3:18 PM EDT Friday
National Grid may supply workers if strike hits N.Y. affiliate
Alexander Soule
For The Business Review
Westborough, Mass.-based National Grid USA may send up to 100 nonunion workers to upstate New York to fill the breach if a union votes to walk out on strike at Niagara Mohawk, an affiliate company of National Grid.
National Grid has approximately 3,000 employees at two subsidiaries in the commonwealth. Massachusetts Electric Co. provides power to 1.2 million customers in 168 towns, and Nantucket Electric provides service to 10,000 customers.
A National Grid spokeswoman said the majority of the affected workers are employed at Massachusetts Electric. She added that should a strike occur, Massachusetts Electric will likely use contract workers to maintain its own services.
Hundreds of Niagara Mohawk workers may walk Sunday after a contract offer from management was rejected by leaders from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 97.
The current contract, which expires midnight Saturday, covers clerical workers, maintenance technicians, customer service representatives and gas and line mechanics.
National Grid Group PLC, the parent company for Niagara and National Grid, may also supply workers in the event of a strike.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
National Grid may supply scabs from other power companies if IBEW Local 97 (Syracuse NY) strike hits Niagra-Mohawk Power
IBEW Local 1547 (Anchorage AK) Busines Agent Runs for Alaska House of Representatives
Political tyro hankers to do what the incumbent hasn't
HOUSE SEAT 29: But opponent says change takes time for good reason.
By KATIE PESZNECKER
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: October 16, 2004)
Employment & Careers
Political newcomer Chris Tuck said he's long pondered running for office and was moved to do so because he was disappointed by lawmakers in Juneau this session.
They didn't come up with a fiscal plan, and the culture of closed-door meetings and Republicans rubber-stamping legislation went unchanged, Tuck said.
"The state is on the verge of greatness or collapse," Tuck said. "And Ralph Samuels really hasn't done much."
But Samuels, Tuck's opponent and the Republican and incumbent for House Seat 29, says he's pleased with his accomplishments during his first term in office and excited for the challenges of another one.
Samuels said that if it appears change happens slowly in Juneau, that's because it does, and for good reason.
"To go in there on day one and think you're going to change the world is a fallacy, and I think it took me a while to realize that," said Samuels, 42. "I think I'm still new enough to believe in the system. I'd like to spread my wings and see what I can make a difference on."
Samuels and Tuck are vying for House Seat 29, a district bordered by Lake Otis Parkway to the east, Minnesota Drive to the west, O'Malley Road to the south and, to the north, a jagged boundary made up of Raspberry Road, the railroad tracks and 76th Avenue.
Samuels ran for office when redistricting left District 29's seat open. But the PenAir executive first got involved in politics because of the murder of his older brother, Duane, in 1989.
Lawyers for Duane's killer, a 16-year-old boy who confessed, tried to keep him from being tried as an adult. It prompted Samuels to lobby to have Alaska's laws changed so that 16-year-olds accused of violent crime are waived into adult court.
Samuels got on the Victims for Justice board, traveled to Juneau and worked with legislators to change the law. He later served on and chaired the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce board.
Born in Anchorage, but having lived in King Salmon, Nome and Fairbanks, Samuels said he's a strong legislator because he has a statewide perspective. He moved to Anchorage permanently in the mid-1980s and lives in the northwest corner of his district.
Samuels chaired the House Budget and Audit Committee and sponsored various legislation, but he is particularly proud of a victims' rights package he crafted with longtime acquaintance Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak.
"Every now and then you say, 'We can fix that,' and you do it, and that's why you run again," Samuels said.
He praised the Legislature for funding education at a record level and passing a cap to contain spending.
Samuels is known for championing victims' rights, but he said this session he will focus on other important areas and "do some heavy lifting."
He wants a long-term increase to oil production to increase revenues and supports the natural gas line. He's also interested in establishing more regional boarding schools, since Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka is so successful.
Samuels said he's the better candidate because he has experience, not only in politics but with organizations like the chamber.
Tuck, 38, is a business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which means he represents the 5,000-member union in collective bargaining. Tuck lives just a couple of blocks from Samuels.
"I know what it means to represent a diverse group," said Tuck, who has a 12-year-old son, Devon, from a previous marriage. "I have a natural knack for it and I am a quick learner."
Tuck wants to invest in industries that support natural resource development. For example, why not make products here with the zinc mined in Alaska, instead of exporting the mineral? Tuck said.
He also supports the gas line.
It's dangerous for Alaska to continue to depend on service-based industries like retail and tourism, Tuck said. "We're relying on other states' economic situations for our own," he said.
Tuck opposes an income tax and said he wouldn't support using money from the Permanent Fund without a vote from Alaskans. High on his list of disappointments regarding last session's Legislature was its inability to create a fiscal plan.
"That's the most important thing we can do right now is get our fiscal house in order," Tuck said.
Tuck expects to spend about $25,000 on his campaign. He has pulled in donations from friends and unions, including IBEW.
Samuels expects to spend about $40,000. Donations so far have come from medical professionals, developer Mark Pfeffer and pollster David Dittman.
"And my parents live in the district," Samuels said. "They gave me $500."
Daily News reporter Katie Pesznecker can be reached at kpesznecker@adn.com.
KNOW YOUR CANDIDATES: There's an easy way to find out where the candidates stand on the issues. The Daily News is partnering with Project Vote Smart, a nonpartisan group that helps get information about candidates to voters. About 70 percent of Southcentral legislative candidates completed an extensive survey on Alaska issues, and the results are online along with bio information and more. In House District 29, both candidates participated. To see the issue surveys, and more on the Nov. 2 election, go to
www.adn.com/election04
RALPH SAMUELS
Party: Republican, incumbent
Occupation: Airline executive; businessman
Political and government positions: State representative, District 29, 2002-present
CHRIS TUCK
Party: Democrat
Occupation: Business representative, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547, 2001-present; instructor, Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship School, 1999-present.
Political and government positions: Board member, Municipal Education Commission, 2004-present
HOUSE SEAT 29: But opponent says change takes time for good reason.
By KATIE PESZNECKER
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: October 16, 2004)
Employment & Careers
Political newcomer Chris Tuck said he's long pondered running for office and was moved to do so because he was disappointed by lawmakers in Juneau this session.
They didn't come up with a fiscal plan, and the culture of closed-door meetings and Republicans rubber-stamping legislation went unchanged, Tuck said.
"The state is on the verge of greatness or collapse," Tuck said. "And Ralph Samuels really hasn't done much."
But Samuels, Tuck's opponent and the Republican and incumbent for House Seat 29, says he's pleased with his accomplishments during his first term in office and excited for the challenges of another one.
Samuels said that if it appears change happens slowly in Juneau, that's because it does, and for good reason.
"To go in there on day one and think you're going to change the world is a fallacy, and I think it took me a while to realize that," said Samuels, 42. "I think I'm still new enough to believe in the system. I'd like to spread my wings and see what I can make a difference on."
Samuels and Tuck are vying for House Seat 29, a district bordered by Lake Otis Parkway to the east, Minnesota Drive to the west, O'Malley Road to the south and, to the north, a jagged boundary made up of Raspberry Road, the railroad tracks and 76th Avenue.
Samuels ran for office when redistricting left District 29's seat open. But the PenAir executive first got involved in politics because of the murder of his older brother, Duane, in 1989.
Lawyers for Duane's killer, a 16-year-old boy who confessed, tried to keep him from being tried as an adult. It prompted Samuels to lobby to have Alaska's laws changed so that 16-year-olds accused of violent crime are waived into adult court.
Samuels got on the Victims for Justice board, traveled to Juneau and worked with legislators to change the law. He later served on and chaired the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce board.
Born in Anchorage, but having lived in King Salmon, Nome and Fairbanks, Samuels said he's a strong legislator because he has a statewide perspective. He moved to Anchorage permanently in the mid-1980s and lives in the northwest corner of his district.
Samuels chaired the House Budget and Audit Committee and sponsored various legislation, but he is particularly proud of a victims' rights package he crafted with longtime acquaintance Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak.
"Every now and then you say, 'We can fix that,' and you do it, and that's why you run again," Samuels said.
He praised the Legislature for funding education at a record level and passing a cap to contain spending.
Samuels is known for championing victims' rights, but he said this session he will focus on other important areas and "do some heavy lifting."
He wants a long-term increase to oil production to increase revenues and supports the natural gas line. He's also interested in establishing more regional boarding schools, since Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka is so successful.
Samuels said he's the better candidate because he has experience, not only in politics but with organizations like the chamber.
Tuck, 38, is a business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which means he represents the 5,000-member union in collective bargaining. Tuck lives just a couple of blocks from Samuels.
"I know what it means to represent a diverse group," said Tuck, who has a 12-year-old son, Devon, from a previous marriage. "I have a natural knack for it and I am a quick learner."
Tuck wants to invest in industries that support natural resource development. For example, why not make products here with the zinc mined in Alaska, instead of exporting the mineral? Tuck said.
He also supports the gas line.
It's dangerous for Alaska to continue to depend on service-based industries like retail and tourism, Tuck said. "We're relying on other states' economic situations for our own," he said.
Tuck opposes an income tax and said he wouldn't support using money from the Permanent Fund without a vote from Alaskans. High on his list of disappointments regarding last session's Legislature was its inability to create a fiscal plan.
"That's the most important thing we can do right now is get our fiscal house in order," Tuck said.
Tuck expects to spend about $25,000 on his campaign. He has pulled in donations from friends and unions, including IBEW.
Samuels expects to spend about $40,000. Donations so far have come from medical professionals, developer Mark Pfeffer and pollster David Dittman.
