| Posted on Sat, Apr. 22, 2006 |  | |
| ||
| EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP NO LONGER UNUSUAL IDEA Worker-owners aren't alone Hundreds at 20th annual conference in Fairlawn Beacon Journal business writer In the 1970s, getting people to consider converting a company to employee ownership was a hard sell. No more. Converting businesses to employee ownership, where employees typically own 30 percent to all of a company, is gaining popularity, said Corey Rosen, executive director and co-founder of the California-based National Center for Employee Ownership. The vast majority of the employee-owned firms start out as financially healthy businesses, often with aging owners who want to retire and are looking for a buyer, Rosen and others told about 320 people at a conference Friday in Fairlawn. Employee ownership often includes special tax breaks that make the concept attractive to sellers as well as buyers. While there were as many as 7,000 employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs, in the United States in 1986, now there are 11,000 ESOPs and as many as 30 million employee-owners, Rosen said. ``It's no longer a weird idea,'' he said. Rosen was one of two keynote speakers at the 20th annual Ohio Employee Ownership Conference, held at the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn and sponsored by the Ohio Employee Ownership Center at Kent State University. The other speaker was Steve Sheppard, former chief executive officer of employee-owned furniture company Foldcraft in Minnesota. ``Participation is a universal need,'' said Sheppard, who now heads the Winds of Peace Foundation, which makes grants and micro-loans to the poor in Nicaragua. But employee-owned companies also need profits, cash flow and the other things that are the lifeblood of any business, he said. Glenn Leppo, 42-year-old president of Leppo Equipment in Tallmadge, was among the conference attendees researching employee ownership. His family-owned construction and building-related business, founded in 1945 by his grandfather, has expanded from one to six stores in the past 12 years and now has 90 employees, he said. ``At this point, we're still in the investigative stage,'' Leppo said. He came to the conference to speak to people in already established employee-owned companies about how they make it work, he said. Leppo said he is interested in the possibility of employee ownership mainly because of the philosophical component: ``that the employees share in the success.'' At one panel discussion, Jim Repace, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1985 at the Hoover Co. in North Canton, said his 800-member local began exploring employee-ownership of Hoover in 2005. That decision came after Hoover's struggling former corporate parent, Maytag Corp., said it could close the plant. Whirlpool Inc., which bought Maytag earlier this year, has said it may retain Hoover or sell it. If Whirlpool sells Hoover, the union wants to create an ESOP and buy the company to save jobs, Repace said. ``We don't know what Whirlpool's intentions are. We don't feel Whirlpool wants to be in the floor-care business,'' he said. The union's consultants may finish their feasibility study in the next couple of weeks, he said. While the IBEW is looking to create an ESOP to save jobs, at least 60 percent of ESOPs nationwide are created because the business owner is retiring, said John Logue, director of the Ohio Employee Ownership Center. Fewer than 10 percent of ESOPs are created as a job-saving device, he said. (The Newspaper Guild, which represents some Knight Ridder Inc.employees, including some at the Beacon Journal, is also researching an ESOP involving the Beacon Journal and up to 11 other of Knight Ridder's newspapers.) ESOPs aren't the only form of employee ownership. Conference organizers honored a small Brimfield Township company, Select Machine Inc., for becoming the first employee-owned cooperative in the nation earlier this year. A cooperative is relatively inexpensive, but it has fewer tax advantages than an ESOP. The firm, which makes machined products and equipment, has nine employees, making it financially impractical to become an ESOP, which is better suited for larger companies. The Kent State employee ownership center said Select Machine is now a new model for employee ownership in companies with fewer than 25 employees. About 320 people registered for the conference. The bulk of attendees, about 200, were nonmanagerial employees of employee-owned businesses, Logue said. Others at the conference included representatives of about a dozen companies whose owners are quietly researching employee ownership, he said. Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com | ||
Monday, May 01, 2006
IBEW Local 1985 Looks to Buy Hoover Plant from Maytag
West Franfort (IL) IBEW Members Provide Seed Money for Roan Center (Shelter)
Sara Bond: Miracles are occurring every day for the new Roan Center
By Mona Sandefur - Staff writer
Published: Monday, April 24, 2006 8:34 AM CDT
WEST FRANKFORT - Positive energy flowed Thursday night, as Roan Center board members met to discuss plans for future fund-raisers. Committee meetings didn't quite get off the ground, as members awaited the arrival of organizers Sara Bond and Shawn Bond, and secretary Sandy Davis.
The board meeting, conducted by Bruce Fasol, began with a report from finance committee chairman Nancy Bundy, who reported recent contributions received for renovation of the Women's Center and Night's Shield emergency shelter for women and children.
“The latest donations total $5,750,” Bundy said. “We received a $5,000 contribution from the First Baptist Church in West Frankfort, a couple of $100 contributions, and $250 from the West Frankfort Chamber of Commerce Board.
“I just now received two more checks, one from the Benton Consolidated High School Art Club for $1,770.16, from a walk-a-thon the students held, plus another $10 check,” Bundy said. “To date, we have received almost $16,000, not to mention the $100,000 in seed money through IBEW. We are getting good donations from a lot of good people.”
