen several jour-neymen transfers from other utilities come into ourjurisdiction. Presently we have 100 overheadapprentice linemen on Ameren’s property.

Ken Carroll, P.S.

Working toSave JobsL.U. 1501 (ees,em,mo,pet,rts&t), BALTIMORE, MD—Although Amtote negotiations concluded April 15and the company signed the agreement, Amtotesubsequently has taken the position that becauseof bankruptcy proceedings it cannot persuade par-ent Magna Corporation to approve the labor agree-ment. Local 1501 differs with that position—weplan to file NLRB charges and, if necessary, takelegal action.

Unfortunately for ourmembers in the racingindustry, theMarylandGeneral assembly has fouledup any attempt to put slots at racetracks inMaryland,but we will not give up while there is a glimmer ofhope. We need strong leadership fromGov. MartinO’Malley to utilize slots to save horseracing inMaryland. We are pursuing every avenue to save theindustry and the jobs of unionmembers.

With the successful launch of space shuttleDiscovery, our members employed by Analex atGoddard Space Flight Center are proud to be part ofAmerica’s space program; however, Local 1501 isconcerned about Analex’s move to open the agree-ment at this time. We doubt Analex is doing so tohelp our members. We suspect the company’s goalis to attempt to take back hard-won negotiated ben-efits. Bus. Mgr. Dion Guthrie stated, “We have astrong, motivated membership and we will stronglyresist any attempts to force concessions.”

Thomas Rostkowski, P.S.

‘Work for OurMembership’L.U. 1505 (em), WALTHAM, MA—In today’s tougheconomic defense budget environment, it is criticalto seek those shrinking appropriations dollars thatare available. Bus. Mgr. David Johnson has beenmeeting regularly with our congressional delegationto secure additional work for our membership.

Raytheon Company has positioned itself wellwith respect to new program development. Bus.Mgr. Johnson is working tirelessly to demand thatwe receive our share of the new programs as well aslobbying for additional Patriot Missile Systems to beproduced in our union-represented plants.

Bus. Mgr. Johnson is happy to announce thatnewmember hiring continues and has actuallyincreased in intensity. Our local is unique in thatdespite the dramatic loss of manufacturing in theregion, we are actually growing. Because of the poli-cies and leadership of our administration, ourmembership once again has reason to feel securewith respect to their jobs and their future

Bob Garnhum, V.P.

GoGreen!L.U. 1523 (u), WICHITA, KS—Approximately 40 labor,civic and community leaders came together for apresentation by Katie Gulley with “Blue GreenAlliance” on renewable energy sources. Blue Greenalliance is a partnership of local unions,community and farm organizations, and environ-mental groups promoting programs and policies todevelop a more green economy—“blue collar jobs,with a green purpose.” As a union, it’s our obliga-tion to think of future generations and cometogether to support the Blue Green Alliance andother environmentally friendly organizations.

As we come to the end of another safe andproductive year, we need to remember that it tookall of us to get here. You may think your businessmanager, officers and stewards are the voice of theunion, and they do speak for us. But it’s your voicethat makes things happen. Attend your monthlymeetings and let your voices be heard.

Big thanks to Local 1523 members for theirUnited Way contributions. We did a great job for agreat cause. Have a wonderful holiday season!

Candy C. Cruz-Dodd, P.S.

Tribute to a PioneerL.U. 1547 (c,em,i,o,t&u), ANCHORAGE, AK—FormerLocal 1547 businessmanager and telecommunica-tions hand Isaac “Ike”Waldrop Jr. died Aug. 1 at hishome in Tyler, TX. He was 76. Bro. Waldropmoved toAlaska after serving in the U.S. Army, stationed inKorea. He served as businessmanager from 1969 to1980. He was instrumental in implementing theAlaska Electrical Pension and helped steer the fundfrom 1969-1996. Bro. Waldrop served on the JointElectrical Apprenticeship Fund and the Health andWelfare Fund. Upon his retirement from Local 1547 in1980, he went to work for the AlaskaChapter of theNational Electrical Contractors Association andshortly thereafter became chaptermanager.

At NECA, Ike was a pioneer in improving labor-management relations. He continued his work inmaintaining the quality and value of benefitsearned by participants in the Pension, Health andWelfare, Legal, and Apprenticeship Funds. Ikealways recognized the value of strong labor-man-

agement relationsand the mutualinterests that bothsides needed to rec-ognize and developto be successful. Ingood and bad eco-nomic times, Ikenever lost his driveand determination.Bro. Waldrop will bemissed.

