IBEW News and Views
Local 570 (Tucson) Struggles over Health Care Costs
Web-posted Thursday, July 1, 2004
Workers, Asarco continue talks
Union representatives discuss replacement contract
By KAY LEDBETTER
kay.ledbetter@amarillo.com
Union representatives and Asarco officials remained in negotiations late Wednesday as workers bargained for new contracts.
Company officials remained hopeful a new agreement would be reached to replace the one expiring Wednesday at midnight, according to Larry Castro, Asarco Amarillo Copper Refinery general manager.
Asarco Amarillo Copper Refinery employs 340 people, Castor said, of which about 250 are hourly employees and members of either United Steel Workers of America or International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Castor said the negotiations are taking place in Tucson, Ariz., and in the event an agreement was not reached by midnight and the workers called the strike, the plant would be shut down until the issue was resolved.
Union officials were advising members to wait for official word before taking any action. In the event no contract was signed by midnight, union committee members were to tell members the appropriate action to take.
Members of USWA Local 937, Teamsters Local 104, Operating Engineers Local 428 and IBEW 570 members at Asarco's Arizona and Amarillo properties met Monday.
Union officials said a final tally of strike authorization votes taken at all "Old Asarco" unions Monday was more than 99 percent voting yes, with only one no vote from the combined memberships. More than 73 percent of the combined union membership attended and cast their votes.
The union continues to work for changes to secure a settlement, according to a United Steel Workers Association report out of Arizona.
The company, owned by Grupo, Mexico, continues to demand massive concessions - not because they need them to remain viable, according to union reports.
For the last 20 years or so, there has been relative peace between the unions and "Old Asarco" management, according to the union report. There hasn't been a strike or even a serious threat of strike since 1983.
Castor said the Amarillo plant was closed in the 1980s by strikes.
Since then, union officials said good economic contract years resulted in wage, pension and health-care improvements, he said.
The health-care cost explosion in the United States and the copper industry emerging from several years of sour commodity prices are some of the facts union officials say they were prepared to deal with at the negotiation table.
IBEW Local 570 (Tucson) Struggles with Mexican owned company
ttp://www.amarillonet.com/stories/070104/new_asarco.shtml
Union representatives and Asarco officials remained in negotiations late Wednesday as workers bargained for new contracts.
Company officials remained hopeful a new agreement would be reached to replace the one expiring Wednesday at midnight, according to Larry Castro, Asarco Amarillo Copper Refinery general manager.
Asarco Amarillo Copper Refinery employs 340 people, Castor said, of which about 250 are hourly employees and members of either United Steel Workers of America or International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Castor said the negotiations are taking place in Tucson, Ariz., and in the event an agreement was not reached by midnight and the workers called the strike, the plant would be shut down until the issue was resolved.
Union officials were advising members to wait for official word before taking any action. In the event no contract was signed by midnight, union committee members were to tell members the appropriate action to take.
Members of USWA Local 937, Teamsters Local 104, Operating Engineers Local 428 and IBEW 570 members at Asarco's Arizona and Amarillo properties met Monday.
Union officials said a final tally of strike authorization votes taken at all "Old Asarco" unions Monday was more than 99 percent voting yes, with only one no vote from the combined memberships. More than 73 percent of the combined union membership attended and cast their votes.
The union continues to work for changes to secure a settlement, according to a United Steel Workers Association report out of Arizona.
The company, owned by Grupo, Mexico, continues to demand massive concessions - not because they need them to remain viable, according to union reports.
For the last 20 years or so, there has been relative peace between the unions and "Old Asarco" management, according to the union report. There hasn't been a strike or even a serious threat of strike since 1983.
Castor said the Amarillo plant was closed in the 1980s by strikes.
Since then, union officials said good economic contract years resulted in wage, pension and health-care improvements, he said.
The health-care cost explosion in the United States and the copper industry emerging from several years of sour commodity prices are some of the facts union officials say they were prepared to deal with at the negotiation table.
Democrats come from all walks of life . . .
http://www.shawneedems.org/seconddistrict.php
Youngstown City Councilman asks IBEW Local 64 (Youngstown) to train more minority workers
http://www.wkbn.com/Global/story.asp?S=1974791
Mahoning County
More Minorities Should Build Them
(6/28/04) A Youngstown Councilman says if more minorities aren't hired to build city schools, don't build them.