"And my parents live in the district," Samuels said. "They gave me $500."
Daily News reporter Katie Pesznecker can be reached at kpesznecker@adn.com.
KNOW YOUR CANDIDATES: There's an easy way to find out where the candidates stand on the issues. The Daily News is partnering with Project Vote Smart, a nonpartisan group that helps get information about candidates to voters. About 70 percent of Southcentral legislative candidates completed an extensive survey on Alaska issues, and the results are online along with bio information and more. In House District 29, both candidates participated. To see the issue surveys, and more on the Nov. 2 election, go to
www.adn.com/election04
RALPH SAMUELS
Party: Republican, incumbent
Occupation: Airline executive; businessman
Political and government positions: State representative, District 29, 2002-present
CHRIS TUCK
Party: Democrat
Occupation: Business representative, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547, 2001-present; instructor, Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship School, 1999-present.
Political and government positions: Board member, Municipal Education Commission, 2004-present
Elizabeth Edwards addresses IBEW Local 405 (Cedar Rapids IA)
Vote 2004: Elizabeth Edwards Makes Stop in Cedar Rapids
Friday, October 15, 2004, 10:01:03 PM
Video http://www.kcrg.com/article.aspx?art_id=90913&cat_id=123#
>From The KCRG-TV9 Cedar Rapids Newsroom
Elizabeth Edwards made a quick stop in Cedar Rapids Friday morning to discuss her husband's ideas about health care costs.
Edwards talked to the I.B.E.W. Local #405 about a plan to cut health care and prescription drug costs. She used the current Penford strike as an example of why there must be changes in health care.
Elizabeth Edwards told TV9, "Senator Kerry will solve the problem for both sides. He'll make it easier for Penford to pay for health insurance of its workers and make its workers to afford it."
Edwards says 99-thousand people dropped their health care coverage between 2002 and 2003.
Friday, October 15, 2004, 10:01:03 PM
Video http://www.kcrg.com/article.aspx?art_id=90913&cat_id=123#
>From The KCRG-TV9 Cedar Rapids Newsroom
Elizabeth Edwards made a quick stop in Cedar Rapids Friday morning to discuss her husband's ideas about health care costs.
Edwards talked to the I.B.E.W. Local #405 about a plan to cut health care and prescription drug costs. She used the current Penford strike as an example of why there must be changes in health care.
Elizabeth Edwards told TV9, "Senator Kerry will solve the problem for both sides. He'll make it easier for Penford to pay for health insurance of its workers and make its workers to afford it."
Edwards says 99-thousand people dropped their health care coverage between 2002 and 2003.
IBEW Local 97 (Syracuse NY) Rejects concessions demanded by Niagra-Mohawk Power
http://www.syracuse.com/business/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/business-6/1097918475105990.xml
NiMo workers reject contract
Three-quarters of company's work force could strike at midnight tonight.
By Tim Knauss , Staff writer
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Niagara Mohawk workers soundly rejected a "firm and final" contract offer from the company Friday, increasing the likelihood they will strike when their current contract expires at midnight tonight.
Unless union and company leaders agree today to reopen contract negotiations and extend the current contract, 4,000 union workers - three-quarters of Niagara Mohawk's work force - will walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
"There would be no choice," said David Falletta, president and business officer of Local 97, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Falletta and a small team of union negotiators are scheduled to meet at noon today with company officials to assess whether further negotiations are possible.
The company issued a statement Friday night saying it was "disappointed that the union work force has failed to ratify a contract offer that pro-
vided an increased value of $10,000 per employee per year. The company has accepted union leadership's request to meet informally tomorrow."
Falletta declined to provide the vote count, but said the vote against the contract was "overwhelming."
Local 97 has never called a strike against Niagara Mohawk.
As they finished their shifts Friday, union employees turned in their identification badges, truck keys and other company equipment in case they don't come back Monday.
Private contractors have arrived in Syracuse and other locations and are prepared to begin work Sunday in the event of a strike, said Kerry Burns, speaking for Niagara Mohawk. Management personnel and retirees also have been trained to step in for union employees if necessary, Burns said.
National Grid Transco, which owns Niagara Mohawk, has not yet sent in workers from its operations in New England or England, but is prepared to, Burns said.
If unionmembers walk off the job, all remaining personnel will begin working six 12-hour days per week, Burns said.
Many people - union members, managers and utility customers - hoped Friday that a strike would be avoided.
Among them were eight gas mechanics who worked Friday afternoon to repair a shut-off valve connected to a six-inch gas main in Baldwinsville. A small pipe connected to the valve was corroded and broke when a crew tried to shut the valve to do maintenance, said one of the workers, who gave his name only as Bob.
He said he did not know whether Niagara Mohawk could keep up with all the work if union members strike.
"If it gets busy, they'd better have enough coverage," he said.
Martin Currier, vice president of Local 97, said there was "no way" the company could maintain normal service levels during a strike. The 24,000-square-mile service territory is too big to cover with replacement workers, he said.
"I thinkthey're going to focus on the metropolitan areas as much as possible," Currier said. "But this area is so huge - no way. It can't happen."
But company officials said they could call on "a couple thousand" replacement workers to operate during a strike. They said they did not expect major problems.
Local 97 represents 4,000 NiMo workers throughout Upstate New York, roughly half of whom are in the utility's central division. They include gas mechanics, line workers, customer service representatives, clerks, janitors and others.
The average union employee makes $57,000 a year, not counting overtime, company officials said. Union wage rates range from roughly $30,000 for an entry-level office worker to $70,000 for an experienced line mechanic, Burns said.
If a strike presents difficulties for the company, it is no less a hardship for the workers.
Local 97 has no strike fund, so striking workers would be without any pay for up to seven weeks, until they qualify for unemployment benefits.
Niagara Mohawk made its final contract offer to union members Wednesday, after eight weeks of talks failed to produce a settlement.
William Edwards, the company president, characterized it as a generous settlement that added $10,000 to the average worker's annual pay and benefits over its 30-month term. He and other management officials said they were "baffled" by union opposition to it.
The documentcontained some provisions that union negotiators had asked for, such as the removal of a cap on company contributions to future retiree medical benefits.
But union leaders complained that several key provisions were unacceptable. They objected to a change in a formula to calculate pensions, and to changes in short-term and long-term disability benefits.
They also objected to contract language giving the company unlimited discretion to hire private contractors.
Niagara Mohawk's proposal guaranteed employment for anyone whose job might be eliminated due to outsourcing, but union officials are concerned that the number of union jobs would be drastically reduced through attrition.
"They're looking to dwindle us down, because the smaller we are, the more bargaining power they have," Currier said.
Edwards said Niagara Mohawk needs the ability to hire contractors, especially for less-skilled jobs. Contractors have proven to be significantly more cost-effective in certain areas, such as bill collection.
The company also wants more flexibility to schedule union workers around the clock.
"We're putting a lot of value on the table for our employees, and asking them to agree to work rules that make us and them more efficient," Edwards said.
http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&num=30&hl=en&client=google&ncl=http://news10now.com/content/all_news/%3FArID%3D29714%26SecID%3D83&scoring=d
NiMo workers reject contract
Three-quarters of company's work force could strike at midnight tonight.
By Tim Knauss , Staff writer
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Niagara Mohawk workers soundly rejected a "firm and final" contract offer from the company Friday, increasing the likelihood they will strike when their current contract expires at midnight tonight.
Unless union and company leaders agree today to reopen contract negotiations and extend the current contract, 4,000 union workers - three-quarters of Niagara Mohawk's work force - will walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
"There would be no choice," said David Falletta, president and business officer of Local 97, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Falletta and a small team of union negotiators are scheduled to meet at noon today with company officials to assess whether further negotiations are possible.
The company issued a statement Friday night saying it was "disappointed that the union work force has failed to ratify a contract offer that pro-
vided an increased value of $10,000 per employee per year. The company has accepted union leadership's request to meet informally tomorrow."
Falletta declined to provide the vote count, but said the vote against the contract was "overwhelming."
Local 97 has never called a strike against Niagara Mohawk.
As they finished their shifts Friday, union employees turned in their identification badges, truck keys and other company equipment in case they don't come back Monday.
Private contractors have arrived in Syracuse and other locations and are prepared to begin work Sunday in the event of a strike, said Kerry Burns, speaking for Niagara Mohawk. Management personnel and retirees also have been trained to step in for union employees if necessary, Burns said.
National Grid Transco, which owns Niagara Mohawk, has not yet sent in workers from its operations in New England or England, but is prepared to, Burns said.
If unionmembers walk off the job, all remaining personnel will begin working six 12-hour days per week, Burns said.
Many people - union members, managers and utility customers - hoped Friday that a strike would be avoided.
Among them were eight gas mechanics who worked Friday afternoon to repair a shut-off valve connected to a six-inch gas main in Baldwinsville. A small pipe connected to the valve was corroded and broke when a crew tried to shut the valve to do maintenance, said one of the workers, who gave his name only as Bob.
He said he did not know whether Niagara Mohawk could keep up with all the work if union members strike.
"If it gets busy, they'd better have enough coverage," he said.
Martin Currier, vice president of Local 97, said there was "no way" the company could maintain normal service levels during a strike. The 24,000-square-mile service territory is too big to cover with replacement workers, he said.
"I thinkthey're going to focus on the metropolitan areas as much as possible," Currier said. "But this area is so huge - no way. It can't happen."
But company officials said they could call on "a couple thousand" replacement workers to operate during a strike. They said they did not expect major problems.
Local 97 represents 4,000 NiMo workers throughout Upstate New York, roughly half of whom are in the utility's central division. They include gas mechanics, line workers, customer service representatives, clerks, janitors and others.