Members discussed upcoming fund-raisers, including the Saturday, April 29 multi-family gigantic yard sale being held at 16059 State Route 13 East in Marion. Public relations committee chair Danyel Paige said the yard sale runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“The yard sale is being held at my house, which is the last house between the corn fields before you reach the intersection with Route 166, which leads to Pittsburg and Creal Springs,” Paige said. “It is a old large white farmhouse.”
A day of family fun is planned for Saturday, May 6, at Pheasant Hollow Winery in Whittington. Gates open at noon. Tickets are $10 per person and kids 14 and under get in free. Entertainment includes music by Sister T and the Sinners, bluegrass by Crystal River, and more. Food and soft drinks will be available or bring your own picnic. Wine to taste and purchase will also be available. For information or tickets, call Pheasant Hollow Winery at 629-2302, The Women's Center at 618-549-4807, ext. 228, or West Frankfort Chamber of Commerce at 932-2181. Outside alcoholic beverages are not permitted on the premises.
A benefit dinner and poker run is slated for Saturday, May 13, at 212 Lounge in West Frankfort. Sign-up for the poker run begins at 11 a.m. at 212 Lounge. The price of entry is $10 per hand, which includes the dinner.
The first bike leaves at noon, with the last bike out at 1 p.m. Poker run stops include Donna's Sweetwater Saloon in Benton, Bank of Sesser Lounge, VanZandt's, Lou Dean's in Hurst, The Ranch near Johnston City, with the last stop at 212 Lounge. For more information, call Tom Bernhard at 413-0175 or 212 Lounge at 937-1486.
The benefit dinner begins at 4:30 p.m., at 212 Lounge. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children.
The meal includes pork steaks, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans and bread. Prizes will be awarded throughout the day, with a raffle and auction starting at approximately 6 p.m. Poker run prizes are $200 for the best hand and $50 for the worst hand. Music, provided by Tom Wallace, will be from 2 until 6 p.m., with Memory Lane beginning at 7 p.m.
Individuals and organizations are invited to adopt a room day, slated for Saturday, May 20, at 1 p.m., at Roan Center, 301 E. Garland in West Frankfort.
A display room will be ready to give an idea of how many of the rooms will look. Fasol said everyday heroes from area police and fire departments, as well as military personnel, will be on hand to distribute information.
Members also discussed the upcoming Rend Lake Water Festival parade, slated for May 13 in Benton. Members are asking for a group of volunteers to walk in the parade and distribute fliers about the Roan Center and its Women's Center and Night's Shield women's and children's emergency shelter programs.
Upon arrival, Sara Bond announced she had tickets available for the CASA Gala, “We Rock for CASA,” being held Friday, April 28, at the Benton Civic Center. Members jumped at the chance to purchase tickets, filling both reserved tables. Board member and Women's Center personnel, Iva Dell Clay, is one of the lip-sync performers for the 1950s and '60s musical event.
Bond announced she had just left the Roan Center, after meeting with a potential project manager, Kelly McCord.
“Kelly knows what she is doing,” Bond said.
“She helped wire the emergency shelter built in Cairo. All I did was show her the blueprints. She pointed to three rooms on the blueprints, said I need to see what is in this room, this room, and this room, and we took it from there.
Having a project manager who knows what to do will be a tremendous cost saving, as well as an excellent supporter of Roan Center and its programs. We found out we need someone who is certified to do plumbing and heating and air conditioning, and we may have people lined up for those tasks, as well.
“There are new and wonderful things happening everyday pertaining to Roan Center,” Bond said. “Miracles are at work and we have God and a lot of wonderful people to thank for that.”
To contribute to Roan Center, make checks payable to The Poshard Foundation and note Roan Center on the memo line of your check. Checks may be mailed to P.O. Box 326, West Frankfort, IL 62896.
Helena IBEW Hosts Debate on "Big Box" Stores
Big box stores topic of discussion
By The Helena IR - 04/25/06
Montanans for Corporate Accountability (MCA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) are hosting a discussion about the options for managing big box store growth in Helena.
The discussion is set for Wednesday, April 26, at 10:30 a.m. at the Labor Temple at 110 N. Warren. The first meeting will focus on gauging the community’s interest in opposing the back-to-back building plans of two big box giants, Costco and Sam’s Club.
The Independent Record recently reported that Sam’s Club, the warehouse market arm of Wal-Mart, is planning a new store in Helena near the current Wal-Mart. A new Costco store, planned for the site east of Home Depot, was just approved by the zoning board and will be before the city commission on May 8. The Sam’s Club application will come before the zoning board on May 9.
For more information, contact Cedron Jones, MCA volunteer coordinator, at 442-5506
RIP: IBEW Local 2109 (Watkinsville GA) Member Nicholas Jones
Nicholas Dee Jones, 51, of Colbert, died Monday, April 24, 2006.
A native of Clarke County, he was the son of Dennis Joseph and Reba Brown Jones. He was employed with the South Wire Company and was a member of the Local 2224 [sic 2109] IBEW in Watkinsville.
