Posted: June 6, 2009 05:01 PM
Updated: June 8, 2009 10:33 AM
From http://www.fox4now.com Florida
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Cars honk in support as dozens of Florida Power and Light employees fight for their jobs and benefits. Their messages are clearly displayed on handmade signs, "Negotiate, don't dictate," "CEOs millions, workers zero," "Save our medical."
These picketers, all electrical union (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, or IBEW) members, tell me they won't accept the power company's current contract offers.
Union President Rocky Bennett can't legally show me the offers, but tells me he won't approve them, because they have lower wages, less medical coverage, and fewer day shifts than the last contracts.
"When you have a hurricane, it's our guys who are out there in the weather trying to get your lights back on," he told me. "It's a dangerous job and it's hard work and we feel like we deserve to have a good contract and be treated fairly."
Brian Packard has worked at FPL for 30 years, but says he'll consider leaving if forced to give up his current wages and shift.
"I have three girls. I brought them up through Little League and band," he explained. "And I was there for all of that because I was a day shift worker."
But FPL spokesperson Mayco Villafana says negotiations are still ongoing.
"We believe that IBW employees are worth it and, as with any negotiations that are multi-faceted, they take time to complete to everyone's satisfactions," he told me on the phone.
Villafana wouldn't give me any contract details, but did say FPL is facing a tough economic climate and already pays workers higher than average wages.
Pooja Lodhia
Reporter
Almost half of the nation’s 20 largest unions have pension funds that federal law classifies as “endangered” or in “critical” condition due to being underfunded, an Examiner review of federal actuarial reports shows.
By Jonathan D. Salant
June 8 (Bloomberg) -- Automobile dealers have been among the biggest contributors to U.S. political campaigns over the past decade, surpassing all but two groups in donations. That $13 million investment may be paying off as the dealers get a lot of attention on Capitol Hill.
Congress has held hearings on the planned shutdown of thousands of dealerships and is debating ways to provide relief to the businesses. Almost a quarter of the members of the House of Representatives signed letters to President Barack Obama and his auto task force questioning plans to close the dealerships.
The lawmakers’ involvement may disrupt plans by General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC to emerge from bankruptcy with a leaner dealer network.
“The intention of bankruptcy is for companies to streamline their operations,” said Maryann Keller, an auto analyst and president of Maryann Keller & Associates, based in Stamford, Connecticut. “If Congress does something that says, ‘No, you can’t terminate contracts that you believe are to your detriment,’ of course it threatens them.”
Executives of Detroit-based GM, which is to shrink its dealerships to as few as 3,500 from 6,000, and Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler, which plans to shut 789, said the reductions are crucial to their viability.
Fritz Henderson, chief executive officer of GM, told the Senate Commerce Committee on June 3 that the cuts were about “creating a healthy, stronger and profitable dealer network.”
Too Many Dealers
Chrysler President and Vice Chairman Jim Press told the panel his network “is not viable and not profitable.”
Obama has pledged to allow the automakers to make their own decisions on restructuring.
As a result, the National Automobile Dealers Association -- whose members are in all 435 U.S. congressional districts --is asking its more than 17,000 dealers to help it delay, if not scale back, the closings.
Almost 200 dealers visited their lawmakers in Washington last month, and the association has asked its members to recruit their workers to contact local representatives. The McLean, Virginia-based group estimates that on average each dealership has 52 sales people and support staff, and the dealers are often the largest employers in many small towns.
Behind Realtors, Electricians
The association’s political action committee has donated more money to federal candidates in the last 10 years than all but two PACs, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington research group. It gave more than $13 million from 1999 through 2008, behind only the National Association of Realtors and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
“When an organized industry with a history of generous giving to members of Congress appeals for help, those members aren’t likely to turn them down cold,” said Rogan Kersh, associate dean at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
Lawmakers responded by sending letters to Obama and his task force urging a review of the planned closures. Signing the letters were 104 House members -- 83 of whom received PAC donations from the dealers’ association for their 2008 or 2010 races. These included Republicans Chris Lee, who drafted one letter with Democrat Dan Maffei, both of New York, and Steven LaTourette, who wrote the other letter with Democrat Dennis Kucinich, both of Ohio.
Maffei and Kucinich got no money from the trade group, according to the center’s data.
Fabric of Community
LaTourette, who received the maximum $10,000 donation for his 2008 re-election, said donations had nothing to do with lawmakers’ support for the dealers.
“Auto dealers happen to be part of the fabric of every small community I represent,” he said.
Lawmakers say GM and Chrysler should at least give dealers more time to wind down their businesses, especially when the automakers have gotten billions of dollars in federal aid.
“I don’t believe that companies should be allowed to take taxpayer funds for a bailout and then leave local dealers and their customers to fend for themselves,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat.