Melinda Taylor, P.S.

Support Your UnionL.U. 1579 (i&o), AUGUSTA, GA—As IBEWmembersweare very fortunate.We have the ability and theresources available that our nonunion counterpartsdon’t have.We elect our own officers and can attendunionmeetingswherewe can address our concerns.We have the ability to affect our future wages and ben-efits. Without a union, wewould have to negotiate ourwagewith every job and hope for the best on benefits.

As with any organization, lack of participationwould cause us to lose what we have. If we do notsupport our union, we are doing what corporateAmerica wants. Anyone who will bad-mouth theirunion without doing anything to help is a hero toantiunion corporate management.

Always remember, your family depends onyou to provide and protect them. Be a good IBEWmember and be thankful for Local 1579. Keep inmind that your union is only what you put into it.Supporting your union is supporting your family.

Will Salters, A.B.M.

NewProjects AnticipatedL.U. 1701 (catv,ees,i,o&u), OWENSBORO, KY—Congratulations to Bros. Alan Daniel, Ed Rice andSamGirten, who passed the journeymanwireman exam.

The Executive Board in June appointed Bro.Kenny Woodward Local 1701 president to fill theunexpired term of Bro. Richard Thomson, whoretired. Bro. Tim Blandford was appointed recordingsecretary following the death of Bro. Mike Roby. Wethank Bro. Thomson for his service and wish himluck in his retirement.

Bro. Neil Mattingly signed a letter of assentand opened a shop, Neil’s Electric. Congratulations,Bro. Mattingly. We look forward to working with you.

Turner Construction was awarded theOwensboro Mercy Health System’s new hospitalproject, locating on Daniels Lane and projected tostart in early 2010. Bus. Mgr. Gary Osborne is work-ing to get a PLA agreement for this project.

The Code of Excellence program is also beingpromoted in hopes of securing our work. All localunion officers and several members will be trainedas stewards for the program.

Kentucky Fuels Association broke ground inAugust for a coal to diesel plant. The OwensboroWal-Mart expansion was awarded to BroadwayElectric, a union contractor from Knoxville, TN. CashCreek power house is still a go, although fundinghas been a hold-up.

We mourn the passing of retired members LeoEvans, James Rowan and Joe Vittitow. May they restin peace.

Tim Blandford, R.S.

Barbecue at Kempenfelt BayL.U. 1739 (i&o), BARRIE, ONTARIO, CANADA—Local1739’s barbecue held onAug. 29 atOro Park on beau-tiful Kempenfelt Baywas a great success. The childrenin attendance also enjoyed special activities plannedfor their interest (see photo). Thankyou to BlaineNeville, DonnaMarriott and Jeff Burns for organizing afun day for all. We look forward to next year’s event.

Frank Kastle, P.S.

Boston Rally for JobsL.U. 2325 (t), WORCESTER, MA—Local 2325 partici-pated in a march and rally for jobs in downtownBoston on Oct. 1. The intent of the rally was toinform the public of the despicable behavior ofVerizon. Verizon is proceeding with plans to lay offapproximately 300 IBEW members in NewEngland, as well as many more union membersnationwide. This is in spite of the fact that Verizonmade over $3 billion in profit in the second quarterof 2009 alone.

A number of our members made the trip intoBoston to join the rally. Framingham ExecutiveBoard member Dan Manning, who is facing poten-tial layoff, addressed the crowd on behalf of IBEWmembers subject to layoff. Dan gave a rousingspeech calling for an end to corporate greed andasking for greater participation from our youngermembers. Our leadership and members proudlymarched through Boston’s financial district carryingsigns demanding an end to Verizon’s greed andheartlessness.

Local 1501 Bus. Mgr. Dion Guthrie spokerecently at a Boy Scouts Eagle ceremony.Guthrie noted that the Scouts have producedgreat leaders both within the IBEW and thelarger American society.

Former Local 1547business manager Isaac“Ike” Waldrop Jr. passedaway Aug. 1, 2009.

At the Local 1739 barbecue on KempenfeltBay in Barrie, Ontario, children in attendancewatch intently as they learn about reptiles.

IBEW Local 2325 members join Boston rallyfor jobs. From left, front row, are: ExecutiveBoard member Dan Manning, Press Sec.Paul Mark, Rec. Sec. Dawn Nelligan Rosa,Bus. Mgr. Dave Keating; back row, memberMike Hills and Pres. Keith Herrick.