The average union employee makes $57,000 a year, not counting overtime, company officials said. Union wage rates range from roughly $30,000 for an entry-level office worker to $70,000 for an experienced line mechanic, Burns said.
If a strike presents difficulties for the company, it is no less a hardship for the workers.
Local 97 has no strike fund, so striking workers would be without any pay for up to seven weeks, until they qualify for unemployment benefits.
Niagara Mohawk made its final contract offer to union members Wednesday, after eight weeks of talks failed to produce a settlement.
William Edwards, the company president, characterized it as a generous settlement that added $10,000 to the average worker's annual pay and benefits over its 30-month term. He and other management officials said they were "baffled" by union opposition to it.
The documentcontained some provisions that union negotiators had asked for, such as the removal of a cap on company contributions to future retiree medical benefits.
But union leaders complained that several key provisions were unacceptable. They objected to a change in a formula to calculate pensions, and to changes in short-term and long-term disability benefits.
They also objected to contract language giving the company unlimited discretion to hire private contractors.
Niagara Mohawk's proposal guaranteed employment for anyone whose job might be eliminated due to outsourcing, but union officials are concerned that the number of union jobs would be drastically reduced through attrition.
"They're looking to dwindle us down, because the smaller we are, the more bargaining power they have," Currier said.
Edwards said Niagara Mohawk needs the ability to hire contractors, especially for less-skilled jobs. Contractors have proven to be significantly more cost-effective in certain areas, such as bill collection.
The company also wants more flexibility to schedule union workers around the clock.
"We're putting a lot of value on the table for our employees, and asking them to agree to work rules that make us and them more efficient," Edwards said.
http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&num=30&hl=en&client=google&ncl=http://news10now.com/content/all_news/%3FArID%3D29714%26SecID%3D83&scoring=d
IBEW Local 733 (Pascagoula MS) to vote on a four ten-hour day work week
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/9933385.htm
4-day week on workers' ballot
By DAVID TORTORANO
Sat, Oct. 16, 2004
PASCAGOULA - Shipbuilding unions in Pascagoula will vote next week on whether to shift from a five- to a four-day work week. One union official expects the vote will be close.
Northrop Grumman Ship Systems is proposing a 10-hour day four days a week for production workers at the company's Mississippi operations in Pascagoula and Gulfport and the Louisiana operations in New Orleans and Tallulah, according to union officials.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers will vote Tuesday between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the union's Market Street office.
"This thing's going to be tight," said Chico McGill, business manager for IBEW Local 733. He said a survey showed 46 percent of the Pascagoula IBEW workers against the change, 50 percent in favor and 4 percent undecided.
McGill said there are 1,000 union members in IBEW Local 733, which represents about 1,200 workers.
Mike Crawley, president of the Pascagoula Metal Trades Council, said each of 13 locals belonging to MTC will schedule its own voting. As of Friday, none had been scheduled. MTC represents 7,500 workers.
The pilot program, if accepted, will be for six months beginning Nov. 8 or Nov. 15, said Crawley. The work week would begin Monday and end Thursday rather than Friday.
The shorter work week is also being proposed for workers at Gulfport, New Orleans and Tallulah, which all fall under Northrop Grumman's Avondale operations.
The New Orleans Metal Trades Council, which represents about 4,000 workers at the three yards, will also vote on a change. McGill said the New Orleans Metal Trades will meet Tuesday to determine when a vote will be held.
"I feel it will take place pretty quickly," he said.
Local Northrop Grumman officials refused to comment until the unions vote.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Tortorano can be reached at 896-2356 or at dtortorano@sunherald.com
4-day week on workers' ballot
By DAVID TORTORANO
Sat, Oct. 16, 2004
PASCAGOULA - Shipbuilding unions in Pascagoula will vote next week on whether to shift from a five- to a four-day work week. One union official expects the vote will be close.
Northrop Grumman Ship Systems is proposing a 10-hour day four days a week for production workers at the company's Mississippi operations in Pascagoula and Gulfport and the Louisiana operations in New Orleans and Tallulah, according to union officials.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers will vote Tuesday between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the union's Market Street office.
"This thing's going to be tight," said Chico McGill, business manager for IBEW Local 733. He said a survey showed 46 percent of the Pascagoula IBEW workers against the change, 50 percent in favor and 4 percent undecided.
McGill said there are 1,000 union members in IBEW Local 733, which represents about 1,200 workers.
Mike Crawley, president of the Pascagoula Metal Trades Council, said each of 13 locals belonging to MTC will schedule its own voting. As of Friday, none had been scheduled. MTC represents 7,500 workers.
The pilot program, if accepted, will be for six months beginning Nov. 8 or Nov. 15, said Crawley. The work week would begin Monday and end Thursday rather than Friday.
The shorter work week is also being proposed for workers at Gulfport, New Orleans and Tallulah, which all fall under Northrop Grumman's Avondale operations.
The New Orleans Metal Trades Council, which represents about 4,000 workers at the three yards, will also vote on a change. McGill said the New Orleans Metal Trades will meet Tuesday to determine when a vote will be held.
"I feel it will take place pretty quickly," he said.
Local Northrop Grumman officials refused to comment until the unions vote.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Tortorano can be reached at 896-2356 or at dtortorano@sunherald.com
IBEW Rank and File Fire Up the Grid in Election Fight
Author: Roberta Wood
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 10/16/04 00:00
Commentary
When Dick Cheney boasted during the vice presidential debate that he had “carried a ticket with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for six years,” he didn’t impress many IBEW members.
It was like a skunk bragging that he used to wear Chanel No. 5, I thought. He still stinks.
IBEW President Ed Hill fired back the next day in a sharply worded statement, saying he wished the union had done a better job instilling its values in the young Cheney when it had a chance. “Perhaps then he would not so relentlessly pursue policies that have caused catastrophic job losses and inflicted tremendous pain on countless working families,” Hill said.
Cheney might have learned that when the IBEW was founded over 100 years ago, one out of two workers in the industry died in falls or electrocutions. Safety standards, as much as wages, drove workers to band together in a brotherhood. On the job, each worker’s life was literally in the hands of his co-worker. In this election season, that vision of solidarity, of workers holding each other’s lives in their hands, has extended to the political arena.
So on a sunny August day, I was proud to be one of many IBEW members who poured into the battleground state of Ohio, crossing state lines to answer our brothers’ and sisters’ call for reinforcements in the battle for jobs and to defeat George Bush.
A Chicago bus, initiated by our city’s Electrical Workers Minority Caucus chapter, left in a pounding rainstorm at 3 in the morning. In Toledo, we paired up with local electricians and went on a 6-hour labor walk visiting union households. Kentuckians came to Cincinnati, Hoosiers to Columbus.
All told, nearly 200 IBEW members were out in force in Ohio that day, including in Cleveland, Akron and Marietta. In our neon-yellow shirts, the electrical workers scattered throughout working class neighborhoods sharing our own stories and election information with the union families we visited.
“Participating in activities like this makes for a different kind of union member,” said my canvassing partner, international rep Thomas Curley, as we went door to door in the east Toledo neighborhood where he grew up.
Local 3 in New York launched the union’s labor walk campaign June 23 with a three-bus convoy, accompanied by two dozen motorcyclists, to Philadelphia. The solidarity buses have continued every Saturday in September and October. This month, Local 3 also mobilized dozens of its unemployed members to staff voter registration tables in 15 hospitals and 15 community colleges over a five-day period, signing up thousands of new voters.
The union’s 2004 National Political Coordinator, Edwin Lopez, sees the activities transforming union members. Political activities are “identifying new activists, creating ways for them to participate, and renewing members’ belief in their union and pride in themselves as union members.”
Lopez worked in the tools as an inside wireman, and then as a Local 3 business rep. He is also a national leader of the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus. He’s a real working class intellectual, combining deep thinking on the problems facing the labor movement with non-stop activism.
“The members are learning first-hand how politics is tied to collective bargaining and to the right to organize. A core of activists is the heart and soul of the union,” he said. “All we have is our members – if our members are not charged up, we have nothing.”
It’s not just the IBEW rank and file that’s charged up. Hill told a recent women’s conference, he found himself saying things he earlier would have called radical, “talking the same talk as the labor leaders of the 1930s. There’s a class war being waged,” Hill said, “even though we didn’t start it.”
It’s working class pride and determination that characterizes the three-pronged approach that Hill has been relentlessly promoting — organizing, political action and emphasis on skills and quality workmanship.”
“The card that the vice president carried was his ticket to decent wages and benefits for the fruits of his labor,” Hill’s response to Cheney stated. “It’s too bad that now he wants to pull up the ladder and deny that same opportunity to others.”
IBEW members are on the road this fall, crossing state lines, to make sure it doesn’t happen. It’s a brotherhood thing, Dick. You wouldn’t understand.
The author, labor editor of the Peoples Weekly World and a 15-year member of IBEW Local 9, can be reached at rwood@pww.org.
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 10/16/04 00:00
Commentary
When Dick Cheney boasted during the vice presidential debate that he had “carried a ticket with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for six years,” he didn’t impress many IBEW members.
It was like a skunk bragging that he used to wear Chanel No. 5, I thought. He still stinks.
IBEW President Ed Hill fired back the next day in a sharply worded statement, saying he wished the union had done a better job instilling its values in the young Cheney when it had a chance. “Perhaps then he would not so relentlessly pursue policies that have caused catastrophic job losses and inflicted tremendous pain on countless working families,” Hill said.