Dealers say they aren’t a financial drain on automakers.
“We purchase the parts, we purchase the vehicles,” said Roger Burdick, who with his brothers owns 20 dealerships near Syracuse, New York. “We carry all the costs ourselves.”
Recruiting Customers, Too
Jack Fitzgerald, who owns dealerships in Florida, Maryland and Pennsylvania and is scheduled to lose Chrysler and Jeep franchises, asked his customers to join the fight. Visitors to his Web site are met with a plea for help.
“If you’re going to rise again in Detroit, you have got to serve the people who are riding around in your cars,” Fitzgerald said.
Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, has introduced legislation to require GM and Chrysler to use federal aid to buy unsold cars and parts from shuttered dealers and give them 180 days to close.
Maffei and fellow Democrat Frank Kratovil of Maryland today introduced a measure that would prevent Chrysler and GM from closing the dealers.
“Forced, arbitrary closure of dealers by manufactures will not necessarily be financially beneficial to automakers, and it certainly will not help the local economies where dealers are integral to the business community,” Maffei said.
‘High Profile’ Issue
Hearings and letters may be enough to slow the process, said Representative Ron Klein, a Florida Democrat.
“Sometimes, Congress’s power is not passing legislation,” said Klein, who signed one of the letters and got money from the dealers’ group. “It is creating a very high profile of an issue.”
GM and Chrysler have said that they need fewer dealers so that the remaining retail locations will get more business and be able to invest in their operations. U.S. stores for Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. each averaged more than 1,100 sales in 2008, almost three times as many as at GM’s and Chrysler’s, according to consulting firm Grant Thornton.
Average new-auto revenue was $14.3 million for GM dealers and $12.8 million for Chrysler last year, compared with $40.9 million for Toyota, based on data from auto-research company Edmunds.com. Dealers also make money on used vehicles, parts and service.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: June 8, 2009 14:48 EDTBy Rory Sweeneyrsweeney@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
Alli Owens’ formal education stopped at high school graduation, but she’s been gaining experience at her job ever since she started at age 12.
Racecar driver Alli Owens talks to electrician apprentices at the IBEW Local 163 hall in Hanover Township.
Fred Adams/For The Times Leader
It’s fitting, then, that the racecar driver’s sponsor is a coalition of the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which entice high school grads into electrical trades with an “earning while you’re learning” appeal.
In fact, trainees will earn perhaps $150,000 over their 5-year apprenticeship, according to John Nadolny, the training director for IBEW Local Union 163 in Hanover Township. After that, work through the union is guaranteed to be at least $30 per hour. “All in all, it’s a great career,” Nadolny said. “You can actually support a family on this.”
With high school graduation season in full swing, a new crop of former students is looking at a weak economy and considering its options. Most say they plan to continue their formal education, although there are no reliable statistics on how many actually earn a degree. But for others – including Owens, who stopped by Local 163 on Thursday to talk to apprentices before her ARCA race on Saturday at Pocono Raceway – a career without college is the way to go.
That’s what worked for Steve Bekanich, Luzerne County’s emergency management coordinator. “I basically started out as a volunteer firefighter when I was 16 years old,” he said. From there, he volunteered as an emergency medical technician before beginning work at the county after graduating from high school in 1988. By 1993, he had switched to the county’s Emergency Management Agency and became director in 2006.
“I’ve attended thousands of hours of training, but I don’t have a formal degree. A lot of the training we do is on the job, or work provided,” he said. “There is room for advancement if you do your job well and you continue the training. We train constantly, so it all hinges on how hard you’re willing to work.”
Becoming a police officer requires a bit more formal training, but the Act 120 training can be accomplished within 22 weeks, according to Gene Baidas, the director of the police academy at Lackawanna College. Going part-time, students complete the training in 11 months. Either way, he said, grads earn about 30 credits toward a criminal justice degree if they choose to pursue it, but that isn’t a requirement to landing a respected job that pays anywhere from $8 per hour to $15 per hour part time, or perhaps $35,000 full-time at larger departments.
“In our area, the majority of the chiefs of police basically just have their (Act) 120 (training),” Baidas said. “Even in law enforcement, some of the better jobs, you still do need an associate’s degree. … It’s up to the individual. If they want to work and really do a good job, it’s up to them.”
Careers without college are often predicated on experience. Electrical apprentices must accumulate 8,000 hours on the job; police need 785� hours of training. Other non-degree jobs that pay the bills, such as truck driving and health care, have their own certification or licensing requirements.
