Electrical workers express grievances over MLGW treatment
Reported by Kontji Anthony
Updated: July 12, 2008 10:02 PM
Electrical workers packed a local union hall Saturday to voice their concerns about their treatment by Memphis Light Gas & Water.
At a highly-charged union meeting, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1288 said MLGW is holding on by a band-aid.
"They are not going to treat the rate-payers and the employees at this company like this and us sit back and be quiet," said president J.D. Cox. "If you don't believe us, you call the company and ask them how many maintenance requests they have outstanding right now."
According to IBEW members, MLGW is cutting staff so much that they're unable to keep up with regular maintenance, putting workers into emergency mode and forcing them to work overtime.
IBEW Business Manager Rick Thompson says customers are getting a raw deal, too.
"Staff these departments correctly and there will be no overtime...but they know in a lot of cases it's cheaper to work overtime than to hire employees," said Thompson.
The union says MLGW has been ignoring their concerns.
"It's almost like they're trying to make the union irrelevant," said Thompson.
MLGW had no comment, but a utility representative took notes during Saturday's meeting.
But other folks are taking workers' concerns seriously: 11 out of 13 city council members accepted their invitations to Saturday's meeting.
"The session today was to express a wide range of grievances dealing with morale at the company, dealing with overtime, dealing with just simply doing things the right way," said councilman Myron Lowry.
Council members say they look forward to hearing MLGW's response to these complaints.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
IBEW Local 145 (Moline, Il) hosts Illinois Treasurer for town hall meeting on flood relief
Mobile center to help local flood victims
A Mobile Disaster Recovery Center will open in East Moline Monday to answer questions and help fill out disaster loan applications for those who suffered flood damages from a June 1 storm.
Disaster recovery specialists from the Illinois and federal emergency management agencies and the U.S. Small Business Administration will be stationed at the center, which will be at East Moline Fire Department Station 22, 1523 Morton Drive.
The center, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day from Monday until July 19, will be for those in Rock Island County who suffered losses or damages from severe storms on June 1.
Rock Island County Board Chairman Jim Bohnsack said the center is opening in East Moline because that’s where most of the damage occurred, particularly in the Watertown neighborhood.
“That’s where it should be,” he said. “There wasn’t much damage elsewhere in the county.”
State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias will visit the center Monday and will attend a town hall meeting on flood relief at 6 p.m. at the IBEW Local 145 hall, 1700 52nd Ave.
Bohnsack hopes the center, which is moving from one county to the next, will help answer questions that local officials have been unable to resolve.
“You can talk to a human being rather than going through some other form of communication,” he said. “In person is so much better.”
East Moline Mayor John Thodos said he and Alderman Gary Westbrook, Ward 7, met with FEMA officials Friday morning about the center. He said many low-income residents won’t qualify for the SBA loans, but submitting an application will help the government decide whether they’re eligible for grants.
“From there we can go ahead and enter all the claims of all the people affected by the flooding,” he said. “They can get questions answered there that I can’t answer.”
Thodos said about 150 homes in the Watertown and Cottage Grove areas suffered damages. There are some residents, mostly renters, who have not been able to move back home.
Thodos said those who lost their jobs because their vehicles were damaged by flooding and they couldn’t get to work can also apply for unemployment benefits.
More information on disaster recovery is available at rockislandcounty.org, fema.gov, floodsmart.gov and ready.illinois.gov.
Dustin Lemmon can be contacted at (563) 383-2493 or dlemmon@qctimes.com.
© Copyright 2008, The Quad-City Times, Davenport, IA
Solar Panels to power IBEW Local 305 in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Solar panels to power FW's IBEW
Updated: July 7, 2008 08:13 AM
Green Power Initiative Growing in Fort Wayne Solar Panels to Power IBEW Local Union 305
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE Channel 15 News) - After receiving entry level provider certification from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners, eight electrical apprentices and seven local electrical contractors successfully installed 28 solar panels inside Fort Wayne's International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 305.
The panels will power the IBEW building and produce 5,236 kilowatt hours of electricity, enough energy to eventually sell back to the city's electrical grid.
The panels and certification were made possible through a $25,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Energy and Defense. Members of the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (JATC) anticipate growth in the Fort Wayne photovoltaic market from the recent installation of the solar panels.
"The panels represent both a symbolic and practical step into shifting the way our city thinks about energy production and usage," said Joe Langmeyer, business representative for the JATC. "There is no reason why these panels can't be on every roof in the city."
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) represents approximately 750,000 members who work in a wide variety of fields, including utilities, construction, telecommunications, broadcasting, manufacturing, railroads and government.
IBEW Local 305 (Fort Wayne In) Members and Contractors Certify to install Solar Panels
From the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette
July 13, 2008
Business at a glance
After receiving entry level provider-certification from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners, eight electrical apprentices and seven local electrical contractors installed 28 solar panels inside Fort Wayne’s IBEW Local 305.
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