Cheney might have learned that when the IBEW was founded over 100 years ago, one out of two workers in the industry died in falls or electrocutions. Safety standards, as much as wages, drove workers to band together in a brotherhood. On the job, each worker’s life was literally in the hands of his co-worker. In this election season, that vision of solidarity, of workers holding each other’s lives in their hands, has extended to the political arena.
So on a sunny August day, I was proud to be one of many IBEW members who poured into the battleground state of Ohio, crossing state lines to answer our brothers’ and sisters’ call for reinforcements in the battle for jobs and to defeat George Bush.
A Chicago bus, initiated by our city’s Electrical Workers Minority Caucus chapter, left in a pounding rainstorm at 3 in the morning. In Toledo, we paired up with local electricians and went on a 6-hour labor walk visiting union households. Kentuckians came to Cincinnati, Hoosiers to Columbus.
All told, nearly 200 IBEW members were out in force in Ohio that day, including in Cleveland, Akron and Marietta. In our neon-yellow shirts, the electrical workers scattered throughout working class neighborhoods sharing our own stories and election information with the union families we visited.
“Participating in activities like this makes for a different kind of union member,” said my canvassing partner, international rep Thomas Curley, as we went door to door in the east Toledo neighborhood where he grew up.
Local 3 in New York launched the union’s labor walk campaign June 23 with a three-bus convoy, accompanied by two dozen motorcyclists, to Philadelphia. The solidarity buses have continued every Saturday in September and October. This month, Local 3 also mobilized dozens of its unemployed members to staff voter registration tables in 15 hospitals and 15 community colleges over a five-day period, signing up thousands of new voters.
The union’s 2004 National Political Coordinator, Edwin Lopez, sees the activities transforming union members. Political activities are “identifying new activists, creating ways for them to participate, and renewing members’ belief in their union and pride in themselves as union members.”
Lopez worked in the tools as an inside wireman, and then as a Local 3 business rep. He is also a national leader of the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus. He’s a real working class intellectual, combining deep thinking on the problems facing the labor movement with non-stop activism.
“The members are learning first-hand how politics is tied to collective bargaining and to the right to organize. A core of activists is the heart and soul of the union,” he said. “All we have is our members – if our members are not charged up, we have nothing.”
It’s not just the IBEW rank and file that’s charged up. Hill told a recent women’s conference, he found himself saying things he earlier would have called radical, “talking the same talk as the labor leaders of the 1930s. There’s a class war being waged,” Hill said, “even though we didn’t start it.”
It’s working class pride and determination that characterizes the three-pronged approach that Hill has been relentlessly promoting — organizing, political action and emphasis on skills and quality workmanship.”
“The card that the vice president carried was his ticket to decent wages and benefits for the fruits of his labor,” Hill’s response to Cheney stated. “It’s too bad that now he wants to pull up the ladder and deny that same opportunity to others.”
IBEW members are on the road this fall, crossing state lines, to make sure it doesn’t happen. It’s a brotherhood thing, Dick. You wouldn’t understand.
The author, labor editor of the Peoples Weekly World and a 15-year member of IBEW Local 9, can be reached at rwood@pww.org.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Retired IBEW Member Passes On in San Diego
DONOVAN ISADOR MOEN
April 2, 1913-Oct. 9, 2004
Donovan Isador Moen, 91, of Escondido died Saturday. He was born in Canada and was an electrician. He was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Survivors include his wife, Alice Moen; daughter, Sharon LaFrance; son, Carl Moen; and three grandchildren.
Services: 2 p.m. tomorrow, Pacific Beach Chapel, 4710 Cass St., San Diego.
A scattering of ashes was planned.
April 2, 1913-Oct. 9, 2004
Donovan Isador Moen, 91, of Escondido died Saturday. He was born in Canada and was an electrician. He was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Survivors include his wife, Alice Moen; daughter, Sharon LaFrance; son, Carl Moen; and three grandchildren.
Services: 2 p.m. tomorrow, Pacific Beach Chapel, 4710 Cass St., San Diego.
A scattering of ashes was planned.
IBEW Local 2222 (Boston MA) members debate election, war, economy
Politics pays visit to offices: Candidates not alone in debates
By Jay Fitzgerald
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Nick Argenio's Verizon co-workers once told him to pipe down with all his cheerleading.
And at State Street Corp., according to employee Rich York, people have chosen up sides.
Yankees vs. Red Sox?
Nope.
Try Bush vs. Kerry.
``It's passionate all right,'' says Argenio, an ardent Republican and central office technician at Verizon's Post Office Square regional headquarters. ``I was once asked to hush it down at work because I was getting pretty loud'' during one debate over the election.
Indeed, the office politics of letting politics into the office can be even dicier than a your typical water-cooler throwdown over baseball.
``It's definitely on most people's radar screen,'' said Paul Feeney, a work colleague of Argenio and a supporter of Bay State native U.S. Sen. John Kerry [related, bio], the Democratic presidential candidate. ``It's a pretty polarizing election with a lot of vocal supporters on both sides.''
From Verizon to Citizens Bank to Fidelity Investments, most companies say they have no written policies about workplace campaign buttons, stickers or other political paraphernalia.
``It's a First Amendment issue,'' said Ed Merritt, chief executive of Mt. Washington Bank in South Boston.
He says it's frowned upon for ``customer-facing'' workers, such as tellers, to wear campaign buttons smack in the face of clients, even though the bank has no specific policy about political paraphernalia at work.
``(Customers) who support Kerry don't want to see a Bush button and it goes the other way,'' Merritt said.
But that doesn't stop Mt. Washington and other firms' employees from debating the race - or at least taking lighthearted digs at colleagues when their candidate appears to be down.
``People are taking sides,'' said York, who works in State Street Corp.'s wire transfer department in the financial district. ``But it all seems good-natured.''
If there's indeed a Red-Blue split across the country between GOP and Democratic-leaning states, there's also a white-collar and blue-collar split when it comes to loud workplace debates.
``There's just something about offices that stifles'' passionate discussions, York said.
Phil Johnston, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, proudly displays political paraphernalia and photos at the offices of his health care consulting firm, Philip W. Johnston Associates. But he does have to be a tad careful when meeting with, oh, pro-Bush clients.
``I try to separate the roles,'' he said.
But at outdoor construction sites and loading docks, watch out. They can shout all they want.
``Now more than ever there's a lot of debate over the war,'' said Feeney, a steward for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2222.
``Iraq seems to be the No. 1 issue among members,'' said Feeney, who also ticked off worries about the economy and workers' benefits as other big issues.
© Copyright by the Boston Herald and Herald Interactive Advertising Systems, Inc.
By Jay Fitzgerald
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Nick Argenio's Verizon co-workers once told him to pipe down with all his cheerleading.
And at State Street Corp., according to employee Rich York, people have chosen up sides.
Yankees vs. Red Sox?
Nope.
Try Bush vs. Kerry.
``It's passionate all right,'' says Argenio, an ardent Republican and central office technician at Verizon's Post Office Square regional headquarters. ``I was once asked to hush it down at work because I was getting pretty loud'' during one debate over the election.
Indeed, the office politics of letting politics into the office can be even dicier than a your typical water-cooler throwdown over baseball.
``It's definitely on most people's radar screen,'' said Paul Feeney, a work colleague of Argenio and a supporter of Bay State native U.S. Sen. John Kerry [related, bio], the Democratic presidential candidate. ``It's a pretty polarizing election with a lot of vocal supporters on both sides.''
From Verizon to Citizens Bank to Fidelity Investments, most companies say they have no written policies about workplace campaign buttons, stickers or other political paraphernalia.
``It's a First Amendment issue,'' said Ed Merritt, chief executive of Mt. Washington Bank in South Boston.
He says it's frowned upon for ``customer-facing'' workers, such as tellers, to wear campaign buttons smack in the face of clients, even though the bank has no specific policy about political paraphernalia at work.
``(Customers) who support Kerry don't want to see a Bush button and it goes the other way,'' Merritt said.
But that doesn't stop Mt. Washington and other firms' employees from debating the race - or at least taking lighthearted digs at colleagues when their candidate appears to be down.
``People are taking sides,'' said York, who works in State Street Corp.'s wire transfer department in the financial district. ``But it all seems good-natured.''
If there's indeed a Red-Blue split across the country between GOP and Democratic-leaning states, there's also a white-collar and blue-collar split when it comes to loud workplace debates.
``There's just something about offices that stifles'' passionate discussions, York said.
Phil Johnston, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, proudly displays political paraphernalia and photos at the offices of his health care consulting firm, Philip W. Johnston Associates. But he does have to be a tad careful when meeting with, oh, pro-Bush clients.
``I try to separate the roles,'' he said.
But at outdoor construction sites and loading docks, watch out. They can shout all they want.
``Now more than ever there's a lot of debate over the war,'' said Feeney, a steward for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2222.
``Iraq seems to be the No. 1 issue among members,'' said Feeney, who also ticked off worries about the economy and workers' benefits as other big issues.
© Copyright by the Boston Herald and Herald Interactive Advertising Systems, Inc.
IBEW Systems Council U-08 (Locals 433 Inglis FL, 626 Avon Park FL, 682 St. Petersburg FL, 1412 , Orlando, 1491 Enterprise FL) faces threat of Layoffs
Progress cuts may include layoffs
Executives say the search for new efficiencies will evaluate the organization from top to bottom.
By LOUIS HAU, Times Staff Writer
Published October 13, 2004
Faced with rising costs for employee pensions and medical benefits, Progress Energy Inc. said Tuesday it is planning a major cost-cutting initiative that might include layoffs.
In a memo to employees, Progress chairman and chief executive Bob McGehee warned of "some hard choices in the months ahead" as the Raleigh, N.C., parent of Progress Energy Florida of St. Petersburg attempts to reverse a "serious mismatch" between its revenues and costs. McGehee said revenue is growing at 2.5 percent a year, while costs are rising 4 to 5 percent a year.
