http://www.examiner.net/stories/040304/new_040304034.shtml
Union stands behind support
By David Tanner
The Examiner Story last updated at 11:11 a.m. Saturday, April 3, 2004
The manager of the International Brotherhood of Ele ctrical Workers Local No. 53 is standing behind his organization's contribution of $38,000 to support four candidates for Independence City Council.
Keith Querry, business manager for the IBEW, talked openly about contributions, mailings to voters and his involvement in the Citizens for Reform campaign committee, Thursday morning at the IBEW headquarters, 1100 Admiral Blvd., Kansas City.
"Why would a union want to invest so much money in the City Council races of Independence?" Querry said, "The answer is simple and straightforward. We want a council that will give the employees a fair shake."
He said the current council has not made the employees a priority. The most recent city budget contained no raises. It also contained an increase in costs for various health care programs.
Citizens for Reform, which lists the IBEW as its main contributor, raised and spent about $38,000 to benefit the campaigns of John Hedden, Will Swoffer, Renee Paluka and Jim Page, in the 1st through 4th districts respectively.
The reformers have come under recent scrutiny by another campaign group, Citizens for Effective Leadership, which has been around for decades.
Jerry Kacheroski, president of the Citizens for Effective Leadership, filed a Missouri Ethics Commission complaint against Citizens for Reform two weeks ago. Kacheroski said his organization may be considering further action.
The Ethics Commission did not confirm or deny the nature of the complaint. Kacheroski said the CFR violated ethics laws by improperly disclosing funds.
Querry said he has nothing to hide.
"Citizens for Reform was late filing in the eight-day-before report for the primary election because of confusion over using the date on a check or the date of the actual deposit as the requirements for disclosure," Querry said. "The late filing was reviewed by a representative of the Ethics Commission without consequence."
In a recent letter to the editor in The Examiner, a citizen posed a question about Keith's wife, Sandy Querry, being the treasurer for state governor candidate Claire McCaskill, currently holding office as the Missouri State Auditor.
Since the IBEW is financing $100,000 toward a state audit of the city of Independence, some citizens have asked whether the Querrys were trying to influence McCaskill's audit of the city.
"The audit actually evolved from Mayor (Ron) Stewart making a statement at a council meeting that he would not have a problem if a third party audited the city Staywell medical plan," Keith Querry said. "This large amount of money was not offered in an effort to control the outcome of the audit. The money was offered because not to do so would mean the audit would never take place."
Querry said he got his union involved because of the way a committee, Citizens for Independence, spent money and got three council members elected in 2002: Mayor Ron Stewart and at-large members Jim Schultz and Jason White.
The Citizens for Independence spent $59,500 in 2002 on what was touted as the "All American Team."
"With that kind of resources the All American Team won in a landslide and the opponents had no chance at all," Querry said.
Querry said he felt spending union money to create Citizens for Reform and benefit certain candidates was the right thing to do.
The following is a breakdown of money the Citizens for Reform has spent on four Independence candidates.
$10,664 to benefit John Hedden's campaign.
$4,228 to benefit Will Swoffer's campaign.
$4,457 to benefit Renee Paluka's campaign.
$9,747 to benefit Jim Page's campaign.
Expenses include mailings, newspaper advertising, printing and graphics and postage.
Citizens for Reform had nearly $7,700 on hand heading into today. Querry said that money would be spent before the end of the weekend.
He said the Citizens for Reform literature going out is not geared toward negative campaigning, even though people, including the endorsed candidates' opponents, are claiming otherwise.
To reach David Tanner e-mail david.tanner@examiner.net or call (816) 350-6324.
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Saturday, April 03, 2004
Monday, March 29, 2004
San Diego City Purchases IBEW Local 569 Building
NEWS | SAN DIEGO
City pays $2.1 million for Hillcrest corner as branch library site
The former headquarters building of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) 569 and the approximately 10,800-square-foot corner lot it occupied in Hillcrest at 209-215 W. Washington St., San Diego 92103, has been sold for $2.1 million.
City pays $2.1 million for Hillcrest corner as branch library site
The former headquarters building of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) 569 and the approximately 10,800-square-foot corner lot it occupied in Hillcrest at 209-215 W. Washington St., San Diego 92103, has been sold for $2.1 million.
Take Action Now To Stop Bush's Pay Cut
President Bush and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao are still expected to finalize their overtime pay take-away before the end of March. (An exact date has not been announced yet.) At the same time, Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is pushing for a vote on legislation that would block the Bush administration from cutting overtime pay. The Republican leadership in the Senate has already decided to pull a corporate tax bill from floor consideration instead of allowing a vote on Senator Harkin's proposal. Efforts to preserve overtime continue.
Your help is now needed! Please contact Congress (http://capwiz.com/ibew/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=5430156) and urge them to support efforts to kill the Department of Labor's proposed rule.
Thank you for your continued support.
Your help is now needed! Please contact Congress (http://capwiz.com/ibew/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=5430156) and urge them to support efforts to kill the Department of Labor's proposed rule.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sunday, March 28, 2004
Thursday Night Jazz at the Black Workers Pub
Presented by
The Black Telephone Workers for Justice
(A group of IBEW and CWA members at Verizon Telephone)
Now that we have come down from the performance by the Bradford Hayes Quartet at our last program, we continue the magic. We are absolutely ecstatic to be able to bring one of the world’s premier trombonists to the “Black Workers Pub.” On Thursday, April 8, 2004, get ready for an incredible performance by “Steve Turre” and his group.