Even agriculture can require some in-class bookwork. “Families are much more encouraging of their children … to go through college because there are so many new things out there … that can only help the future of the farm,” said Mark O’Neill, media relations director for the state Farm Bureau. Still, farming is a calling, he said. “If it’s just for a paycheck, I don’t recommend it,” he said. “You really have to have a connection to the farming life to make it a career.”
Making something you enjoy pay off is the entrepreneurial spirit that’s helped Tony Hudak and Chip Sorber find financial rewards as hunting guides. “I actually make more money guiding than I do contracting, pound for pound,” said Hudak, whose full-time job is contracting. He makes about 1� times more in six days leading hunters around private lands looking for gobblers “than banging nails.”
Sorber, a retired school teacher, has parlayed a lifetime of hunting into a part-time business guiding hunters to bobcats. He had hunted the cats before it was banned for about 20 years, and would note their locations while running coyotes with his dogs. When the ban was lifted, “nobody knew how to hunt bobcats,” he said, so he put his name on a list of guides. People who were awarded hunting tags called him.
“Word of mouth is basically how I do it today. Matter of fact, I get a lot of calls. I turn down more than I take,” he said, noting that he charges $1,000 for a cat, or $100 per day. “It’s not really the money factor,” he said. “It’s part of it,” but it’s more about finding a way to enjoy the thrill of the hunt and the experience even though “I can’t really shoot the bobcat anyway because I don’t have a tag.”
Hudak charges $250 per day “win, lose or draw” for his service, transportation and access to the land, but guiding is more about “somebody who’s spent the time,” he said. “In my opinion, being a good guide is somebody who knows their area, knows how the animal is going to react.”
He got that experience by forsaking his chance at college. “The reason I didn’t go is I just had a hard time with my schooling in high school,” because he missed a lot while he was out hunting and fishing, he said.
“There’s times when I stop and think I wonder where I would have been” had he gone to college, Hudak said.
But not often: “I’m happy with the way it’s worked out.”
Rory Sweeney, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7418.
Over 100 people including students from Crescent Collegiate attended a Union Trade Fair at Long Harbour May 22 where they could find answers to questions they may have had about job availability, education and unions.
The event was organized by the Town of Long Harbour and had representatives from five unions at the fair providing information and education for anyone interested.
Mayor Keating said they felt it was a timely exercise in providing information to people who could benefit from work at the Vale Inco hydromet plant currently going ahead in Long Harbour.
"(They were) showing them the opportunities that are available in getting in and getting the courses and in terms of employment at Long Harbour and other jobs that are coming up in the future," said Mayor Keating. "(Unions) had booths set up where students and the general public were just going around picking up pamphlets and asking questions about each course and that type of thing."
Mayor Keating said it was important that young people got the opportunity to participate.
"There are certainly significant opportunities for the youth of today to take advantage of here," he said.
"I think a lot of young people were interested. I think they realize there is a significant opportunity in this skilled trade movement. It's not like years ago and people were mostly focusing on university as a prime source of education but today with construction and the rates of pay, which are pretty significant, they can take advantage of it and hopefully that will increase as time goes on."
Cal Jones, president of the Resource Development Council and business manager of the pipefitters union, U. A. Local 740 Plumbers and Pipefitters was on hand during the fair to help get information out.
There were booths and information available from IBEW Local 2330 - Electrical, Newfoundland and Labrador Regional Council of Carpenters, Millwrights and Allied Works, Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, and representatives from Women in Trades also at the trade fair.
Mr. Jones said he thought the day was a success.
"There were about 100 people total. That was a reasonable turnout. I thought it was very good. A lot of interest. People wanted to hear what you had to say and what you had to offer," he said.
Mr. Jones said there is talk of offering another union trade fair in Placentia since Laval students were unable to participate at this time.
Mr. Jones said he was involved with this project because he wants to promote more people from the area getting involved in the Long Harbour project.
"There are employment opportunities that do exist here within certain craft levels and even though we have a very sizeable number of people in the province that are members with some of the different union affiliates, we would like for job opportunities to be made available to locals in the area and we would work with them to help them where possible," he explained.
Mr. Jones said the union he's with has just completed a state of the art building that can house 118 students at a time in Donovan's Industiral Park and they are committed to providing seats to students from the Long Harbour area and surrounding communities.
"If there is 25 students from Long Harbour and surrounding communities interested in getting involved in the piping industry, we have committed that there will be 25 seats for them and we will work hard with the mayors of the surrounding communities, with Vale Inco and with the employers to ensure that these people get jobs on that project. It don't get no better than that," he stated.
"That's about the extent of it. We look forward to doing a trade fair in Placentia to provide information that people would be interested in hearing."
editor@thecharter.ca
With renewable energy looking to be the wave of the future, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is letting everyone know that its members are the best-trained green-work force around.