Survivors include his wife, Donna Jones, Colbert; sons, Brandon Jones, Athens, and Robert Haley, Danielsville; daughter, Tiffany Robinson, Cleveland; his parents; brother, Dennis Gianakakis, Cedartown; sister, Karen Keller, Watkinsville; grandfather, Jim Bercos, Watkinsville; grandchildren, Alayna Nicole Jones, Andrew Robinson, Carter Robinson, Catherine Robinson, and Mason Haley.
Funeral services were to be held today, Thursday, April 27, at Bernstein Funeral Home. Burial was to be in Oconee Hill Cemetery.
Pallbearers were Truman Elder, Marvin Slay, Ricky Kemp, Horace Mallony, Jeff Marshall, Donnie Hicks, Mack Sheets, David Adkins, and Matt Bowen.
Bernstein Funeral Home, Athens, was in charge of arrangements.
The Madison County Journal, April 27, 2006.
IBEW Local 602 (Amarillo TX) Member Joe Mihm to run for Hutchinson County Hospital District Board
Mihm seeking seat on hospital board
 Joe Mihm |
From the Borger News-Herald
Nancy Young, Editor
Joe Mihm is seeking a position on the Hutchinson County Hospital District board in the May 13 election.
“As a lifelong resident of Borger I understand the need for a local hospital,” said Mihm. “I have served on various community boards learning the value of diverse opinions and cooperation.”
Mihm is seeking the position on the board which is elected by the residents in Hutchinson County Commissioner Precinct Four.
“I hope to do whatever is necessary to retain and reward the dedicated and qualified staff at GPCH,” said Mihm. “I also want to be an avenue for communication between the citizens of Precinct 4 and the hospital board. I would like to further enhance the openness of the hospital operation and finance.”
Mihm worked for Scel Energy for 30 years, and he received his education from St. John's Elementary School and Borger High School.
He has been involved in many civic endeavors, including United Way, Friends of Lake Meredith, Relay for Life, Knights of Columbas, IBEW Local 602, Borger Independent School District's District Facilities Committee and Boy Scouts.
He and his wife Jeri are parents of Kevin, 22, who is a student at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla.
RIP: Lineman and IBEW Local 175 ( Chattanooga TN ) Brother Frank Muscarnero
Frank Muscarnero
April 23, 2006
from the Crossville (Tenn) Chronicle
Frank Muscarnero, 38, of Crossville, passed away April 23, 2006. Services will be held in the Pikeville Funeral Home chapel on Thursday, April 27, at 11 a.m. CST. Officiating will be the Rev. Daniel Thrower. Pikeville Funeral Home is located at the intersection of Hwy. 127 and Hwy. 30 W in Pikeville. Burial will be in Thomas Springs Cemetery in Crossville, followed by a white dove release.
Mr. Muscarnero was of the Catholic faith and was employed by Henkles and McCoy as a journeyman lineman. He was also a member of the local IBEW 175.
Survivors include his wife, Carol; son, Chad; mother, Sylvia (Douglas) Thrower; father, Frank (Diane) Muscarnero; brothers, Joseph (Katrina) Muscarnero and Anthony (Amy) Muscarnero; sisters, Sheila (Fred) DeWan and Dawn Marie Disidoro; mother-in-law, Janice Lewis; brothers-in-law, Jim (Rachel) Hinch, Stephen (Pam) Hinch, Todd Hinch and Barry (Denise) Austin; nieces and nephews, Daniel, Dana, Amy, Christine, Brandie, Brandon, Dominic, Lou, Josh, Amanda, Brian, Dusty, Stephanie, Emily, Chelsie, Mattie, Gracie and Addison; great-nieces and -nephews, Kody, Baylee, Cason, and Brylee; and numerous aunts and uncles.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Joseph and Angelina Muscarnero and Flora Mae Steele; and father-in-law, Gene Austin.
Pikeville Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
IBEW Requests Executive Pay Records in BG&E Demand to raise Rates
From the Baltimore Sun
Consumers decry BGE rate deal
PSC hears dire scenarios; company defends offer
| |
Sun reporter
April 28, 2006
Consumers and advocates decried BGE's plan to defer part of its average 72 percent rate increase for residential customers at a hearing yesterday before the Public Service Commission, but company officials said it is the strongest offer they can afford.
Protesters carried signs reading, "Honk if 72 percent hurts" outside the commission's downtown Baltimore headquarters yesterday, prompting a cacophony of horns from cars headed down St. Paul Street.
Ratepayers who testified before the commission called the plan "genocide" and "terrorism," and Baltimore's city solicitor said the PSC is not doing enough to protect consumers.
"A lot of people are going to die because they are going to be lighting [candles] because they won't be able to pay their electric bills," said Baltimore resident Denise Lawry, predicting fires. "There are going to be a lot of seniors who are going to die because they're not going to be able to cool their homes."
The debate over the rate deferral plan that Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. negotiated with BGE has played out at the highest levels in Maryland, with legislators and candidates for governor jockeying for position in what has become an explosive election-year issue.
The commission took no action on the plan, but seemed favorably disposed toward it, asking few questions of BGE officials who testified and at times defending its provisions. Four of the five commissioners, including PSC Chairman Kenneth D. Schisler, are Ehrlich appointees, and the fifth is a former BGE executive.