Many of you may have seen Turre on “Saturday Night Live,” as he is the trombonist in the “SNL” band. But Turre is an accomplished musician, innovator, composer, arranger and band leader in his own right.
Turre was born to Mexican American parents and grew up in the San Francisco Bay area where he absorbed daily doses of mariachi, blues and jazz. While attending Sacramento State University, he joined the “Escovedo Brothers Salsa Band,” which began his career in that musical idiom. His career really picked up when, in 1972, Ray Charles hired him to go on tour. A year later Turre’s mentor Woody Shaw brought him into Art Blakey’s “Jazz Messengers.” As many of you know, the “Jazz Messengers” was a “university of jazz” in which many young musicians learned the craft under the guidance of the great Art Blakey. The rest is history! Steve Turre played with Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver, Max Roach, Rahsann Roland Kirk and many others. It was Rahsann that introduced him to playing sea and conch shells. One foot in the past and one foot in the future, is how Turre’s musical style and approach can be described.
We say this about everyone that comes to play at the BWP, but we especially emphasize it for this next performance: DO NOT MISS THIS GIG! Steve is bringing the world renowned cellist, his wife, Akua Dixon with him. On bass will be the great Kenny Davis. Both Akua and Kenny have played at the Pub before. On Congas and percussion will be the Cuban artist, Pedro Paolis Martinez. On drums will be Dionne Parsons, and on keyboard, Xavier Davis. It’s going to be live!
The BWP is located at 883 Sanford Avenue, Irvington, NJ. There will be two sets: 8:30-9:30 and 10-11pm. Admission is $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Drinks are available at the bar and Shawn will be selling his slammin’ dinners and desserts. For information and reservations, call 201 320 8689 or email blacktel4justice@aol.com. Please help get the word out about the best Thursday nights in NJ. Pass the flyer out on your job, school or neighborhood.
Fight Male Supremacy! Stop the Violence Against Women!
End the Illegal Occupation of Iraq! Arrest Bush for War Crimes!
Money for Reparations, Not for War!
Justice in Our Lifetime!
April 22………………………………….Lenny Roberts/ Freddie Hendrix
May 13…………………………………..Kenny Davis
May 27…………………………………..Salim Washington
“BRINGING THE MUSIC BACK HOME”
The Black Telephone Workers for Justice
(A group of IBEW and CWA members at Verizon Telephone)
Now that we have come down from the performance by the Bradford Hayes Quartet at our last program, we continue the magic. We are absolutely ecstatic to be able to bring one of the world’s premier trombonists to the “Black Workers Pub.” On Thursday, April 8, 2004, get ready for an incredible performance by “Steve Turre” and his group.
Many of you may have seen Turre on “Saturday Night Live,” as he is the trombonist in the “SNL” band. But Turre is an accomplished musician, innovator, composer, arranger and band leader in his own right.
Turre was born to Mexican American parents and grew up in the San Francisco Bay area where he absorbed daily doses of mariachi, blues and jazz. While attending Sacramento State University, he joined the “Escovedo Brothers Salsa Band,” which began his career in that musical idiom. His career really picked up when, in 1972, Ray Charles hired him to go on tour. A year later Turre’s mentor Woody Shaw brought him into Art Blakey’s “Jazz Messengers.” As many of you know, the “Jazz Messengers” was a “university of jazz” in which many young musicians learned the craft under the guidance of the great Art Blakey. The rest is history! Steve Turre played with Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver, Max Roach, Rahsann Roland Kirk and many others. It was Rahsann that introduced him to playing sea and conch shells. One foot in the past and one foot in the future, is how Turre’s musical style and approach can be described.
We say this about everyone that comes to play at the BWP, but we especially emphasize it for this next performance: DO NOT MISS THIS GIG! Steve is bringing the world renowned cellist, his wife, Akua Dixon with him. On bass will be the great Kenny Davis. Both Akua and Kenny have played at the Pub before. On Congas and percussion will be the Cuban artist, Pedro Paolis Martinez. On drums will be Dionne Parsons, and on keyboard, Xavier Davis. It’s going to be live!
The BWP is located at 883 Sanford Avenue, Irvington, NJ. There will be two sets: 8:30-9:30 and 10-11pm. Admission is $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Drinks are available at the bar and Shawn will be selling his slammin’ dinners and desserts. For information and reservations, call 201 320 8689 or email blacktel4justice@aol.com. Please help get the word out about the best Thursday nights in NJ. Pass the flyer out on your job, school or neighborhood.
Fight Male Supremacy! Stop the Violence Against Women!
End the Illegal Occupation of Iraq! Arrest Bush for War Crimes!
Money for Reparations, Not for War!
Justice in Our Lifetime!
April 22………………………………….Lenny Roberts/ Freddie Hendrix
May 13…………………………………..Kenny Davis
May 27…………………………………..Salim Washington
“BRINGING THE MUSIC BACK HOME”
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