During the Memorial Day break, local International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers training centers opened its doors to policy makers and members of the public to learn more about the union's extensive green job-training programs.
"I hope I saw the future and I believe that I did," Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman said after touring New Haven Local 90's training center.
Legislators were in their home districts for Congress's Memorial Day recess and many eagerly accepted the IBEW's and the National Electrical Contractors Association's invitation to tour their local joint apprenticeship training facilities. More than 90 members of Congress attended open house events.
In Warren, Ohio, state and local leaders got a first look at plans for a new solar photovoltaic system and wind turbines to be installed at Local 573's Electrical Trades Institute, while in Tennessee, Rep. Jim Cooper (D) called Nashville Local 429's apprenticeship training center and its green-skills program, a "ticket to the future," after touring its facility.
In San Diego, more than 120 community, local and state leaders visited Local 569's Electrical Training Center, including representatives from Sen. Barbara Boxer's and Rep. Susan Davis's offices. The center focuses on solar power, which allows apprentices to earn professional certification in photovoltaic installation.
Local 569 is also planning to open a new green-training facility in neighboring Imperial County to help staff its rapid-growing solar and wind market. The local's program was featured in the San Diego Union Tribune newspaper as part of its hot-jobs list for new college grads.
Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) dedicated a new photovoltaic display at Denver Local 68's training center. Perlmutter told guests that renewable energy will "rebuild the country and the middle class."
The 18-kilowatt panel was originally displayed at last year's Democratic National Convention in Denver. The local plans to add wind turbines to the facility soon.
More than 200 apprentices from Richmond, Va., Local 666 are learning specialized skills in solar and wind that could become one of the fastest growing job-sectors in central Virginia. "We're the best kept secret in the industry," Business Manager Jim Underwood told WWBT-TV during the local's open house.
New opportunities are opening up in the renewable energy sector as millions of federal stimulus dollars are made available for training and investment in the new energy economy. But the expected rapid growth of green jobs - covering everything from retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency to installing and wiring solar panels and wind turbines - means the our economy will require thousands of trained electricians who can safely and professionally carry out the work.
It's a demand that is already being met by the IBEW.
According to Honolulu Local 1186 Business Manager Damien Kim:
Renewable energy is not the wave of the future, it's already here. Our members and apprentices will be going into the workplace with skills that are expected of them as we move toward a new energy economy.
Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) toured Local 1186's facility which features training in photovoltaics, wind turbines and automated building operations.
According to IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill:
More than 70 IBEW training centers offer training in renewable energy, with more and more facilities incorporating green power into their curriculum.The IBEW has the curriculum, facilities and instructors needed to lead the new energy revolution and we've been doing it for nearly a decade. And we make sure that green-collar workers and their families get a decent wage and benefits so they can take their place in the middle class.
Posted: May 8, 2009 09:27 PM
Updated: May 9, 2009 08:53 AM
By: Elizabeth Corridan
GOSHEN, Mass (abc40) -- A Goshen Marine learned firsthand what true friendship means when his family needed a helping hand. Greg Denys' family was without power for a week last December following the devastating ice storm that crippled much of the region. Greg was not there to put his electrical skills to work because he was on leave from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 7 Apprentice Program serving in Iraq. Denys' says, "It sucks knowing that I'd rather be in that position than have them in that position."
Once the ice had thawed and the lights were back on, Denys' family decided to install a back-up generator. Greg's mom mentioned their plans to one of her son's mentors at the I.B.E.W. who had called to check in. Training Director Mark Kuenzel said, "They had bought a generator and were about to start calling contractors for the install and I said 'Don't do anything. I will call Greg's teacher and class to see what they can do.'"
Greg's class stepped up in a big way. Not only did they provide all the labor for free, they even found a local contractor to donate additional parts for the installation. Classmate Mark Rodrigo says, "We are required to do six hours of community service as part of our program but when it was to help Greg out it was easier to do."
Longtime friend and classmate Jacob McGrath agrees, saying, "Growing up with him, when I learned what happened I was happy to help."
Greg was thrilled when he heard. "It's always good to get news from home but great news like that is even better," he says.
Greg is back home in Goshen with his family. He knows he has more than just classmates looking out for him. He has friends for life and they are all happy to have Greg home.
Approximately 6,200 students thronged the convention center for the Northwest Youth Careers Expo, spilling out into the lobby and sidewalks. As inspiring as the turnout was, it’s not a substitute for vocational training, expo organizer Drew Park said.
But events like the expo can get students interested and excited about careers in construction and related industries.
“It’s just to spark their interest,” said Park, president and CEO of Columbia Wire and Iron.
“We’re trying to give kids an opportunity to see companies in the local economy, what kinds of jobs they offer, what kind of pay they offer.