Schisler promised a quick decision.
Yesterday's hearing was the first time that average citizens have had a chance to go toe-to-toe with electric company officials to demand a better deal on the rate plan. Residents, advocates, power company executives and others packed the PSC's 16th-floor hearing room in the state office building in Baltimore for a sometimes tense exchange that lasted nearly four hours.
Mark Case, a BGE vice president, spoke at the outset of the hearing, laying out the terms of the plan and saying that the company's offer "stretches the bounds of the balance sheet." Participating consumers would see their bills increase to market rates in stages over 18 months and would pay a monthly fee averaging $19 to make up for the deferred payments and interest.
"The company recognizes this is a large increase at one time and represents a hardship to many of our customers," Case said. "For some customers, a more gradual transition to market rates may be in their interests. We believe the amended plan ... is a very generous offer on behalf of our company."
Because of the way Schisler structured the hearing, BGE officials were not subject to questioning by any of the others who testified. Instead, the often angry residents and advocates directed their ire at the commission. That left Schisler to explain - and sometimes defend - the plan.
People's Counsel Patricia Smith, an Ehrlich appointee whose office is charged with defending consumers' interests before the PSC, and some of the commissioners joined Schisler in saying that the plan is an improvement over previous efforts to soften the impact of the rate increase because it offers customers a choice in how to budget for their electric costs.
Nearly all of the ratepayers who testified complained that the plan does not offer an actual reduction in cost. They said that an increase of 72 percent, whether it happens overnight or over three years, cannot possibly be considered generous. Whether or not customers choose to participate in the plan, they would pay roughly the same amount over three years.
"Cutting off my hands versus cutting off my feet is not a choice," said Kelly Bigelow, a Baltimore resident.
The rate increase is due this summer as a result of the expiration of rate caps instituted as part of Maryland's deregulation of the electric industry in 1999.
After a rate-deferral plan died in the last minutes of the recent General Assembly session, Ehrlich continued negotiating with the company and announced a new deal a week ago.
BGE has promised that if a merger between its parent company, Constellation Energy Group, and Florida-based FPL Group Inc., is completed, it will commit $600 million to rate relief over 10 years, an average reduction of $4 a month on a customer's bill.
Advocates and ratepayers at the hearing said the plan is confusing. The problem, several said, has been worsened by incomplete or misleading statements by the governor, power company officials and others.
"Only a day or so ago we learned that it included an interest payment, when the governor said there was no interest charge," said Susan Webster-Page of Baltimore. "This is serious business. It should be analyzed and not rubber-stamped."
When Del. Curtis S. Anderson, a Baltimore Democrat, questioned whether the rate increase is necessary, Schisler cut him off, directing him to confine his comments to the rate-deferral plan. Schisler defended the rate-making process as "consistent with statute."
The tensest exchange of the afternoon came when City Solicitor Ralph S. Tyler suggested that the commission look into whether Constellation is making large profits by selling electricity to BGE.
"Do you have any evidence of those charges?" Schisler said. "Those are very serious charges to levy without any evidence."
Tyler won a key concession earlier in the day in a separate hearing. The PSC's chief hearing examiner, Bryan G. Moorhouse, granted a request by the city and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers that Constellation disclose to them the bonuses that company executives would receive if the FPL merger goes through.
Moorhouse granted the request, provided that the city and the union sign confidentiality agreements. The IBEW already had agreed to do so, but the city had not. Moorhouse said that if the city and union believe that the material should be made public after reviewing it, they can come before him again to argue their case.
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun | Get Sun home delivery
IBEW Local 617 (San Mateo CA) Business Manager is Keynote Speaker at "Jobs for Youth" Breakfast
Inside Bay Area
MICHAEL "MIKE" MEALS, business manager for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 617 in San Mateo, chartered in 1908, will be keynote speaker at the 24th Annual San Mateo County Jobs for Youth Breakfast on May 25 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. The popular, informative fund-raiser will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1221 Chess Drive, Foster City.
Meals, also president of the San Mateo County Building Trades Association, a member of the State Building & Construction Trades Council of California executive board, and co-chair for IBEW Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, will talk about "Building Trades Careers, the Best Thing Going!"
Event proceeds benefit JFY, a year-round, nonprofit program that serves youth ages 14 to 21, regardless of background, socio-economic, or risk level. Youths learn to master job applications, prepare for interviews and create resumes. They also will receive job and internship leads. Since September 2005, 1,600 youths have been served. Centers in Daly City (301-8440), Menlo Park (330-6490), Redwood City (367-0190), and San Mateo (301-8434) assist both job- seekers and employers at no cost.
Allied Waste Services, formerly BFI, will be honored as an original funder and a continued 24-year supporter of the San Mateo County JFY program.
Ron Kahn of Financial Advantage, JFY chairman and emcee, will be presented the third annual Mary Louise Paskevich Award for his longtime outstanding leadership and dedication to the program.
Several students will be recognized with scholarships for their commitment and perseverance towards their educational and employment goals.
Jerry Hill, president, San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, and JFY honorary chairman, will conduct a live auction. Drawings for raffle prizes will also highlight the program.