This unsustainable pattern, which isn't related to the company's efforts to restore electricity after Florida's recent spate of hurricanes, will continue if "left unchecked and without significant rate increases," McGehee said.
Further contributing to Progress' financial challenges is the expiration of federal tax credits for coal-based synthetic fuel at the end of 2007. Progress is one of the nation's largest recipients of the controversial credit, an important source of net income, and is scrambling to make up for the pending earnings hit.
To keep its financial house in order, Progress will look for ways to save money at every level of the company, starting at the top, where it will consider the consolidation of some senior management functions, McGehee said.
Work force reductions and a re-evaluation of the company's use of outside contractors and consultants will also be part of the effort.
In a question-and-answer section attached to McGehee's message, Progress told employees its priority "is to minimize impacts of organizational reductions through attrition, increased scrutiny on hiring, possibly an early-retirement program and other means, but those initiatives alone likely will not get us where we need to be."
Translation: layoffs are likely.
But spokesman Keith Poston emphasized the cost-reduction effort will affect all facets of the company's operations, not just employment.
"There will likely be layoffs sometime at the end of the year," Poston said. "But layoffs are not option 1. In fact, they're not even options 2, 3 or 4."
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers will be closely following the company's cost-reduction initiative, said W.O. "Butch" Enyard, business manager for IBEW System Council U-8 in Crystal River, which represents Progress line workers and power plant workers.
Enyard said this isn't the first time for employees of Florida Power Corp., which was bought out in 2000 by Carolina Power & Light to form Progress.
"We've been through it before - same old stuff, just new faces," he said.
Cutting costs is critical for Progress' financial health and its continued ability to grow its dividend, Poston said.
He added that it is important if Progress is to remain an independent company. Failure to squeeze more efficiencies out of its operations could tempt a would-be acquirer to do so itself, he said.
"We'd like to control our destiny," Poston said. "If we do these things ourselves, we can continue to be the driver, and not the follower."
Pension payments and rising health-care costs are a problem for companies everywhere but they present particularly stiff challenges for regulated electric utilities which can't grow beyond their designated service territories. This is also true for Progress, despite the fact it is among several investor-owned utilities in Florida that have enjoyed strong customer growth in recent years.
McGehee said in his memo the company will seek ways to grow revenue at Progress Ventures, which includes the company's unregulated wholesale power business.
Progress did not release information about its cost-cutting plans to Wall Street. Progress' shares closed Tuesday at $42.30, up 26 cents.
Louis Hau can be reached at 813 226-3404 or hau@sptimes.com
PROGRESS ENERGY INC.
HEADQUARTERS: Raleigh, N.C.
Parent of two regulated electric utilities, Progress Energy Florida Inc. of St. Petersburg (1.5-million customers) and Progress Energy Carolinas of Raleigh (1.4-million customers). Also runs other businesses, including unregulated wholesale power, coal mining, natural gas production, rail transport and telecom businesses.
FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES: 15,300, including 4,689 at Progress Florida and 5,878 at Progress Carolinas.
REVENUE FOR SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30: $3.406-billion, up 5 percent from $3.237-billion a year earlier.
NET INCOME FOR SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30: $262-million, down 30 percent from $376-million a year earlier.
© Copyright 2003 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved
Executives say the search for new efficiencies will evaluate the organization from top to bottom.
By LOUIS HAU, Times Staff Writer
Published October 13, 2004
Faced with rising costs for employee pensions and medical benefits, Progress Energy Inc. said Tuesday it is planning a major cost-cutting initiative that might include layoffs.
In a memo to employees, Progress chairman and chief executive Bob McGehee warned of "some hard choices in the months ahead" as the Raleigh, N.C., parent of Progress Energy Florida of St. Petersburg attempts to reverse a "serious mismatch" between its revenues and costs. McGehee said revenue is growing at 2.5 percent a year, while costs are rising 4 to 5 percent a year.
This unsustainable pattern, which isn't related to the company's efforts to restore electricity after Florida's recent spate of hurricanes, will continue if "left unchecked and without significant rate increases," McGehee said.
Further contributing to Progress' financial challenges is the expiration of federal tax credits for coal-based synthetic fuel at the end of 2007. Progress is one of the nation's largest recipients of the controversial credit, an important source of net income, and is scrambling to make up for the pending earnings hit.
To keep its financial house in order, Progress will look for ways to save money at every level of the company, starting at the top, where it will consider the consolidation of some senior management functions, McGehee said.
Work force reductions and a re-evaluation of the company's use of outside contractors and consultants will also be part of the effort.
In a question-and-answer section attached to McGehee's message, Progress told employees its priority "is to minimize impacts of organizational reductions through attrition, increased scrutiny on hiring, possibly an early-retirement program and other means, but those initiatives alone likely will not get us where we need to be."
Translation: layoffs are likely.
But spokesman Keith Poston emphasized the cost-reduction effort will affect all facets of the company's operations, not just employment.
"There will likely be layoffs sometime at the end of the year," Poston said. "But layoffs are not option 1. In fact, they're not even options 2, 3 or 4."
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers will be closely following the company's cost-reduction initiative, said W.O. "Butch" Enyard, business manager for IBEW System Council U-8 in Crystal River, which represents Progress line workers and power plant workers.
Enyard said this isn't the first time for employees of Florida Power Corp., which was bought out in 2000 by Carolina Power & Light to form Progress.
"We've been through it before - same old stuff, just new faces," he said.
Cutting costs is critical for Progress' financial health and its continued ability to grow its dividend, Poston said.
He added that it is important if Progress is to remain an independent company. Failure to squeeze more efficiencies out of its operations could tempt a would-be acquirer to do so itself, he said.
"We'd like to control our destiny," Poston said. "If we do these things ourselves, we can continue to be the driver, and not the follower."
Pension payments and rising health-care costs are a problem for companies everywhere but they present particularly stiff challenges for regulated electric utilities which can't grow beyond their designated service territories. This is also true for Progress, despite the fact it is among several investor-owned utilities in Florida that have enjoyed strong customer growth in recent years.
McGehee said in his memo the company will seek ways to grow revenue at Progress Ventures, which includes the company's unregulated wholesale power business.
Progress did not release information about its cost-cutting plans to Wall Street. Progress' shares closed Tuesday at $42.30, up 26 cents.
Louis Hau can be reached at 813 226-3404 or hau@sptimes.com
PROGRESS ENERGY INC.
HEADQUARTERS: Raleigh, N.C.
Parent of two regulated electric utilities, Progress Energy Florida Inc. of St. Petersburg (1.5-million customers) and Progress Energy Carolinas of Raleigh (1.4-million customers). Also runs other businesses, including unregulated wholesale power, coal mining, natural gas production, rail transport and telecom businesses.
FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES: 15,300, including 4,689 at Progress Florida and 5,878 at Progress Carolinas.
REVENUE FOR SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30: $3.406-billion, up 5 percent from $3.237-billion a year earlier.
NET INCOME FOR SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30: $262-million, down 30 percent from $376-million a year earlier.
© Copyright 2003 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved
IBEW Local 66 (Houston TX) and employer cited for OSHA Award
W.A. Parish Plant receives prestigious worksite honor
By B.J. POLLOCK
Texas Genco's W.A. Parish Plant held a huge celebration Wednesday in honor of its earning an OSHA Voluntary Protection Programs prestigious Star Award.
The VPP Star Celebration was attended by hundreds of Parish Plant employees and OSHA representative Russ Elveston, and included a special meal.
The program began at about 11 a.m. with Bob Osco, general manager of the Parish Plant, as the first of the event's key speakers.
Osco said he knew the plant and its employees were ready to apply for the VPP Star Award, but the week during the audit that earned them the honor was "full of emotions."
"It was a real roller coaster from day one with the emotions, up and down," he said. "I've got to hand it to OSHA. They put you on that roller coaster ride, but it's with a purpose."
By the time OSHA's audit, which was conducted the week of May 3, was complete, Osco said, "there's nothing you want more than to be accepted."
"We made it through," he said, calling the accomplishment "an outstanding moment" in the history of the W.A. Parish Plant.
"I truly believe that each and every one of you here today deal with a lot of risk and have to make a lot of decisions," said Osco, adding the plant's employees think about those decision and their consequences on a daily basis.
He said the VPP Star Award program helps identify those risks and train Parish Plant employees to make the right choices with positive results.
"A team is always stronger than its individuals ... but it takes the individuals to make up that team, and it's individuals who make the difference," Osco said. "I have to thank everyone here at W.A. Parish for their unselfish achievements to make this (award) possible."
Texas Genco President David Tees described the earning of the award as "a team effort," and said the employees of the plant brought forward the idea to apply for it in the first place.
"Over the years, we've worked harder and harder and harder on safety," he said, adding the plant's 1,500 employees monitor themselves and each other to make certain any safety issues are identified and addressed.
Tees said the award is proof that the employees are "very professional in your workplace."
Mike Reed, vice president of Texas Genco Regulated Plant Operations, said earning the award "has been difficult, and it's been a challenge," but was one for which plant employees were ready.
"I'm very proud of everyone because you made it happen," he told the crowd. "Y'all have done an outstanding job."
"It truly was a large team effort. It truly was a company-wide effort for Texas Genco," said Randy Gauny of the W.A. Parish Site Safety Team. "Even our visitors made comments about how we stress safety. It's not about getting the Star, it's about everybody getting home safely."
Fellow safety team member Gary Schroeder agreed, and had several groups of employees stand and be recognized for the efforts in keep the plant safe.