“This will at least give them a little glimpse of something, something to put their hands on.”
Tyler Winslow, an Oregon City High School senior, got his hands on a drill at the Hoffman Construction booth. Students were able to practice drilling screws into two-by-fours at the display.
Winslow, who also takes welding instruction at Clackamas Community College, said he’s interested in all types of construction. “I’m in it for whatever,” he said. “I just like building stuff.”
Dick Burnham, operations manager with Hoffman, said he saw plenty of enthusiasm at the booth. “Some of the kids are really energized and asking good questions,” he said.
Various colleges and job programs set up booths for interested students. Other companies set up video games and other displays without any apparent educational purpose.
Not so fast, Park said. Watching students manipulate a backhoe at the Nutter booth, it’s clear some are putting their video game skills to good use.
“Some of the kids, they come in here, with all their gaming abilities, and it’s just ‘boom, boom, boom.’ They get it right away.” Park said. “It transfers directly.”
Ian Bruggeman, a Job Corps student from Estacada, bragged about his prowess after using a backhoe to dunk a softball into a traffic cone. “I got it in three seconds,” Bruggeman said.
“It’s, like, a new world record.”
Jacob Cutts, an Estacada freshman, has plenty of video game experience but took longer to adjust to the machine’s dual joysticks. “It’s kind of confusing with the controls,” he said.
Keeping up with high-school students requires extra effort to stay up to date, said Sarah Hammer, working at the National Electrical Contractors Association and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ booth. “You have to be when you’re working with these kids,” she said.
The union Local 48 booth offered free digital music cards and videos of workers in action. Students entered their names into a drawing for a backpack.
Stressing the electrical connection, the backpack has a solar panel to charge personal electronic devices. “One kid actually called it ‘gangsta,’ ” Hammer said.
Each person who entered the drawing will get a friend request from the union local’s MySpace and Facebook pages. And, yes, Local 48 also tweets.
It looks like the kids are going for it, Hammer said. “People are saying ‘You have a MySpace page? That’s awesome!’
© 2009 DJC News
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McAuliffe's past could complicate campaign
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Terry McAuliffe has a simple message for Virginia: Elect him governor this year and he will bring jobs, because he has more business experience than anyone else in the race.
Yet McAuliffe's business pedigree is not so simple. He is a dealmaker who made millions from investments. And many of his biggest deals came in partnership with prominent donors and politicians, creating a portrait over the years of a Washington insider who got rich as he rose to power within the Democratic Party.
McAuliffe is, at his core, a salesman — and even called himself a "huckster" in his autobiography. In this year's bid for governor, McAuliffe is selling the idea that his uncanny knack for making money can bring prosperity to all Virginia. But at a time when public mistrust of millionaires and politicians is high, that strategy could backfire.
"People are somewhat skeptical at the moment of certain kinds of business dealings," said Robert Holsworth, a political scientist and author of the blog Virginia Tomorrow. "There is a populist resentment that's directed at both government and business simultaneously. I don't know how that's going to play out."
McAuliffe faces Brian Moran and Creigh Deeds in the June 9 Democratic primary; the winner will face Republican Robert McDonnell in the fall. On the campaign trail, McAuliffe has repeatedly used local businesses as the backdrop for his political rallies. He tells audiences that he has been a one-man engine for job creation for decades.
Wearing a hard hat recently while touring a trash incinerator that converts waste to energy, McAuliffe sloshed through trash ooze in hiking boots. "I love landfills!" he declared, machine-gunning his tour guide with questions and barraging his staff with ideas to jot down. "Oh, wow!" he gasped while looking at a four-story mountain of trash.
Such hands-on displays, along with an endless stream of exuberant one-liners ("I started my first business at 14!"), reveal a showman and salesman.
But they belie the complexity of a business career built mostly on intricate land deals and dot-com investments, often with wealthy political donors — and sometimes with no jobs to show for it.
Since his early 20s, after graduating from Georgetown Law, McAuliffe has been forming partnerships, raising capital and investing in business ventures. He has earned millions as a banker, real estate developer, home builder, hotel owner, Internet venture capitalist and credit-card marketer.
For McAuliffe, politics and business have always been intertwined.
He was Richard Gephardt's national finance chairman and later gave Gephardt a loan from the bank he led, Federal City National Bank. He worked with then-House Whip Tony Coelho on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the 1980s and later worked with him at a Washington real estate brokerage, the Boland Group.
One of McAuliffe's most lucrative deals, earning him $8 million, was a $100,000 investment in Global Crossing Holdings in the 1990s. The company's chief, Gary Winnick, later became a contributor for whom McAuliffe had secured a golf date with President Bill Clinton.