Clarence Boles and a group of city residents gathered in front of the new Harding Elementary, one of two schools being built for the coming school year, and said that minority hires on the project, are not what unions promised.
If ten more people aren't hired by July 12, he'll try to stop the work. Boles says only 10 percent of workers on the Harding-site are minorities.
He is directing his ultimatum to IBEW local 64, and Laborers Local 125, they had no comment on the situation today.
Democrats come from all walks of life . . .
http://www.shawneedems.org/seconddistrict.php
IBEW Local 17 (Detroit) Builds Union Computers
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2004/6/emw137220.htm
New Union Coordinator Software from Union Built PC, Inc.
Union Built PC, Inc. releases software for calendar and meeting scheduling, with the ability to track, store, and report the new LM 2 categories specified by the Department of Labor (DOL).
(PRWEB) June 28, 2004 -- Union Built PC, Inc. has announced its new software package for labor unions, dubbed Union Coordinator. Entirely web-based, it began life as a daily planner/meeting scheduler and evolved into the sophisticated tool it is today, with the added ability to track and report the new LM 2 reporting requirements instituted by the Department of Labor (DOL) for unions beginning their fiscal year on or after July 1 of 2004.
"The unfortunate part of all this is that the Republican effort to burden labor unions with even more administrative tasks and reporting succeeded. It was fought back briefly, but we have to live under it now," said Rich Mata, Recording Secretary of UWUA Local 223 in Dearborn, Michigan. "This package does the trick for us, and it saves us months of administrative staff time."
The new DOL rules will force unions to track staff time and expenses by five distinct categories (for example, "Political Activities and Lobbying," and "Administrative Overhead") that they then have to report out at the end of the year. The DOL itself estimated that these additional rules and tracking items will add approximately 4 months of staff time to local and International unions' yearly workload.
"We have calculated it very carefully, and we estimate our software will gain those locals back at least 3 of those 4 months. It's that good," says Pete Marchese, East coast Regional Coordinator for Union Built PC, Inc. and retiree from CWA Local 1101 in New York. "Additionally, as a company we focus on and have decades of experience with labor unions, so we know what they face on a daily basis."
To arrange a demo or an on-site consultation, contact Union Built PC at http://www.unioncoordinator.com ,
or (877) 728-6466.
Union Built PC is organized by UWUA Local 223, IBEW Local 17, and CWA Local 1101.
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IBEW Local 48 (Portland, OR) Light Football Fields for students and save city $75,000
http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=24426
Let there be light on all PIL fields
Let there be light. Please. After all these years, can three Portland Interscholastic League football teams finally get lights for their fields?
Yes, they can. If you help.
What seemed like a guaranteed project a few years ago has been iffy for a while. But most of the heavy lifting is complete, and all that's left is for those of us who benefited from the PIL to lend a hand.
You may recall that when PGE Park was renovated, a deal was cut with its operator, Portland Family Entertainment. PFE would develop and contribute to a fund that would provide lights for the football fields at Cleveland, Roosevelt and Marshall high schools. The city would match the funds, and the project would cost $450,000.
PFE made the first payment, $40,000, and the city matched. You know what happened to PFE after that.
But then some very nice people stepped in to help PIL Athletic Director Greg Ross keep the project on track.
Joe Esmonde of IBEW Local 48 offered to have his members do the electrical installation at no cost, saving an estimated $75,000. PGE Executive Vice President Fred Miller stepped forward with an offer to provide power to the sites at no cost, a $35,000 value. Harvey Platt at Platt Electric, who is seemingly always giving to this area's worthy causes, is going to donate several thousand dollars worth of materials, including wire. ZINK construction of Vancouver, Wash., offered to install the poles at no cost. Vickers/Nelson Associates came through with project management. A lot of other smaller donations came along.
City Commissioner Jim Francesconi's office helped the permit process along and was instrumental in getting the permit costs lower than forecast. "The city needs to do everything it can to make schools more attractive to their communities," Francesconi said. "This is just one step we are taking to that end."
Now, this thing is getting close.
Ross says only $75,000 is needed to complete the project and have the lights in place in time for football and soccer season in the fall.
"I think it's remarkable that this project started out with a price tag of $450,000 and we will end up with about two-thirds of the costs being donated," Ross says. "Even more impressive is that the city of Portland, the Parks Bureau, Portland Public Schools, IBEW, PGE, and private contractors and suppliers were all able to work together to get this done.