"You feel like you're in a living Nike commercial - just do it," he said of working at the plant.
Bruce Bettilyon, union business representative for IBEW #66, said, "We didn't do it - y'all did. This is your day to be recognized."
Elveston called the award an "extremely outstanding accomplishment," and presented the plant with the large VPP Star Award flag, which was run up the pole at the administration building by maintenance crew leader Roy Sims and Tommy Kaderka.
Parish Plant employee Lester Miller served as deejay for the event, warming up the crowd with tunes such as "Celebration" and "I Feel Good."
Fellow employee Raul "Mr. Trick" Padilla performed a variety of impressive magic tricks, including causing 45 rpm records to change color, floating a $1 bill and popping a balloon to reveal a white dove inside.
Parish employee Kenneth Carroll introduced each speaker, and also recognized special guests such as Fort Bend County Precinct 1 Commissioner Tom Stavinoha, Thompsons Mayor Freddie Newsome, Rosenberg-Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce President Gail Parker and a group of Parish Plant retirees.
The plant was originally known as Smithers Lake Plant, and was renamed in 1958 in honor of past Houston Lighting and Power Company President Walter Alvin Parish.
It is located on a 4,880-acre site near Thompsons, and includes four gas-fired generators, four coal-fired generators and one gas-turbine generator with a total capability of generating 3,653 megawatts of electricity.
The first of the gas-fired units began operations in June, 1958, and the first of the coal-fired units became operational in December, 1977.
The plant, which is the largest fossil-fueled plant in America, has been declared "among the cleanest" of its kind in the country by Power magazine, which said the plant has reduced its NOx levels to "microscopic levels."
OSHA's VPP Star Award program promotes effective worksite-based safety and health. The earning of a Star Award and acceptance into the VPP program is OSHA's official recognition of the outstanding efforts of employers and
employees who have achieved exemplary occupational safety and
By B.J. POLLOCK
Texas Genco's W.A. Parish Plant held a huge celebration Wednesday in honor of its earning an OSHA Voluntary Protection Programs prestigious Star Award.
The VPP Star Celebration was attended by hundreds of Parish Plant employees and OSHA representative Russ Elveston, and included a special meal.
The program began at about 11 a.m. with Bob Osco, general manager of the Parish Plant, as the first of the event's key speakers.
Osco said he knew the plant and its employees were ready to apply for the VPP Star Award, but the week during the audit that earned them the honor was "full of emotions."
"It was a real roller coaster from day one with the emotions, up and down," he said. "I've got to hand it to OSHA. They put you on that roller coaster ride, but it's with a purpose."
By the time OSHA's audit, which was conducted the week of May 3, was complete, Osco said, "there's nothing you want more than to be accepted."
"We made it through," he said, calling the accomplishment "an outstanding moment" in the history of the W.A. Parish Plant.
"I truly believe that each and every one of you here today deal with a lot of risk and have to make a lot of decisions," said Osco, adding the plant's employees think about those decision and their consequences on a daily basis.
He said the VPP Star Award program helps identify those risks and train Parish Plant employees to make the right choices with positive results.
"A team is always stronger than its individuals ... but it takes the individuals to make up that team, and it's individuals who make the difference," Osco said. "I have to thank everyone here at W.A. Parish for their unselfish achievements to make this (award) possible."
Texas Genco President David Tees described the earning of the award as "a team effort," and said the employees of the plant brought forward the idea to apply for it in the first place.
"Over the years, we've worked harder and harder and harder on safety," he said, adding the plant's 1,500 employees monitor themselves and each other to make certain any safety issues are identified and addressed.
Tees said the award is proof that the employees are "very professional in your workplace."
Mike Reed, vice president of Texas Genco Regulated Plant Operations, said earning the award "has been difficult, and it's been a challenge," but was one for which plant employees were ready.
"I'm very proud of everyone because you made it happen," he told the crowd. "Y'all have done an outstanding job."
"It truly was a large team effort. It truly was a company-wide effort for Texas Genco," said Randy Gauny of the W.A. Parish Site Safety Team. "Even our visitors made comments about how we stress safety. It's not about getting the Star, it's about everybody getting home safely."
Fellow safety team member Gary Schroeder agreed, and had several groups of employees stand and be recognized for the efforts in keep the plant safe.
"You feel like you're in a living Nike commercial - just do it," he said of working at the plant.
Bruce Bettilyon, union business representative for IBEW #66, said, "We didn't do it - y'all did. This is your day to be recognized."
Elveston called the award an "extremely outstanding accomplishment," and presented the plant with the large VPP Star Award flag, which was run up the pole at the administration building by maintenance crew leader Roy Sims and Tommy Kaderka.
Parish Plant employee Lester Miller served as deejay for the event, warming up the crowd with tunes such as "Celebration" and "I Feel Good."
Fellow employee Raul "Mr. Trick" Padilla performed a variety of impressive magic tricks, including causing 45 rpm records to change color, floating a $1 bill and popping a balloon to reveal a white dove inside.
Parish employee Kenneth Carroll introduced each speaker, and also recognized special guests such as Fort Bend County Precinct 1 Commissioner Tom Stavinoha, Thompsons Mayor Freddie Newsome, Rosenberg-Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce President Gail Parker and a group of Parish Plant retirees.
The plant was originally known as Smithers Lake Plant, and was renamed in 1958 in honor of past Houston Lighting and Power Company President Walter Alvin Parish.
It is located on a 4,880-acre site near Thompsons, and includes four gas-fired generators, four coal-fired generators and one gas-turbine generator with a total capability of generating 3,653 megawatts of electricity.
The first of the gas-fired units began operations in June, 1958, and the first of the coal-fired units became operational in December, 1977.
The plant, which is the largest fossil-fueled plant in America, has been declared "among the cleanest" of its kind in the country by Power magazine, which said the plant has reduced its NOx levels to "microscopic levels."
OSHA's VPP Star Award program promotes effective worksite-based safety and health. The earning of a Star Award and acceptance into the VPP program is OSHA's official recognition of the outstanding efforts of employers and
employees who have achieved exemplary occupational safety and
Niagra-Mohawk Threatens use of Strikebreakers Against IBEW Local 97 (Syracuse NY)
UNION: THUMBS DOWN ON NIMO OFFER
By SEAN TREACY, Staff Writer
OSWEGO -- After meeting late into Wednesday morning with Niagara Mohawk, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 97 contract negotiating committee is unanimously recommending its members reject the company's final contract offer.
Union members have been meeting across upstate New York the past week voting on whether to allow union leaders to strike. Oswego County employees met at the American Foundry in Oswego Wednesday for that purpose and votes will be tabulated in Syracuse today.
Both organizations paint a different view of the final offered contract.
According to an IBEW release, the contract "significantly reduces" current benefit levels, including short- and long-term disability, reduction of future pension increases and fails to "resolve the inequity" between transition group and non-transition group employees.
Union leadership also asserts the company's contract offer doesn't detail plans to eliminate specific departments or contract out bargaining unit work.
A Niagara Mohawk release says its plan provides employees with an average annual salary of $57,000 with an average $1,200 signing bonus, $3,400 in wage increases and "bonus opportunities" of $3,700 over the 30-month term of the contract.
The offer, the company said, also includes "layoff protections" and an "overall enhancement" to the benefit package.
Niagara Mohawk, based out of Syracuse, is an energy distributor and subsidiary of National Grid, which is based out of London, England.
According to Niagara Mohawk's Web site, the power company provides electric service to approximately 1.5 million customers and natural gas service to approximately 540,000 customers in upstate New York.
Niagara Mohawk used to generate power through its ownership of Nine Mile Point One and Two nuclear power plants in Scriba, but it sold both plants to Maryland-based Constellation Energy in 2000. Niagara Mohawk and National Grid completed their merger in 2002.
The union has existed in its current state since 1994 when 12 unions representing Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. workers merged together. According to their union office in Syracuse, Niagara Mohawk workers have never gone on strike.
The company has said it is prepared to operate without union workers if it has to.
By SEAN TREACY, Staff Writer
OSWEGO -- After meeting late into Wednesday morning with Niagara Mohawk, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 97 contract negotiating committee is unanimously recommending its members reject the company's final contract offer.
Union members have been meeting across upstate New York the past week voting on whether to allow union leaders to strike. Oswego County employees met at the American Foundry in Oswego Wednesday for that purpose and votes will be tabulated in Syracuse today.
Both organizations paint a different view of the final offered contract.
According to an IBEW release, the contract "significantly reduces" current benefit levels, including short- and long-term disability, reduction of future pension increases and fails to "resolve the inequity" between transition group and non-transition group employees.
Union leadership also asserts the company's contract offer doesn't detail plans to eliminate specific departments or contract out bargaining unit work.
A Niagara Mohawk release says its plan provides employees with an average annual salary of $57,000 with an average $1,200 signing bonus, $3,400 in wage increases and "bonus opportunities" of $3,700 over the 30-month term of the contract.
The offer, the company said, also includes "layoff protections" and an "overall enhancement" to the benefit package.
Niagara Mohawk, based out of Syracuse, is an energy distributor and subsidiary of National Grid, which is based out of London, England.
According to Niagara Mohawk's Web site, the power company provides electric service to approximately 1.5 million customers and natural gas service to approximately 540,000 customers in upstate New York.
Niagara Mohawk used to generate power through its ownership of Nine Mile Point One and Two nuclear power plants in Scriba, but it sold both plants to Maryland-based Constellation Energy in 2000. Niagara Mohawk and National Grid completed their merger in 2002.
The union has existed in its current state since 1994 when 12 unions representing Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. workers merged together. According to their union office in Syracuse, Niagara Mohawk workers have never gone on strike.