Breakfast cost: $40 or $350 per table of 10. To RSVP, call Al Teglia, JFY founder and facilitator, at 301-8444.
Carolyn Livengood's North County Reports appear every Friday and Saturday. If you have any news tips about North County communities, please call or fax Carolyn at 355-5533.
IBEW Local 2228 (Ottawa ON CAN) Signs Agreement with NAV Canada
| Press Release | Source: NAV CANADA |
NAV CANADA announces collective agreement with electronics technologists
Thursday April 27, 3:30 pm ET
In March 2006 the parties concluded negotiations on several issues and agreed to refer outstanding issues to binding arbitration. Today's settlement is a result of an arbitration award issued by a tri-partite board, chaired by Michel Picher, Arbitrator.
"IBEW is our third largest union and I am pleased that a collective agreement has been concluded" said John Crichton, President and CEO. Crichton also commended the arbitrators and bargaining teams for their hard work.
The resulting four-year collective agreement covers the period from September 1, 2005 to August 31, 2009.
NAV CANADA, the country's civil air navigation services provider, is a
private sector, non-share capital corporation financed through publicly-traded
debt. With operations coast to coast, NAV CANADA provides air traffic control,
flight information, weather briefings, aeronautical information services,
airport advisory services and electronic aids to navigation.
For further information
John Morris, Director, Communications, (613) 563-7032
Louis Garneau, Manager, Media Relations, (613) 563-5972
Ron Singer, Communications Advisor, (613) 563-7303
Media Information Line: 1-888-562-8226
www.navcanada.ca
IBEW Local 265 (Lincoln NE) Helps with "Christmas in April" NW Indiana
This story ran on nwitimes.com on Sunday, April 30, 2006 12:27 AM CDT
Home improvement elves fashion Christmas in April
BY ROYAL M. HOPPER IIITimes Correspondent
MERRILLVILLE | Sixty-five-year-old Eugenia Kirkbride spent much of Saturday fighting back tears and watching strangers walk around her house with paintbrushes in their hands. It was one of the happiest days she has had in many years.
"I can't even begin to say how much this means to me," Kirkbride said about the Christmas in April volunteers who were at her house Saturday replacing gutters, painting walls, installing a handicapped-accessible bathroom and doing other chores that finances, bad knees and Father Time have prevented her from doing for a long time.
Volunteers spent the day making improvements, a few coats of paint and the customary smoke detectors in Kirkbride's modest Lake Station home. The program is designed to help the handicapped and elderly make improvements to their homes they could not otherwise afford.
"Warm, safe and dry is our priority," said John Havel, vice president of the Lake Station Christmas in April efforts. Volunteers also helped out at Hobart residences.There have been cases where a house is simply too far gone or has no roof to speak of, Havel said. To qualify, residents must own the house they live in. The smiles and hugs from the people who benefit from the groups effort make it worth all the work, Havel said.
More than 290 volunteers turned out to various houses in the area. Installing everything from washers and dryers to new floor tiles and carpeting. They were greeted with smiles and sometimes tears of joy.
Volunteers like Bridgette Becker and her husband, Frank, an union painter with IBEW Chicago 265, came from Gary to volunteer for the program. They said what you get back from the people you help is far more than the work you do while you are there.
"When you see someone with no family and no one to help them, when you see the smiles on their faces afterwards it keeps you coming back," Bridgette Becker said.
Kirkbride bought her house in 1987, after her divorce and turned the rundown old homestead in a cozy middle class home.
"I was code enforcement officer in the city then and this house was close to foreclosure before she bought it," said Linda Newton, secretary of the Christmas in April group.
Kirkbride said she put her heart into her new home bring it up to code and make it a nice place to live for her and her now adult children. Then the company she worked for was bought out . Her job was shipped off to China, Kirkbride said. Problems with her back and knees that had plagued her for years began to get worse, making it difficult for her to walk or stand for long periods of time. Time had not been as kind to her as it had to others, she said.
"Everything was breaking down. I just cannot do the things I used to do," she said.
She called Saturday's volunteers a blessing that was a surprise but not totally unexpected.
"I have always felt I was watched over by angels," she said pointing to the collection of ceramic angels on top of her television set and then looking around at the people busily repairing her house.
IBEW Apprenticeships Allow "Earn and Learn"
COURTNEY SHERWOOD Columbian staff writer
From the Columbian, Sunday, April 30, 2006
Answering the phones in Ridgefield. Wiring a house in Vancouver. Spritzing the aluminum before bearing down with a massive drill.
They're learning the ropes in Clark County today, hoping to make a better living tomorrow.
#session.visitorFont#"> In an era when many young people are being funneled right to college, where they'll rack up an average of $18,000 in loans, more than 300 Clark County residents have opted for another, older, form of training: the apprenticeship.
They earn an average of $10 an hour for the two to five years of on-the-job training. Not a lot, but more than most college students take home. For those who graduate from apprentice to journeyman, the potential payoff is big. A state study found that graduates of apprenticeship programs typically earn an additional $17,000 per year.