"We are so close to the finish. Our goal is to get the fields lighted this summer. We need to have the funds in hand by the end of June and have the project completed by mid-August so that fall sports can be played under the lights at these three schools — as they are at almost every other 3A and 4A high school in Oregon."
I think it's a great project. PIL football has lagged behind the state's other 4A schools for a variety of reasons. Getting the fields lit so that schools can build community pride in those Friday night home games will help a lot. It will help make football important in those districts again.
People who support PIL athletics are asked to give frequently. Probably too often. But I'm asking one more time. If you played in the PIL, if sports enhanced your high school experience or if you have children who could someday benefit, this one is a worthy cause. I encourage you to help push this over the top.
You can write your check to the Portland Parks Foundation/Field Lighting Fund and send it to 888 S.W. Fifth Ave., Suite 1600, Portland, OR 97204.
It's a gift that will benefit a lot of kids, a lot of families, for years to come.
Contact Dwight Jaynes at djaynes at portlandtribune.com .
IBEW Local 1245 Workers Do It Right-The First Time
http://www.berkeleydaily.org/text/article.cfm?issue=06-01-04&storyID=18982
Berkeley Daily Planet
Edition Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2004
A Worker's Views on the Budget
By PATRICK K. McCULLOUGH (06-01-04)
For me, awaiting the new city budget is a lot like waiting to read the book based on the lousy movie. The really awful part is that I had the same feeling watching a spark ignite the worn gas line in my '75 bug, and again after W's Sept. 12 speech. Disastrous aftermaths often develop from similar avoidable beginnings; there are remarkable parallels between the war against terrorism and Berkeley's war against the budget crisis.
Both crusades are so well titled, so well framed, that to most of us, it seems unreasonable, even irresponsible for a person to say, no, I have another option, or, no, I am against it. No person that you or I am comfortable talking with actually wants more death or financial collapse, and this factor is exploited by the emergency mongers who constantly remind us that in times of fearful crisis, people must be prepared to do unusual things, things we might otherwise be ashamed of doing. Fearful crisis will allow a person justification for brutally eliminating the enemy. It will make one re-examine their well-reasoned position; it can destroy you if you stand in the way. It is a catalyst of such immediacy and influence that its authors cannot necessarily control the change. It is a sort of functional autonomy.
The executives seem so earnest and so pressed, so without options, so having no solution except THE solution, that we empathize and come to refer to them personally as Dick and George and Condie, and Phil, and endorse their struggle as they valiantly set to slay demonic hordes allayed against the innocent; hordes unknown as enemy, maybe unknown unto themselves, unknown to taxpayers, but demonic the same: Muslims, Darkies, Unions.
Never mind that the people charged with intelligently forecasting and planning do claim to have been caught by surprise, also there is blind acceptance that those that reaped great benefit from the very thing they now attack "oil suppliers, military alliance, salary and benefits" are so terribly needed and are not the least bit self-serving, and are not using the cover of the crisis to settle old scores and make advantage. You can take this to the bank: The executives responsible will be unscathed by the crisis and will soon enjoy the greatest retirement benefits taxpayers can provide.
There are many people who not only see through the b.s., but also will tell the world of the news they've found. Unfortunately for progress, we find that messages from these enlightened ones are habitually downplayed as the ruminations of impractical dreamers, malcontents, and counter-culture types. The situation had even caused me to wonder if there was some mass hypnosis causing once thoughtful people to abandon complex reasoning and seek peace in expedient simplicity. Never mind if truth is apparent: increasingly if you are trying to sell a proposition, socioeconomic or cuteness status of the proponent is as often the determinant of what is acted on as any. White collar trumps blue collar; big salary people are more right than littler salary people; labels are product. Just as some viruses infest only healthy hosts, crass demonizations have been fixed on every progressive function Berkeley is known for: liberals are too vague, affordable housing is unaffordable, Nader is too divisive, Black Rep and curb cuts are too expensive, commissions are too bothersome, teachers are too pushy, university too big, social agencies too ineffective, and those greedy powerful unionized city workers, well, they're fairly employed.
For years I have pointed out to several city officials that they have wasted a lot of money by hiring contractors and incompetents (whose work we often have corrected) and violating our contract and classification system to perform telephone and electrical work when the city communication techs and electricians of IBEW Local 1245 do the same things better and at long-term savings. The response has been to obfuscate, stall, ignore our rights, and then layoff because of a false schemed lack of work and funding. Kind of what happened to the UN peacekeeping force.