The company has said it is prepared to operate without union workers if it has to.
ISA to certify IBEW professionals in instrumentationa and control
06 October 2004
ISA program to certify automation professionals
By Jim Strothman
ISA this week launches two new certification programs offering automation and control professionals credentials confirming their knowledge, competence, and potential in a particular field to current and future employers, coworkers, and others.
With predictions that both will have "far-reaching effects in the field of automation and control," the two programs will officially commence Thursday at ISA EXPO 2004, when ISA's Certified Automation Professional (CAP) and Certified Industrial Maintenance Mechanic (CIMM) examinations will be offered for the first time. ISA already offers its Certified Control Systems Technician (CCST) examination.
"Certification, as a general concept, will have a tremendous impact on the entire industry in the years to come, because as competition for market share increases, so does demand for proven, qualified employees," said Dale W. Lee, ISA director, member, education and certification services.
What is certification?
Obtaining professional credentials is one of the most credible ways to demonstrate acquired proficiency in a field, Lee said. Certified credentials open career pathways and, in some cases, serve as the education program when a degree-granting track does not exist.
Certification is private regulation. Typically, a state or federal government does not have a law, or regulation, covering a particular profession. So, in the absence of government-mandated regulation, a trade association or an independent certifying body develops a standard for certification.
Certification requires individuals to meet basic eligibility requirements before taking any test. Generally, certification requirements are not geographically restrictive, offering more freedom for credential holders to market their skills. Holding an advanced degree may not be necessary to take the examination.
"Certification programs recognize an individual's specialized education, training, and knowledge in a particular field," Lee said. "Getting certified demonstrates motivation to continue growing professionally, establishes career paths and job advancement opportunities, and most importantly, demonstrates one's qualification, competence, and potential to current and future employers," she said.
Rod Lincoln, manager, organizational development and training, Cytec Industries, points out certification and training programs also can be instrumental in protecting companies from liability issues.
"Companies are often concerned if there is an accident and a federal agency is called to audit their training and certification process. Without certification, there is little chance to avoid a fine for poor training. What better way to minimize potential liability than to have third-party [ISA] certification of employees?"
"The rallying cry for a new certification program comes from the needs of industry," Lee said. "Defining professions in the realm of automation and control is one of the most important issues in the industry today, and ISA's certification programs provide employers and professionals with resources, recognition, and third-party evaluation of skills and qualifications."
CCST began in 1995
ISA established the CCST program in 1995 to recognize and document technicians' knowledge, education, and experience in automation and control. The program was developed in conjunction with the Instrument Contracting and Engineering Association (ICEA), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the United Association of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters (UA).
Unlike some technician certification programs that are industry specific, the CCST exam was validated and designed for control system technicians who work in a variety of manufacturing industries.
The CCST program offers three levels of certification with varying education and experience requirements. Level I requires a minimum of five years of education, training, and/or work experience. Level II requires seven years of education, training, and/or work experience with at least two years in automation and control. Level III requires thirteen years education, training, and/or work experience with at least five years in automation and control.
The CCST exam tests applicants based on six performance domains deemed critical to proficiency in the industry:
* Domain I: Calibration
* Domain II: Loop Checking
* Domain III: Troubleshooting
* Domain IV: Start-up
* Domain V: Maintenance/Repair
* Domain VI: Project Organization
* Domain VII: Administration
CAP defines competence
This year, ISA began developing a new certification program specifically to address the industrywide need to define an automation professional. The Certified Automation Professional program provides a clear and concise definition of the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for competent job performance—and gives automation professionals a way to document those skills.
Gerald Wilbanks, a member of the CAP development team, said the industry needs the program as an alternative to other forms of certification and licensing.
"Many of the people who are doing industrial automation aren't professional engineers; they are people with a wide variety of backgrounds," said Wilbanks, a former ISA president and registered professional engineer in 14 states. "Some have migrated into automation having electrical, chemical, mechanical, or information systems education and experience. While the work they do is extremely important, there is not a requirement to seal and sign construction documents," Wilbanks said.
Because of this void, CAP was created to give automation professionals a designation all their own. CAPs typically are responsible for the direction, design, and deployment of systems and equipment for manufacturing and control systems.
Using interviews, surveys, observation, and group discussions, ISA worked with automation professionals to delineate critical job components. The knowledge and skill bases for the questions on the examination were derived from the actual practice of the automation professionals, Lee said. The knowledge, skills, and abilities determined fall into six performance domains and account for the examination's content:
* Domain I: Feasibility Study
* Domain II: Definition
* Domain III: System Design
* Domain IV: Development
* Domain V: Deployment
* Domain VI: Operation and Maintenance
CIMM for maintenance workers
Early this year, industry leaders looked to ISA to help establish standard competencies for maintenance mechanics, and ISA responded by developing the Certified Industrial Maintenance Mechanic program. CIMMs typically are responsible for preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance. They perform troubleshooting and analysis, and apply sound maintenance practices in all aspects of their work.
CIMMs generally are multiskilled individuals whose expertise is primarily mechanical in nature, as opposed to electrical or involving instrumentation. Through an intensive study of the industrial maintenance field, the CIMM exam will be based on four critical domains of performance:
* Domain I: Maintenance Practices
* Domain II: Preventive and Predictive Maintenance
* Domain III: Troubleshooting and Analysis
* Domain IV: Corrective Maintenance
"The more a mechanic knows, the less breakdown and overtime expense a company will have," said Rod Lincoln, part of the CIMM development team. "So you should want your mechanics to know as much as they possibly could. You should provide a skill standard with a third-party evaluation, such as ISA, because if you ever had a problem, like a plant blowing up or an equipment leak, you could [demonstrate] to the EPA and OSHA that you've trained your people properly."
"ISA is working to improve the recognition of the automation field and everyone currently working in it, and those who might be interested in the field for generations to come," Lee said. "By developing and administering the CAP and CIMM programs, ISA is demonstrating a belief that there are many practicing automation professionals and maintenance experts who should be recognized for their knowledge and skill competencies.
"Ultimately, it is the voice of every industry professional that ISA represents," Lee said. "This is why certification programs are created: to build a solid foundation for industrial automation, to define it, and ideally, to lend credence to it as more than just a group of incidental job tasks."
Professionals & Practitioners Members & Leaders Educators & Students Advertisers & Exhibitors About ISA Join ISA Shop ISA Help Contacts Site Map Login Logout
All contents copyright of ISA © 1995-2004 All rights reserved.
ISA - The Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society
ISA program to certify automation professionals
By Jim Strothman
ISA this week launches two new certification programs offering automation and control professionals credentials confirming their knowledge, competence, and potential in a particular field to current and future employers, coworkers, and others.
With predictions that both will have "far-reaching effects in the field of automation and control," the two programs will officially commence Thursday at ISA EXPO 2004, when ISA's Certified Automation Professional (CAP) and Certified Industrial Maintenance Mechanic (CIMM) examinations will be offered for the first time. ISA already offers its Certified Control Systems Technician (CCST) examination.
"Certification, as a general concept, will have a tremendous impact on the entire industry in the years to come, because as competition for market share increases, so does demand for proven, qualified employees," said Dale W. Lee, ISA director, member, education and certification services.
What is certification?
Obtaining professional credentials is one of the most credible ways to demonstrate acquired proficiency in a field, Lee said. Certified credentials open career pathways and, in some cases, serve as the education program when a degree-granting track does not exist.
Certification is private regulation. Typically, a state or federal government does not have a law, or regulation, covering a particular profession. So, in the absence of government-mandated regulation, a trade association or an independent certifying body develops a standard for certification.
Certification requires individuals to meet basic eligibility requirements before taking any test. Generally, certification requirements are not geographically restrictive, offering more freedom for credential holders to market their skills. Holding an advanced degree may not be necessary to take the examination.
"Certification programs recognize an individual's specialized education, training, and knowledge in a particular field," Lee said. "Getting certified demonstrates motivation to continue growing professionally, establishes career paths and job advancement opportunities, and most importantly, demonstrates one's qualification, competence, and potential to current and future employers," she said.
Rod Lincoln, manager, organizational development and training, Cytec Industries, points out certification and training programs also can be instrumental in protecting companies from liability issues.
"Companies are often concerned if there is an accident and a federal agency is called to audit their training and certification process. Without certification, there is little chance to avoid a fine for poor training. What better way to minimize potential liability than to have third-party [ISA] certification of employees?"
"The rallying cry for a new certification program comes from the needs of industry," Lee said. "Defining professions in the realm of automation and control is one of the most important issues in the industry today, and ISA's certification programs provide employers and professionals with resources, recognition, and third-party evaluation of skills and qualifications."
CCST began in 1995
ISA established the CCST program in 1995 to recognize and document technicians' knowledge, education, and experience in automation and control. The program was developed in conjunction with the Instrument Contracting and Engineering Association (ICEA), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the United Association of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters (UA).
Unlike some technician certification programs that are industry specific, the CCST exam was validated and designed for control system technicians who work in a variety of manufacturing industries.
The CCST program offers three levels of certification with varying education and experience requirements. Level I requires a minimum of five years of education, training, and/or work experience. Level II requires seven years of education, training, and/or work experience with at least two years in automation and control. Level III requires thirteen years education, training, and/or work experience with at least five years in automation and control.
The CCST exam tests applicants based on six performance domains deemed critical to proficiency in the industry:
* Domain I: Calibration
* Domain II: Loop Checking
* Domain III: Troubleshooting
* Domain IV: Start-up
* Domain V: Maintenance/Repair
* Domain VI: Project Organization
* Domain VII: Administration
CAP defines competence
This year, ISA began developing a new certification program specifically to address the industrywide need to define an automation professional. The Certified Automation Professional program provides a clear and concise definition of the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for competent job performance—and gives automation professionals a way to document those skills.