And unlike countless liberal arts majors who've wondered at the practical value of their English, history or French literature degrees, apprentices are only signed on when there's a job likely upon graduation. Apprenticeships are driven by market demand. If the jobs aren't there, neither is the training.
"Apprenticeships are a super training model, and they are going to be even more important in the coming years due to the aging of the work force," said Scott Bailey, regional economist with the state Employment Security Department. "They lead to great careers that are going to be very satisfying for many people."
Not grandfather's apprenticeship
The range of careers that apprenticeships lead to might surprise you.
A state list of apprenticeship programs includes steel workers and electricians, but also child care workers, library technicians and stagehands.
"Wages vary widely from program to program," warns Ed Madden, Southwest Washington apprenticeship coordinator for the Department of Labor and Industries. "A fully qualified child care provider will make less than an ironworker."
And, Madden jokes, not many people have heard of "journeyman child care provider."
Nonetheless, the designation exists, thanks to oversight and licensing by the state.
Each apprenticeship is different, customized by the employer to meet its needs, but all must meet certain requirements.
First, employees must be paid for on-the-job training at work, Madden said. Then there's the classroom training requirement -- at least 144 hours of it per year. State-registered apprentices will have part of their tuition waived for community college classes associated with their training, and often employers will cover the balance of tuition.
Joining city hall
Julie Kozhemyakin found her administrative assistant apprenticeship at Ridgefield City Hall with help from the Clark County Skills Center, a vocational school operated by Evergreen Public Schools that serves a number of districts.
"During my last year at the Skills Center, I did a part-time internship with the city," said Kozhemyakin, 18, who graduated last spring. "I got hired here full time starting July 1, but they wanted me to go through an apprenticeship program because they thought I would achieve more things and learn more."
Kozhemyakin takes classes after work at Clark College, and will have to work 4,000 hours to graduate to journeyman.
On the job, she answers phones, takes payments, works closely with the city clerk, and learns the ins and outs of office management.
The salary range is $10 to $15 per hour, growing as she gains experience, Kozhemyakin said.
"It's been really great. I get to see exactly what you're working toward," she said. "Some of my friends are working now, some are going to school. All of them have a job, but not as good of a job as me."
Kozhemyakin is nearly a decade ahead of many of her apprenticeship peers. Most are in their 20s or 30s, and only find their way to apprenticeships after working lower-wage unskilled jobs.
With help from community colleges, the Clark County Skills Center and in-school vocational programs, the apprenticeship advocates want more young people to know about their options.
Apprentices wanted
That's especially true in the building trades, where a labor shortage is looming, said Ken Fry, executive director of the National Electrical Contractors Association/International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers regional training center, in Portland.
"We have huge numbers of people who are going to be retiring in the next five to 10 years," Fry said. "We would like to see more young people make application to our programs."
IBEW is training 440 apprentices in Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon today.
"We could easily train over 1,000 apprentices," Fry said. "We just need qualified applicants."
Though trades workers often have physically demanding jobs where they're exposed to the elements, they're not just grunts.
"We are looking for people with some of the same scholastic abilities as someone who is college bound, but also someone who is interested in working with their hands," Fry said. "In our program, they start out at $12.50 an hour. Five years later, you're a journeyman making $31.60 per hour."
Skills required
Right out of high school, Corey Barber took an entry-level job at Tidland Corp. in Camas.
He took classes at night to learn about the machines Tidland uses to make its highly specialized industrial rollers, and after two years was accepted into his employer's machinist apprenticeship program.
Now 37, Barber is a journey-level machinist and team leader who helps train new apprentices at Tidland.
"When I talk to friends at reunions, I'm further ahead than 80 percent of those who went to college, making as much as or more than them," he said. "And I love what I do. I love working with my hands, building stuff, seeing things get developed."
Since Tidland's founding in 1951, the company has been training employees through apprenticeships, said Frank Farruggia, company vice president.
Employees must show an aptitude for machine work and a strong work ethic before they are promoted into an apprenticeship, he said.
"It takes 8,000 hours of training on the job, plus hundreds of hours of in-class training," Farruggia said.
"Apprentices learn the basic aspects of mathematics that apply on the factory floor -- everything from geometry to trigonometry. They have to understand the fundamentals of metallurgy. They have to understand the fundamentals of reading blueprints. They learn the techniques of machine tool applications.... They have to understand what grades of tools will cut certain grades of metal," he said. "It's an entire science. In the trade, it's considered the equivalent of a four-year degree."
After more than two decades working in other fields, Tom Dummer, 43, is going for that training himself.
An apprentice at Tidland, Dummer said he was looking for a challenging field in which he could finish his career when he applied for the program.
"I like the challenge of the apprenticeship," Dummer said. "I'm preparing for a job with a lot of variety, there's no monotony here."
Many paths to journeyman
Dummer and Barber found their apprenticeships through entry-level employment; many in the trades find their jobs through an apprenticeship program, and Kozhemyakin's apprenticeship was created specifically for her.
#session.visitorFont#"> If there's anything typical about the path to apprenticeship, it's that there is no such thing as typical, apprenticeship coordinator Madden said.
"Apprenticeship is decentralized," he said. "It's like a college with branch campuses, and each sponsor is a branch campus with its own graduation requirements."