LOCAL LINES continued on page 20


HOWTO REACH US

We welcome letters from our readers.The writer should include his or hername, address and, if applicable, IBEW local union number and cardnumber. Family members should include the local union number of theIBEW member to whom The Electrical Worker is mailed. Please keepletters as brief as possible. The Electrical Worker reserves the right toselect letters for publication and edit all 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: [email protected]

©2009 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Electrical Worker,900 Seventh Street, N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20001.

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Publications Mail Agreement No. 40011756.Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:P.O. Box 503RPOWest Beaver CreekRichmond Hill, ON L4B 4R6

One year ago, our union cheered the election of a new presi-dent and dozens of fresh faces in Congress elected withlabor’s support. I said then that voting for candidates is only

a first step that must be followed by work to hold our leadersaccountable to their promises.

Thomas Jefferson said that eternal vigilance is the price of free-dom. But maybe an old preacher said it even better: “The bread oflife is never served dining-room style; it’s on the cafeteria plan—youmust help yourself.”

So how have our leaders been doing since last November? Andhow have we been doing at helping ourselves to the change that wevoted for?

The Obama administration, with Congressional support, hasstood up for fair pay, reversed the Bush administration’s ban on proj-

ect labor agreements on federal projects and released stimulus money to save jobs in the auto industryand in the public and private sectors. These are important gains.

But before the election, labor identified the Employee FreeChoice Act—to eliminate some of the unfairbarriers facingworkerswhowant to formunions—and health care reform as issues at the top of our agenda.

For a time, the Employee FreeChoice Actwas hampered by the lackof a 60-votemajority in theSenate.Today, that 60-votemajority is seated, butwe are no closer to passing this act thanwewere before.

Some of our “friends’” knees have buckled as our adversaries have poured money into misleadingpublic relations campaigns on both the Employee Free Choice Act and health care reform. Big moneybuys weak knees.

Today, we’re fighting to keep health care reform focused on helping working families and the unin-sured, and not be just another sop to the big companies. And we have drawn a line in the sand againstthe taxation of benefits which is in one version of the bill in the Senate.

Meanwhile, we keep hearing that that the Employee Free Choice Act is on hold until health care isresolved, which could drag it into next year, an election year with all its pressures and foot dragging.

Political courage is what we need from our leaders to pass health care reform and the EmployeeFree Choice Act. Our grassroots mobilizing must be on tap to support our allies in the fight—and tostiffen their spines. �

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

The Electrical Worker was the name of the first officialpublication of the National Brotherhood of ElectricalWorkers in 1893 (the NBEW became the IBEW in 1899 withthe expansion of the union into Canada). The name andformat of the publication have changed over the years.This newspaper is the official publication of the IBEW andseeks to capture the courage and spirit that motivated thefounders of the Brotherhood and continue to inspire theunion’s members today. The masthead of this newspaperis an adaptation of that of the first edition in 1893.

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

EXECUTIVEOFFICERS

Edwin D. HillInternational President

Lindell K. LeeInternationalSecretary-Treasurer

INTERNATIONALEXECUTIVECOUNCIL

ChairmanRobert W. Pierson

First DistrictJoseph P. Calabro

Second DistrictMyles J. Calvey

Third DistrictJohn R. Clarke

Fourth DistrictWilliam W. Riley

Fifth DistrictStephen Schoemehl

Sixth DistrictGregory A. Lucero

Seventh DistrictPatrick Lavin

Eighth DistrictRick Dowling

INTERNATIONALVICEPRESIDENTS

First DistrictPhillip 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 DistrictCurtis E. Henke

THEELECTRICALWORKER

EditorEdwin D. Hill

C. James Spellane

MarkBrueggenjohann

Malinda Brent

Len Shindel

Carol Fisher

Alex Hogan

Lucas Oswalt

James H. Jones

Len Turner

Lindell K. LeeInternational Secretary-Treasurer

AHead 24pt

Edwin D. HillInternational President

One Year Later



About a year ago, a visitor totheCésarChávez Library inSalinas, California wouldhave had a hard time find-

ing a bookon the famous labor leaderthat the library is named after.

But thanks to the activism ofCastroville Local 234 member JuanDominguez—who spearheaded the“Save Our Labor History” project—the Chávez branch now boasts itsown burgeoning labor studies sec-tion with dozens of selections.

“For people who aren’t familiarwith labor history, I’m hoping thatthey will become aware of thingsthat many take for granted,” saidDominguez, 30, a journeyman wire-man for Redwood City. “Peoplefought and died for privileges thatwe enjoy, like the eight-hour day andunemployment benefits. Thesethings weren’t just given to us.”