McAuliffe made $16 million developing a shopping center in Florida after persuading a top labor leader he knew through the Democratic Party to invest $40 million from the union's pension fund.
He made another $1.2 million helping Telergy, an Internet startup firm from his home town, Syracuse, N.Y., secure a $40 million investment from Winnick, the Global Crossing chief.
Telergy paid McAuliffe the referral fee, he recalled, after its executives invited him to serve on the board to help forge contacts with national politicians.
By the end of Clinton's second term, McAuliffe was the president's top fundraiser, well known for working with Clinton to arrange perks for party donors — and doing business with some of those same donors. One of those was Carl Lindner, who headed Chiquita Brands International and the insurance company American Financial Group. Although Lindner is known for supporting Republican causes, McAuliffe said he introduced him to Clinton and encouraged him to donate.
About the same time, McAuliffe was also partnering with Lindner in the purchase of American Heritage Homes, a home-building company in central Florida.
McAuliffe said he finds nothing controversial about his mixture of politics and business. "I've done business with people I've met in politics, who I went to law school with, who I grew up with," he said. "Who do you do business with? People you meet in life."
A long history of media coverage portraying McAuliffe as someone who traded his political influence for favorable business deals misses a fundamental point, he says: that the deals stood on their own merits.
He calls American Heritage Homes one of his proudest success stories, a company he took from the brink of failure to building more than 800 houses a year and employing thousands of workers in the construction trades. The deal also earned millions for him and Lindner when they sold the company to a national home-builder.
Similarly, he said, the partnership with the union pension fund provides one of his proudest examples of job creation.
McAuliffe formed the partnership in the early 1990s with the pension fund of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to develop a commercial property and apartments in central Florida. The deal began with McAuliffe's relationship with Jack Moore, treasurer of the union's political action committee, who oversaw donations of close to $2.5 million to Democrats in 1996. McAuliffe asked Moore to invest. The pension fund put up virtually all the money — about $40 million, compared with McAuliffe's $100 — even though McAuliffe would own a 50 percent share in the partnership. This detail would become a point of contention in a lawsuit filed against the fund trustees by the Department of Labor, which regulates the management of pension funds and which determined that it had not been a good investment for the electrical workers. In 2001, after two years of litigation, the trustees, including Moore, settled in U.S. District Court.
In the end, the pension fund sold its share to McAuliffe and made a profit. McAuliffe unloaded the apartments and then renovated the commercial strip and sold it for $39.7 million, a far greater return for McAuliffe than for the union.
He said that even though his initial investment was tiny, he was the "sweat equity" partner — the one who found the deal, put it together and managed it for years without making money. And it's not his fault, he said, that the pension managers chose to sell before bigger profits came.
McAuliffe also noted that he transformed a downtrodden shopping center into what is now a vibrant mall. Along the way, the project created hundreds of construction jobs, he said.
Richard Swann of Orlando, McAuliffe's father-in-law and lawyer on several Florida land deals, said he has never met a smarter businessman with a more uncanny sense for when to invest. In 2000, McAuliffe sold his stake in the home-building company because he predicted that the real estate bubble would soon burst, Swann said. More recently, McAuliffe put much of his portfolio in municipal bonds (most of them in Virginia, public records show) because of his sense that stocks were heading down.
"He's very prescient and just has a good sense and a good instinct as to value and a sense of timing," Swann said.
At a recent debate, one of McAuliffe's opponents, Brian Moran, took a swipe by criticizing investors in Global Crossing who "walked away with millions, leaving their employees up the pole without pensions."
It was an early attempt to portray McAuliffe's business career as a liability. And the portrait could resonate because McAuliffe has made a fortune investing — sometimes in companies that went bust, laid off thousands and drained investors' and employees' savings.
Already some view McAuliffe's energy and sales pitch with skepticism.
"He seems to me like a guy with (attention deficit disorder) who's overdosed on caffeine," said Katherine Clark, a past chairman of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and co-founder of a technology company in Reston. "He's a bit fiery. He's a lot of things. I think that people ... might think he's a slick-talking sales guy."
McAuliffe's tendency to exaggerate his successes adds to that perception. Describing the apartments he purchased with the union fund, McAuliffe said he "went through every apartment myself, like 1,600 of them, make sure the toilets worked" — but then added: "Well, I didn't go through 1,600. But I went through every property exhaustively. Sure I did! I owned them!"
McAuliffe then claimed that his home-building company built 1,300 homes at its peak, but an adviser later clarified that the figure was closer to 800. And at a candidates' forum in December, in response to Moran's claim to be the only candidate who had run a business and raised a family in Virginia, McAuliffe boasted of launching five businesses in Virginia.
It turned out that all five of McAuliffe's Virginia businesses are investment partnerships, with no employees, registered to his home address in suburban McLean.