Those sponsors are either employers or unions, and sometimes unions and employers jointly sponsor a program.
Economist Bailey suggests young people turned off by the idea of college consider going down the path toward apprenticeships.
"Under the old paradigm of 30 years ago, you could get a lesser-skilled job that paid well," Bailey said. "Those jobs have either disappeared" -- shipped overseas or made obsolete by technology -- "or they've evolved into jobs that require more skills -- such as math and analytical skills.
"And these occupations are very key to our economy."
Courtney Sherwood covers business for The Columbian. She can be reached at 360-759-8041 or at courtney.sherwood@columbian.com.
Did you know?
* Apprenticeships have been around for thousands of years, and are the oldest form of on-the-job training.
* Average entry-level apprentice wage in Clark County: $10 an hour.
* Average journey-level wage: $17.20.
* Apprenticeships take two to five years, on average, and include paid on-the-job training as well as classroom work.
To learn more
* To explore apprenticeship opportunities online, visit www.lni.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/Apprenticeship/.
* Southwest Washington's regional apprenticeship program, run by Ed Madden, can be reached at 360-575-6927.
IBEW Local 164 Volunteers Work to Improve Life for Poor Residents
Sunday, April 30, 2006
FAIR LAWN -- An overflowing trash container in the driveway and dozens of volunteers streaming in and out of Anna Bures' house were testimony to a remarkable transformation taking place inside the four-bedroom colonial Saturday afternoon.
But Bures said she has had a personal transformation going on since last winter. That's when she was told her house had been chosen as one of the remodeling projects for the Bergen County chapter of the Rebuilding Together charity's annual home repair and renovation program.
Ever since, said the 70-year-old Bures, she has been working non-stop to prepare her home of 40 years as best she could for the army of volunteers who were to arrive Saturday.
"I've had a lot of losses in my life, people who were very close to me, and I think in a way I just gave up," Bures said as she sat in a lawn chair outside her home. "But I've been revitalized since January, knowing that this day was coming.
"Before, I didn't even want to come home, because things had been so neglected that there was no joy in the house anymore. Now ... I've already cried a few times, and I know I'll cry some more. I mean, I'll finally be able to invite people over, where before I wouldn't let anybody inside the house.
"They've given me my life back."
That's why each departing volunteer who offered Bures a handshake received a more emotional acknowledgment instead.
"Hugs and kisses -- everyone gets a hug and a kiss from me," Bures said.
The 60 or so Rebuilding Together volunteers at Bures' home replaced two toilets, installed a new bathroom vanity, fixed electrical outlets, landscaped the front and back yards and removed old appliances and other "junk" from the house.
Patty Johnson, president of the Washington-based organization, estimated that more than 250,000 volunteers associated with more than 100 affiliates nationwide would be working for Saturday's 18th annual event. The Bergen County chapter visited 21 homes, doing free renovations that were worth an estimated $150,000.
'Queen for a Day'
In Hackensack, 79-year-old Lillian Cain marveled Saturday at the "helpful, pleasant" volunteers who by 10 a.m. had already repaired her leaky roof.
"I feel like 'Queen for a Day,' " Cain said, referring to a radio and television show popular around the time that she and her late husband bought their home in 1954. "I never dreamed that all this work could be done."
Cain said she heard about the Rebuilding Together program through the city's Martin Luther King Jr. Senior Center and the Hackensack Rotary Club.
Numerous volunteer groups join together at each Rebuilding Together site.
In Englewood, for instance, 20 members of the Tenafly-based Church of the Atonement teamed with volunteers from the Englewood Volunteer Ambulance Corps and members of Local 164 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The IBEW also volunteered at sites in Fair Lawn, Hackensack, Northvale, Ridgefield Park, Teaneck and Wyckoff.
The elderly Englewood resident, who was in the midst of receiving a completely remodeled kitchen and extensive landscaping, asked that her name not be mentioned "out of embarrassment."
Gerry Messina, a Benjamin Moore Paints marketing director who was serving as house captain in Englewood, said many seniors accept help reluctantly.
But he said they are uniformly appreciative -- including his Wyckoff neighbor, who has been busy lately knitting hand towels for each Rebuilding Together volunteer who visited her home.
In Fair Lawn, meanwhile, Bures said her life-changing experience already has her thinking ahead.
"I can hardly wait to figure out how I can sign up to volunteer, so I can help other people the way these people are helping me," Bures said.
E-mail: brennan@northjersey.com
Copyright © 2006 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
Michigan Electrician Moves to Wyoming for Work
JENNIFER BYRD (online@rgj.com)
from the Reno Gazette-Journal
ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 30, 2006
GILLETTE, Wyo. -- In his home state of Michigan, Chris Purtell spent a month on unemployment while searching for a job. The 23-year-old electrician couldn't find a job that would pay a decent wage near his hometown of Pinconning, Mich., about an hour north of Flint.
That's when a couple of friends told him about a job fair in Flint where recruiters from Wyoming were looking to fill jobs created by that state's booming coal, oil and natural gas economy.