Gerald Wilbanks, a member of the CAP development team, said the industry needs the program as an alternative to other forms of certification and licensing.
"Many of the people who are doing industrial automation aren't professional engineers; they are people with a wide variety of backgrounds," said Wilbanks, a former ISA president and registered professional engineer in 14 states. "Some have migrated into automation having electrical, chemical, mechanical, or information systems education and experience. While the work they do is extremely important, there is not a requirement to seal and sign construction documents," Wilbanks said.
Because of this void, CAP was created to give automation professionals a designation all their own. CAPs typically are responsible for the direction, design, and deployment of systems and equipment for manufacturing and control systems.
Using interviews, surveys, observation, and group discussions, ISA worked with automation professionals to delineate critical job components. The knowledge and skill bases for the questions on the examination were derived from the actual practice of the automation professionals, Lee said. The knowledge, skills, and abilities determined fall into six performance domains and account for the examination's content:
* Domain I: Feasibility Study
* Domain II: Definition
* Domain III: System Design
* Domain IV: Development
* Domain V: Deployment
* Domain VI: Operation and Maintenance
CIMM for maintenance workers
Early this year, industry leaders looked to ISA to help establish standard competencies for maintenance mechanics, and ISA responded by developing the Certified Industrial Maintenance Mechanic program. CIMMs typically are responsible for preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance. They perform troubleshooting and analysis, and apply sound maintenance practices in all aspects of their work.
CIMMs generally are multiskilled individuals whose expertise is primarily mechanical in nature, as opposed to electrical or involving instrumentation. Through an intensive study of the industrial maintenance field, the CIMM exam will be based on four critical domains of performance:
* Domain I: Maintenance Practices
* Domain II: Preventive and Predictive Maintenance
* Domain III: Troubleshooting and Analysis
* Domain IV: Corrective Maintenance
"The more a mechanic knows, the less breakdown and overtime expense a company will have," said Rod Lincoln, part of the CIMM development team. "So you should want your mechanics to know as much as they possibly could. You should provide a skill standard with a third-party evaluation, such as ISA, because if you ever had a problem, like a plant blowing up or an equipment leak, you could [demonstrate] to the EPA and OSHA that you've trained your people properly."
"ISA is working to improve the recognition of the automation field and everyone currently working in it, and those who might be interested in the field for generations to come," Lee said. "By developing and administering the CAP and CIMM programs, ISA is demonstrating a belief that there are many practicing automation professionals and maintenance experts who should be recognized for their knowledge and skill competencies.
"Ultimately, it is the voice of every industry professional that ISA represents," Lee said. "This is why certification programs are created: to build a solid foundation for industrial automation, to define it, and ideally, to lend credence to it as more than just a group of incidental job tasks."
Professionals & Practitioners Members & Leaders Educators & Students Advertisers & Exhibitors About ISA Join ISA Shop ISA Help Contacts Site Map Login Logout
All contents copyright of ISA © 1995-2004 All rights reserved.
ISA - The Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society
IBEW Local 688 (Mansfield OH) Business Manager co-chairs United Way Fundraiser
Speaker motivates United Way effort
By Jennifer Kowalewski
News Journal
MANSFIELD -- Rosemarie Rosetti knows the United Way of Richland County offers many programs to help people with disabilities.
As Miss Wheelchair Ohio 2004, Rosetti spoke at a luncheon Wednesday about living life to the fullest.
"Your life is now," she said in the packed room at Brown Derby Roadhouse. "Sometimes, life changes in an instant."
Rosetti lost the use of her legs six years ago, when she went for a bike ride through central Ohio with her husband.
"I got out of the passenger seat of the car and took my last steps," she said. "As we rode, my husband heard a noise, which sounded like a gunshot. In an instant, he saw a tree coming down, landing on top of me."
After the accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down, Rosetti started working as a motivational speaker. She tried to motivate those around her Wednesday to continue support for the United Way.
A pilot program with the organization raised $30,880, Pilot Campaign chairman Rush "Doc" Stumbo said. Richland Newhope Center won the competition of the five local organizations vying to raise the most in the program.
The agency saw an increase in employee participation of 173 percent over last year. The agency increased its contributions to the United Way by 118 percent.
Others involved in the pilot program to jump start the United Way campaign included Richland County Title Department and Clerk of Courts, O'Charley's Restaurant, Bank One and the Mansfield Police Department.
The AFL-CIO came through with a golf outing that raised $7,500 for the United Way.
Co-Chairs Ed Olson and Gaylord Rice Jr. were on hand to say thanks for the support so far, but asked for continuing support through the end of the campaign, Dec. 17.
"We are encouraged by the campaign," said Rice, business manager at IBEW Local 688. "We're excited about reaching our goal."
Richland County Commissioner Olson said everyone in Richland County should support this worthwhile agency. United Way and its partnering agencies help across the county, not just within the city limits.
The United Way agencies assisted about 33 out of every 100 people in Shiloh and 94 people out of every 100 people Lucas. In Mansfield, the agencies help 48 for every 100 people.
"The United Way services are delivered throughout Richland County, not just Mansfield," he said.
jkowalewsk@nncogannett.com
(419) 521-7232
By Jennifer Kowalewski
News Journal
MANSFIELD -- Rosemarie Rosetti knows the United Way of Richland County offers many programs to help people with disabilities.
As Miss Wheelchair Ohio 2004, Rosetti spoke at a luncheon Wednesday about living life to the fullest.
"Your life is now," she said in the packed room at Brown Derby Roadhouse. "Sometimes, life changes in an instant."
Rosetti lost the use of her legs six years ago, when she went for a bike ride through central Ohio with her husband.
"I got out of the passenger seat of the car and took my last steps," she said. "As we rode, my husband heard a noise, which sounded like a gunshot. In an instant, he saw a tree coming down, landing on top of me."
After the accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down, Rosetti started working as a motivational speaker. She tried to motivate those around her Wednesday to continue support for the United Way.
A pilot program with the organization raised $30,880, Pilot Campaign chairman Rush "Doc" Stumbo said. Richland Newhope Center won the competition of the five local organizations vying to raise the most in the program.
The agency saw an increase in employee participation of 173 percent over last year. The agency increased its contributions to the United Way by 118 percent.
Others involved in the pilot program to jump start the United Way campaign included Richland County Title Department and Clerk of Courts, O'Charley's Restaurant, Bank One and the Mansfield Police Department.
The AFL-CIO came through with a golf outing that raised $7,500 for the United Way.
Co-Chairs Ed Olson and Gaylord Rice Jr. were on hand to say thanks for the support so far, but asked for continuing support through the end of the campaign, Dec. 17.
"We are encouraged by the campaign," said Rice, business manager at IBEW Local 688. "We're excited about reaching our goal."
Richland County Commissioner Olson said everyone in Richland County should support this worthwhile agency. United Way and its partnering agencies help across the county, not just within the city limits.
The United Way agencies assisted about 33 out of every 100 people in Shiloh and 94 people out of every 100 people Lucas. In Mansfield, the agencies help 48 for every 100 people.
"The United Way services are delivered throughout Richland County, not just Mansfield," he said.
jkowalewsk@nncogannett.com
(419) 521-7232
Monday, October 11, 2004
IBEW Local 1288 (Memphis TN) Signs deal with Memphis Light Gas and Water for 1 year and raises
MLGW, union extend contract
The union workers of Memphis Light, Gas & Water have agreed to a one-year extension of their contract, which includes a pay raise and addresses some standing issues.
Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers local 1288, which approved the extension unanimously, will receive a 3% raise, according to company spokesman Mark Heuberger.
He says the labor agreement allows MLGW to maintain its position as a stable employer and trusted leader in the utility industry and to give customers low, stable rates and excellent service.
MLGW agreed to hire 12-13 additional bargaining-unit workers to staff the customer service operations. Those positions currently are staffed by 68 bargaining unit members and about 40 part-time, non-union workers, according to IBEW business manager Rick Thompson.
The utility also agreed to provisions for federal mediation of employee grievances, something Thompson says employees have tried to get for 10 years.
MLGW also will allow employees to get information pertaining to any disciplinary actions pending against them before hearings are held, Thompson says.
According to Thompson, 160 grievance were pending against MLGW when Joseph Lee took over as president and CEO. 72 have been settled.
"We've had more grievances settled in three months than in the past three years," Thompson says. He says Lee has brought "a more rational administration" to MLGW.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
The union workers of Memphis Light, Gas & Water have agreed to a one-year extension of their contract, which includes a pay raise and addresses some standing issues.
Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers local 1288, which approved the extension unanimously, will receive a 3% raise, according to company spokesman Mark Heuberger.
He says the labor agreement allows MLGW to maintain its position as a stable employer and trusted leader in the utility industry and to give customers low, stable rates and excellent service.
MLGW agreed to hire 12-13 additional bargaining-unit workers to staff the customer service operations. Those positions currently are staffed by 68 bargaining unit members and about 40 part-time, non-union workers, according to IBEW business manager Rick Thompson.
The utility also agreed to provisions for federal mediation of employee grievances, something Thompson says employees have tried to get for 10 years.
MLGW also will allow employees to get information pertaining to any disciplinary actions pending against them before hearings are held, Thompson says.
According to Thompson, 160 grievance were pending against MLGW when Joseph Lee took over as president and CEO. 72 have been settled.
"We've had more grievances settled in three months than in the past three years," Thompson says. He says Lee has brought "a more rational administration" to MLGW.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
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