Dominguez started the initiativelast fall as part of a course require-ment for one of his online classes atthe National Labor College. Studentswere tasked with designing and com-pleting a project that benefited work-ers in the area, such as helping runan organizing campaign.

So Dominguez set out to hislocal library to do some research—until he quickly hit a wall.

“I only found about a few booksthat had anything to do with laborissues in the whole library,” he said.“And the most recent one was from1994. I thought, ‘This isn’t right.’”

Following talkswith hisNLCpro-fessor Bonnie Ladin, Dominguez

decided to turn his assignment into acampaign to get volumesof laborhis-tory onto library shelves. His first goalswere to find abranch that accepteddonations and thenpurchase thebookshe thoughtwould form thebasis of a solid labor studies section.

After discussions with repre-sentatives at the Chávez branch andprogressive publisher and distribu-tor Haymarket Books, Dominguez’sproject started taking shape. At alocal meeting, he appealed to hisbrothers and sisters for support,and they overwhelmingly voted togive Dominguez $500 to buy booksfrom Haymarket to give to thebranch. Enthusiastic about the proj-ect, Haymarket waived shipping feesand added a 10 percent discount.

“The people at Haymarket weregreat,” Dominguez said. “And ourlocal is very involved in the commu-nity—they’ve always been generousabout donating to charities and pub-lic causes.”

Local 234 BusinessManager KenScherpinski praised Dominguez’sactivism and sense of purpose. “Wewant people to read about the strug-gles of steelworkers,miners and otherworkers,”Scherpinski said. “It puts inperspective how tough it was forHenryMiller to get things going andthe sacrifices that hemade.”

Some of the new titles at theChávez branch include Michael D.Yates’ “Why Unions Matter” andPhilip S. Foner’s 10-volume “Historyof the Labor Movement in the U.S.”Each new book in the library’s col-

lection boasts a nameplate thankingLocal 234 for the donation. Oldertitles on labor history that were inSalinas’ other two branches will bemoved to the labor studies sectionat the Chávez branch.

Dominguez sees the campaignas a way to help preserve thememoryof struggles and victories spanningthe entirety of the labormovement.

“As the saying goes, thosewhodonot learn from thepast are doomedto repeat it,” he said. “With thewaythatworkers’ rights have beendwin-dling, andwith the current economicproblemswe face, I fearwe could belosing someofwhatwe’ve gained.SocialSecurity, health care and otherbenefitsmaybe things of the pastunless people know that our ancestorsfought for them. If wedon’tmaintainthis information, itwill be lost.”

A 12-year IBEW member,Dominguez is completing hisdegree in labor studies. Readersinterested in donating to theproject can contact him [email protected] more information on theNational Labor College, visitwww.nlc.edu. �

Lettersto the Editor

If you have a story to tell about your IBEW experience, please send it [email protected].

WhoWeAre

Single Payer =Real ReformYour October story “Confronting the Health Care Crisis” mentioned many times therising costs, uncovered people, unemployed and the underinsured. Your five-pointplan did not address the solution. The Canadian plan stated in your side column,which is single payer (providing all-inclusive coverage for all residents), is thecheapest and best coverage for all citizens. While single payer in the USA faces anuphill battle for acceptance and government approval, it needs to be discussedand debated. If Canada can be successful, why not the USA?

David JudovinLocal 164 retiree, Jersey City, N.J.

NoPublicOptionResponding to yourOctober issue, I noticed your five-point plan for health care reformexcluded any tort reform and didn’tmention purchasing health care across state lines.You support the publicoption—but if there aremillions of dollars of waste and fraud inMedicare andMedicaid, whatmakes you thinkwe can deal with another governmentprogram? I recently sawmysenator, AmyKlobuchar (D), onTVwaffling on taxing unionhealth care plans. Shewas asked repeatedly about it. Shewould not answer.

Deb LarsonLocal 110 member, St. Paul, Minn.

ThankingOurVeteransIt is the Veteran, not the preacher, whoHas given us the freedom of religion.It is the Veteran, not the reporter, whoHas given us the freedom of the press.It is the Veteran, not the poet, whoHas given us freedom of speech.It is the Veteran, not the lawyer, whoHas given us the right to a fair trial.It is the Veteran, not the politician, whoHas given us the right to vote.It is the Veteran, not the event planner, whoHas given us the right to assemble at our Union meetings.It is the Veterans who we should give thanks to in November.Honor Veterans Day on 11/11.