In the end, what voters think of McAuliffe's history of mixing business with politics may prove less important than whether he presents the best vision to pull Virginia out of the recession, said Holsworth, the political scientist.
That's probably why McAuliffe is embracing that history on the campaign trail, rather than running away from it. In front of business leaders in Northern Virginia, McAuliffe practically shouted to the room that his political relationships would only enhance his ability to attract jobs.
"I'm going to call Barack Obama every day!" he yelled, to laughter and a few rolling eyes.
And just imagine, McAuliffe said at a recent forum on Virginia's film industry at George Mason University, if he practiced in the governor's office the same art of the deal that made him rich.
After listening to Ron Newcomb, a young independent filmmaker from Woodbridge, describe the challenges of attracting investors to Virginia, McAuliffe didn't hesitate.
"When I'm governor, I'll be pitching for you. How's that?" he said.
Newcomb liked what he heard.
But will voters feel the same? Somewhere between the rolling eyes and the admiration for McAuliffe's success lies the answer.
— Staff researcher Meg Smith and staff writers Debbie Cenziper and Sandhya Somashekhar contributed to this report. LA TIMES-WASHINGTON POST—05-02-09 2021ET
Tue, Apr 14, 2009 (2:15 p.m.)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid flipped the switch and Mother Nature provided ample gusts today, turning the state’s first wind turbine to provide electricity to the power grid.
The 51-foot Skystream 3.7 windmill won’t satisfy the state’s energy needs, it will help train the electrical workers who will build and maintain future wind farms throughout the country.
It’s located at 620 Leigon Way, near Bonanza Road and Lamb Boulevard, at the joint training center of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 357 and the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee of Southern Nevada.
To tap Nevada’s potential to generate electricity through wind turbines, the industry will need an educated workforce, Reid said.
“Someone wants to have a solar panel put on the roof of their home or a wind turbine in their backyard or some business wants to do it on a larger scale, they need to go where people know how to use the technology,” he said. “Anytime you see something like this, it means jobs.”
The Electrical JATC has trained 300 workers since 2006 on photovoltaic panels and the first class on wind turbines filled up within a week, said Madison Burnett, training director of the Electrical JATC.
Burnett said he receives calls from around the country from electrical workers who want to be trained on the turbines.
“Right now I don’t know of anyone providing training. We’d be the first,” he said. “Our biggest thing is to make sure the worker is well-trained on the system because if they’re not, this will fail. People will become discouraged and this will fail.”
Duke Energy has proposed harnessing Southern Nevada’s winds near Searchlight with a wind farm capable of generating 300 megawatts.
NV Energy offers homeowners rebates of $2.50 per watt for wind turbines, based on the turbine’s electricity production capacity, further creating demand for trained installers.
The demand for “green” jobs could also receive a boost from the federal economic recovery plan, which provides $78.6 billion in clean energy, energy efficiency, environmental and green transportation funding. There are also energy-related tax incentives.
The Nevada Legislature has mandated that 15 percent of power generated in the state come from renewable resources by 2013.
The country needs to diversify its energy resources to become less dependent on foreign oil, Reid said.
“On a national level we need to make sure on a certain day, a certain percentage of all energy produced in the United States comes from renewable resources,” he said. “That’ll be part of what we’ll be working on this year.”
News Release - April 3, 2009
Enterprise and Innovation Minister Lyle Stewart and Crown Corporations Minister Ken Cheveldayoff today officially received and released the report of the Uranium Development Partnership (UDP) on the future of the uranium industry in the province.
The report, Capturing the Full Potential of the Uranium Value Chain in Saskatchewan, contains 20 recommendations on further development of Saskatchewan's uranium resources focused on further exploration and mining, power generation and research and development.
"I want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Florizone and all members of the UDP for all their hard work and commitment to the people of Saskatchewan," Stewart said. "The UDP report has, for the first time in the province's history, put forward a thoughtful, measured and well-researched strategic plan to revitalize and expand Saskatchewan's uranium industry."
Led by Dr. Richard Florizone, a nuclear physicist and Vice President of Finance at the University of Saskatchewan, the UDP committee included strong representation from communities and organizations across Saskatchewan including the University of Regina, the University of Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 2067, First Nations, the environmental community and representatives from Canada's nuclear industry.
In accepting the report, Minister Stewart said that international concern over climate change is driving world-wide interest in clean energy generation options creating a window of opportunity for Saskatchewan to pursue valued-added development of its uranium industry.
"The UDP has given the province a lot to think about," Stewart said. "The next step is to engage Saskatchewan citizens in a public consultation process that will facilitate thoughtful discussion and consideration about the 20 recommendations contained in the UDP Report."