"There are no decent jobs left in Michigan, as far as I'm concerned," Purtell said. "For me, it was just a matter of getting out of Michigan and finding a better job."
And the prospect of making $22 an hour to start in a place with no state income tax played a big role in his decision to move, Purtell said.
Dozens of Michigan workers have moved to Wyoming to take advantage of the state's booming energy economy. Now, economic development officials from the counties that are the hubs of the current energy development are on their way back to Michigan for another recruiting trip -- Monday in Saginaw, Tuesday in Grand Rapids and Wednesday in Kalamazoo.
About 1,200 people attended job fairs held in late January in Flint, Lansing and Jackson, Mich., said Ruth Benson, marketing director for the Campbell County Economic Development Corp., in northeastern Wyoming, where coal mines and coal-bed methane development are driving the local boom.
Wyoming economic development offices are paying to host the job fairs in Michigan and only Wyoming companies and agencies are participating, Benson said.
In addition, Elaine Roth, regional manager of northeast Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, said about 770 people from Michigan registered as job seekers at the department's Web site between Jan. 30 and March 30. Once registered, those people get e-mails about job openings and information about Wyoming.
Michigan has one of the nation's highest unemployment rates and has lost about 180,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000. The U.S. auto industry is in the midst of a restructuring that is expected to ripple through the state's economy for years.
"It's unfortunate what's happening in Michigan right now, but we've got the jobs and they don't," Benson said.
Brenda Abbey, a job training specialist for South Central Michigan Works in Jackson, said she doesn't like to see people leave Michigan, but understands.
"You know, we want to see our people survive," Abbey said. "People have to do what they have to do."
Survival is why Kevin Wiechert, 42, moved from Michigan to Wyoming less than a month ago. He was working for a landscaper in Lyndon, west of Detroit, when the economy turned sour. He couldn't find enough work to support his wife and two kids.
"Michigan is flooded with people looking for work right now," Wiechert said. "I'm just trying to make a living. You've got to survive."
Now, Wiechert works in construction for DRM Inc., a Gillette-area contractor.
"We definitely need the help," said Mark McKillop, part owner of DRM, adding that he has about 15 openings for experienced equipment operators.
"Everybody's looking for truck drivers and laborers -- we can't even find laborers."
DRM also hired Mike Neph, 24, who packed his truck and moved to Wyoming right after talking to officials at the Flint job fair in January -- arriving in Gillette even before the recruiters got back.
Neph had been working as a cash-crop farmer in Holly, Mich., and was having a hard time making a living. Now, he's laying pipe and doing other odd jobs for DRM as that company tries to keep up with booming demand for new construction.
Wyoming targeted Michigan, Roth said, because of Michigan's high unemployment rate and because of the skills among the unemployed there. Wyoming companies need people with a manufacturing or skilled labor background, Roth said, including heavy equipment operators, mechanics, truck drivers, electricians and welders.
In addition, both states are in the northern part of the country so people who move to Wyoming from Michigan understand the meaning of winter.
"We thought it was a good fit," Roth said.
And it's not just blue-collar workers who are making the jump.
Roy Lowell, assistant dean of career and technical programs at the Gillette campus of Sheridan College, is a recent Michigan transplant who loves his new home in Wyoming.
"Those of us in the Midwest, we have always loved the West," Lowell said. "This is the dream of every Midwestern farm boy."
Lowell was coordinator of manufacturing technology at Baker College in Flint when he saw an announcement for the job fair.
After talking to Wyoming economic development officials, Lowell said he felt there was a greater need for his skills in Gillette than in Michigan.
"The movement here is just phenomenal," Lowell said, adding that Gillette campus is planning to expand and launch new technical and work force improvement programs in the near future to help fill the demand for skilled workers.
Lowell said some of his former students in Michigan are considering a move to Wyoming because of more job opportunities. And the more who move out, the luckier Wyoming will be, Lowell said.
"One of the things you will find when dealing with the Michigan workforce is that they are a very well trained and very well disciplined group of workers," Lowell said.
"If you get two foot of snow, these guys will come to work and won't even be five minutes late. They're a very dedicated work force."
Russ Eason said he moved from Concord, Mich., to Gillette because he wanted a new adventure. He had worked in manufacturing management -- mainly in the automotive industry -- in Michigan for more than 20 years and wanted to try something new.
Eason said his new employer, P&H MinePro Services in Gillette, was looking for people with backgrounds in industries other than mining. Eason said his job will be to help the company formalize its quality control program.
"The processes are not that different," Eason said. "I like it here a lot. It's beautiful country."
But as more people move to Gillette, the area is facing housing crunch. Purtell has been living in a hotel, but recently bought a place outside the city. Wiechert and Neph are still looking for houses. Lowell is in temporary housing, but is planning to have a house built. Eason just found an apartment.
"Housing is our No. 1 obstacle," said Gillette City Administrator Bret Jones.
But the increased economic activity has led to higher wages and real estate values, Jones said, and the problems associated with increased population are "good problems to have," he said.
And Purtell said the housing problems are a small price to pay.
"Wyoming is definitely a beautiful place," he said. "With the economy not doing so hot in Michigan right now, coming out here was a golden opportunity."