Veterans Terry Smolik and George ConcaildiLocal 176 members, Joliet, Ill.

Member Brings Labor Historyto Public Library

A class projectprompted JuanDominguez (left) tocreate a labor studiessection at his locallibrary. National LaborCollege professorBonnie Ladin (below,right) providedguidance andencouragement.

The International Union also pays administrative services on behalf of the PensionPlan for the International Officers, Representatives and Assistants of the InternationalBrotherhood of Electrical Workers, and the Pension Plan for Office Employees of theInternational Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The administrative services includeauditing, legal and actuarial services. The costs of the administrative services are notreadily determinable.

Note 12. Operating LeasesThe International Union, through its wholly-owned subsidiary IBEW HeadquartersBuilding, LLC, has entered into agreements to lease space in its building. These leases,which expire at various dates through 2025, contain renewal options. Future minimumrental payments, excluding the lease payments due from the International Union, dueunder these agreements over the next five fiscal years are as follows:

Year ending June 30, 2010 $ 8,520,6972011 8,732,6452012 8,871,1292013 8,784,0852014 6,917,312

Note 13. Risks and UncertaintiesThe International Union invests in various investment securities. Investment securi-ties are exposed to various risks such as interest rate, market, and credit risks. Dueto the level of risk associated with certain investment securities, it is at least reason-ably possible that changes in the values of investment securities will occur in thenear term and that such changes could materially affect the amounts reported in thestatement of financial position. �

Financial Statements

Continued from page 9

In Memoriam

1 Hayes, J. A. 7/15/20091 Myers, E. M. 7/28/20091 Neal, P. E. 8/5/20092 Speakes, R. L. 8/1/20093 Barnes,W. C. 8/24/20093 Berry, J. J. 6/3/20093 David, M. A. 7/5/20093 Doliotis, M. 3/20/20053 Finkelstein, H. 11/15/20083 Flanagan, J. C. 7/8/20093 Gottlieb, A. 6/29/20093 Guido, V. 7/22/20093 Gurloff, E. M. 6/18/20093 Lamb, T. J. 1/27/20093 McGinn, R. T. 6/23/20093 Molfetta, R. J. 7/9/20093 Spoto, V. 6/28/20093 Tessler, I. 1/13/20063 Wilkins, A. B. 7/6/20095 Campoll, H.W. 7/15/20095 Haber, J. H. 8/31/20085 Hiles, J. A. 6/18/20095 Pfendler, R. J. 5/20/20096 Covell, M. A. 7/27/20096 Newton, F. D. 8/4/20097 Raymond, D.W. 7/26/20098 Crouch, T. L. 7/19/20098 Hanna, A. J. 8/1/200911 Dunn,W. E. 8/11/200811 Henning, J. F. 7/12/200911 Lynn, J.W. 4/26/200911 Powell, J. 7/4/200911 Schreiner, H.W. 6/10/200911 Smith, R.W. 6/6/200918 Robinson, J. T. 6/14/200920 Gathers,W. D. 3/14/200920 Holland, J. D. 8/11/200920 Wilson, L.W. 8/17/200924 Dreisch, G. L. 7/1/200924 Siemasko, E. R. 7/26/200925 Filiano, L. V. 6/8/200925 Piccione, A. 12/18/200634 Schraeder, R. K. 5/9/200938 Jacobs, F. 6/22/200941 Meyers, A.W. 7/4/200943 Queen,W. E. 7/26/200943 Thorpe, R. 7/24/200945 Graham,W. A. 7/22/200946 Egdamin, R. E. 5/30/200946 Maier, G. F. 7/4/200946 Powell, F. F. 10/16/200857 Chamberlin, V. F. 6/19/200957 Keefer, R.W. 6/30/200958 Goebel, E. 7/18/200960 Brietzke, R. C. 7/15/200966 Gunn, J. T. 8/12/200866 Lopez, R. S. 7/17/200968 Burns, J. F. 7/17/200968 Nicholas, J. R. 7/23/200968 Sacks, A. A. 7/19/200968 Scott, C. P. 7/4/200972 Giles, B. R. 8/2/200973 Ryan,W. V. 6/24/200977 Cranford, A. D. 8/1/200977 Holzbach, D. T. 7/23/200977 Patnode, D. L. 7/10/200977 Plotz, D. C. 3/6/200977 Sells, H. 7/17/200981 Coviello, M. J. 6/29/200984 Hutchison, E. 6/28/200984 Stipe, K. L. 7/17/200994 Mangels, H.W. 7/17/200996 Vaillette, R. J. 1/30/200998 Kingrea, R. E. 7/17/2009100 Carr, R. L. 3/16/2008100 Ferrare, S. J. 3/15/2009100 Owens, C. 6/5/2009102 Tomredle, C.W. 7/12/2009