"Our Province has benefited from its rich uranium resources for many years, and I am pleased to see the Uranium Development Partnership has concluded there are opportunities to add value to Saskatchewan's uranium," Cheveldayoff said. "I look forward to hearing what the Saskatchewan people have to say about the opportunities outlined in the report."
Stewart said the public consultation process will start immediately and will feature several elements including:
o a major stakeholder conference;
o a series of nine community consultation meetings to be held between May 19 and June 5 in Prince Albert, Buffalo Narrows, The Battlefords, Lloydminster, Yorkton, Estevan, Swift Current, Regina and Saskatoon
o an opportunity for individual stakeholder organizations to provide oral and written submissions over two days with an additional day set aside for presentations from First Nations and Métis groups;
o the launch of a website containing the full report, presentation materials, online input opportunities, and ultimately, the results of the public input: www.saskuranium.ca;
o an opportunity for those who do not want to attend a meeting or do not have internet access to provide written submissions: "The Future of Uranium in Saskatchewan" P.O. Box 7, Regina, SK, S4P 2Z5; and
o a toll free number (1-877-791-4667) for individuals to leave their name and address to receive a print copy of the Executive Summary.
The UDP report calculates that acting on its high priority recommendations could increase in Saskatchewan's Gross Domestic Product by an estimated $50 billion to $55 billion and could create 6,500 construction and 5,500 long-term jobs.
"I can assure you that no decisions have been made," Stewart said. "The input received will be considered by the provincial government as part of the decision making process. As such, I encourage all citizens to get informed and get involved."
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For those of you headed to Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday or Wednesday, here's a schedule of events, courtesy of the PR department.
Atlanta Braves (April 7-8)
TUESDAY: 7:05 p.m. ... Gate openings: Ashburn Alley - 4:35 p.m. (Alley Hour concession specials until 5:35 p.m.); Other gates - 5:35 p.m. ... Broadcast: myphl17, WPHT 1210 AM, WUBA 1480 AM (Spanish).
IBEW Local 98 World Championship T-Shirt Night : All Fans 15 and over will receive a red t-shirt with "CHAMPS" screen print across the chest and a Phillies "P" at the neck, compliments of IBEW Local 98.
First Ball : Maureen Fiocca, representing IBEW Local 98 will be throwing out the first ball.
Color Guard : Will be presented by Temple University Army ROTC.
Powerade Sampling : Samples of Powerade will be given out at all gates following the game.
WEDNESDAY: 3:05 p.m. ... Gate openings: Ashburn Alley - 12:35 p.m. (Alley Hour concession specials until 1:35 p.m.); Other gates - 1:35 p.m. ... Broadcast: CSN, WPHT 1210 AM, WUBA 1480 AM (Spanish).
World Champions Ring Ceremony : The players and coaches will receive their World Series rings in a pre-game ceremony beginning at approximately 2:15 p.m. In addition to the ring ceremony, the Leap Frogs, the US Navy Parachute Team, will parachute into the ballpark pre-game.
Citizens Bank Business Persons Special ... First Ball : Will be thrown by Richard Schiffrin, Esq. Grant & Eisenhofer, ALS Board Member.
Color Guard : Will be presented by the US Navy Color Guard.
National Anthem : Will be sung by the Millersville University Choir, directed by Dr. Jeffrey Gemmell and conducted by Ashley Walker.
Along with other building trade unions, Local 617 has been and continues to be involved in the creation, funding and success of the Building Futures program at the San Mateo Adult School's SMART Center. It is also involved in and has supported San Mateo County Jobs for Youth.
Local 617's unique and educational Electrical Museum at 1701 Leslie St. in San Mateo welcomes school and community groups to visit between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. For large groups, call 650-574-4239 in advance.
The local also works closely with other labor organizations to ensure safe and productive job sites.
"Congratulations on your 100-year history," Edwin Hill said. "You keep us safe and secure at home, at work, and when we're out in the public, because you are highly skilled and outstandingly dedicated to your craft and to the public." Hill thanked county employers for working cooperatively with the union on the job and supporting the apprentice program. On an separate note, Hill pointed out that women played an early role in creating IBEW by forming their own local chapter in 1897 in Cleveland.
"Unions will grow," said Leach. "Prepare to be part of that change. Prepare your heart and open your mind. Honor all labor. Value all workers. Unions with over 100 years of experience and strength will be the standard bearers."
"Tonight we have gathered an incredible collection of electrical workers," said Nolan, as a video was shown of those who started the local. "Here in 2008, it is a safe bet that no one here tonight will be at the 200-year celebration. If we follow the lead of our founders, it is a safe bet that the union will be here in 2108!"
IBEW Local 164 Helps Hackensack High School Comets Rebuild Football Facilities | |||
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