IBEW Local 2366 (Lincoln, NE) Fights for Members' Jobs at Square D

New deal makes Square D plant stronger,
union, company say

By RODD CAYTON/Lincoln Journal Star
Wednesday, October 12, 2005

The new contract between Schneider Electric, which owns the Square D plant in south Lincoln, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers decreases the likelihood that the plant will close anytime soon, the union’s local president said Tuesday.

Jerry Gulizia of IBEW Local 2366 said that while the employees have given up wage increases and a bonus program, the cost savings should make it more feasible for Schneider to keep the plant open.

The absence of raises should be offset to some extent, Gulizia said, by the relatively well-paying nature of the jobs. The union’s 268 workers (and 37 non-union members who are part of the bargaining unit) are paid on a scale that ranges from $11.50 to $23.75 an hour, or $23,920 to $49,400 a year.

In all, Gulizia said the contract, which lasts until 2008, isn’t the most popular, but will help keep the plant open, which he said was the union’s primary goal.

Union membership approved the new agreement by a 78-22 margin, Gulizia said.

There are no guarantees that the plant will stay open, plant manager Jamie McDonald said, but the contract allows the plant to remain competitive.

“This is going to give us the best opportunity to be successful three years from now,” he said.

Other firms’ circuit breakers are manufactured in Latin America, McDonald said, but Square D has an advantage in the productivity and quality it gets out of Lincoln.

Another union goal that was met, Gulizia said, was increasing protections for military reservists working at the plant. Employees who are shipped overseas by the military will have their time in uniform count toward their years of service, and will continue to accrue sick and vacation time, he said. While employees who recently returned from Iraq were allowed to count their tour of duty toward seniority after the union interceded on their behalf, language guaranteeing that benefit was never in the old contract.

Schneider Electric spokesman Tim Trush said the deal covers six plants, including Lincoln.

In addition to the bargaining unit members, Gulizia said he believes there are about 88 management employees at the plant now. McDonald would not give a head count, but said of Gulizia’s totals “I can’t dispute those numbers.”

Two product lines, and more than 240 jobs, have moved from Lincoln to Mexico since 2002, Gulizia said. He said he’s hoping that after noting the cost of operating the Lincoln plant, Schneider brings more work here.

There are now two main circuit breaker lines in Lincoln, as well as plating, stamping and molding operations.

Reach Rodd Cayton at 473-7107 or rcayton@journalstar.com. Journal Star archives contributed to this report.