102 Vadimski, J. E. 5/28/2009103 Burke, J. H. 7/17/2009103 Driscoll, D. 7/14/2009103 Freedman, M. 4/21/2009103 Russo, J. A. 7/25/2009103 Scioletti, R. J. 7/12/2009103 Twine, G. E. 7/8/2009104 Conley, J. J. 5/14/2009105 Bishop, R. L. 7/31/2009110 Clausen, G. E. 6/17/2009110 Horton, S.W. 7/5/2009111 Barkdull, W. E. 3/11/2009124 Cook, T.W. 7/18/2009125 Davidson, H. G. 7/18/2009126 Albert, S. L. 7/17/2009126 Pallo, J. J. 7/30/2009129 Algood,W. H. 4/15/2009130 Gray, R. J. 7/13/2009134 Bookwood, R. O. 4/27/2009134 Fiorito,W. 8/4/2009134 Glitta, M. 6/22/2009134 Governale, A. G. 1/6/2009134 Guenther,W. F. 6/7/2009134 Henry, F. A. 11/24/2008134 Kuzminski, J. R. 7/13/2009134 Loner, R. M. 7/26/2009134 McNamara, J. M. 6/15/2009134 Nesteikis, J. P. 6/18/2009134 Nowotarski, H. S. 6/19/2009134 Reusz, B. M. 7/5/2009134 Sadkowy, B. 7/26/2009134 Weber, L. A. 8/3/2009136 Dickerson, J. L. 6/20/2009136 Ledbetter, M. S. 7/20/2009145 Riecke, B. M. 7/19/2009145 Schimmel, L. A. 7/24/2009153 Schrock, T. E. 7/18/2009158 Van Ess, A. 5/28/2009164 Bello, R. A. 5/8/2009175 Cleaver, G. D. 7/10/2009175 Parks, F.W. 7/7/2009193 Ryan,W. A. 8/6/2009194 Dunn, R. R. 6/19/2009196 Emmerling, E. J. 4/13/2009212 Dempster,W. P. 7/9/2009212 Hoesl, E. 6/29/2009212 Meier, C. 7/11/2009213 Reiter, R. J. 2/9/2009222 Anderson, G.W. 7/24/2009222 Barber, S. M. 8/3/2009229 Shaffer, K. E. 7/22/2009230 Watson, D. E. 6/16/2009233 Redensek, J. L. 6/11/2009236 Messina, R. E. 7/31/2009258 Marcus, H. 4/25/2009258 Taylor, K. I. 4/19/2005269 Bowe, R. D. 7/12/2009269 Haupt, J. F. 7/15/2009270 Cox, P. E. 4/12/2009275 Harvey, G. P. 8/17/2008278 Powell,W. G. 7/28/2009292 Arbuckle,W. J. 7/11/2009292 Shannon, A.W. 6/22/2009292 Tatley, M. J. 7/31/2009294 Cholich, M. D. 7/12/2009294 Corradi, G. R. 7/25/2009300 Schmanska, R. B. 7/20/2009301 Keener, J.W. 8/6/2009301 Nevels, E. L. 8/1/2009302 Brown, R. C. 6/30/2009302 Francis, F. D. 4/24/2009304 Jordan, R. A. 6/24/2009305 Rodgers, C. B. 5/20/2009307 Knight, A. H. 5/23/2009317 Akers, R. G. 10/22/2008317 McMinn, J. I. 6/16/2009332 Holseberg,W. H. 5/19/2009342 Meadows, H. R. 7/29/2009