It would signal that a new day has come if the proposals by the workers are implemented. There is still opportunity that together--taxpayer and taxpayer funded--we will rescue our perhaps last chance to get it right. Getting it right requires acknowledging the truth, which is that workers have expended several hundreds of unpaid hours attempting to resolve the budget crisis situation. I am one of many city employees who feel special indebtedness to this city for its place in the civil and human rights struggles and, though I live in Oakland, consider Berkeley's problems as my own. Giving back to the city is something I and many workers aim to do everyday, so don't take a lack of agreement with the city manager's/budget oversight committees' ultimatums as an affront to Berkeley's generosity. We have been helping and are trying to overcome the resistance from obstinate administrators so we can help more. They have told us it is all political and that appearances require workers seem to contribute in the way the executives and council have selected. The truth is political posturing makes us gag and workers contribute proportionally far more than the high-paid executives contribute and have far less left over. We have feelings too and have been pummeled by false characterizations, misrepresentations, blanket accusations, and the stunning silence of the city manager's failure to defend scapegoated workers who got less benefit from their meager labor contracts than his executive team gets. The administration's refrain, even when there was plenty of time, has been they don't have sufficient time remaining to evaluate our proposals. If I paid property taxes in Berkeley I would demand the decision makers use a little more of the reserves for this next fiscal year so that layoffs and program cuts can be prevented while benefits of the workers' proposals are realized, and seriously evaluate the workers' proposals and implement them immediately. Trust the workers and they will soon show you what true cooperation among people who appreciate and like each other can produce.
I've empirically proven to myself so many times that optimism is the attitude that rewards itself. But hey, I'm the kind of person who believes that a sincere apology, reparations, and new leadership can prevent the loss of American lives in Iraq and make us safer at home.
Pat McCullough is an employee of the City of Berkeley and an Oakland resident.
IBEW LU 697 Member Called to Ministery
http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/news/z1/05-30-04_z1_news_10.html
Electrician uses spiritual spark to join ministry By Kass Stone / Post-Tribune correspondent
Sunday, May 30, 2004
Hobart On Tuesday, Scott Mauch will officially begin the next phase of his life. The longtime Hobart resident will become pastor of Lebanon's Trinity Lutheran Church.
Mauch, 46, has worked for 26 years as an electrician out of Hammond-based IBEW Local No. 697. In the early 1990s he began taking courses at Purdue University Calumet in order to earn a degree in electrical engineering.
But it soon became evident to him that electrical engineering was not his calling. Instead, he found himself drawn to the social sciences. In 1998 he graduated from PUC with a B.A. in clinical psychology.
"I just got to liking working with people," Mauch said. "I just loved my psychology and sociology classes."
Shortly after receiving his degree, Mauch's pastor at Hobart's Augustana Lutheran Church, Ron Deck, suggested that he enter the clergy. Mauch accompanied Deck to Chicago's Lutheran School of Theology and once there, became convinced to enter clergy.
"As soon as I visited there, I knew it was the right place for me," said Mauch. "I had this overwhelming sense of peace come over me."
For the next five years, Mauch worked full time as an electrician and attended classes three days a week. For the last year as a seminarian, Mauch apprenticed himself to a church in Jackson, Mich. This put a considerable strain on his wife of 27 years, Sherry, because she became the household's sole bread-earner. Scott had to take a leave of absence from his job in order to take the apprenticeship.
"It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be," Sherry said. "Everything just fell into place. I didn't think we could do it, but it just did all fall together.
After completing his seminary studies, Mauch was asked to take over as pastor for Lebanon's Trinity Lutheran Church. He accepted, and this May he was ordained by Bishop James Stuck of the Indiana/Kentucky Lutheran Synod at a ceremony held at Hobart's Augustana Lutheran Church.
While excited at starting a next chapter in their lives, Scott and Sherry are sad to be leaving Northwest Indiana.
The couple have lived in the region their entire lives and regret that they have to leave their friends and family, particularly their children and grandchildren.
Sherry is also worried about what her new role as a pastor's wife will be and how she will fulfill that role in their new home.
"I don't know how that will be," said Sherry. "Scott has four years of training to be a pastor, but there is no training on how to be a pastor's wife."
