Former IBEW Local 449 (Pocatello ID) Member Appointed Vice President of 8th District As Former IBEW Local 449 Member is Appointed Secretary-Treasurer

Area electricians get promotions

BLACKFOOT - Two area leaders of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have been named to new positions.

According to a press release, Eighth District Vice President Jon F. Walters, Blackfoot, was appointed international secretary-treasurer by International President Edwin D. Hill, effective March 1. He goes to Washington after 22 years in the district office, where he represented IBEW members in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.

Ted Jensen, Pingree, a native of Blackfoot, has been named international vice president for the district. He was initiated into Local 449 in Pocatello in 1970. A powerful advocate of training and of programs to retain IBEW market share, he says, "I hope to engage the rank-and-file membership in moving the IBEW forward."

When Walters was elected vice president in 1982, he moved the office from Denver to Idaho Falls. During his tenure, he has played a key role in developing high standards for members and promoting the IBEW.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge," Walters said. "My goal is to make it better for the members."

Initiated into IBEW Local 449 in Pocatello in 1960 when he was a journeyman wireman, he was elected to the Local 449 executive board a year after he finished his apprenticeship. Four years later, he was elected president.

He served as business manager of that local from 1977 to 1982. He was elected eighth district vice president at the 32nd convention in 1982. Committed to fostering labor-management cooperation, Walters was co-chairman of the IBEW-NECA Council on Industrial Relations for 22 years. He also represented the IBEW and labor in general on several statewide committees, including those involving utilities, pensions and investment and energy. He served as a tireless and capable IBEW liaison to the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

Walters was also instrumental in drafting the "Code of Excellence," which developed a set of core standards for IBEW members and employers to commit to conclusion of a "job on time and under budget." He is eager to work on a new initiative to address the high cost of health care for members, as well as fulfilling other obligations of the office.

Jensen was initiated into Local 449 in Pocatello in 1970. After completing his inside wireman apprenticeship, he served on the local's executive board and was later elected recording secretary and president. A member of the JATC and the negotiations committee, Jensen successfully ran for business manager in 1989, serving until 1994 when he was appointed an international representative.

Prominent among Jensen's achievements as international representative is the Industry Awareness Program that he developed with NECA field representative Bill Orgill under Vice President Walters' leadership. Jensen describes the program as an "overview and analysis of the electrical industry, a tool to understand and respond to employer costs and market trends."