345 Feenker, G. R. 5/31/2009349 McPhail, C. C. 4/23/2009349 Taisler, R. 5/26/2009350 Fritz, R. C. 7/3/2009353 Delavary, M. 6/30/2009353 Dunlop, E. M. 12/7/2008353 Durling, R. 8/2/2009353 Janicki, K. 7/9/2009353 Scott, G. G. 8/14/2009357 Manke, M. H. 6/25/2009369 Mohon, J.W. 3/26/2009387 Ourso, A. B. 7/19/2009391 Daniel,W. L. 6/20/2009405 Frink, R. L. 7/9/2009413 Burke, J.W. 3/18/2009415 Vigil, E. G. 5/10/2009429 Devine, M. E. 7/16/2009429 Gant, C. D. 6/30/2009429 Nequist, N. D. 6/27/2009429 Shelby, D. 5/24/2009443 Collier, T. A. 7/13/2009443 Ward, J. A. 7/22/2009446 Allen, S. 6/30/2009453 Johnston, H. R. 7/24/2009456 Hegeman, M. F. 6/15/2009466 Myres, D. L. 7/19/2009473 Frieberger, L. E. 7/29/2009474 Barnes, J. H. 6/1/2009474 Hay, E. N. 7/1/2009475 Henley, M. 5/26/2009479 Daigle, T. J. 1/19/2009481 Latty, R. D. 7/2/2009486 Katcoff, D. 7/18/2009494 Banaszak,W. J. 6/14/2009494 Behringer, A. 6/7/2009494 Drachenberg, E. F. 7/31/2009494 Gehrke, D. M. 7/9/2009508 McQuaig, J. H. 7/11/2009518 Nix, C. E. 8/1/2009531 Jankowski, T. 8/4/2009553 Strother, D. T. 7/6/2009557 Schmerheim, D. J. 6/10/2009558 Thompson, T. F. 7/28/2009575 Miller,W. R. 7/26/2009576 Gates, G. E. 5/16/2009583 Rivera, L. 5/17/2009584 Flaming, A. J. 7/21/2009584 Widowski, P. E. 6/20/2009595 Lehman, M. T. 4/11/2009595 Phillips, G. M. 6/30/2009596 Capicola, J. F. 6/13/2009602 Crafton, C.W. 6/17/2009602 Faught, D. R. 6/16/2009605 McGuffee, J. C. 12/1/2008613 Guthrie, G. L. 5/5/2009640 Hickey, J.W. 7/14/2009659 Cleven, G. O. 7/31/2009659 Davis, J. B. 7/21/2009666 Bryant,W. E. 7/21/2009666 Franck, A. J. 8/6/2009666 Moates, R. C. 7/21/2009682 Patrick, R. L. 6/21/2009697 Guanajuato, E. 6/26/2009697 Murray, J. 6/14/2009700 Nickell, D.W. 6/2/2009701 Thon, O.W. 5/20/2009708 Padilla, M. 5/30/2009714 Cunningham, C. S. 1/24/2009716 Dobraski, D. L. 7/4/2009725 Nash, R. E. 7/12/2009725 Puckett, F.W. 7/12/2009725 Rodeghiero, J. H. 6/12/2009728 Baker, J. G. 5/22/2009728 Eason, G. A. 9/14/2008728 Lewis, I. E. 6/29/2009728 Logan, R. F. 7/12/2009760 Austell, J. E. 6/6/2009760 Campbell, G. C. 4/29/2009

760 Cobb, R. M. 8/6/2009791 O’Connor, A. J. 7/19/2009791 Smart, J. 7/17/2009796 Cole, J.W. 3/23/2009816 Ellington, J. 7/12/2009841 Brill, P. F. 7/2/2009841 Holcombe, J. D. 1/21/2009852 Bound, J. F. 8/11/2009861 Derouen, D. R. 8/1/2009861 Martarona, V. J. 6/18/2009873 Smith, G. C. 6/22/2009876 Youngman, T. L. 7/8/2009890 Juckett, D.W. 7/1/2009890 Westerman, T. J. 7/4/2009894 Heard, D. 6/30/2009903 LeFebvre, R. J. 5/6/2009915 Dehmel, L. A. 6/29/2009934 Nowlin, B. 5/10/2009940 Dalton, T. 7/18/2009953 Peterson, A.W. 7/14/2009953 Snippen, J. R. 7/1/2009972 Wigal, J. A. 7/29/2009985 Jones, G. B. 7/27/2009993 Brown, L. A. 7/6/20081049 Tandy, J. A. 2/14/20091105 Mullenix, D. C. 7/16/20091105 Swick, N. E. 7/23/20091158 Pencak, R. A. 7/27/20091186 Asato, S. 5/30/20091186 Foley, A. B. 8/12/20091186 Plunkett, R. 3/22/20091205 Olsen, K. 12/7/20071249 Bajanen, M. E. 6/15/20091316 Wells, D. T. 12/6/20081340 Sheovic, J. S. 7/14/20091426 Hedlund, P. M. 4/20/20091547 Hakala, M. J. 4/8/20091701 Chapman, H. J. 7/23/20091701 Vittitow, J. M. 5/6/20091710 Wolsdorf, J. M. 12/30/2008

1908 Schwab, M. R. 6/28/20091924 Parrish,W. L. 7/11/20091959 Laughlin, G. B. 7/20/20092286 Harris, B. A. 8/10/2009I.O. (43) Ryan, R. M. 7/7/2009I.O. (134) Grant Acquah,W.Y. 6/24/2009I.O. (573) Hernandez, M. D. 6/24/2009Pens. (323) Gilmore, R. S. 7/2/2009Pens. (816) Taylor, T. L. 7/11/2009Pens. (835) Bradley, F. 6/1/2009Pens. (2253) Tremblay, L. 6/22/2009Pens. (I.O.) Berkowitz, B. 7/2/2009Pens. (I.O.) Bobbitt, R. A. 6/23/2009Pens. (I.O.) Bower, S. H. 6/18/2009Pens. (I.O.) Bray, F. M. 5/15/2009Pens. (I.O.) Breuer, D. J. 7/22/2009Pens. (I.O.) Crocker, F.W. 7/19/2009Pens. (I.O.) Fabianich, A. J. 4/23/2009Pens. (I.O.) Franks, J. H. 7/19/2009Pens. (I.O.) Hawkins, H. T. 7/13/2009Pens. (I.O.) Helmich, T. 7/6/2009Pens. (I.O.) Hubert, R. E. 7/7/2009Pens. (I.O.) Johnson, R. A. 1/3/2009Pens. (I.O.) Keeney, L. L. 7/1/2009Pens. (I.O.) Kijek, P. 7/29/2009Pens. (I.O.) Kube, R. H. 7/28/2007Pens. (I.O.) Loveland, E. B. 7/4/2009Pens. (I.O.) McElwee, J. P. 5/1/2009Pens. (I.O.) Mills, C. 8/3/2008Pens. (I.O.) Mogck, K. L. 2/1/2009Pens. (I.O.) Riddle, L. G. 12/10/2008Pens. (I.O.) Russell, C. D. 3/13/2009Pens. (I.O.) Shreve, M.W. 7/5/2009Pens. (I.O.) Skubisz, B. T. 6/19/2009Pens. (I.O.) Stearley, B. E. 7/11/2009Pens. (I.O.) Strom, R. E. 12/21/2008Pens. (I.O.) Wild, P. J. 8/14/2009Pens. (I.O.) Williamson, N. L. 5/26/2009Pens. (I.O.) Willis, C. R. 7/18/2009Pens. (I.O.) Wolf, C. F. 1/26/2008

Local Surname Date of Death Local Surname Date of Death Local Surname Date of Death Local Surname Date of Death Local Surname Date of Death

Members forWhomPBFDeathClaimswereApproved inSeptember2009


Local Lines continued from page 17

The rally was one part of a multifaceted campaign conducted by Local 2325and System Council T-6 aimed at stopping this unnecessary layoff. Special thanks toour COPE Committee for its tireless work rallying political support against Verizon.We also wish to recognize our junior members for their solidarity and courage in theface of this intolerable injustice by Verizon.

Paul Mark, P.S.

‘Thankyou,Mike Flanagan!’SYSTEMCOUNCIL U-7, JOHNSON CITY, NY—A celebration was held in western NewYork, Sept. 16 in honor of recently retired Int. Rep. Michael Flanagan. Bro. Flanaganretired Aug. 1, following more than four decades of IBEW service. Many family,friends and co-workers attended. Local 97 organized the event, and Local 97 Bus.Mgr. Dave Falletta and Vice Pres. Kevin Long started the celebration off. Longtimefriend Local 2199 Bus. Mgr. Bill McMahon remembered events from over the years.

FromSCU-7, Council Pres./Local 83 Bus. Mgr. Danny Addy spoke, as well as Local249 Bus. Mgr. MarkValerio. Also attending fromSCU-7 were: Local 83 Vice Pres. GaryBonker, Local 966 Bus. Mgr. Michael Lutz, Local 966 Vice Pres. Chris Fox, Local 249Vice Pres. Pat Stein, and Local 83 Bus. Agents TomAddy and DonTuttel.

A special thank-you, Bro. Flanagan, fromall of us for all you have done for us overthe years, professionally and as a friend.Mike is definitely a full-service rep!

Don S. Tuttel, P.S.

The Electrical Worker November 2009

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Transcript of The Electrical Worker November 2009