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This is the second article in a series abouthow the IBEW is working within our states,communities and in the federal politicalarena to expand the market and benefitsof renewable energy technologies.

Bill Richmond is a solar energy guy. AMinneapolis Local 292 journeymanwireman and owner of IONRenewable Technologies, Richmond

is one of those signatory entrepreneurs whoshould be poised for prosperity in the newgreen energy sector.

There’s just one problem. Fossil fuel-based energy is plentiful and cheap inMinnesota—8 cents per kilowatt-hour, com-pared to California or the East Coast’s 15 to26 cents. “Even with federal stimulusmoney coming in, we have to show a rate ofreturn on our investment to finance ourjobs,” says Richmond.

Richmond’s dilemma is one of severaltesting the IBEW and organized labor’s abil-ity to seize opportunities along the fullrange of renewable energy development.From campaigns focused on organizingworkers, to lobbying for training programsand stimulus money, the Brotherhood is inthe game.

With hundreds of thousands of mem-bers employed by inside construction com-panies and utility companies, IBEW’sstrategy is a multi-faceted work in progress.

Making Renewable EnergyCompetitiveThe stimulus package includes some taxcredits for renewable energy projects.Renewable portfolio standards—likeMinnesota’s requirement that one-quarter

of the state’s energyderives from renew-able sources by2025—shouldincrease deploymentof alternate energies.

IBEW UtilityDepartment DirectorJim Hunter cautionsthat increasingrenewable energy

usage will require a rebuilding of thenation’s transmission grid to accommodateintermittent sources of energy like wind andsolar. But even more advanced technologywill be necessary.

One emerging company has contactedthe IBEW about plans to manufacture andinstall lithium ion batteries that will be soldto building owners—enabling them to storepower produced during non-peak hours andredistribute the power during daylight busi-ness hours. Even larger batteries—somethe size of semi trucks—are being designedfor utility companies to store intermittentexcess solar and wind energy.

As federal dollars pour into greenenergy projects as part of the stimulus pack-

I n t e r n a t i o n a l B r o t h e r h o o d o f E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r s Vol. 3 | No. 5 | May 2009

IBEW Takes on Strategic Challenge ofRenewable Energy Expansion

IN T H I S I S S U E

RENEWABLE ENERGY continued on page 2

Master electricians Andrew Bangert, left, and Chad Silverthorn, both members of Madison, Wis., Local159, install solar panels for H&H Solar Energy Services.

2Members seek training grants

NJATC’s new green jobs training

3Will green business go nonunion?

Membership cards in the mail

4North of 49°

5Telecom merger pact protects members

Cash-starved Amtrak gets funding hike

6Circuits

7Local Lines

15Retiree Local Lines

17In Memoriam

18Editorials

19Letters to the Editor

Who We Are

Go “Green!”with e-Edition

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age, locals and districts areworking to ensure that themoney is put to maximumadvantage—returningunemployed union mem-bers to work and tappingtheir skills.

Showcase IBEWTraining forStimulus SupportThird DistrictInternational VicePresident Don Siegelserves as organized labor’srepresentative onPennsylvania’s stimulusoversight commission.

2 T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009

“There will be a tremendous grab when thestate gets nearly $10 billion,” says Siegel.

Siegel is joining International PresidentEdwin D. Hill and other leaders by invitingmembers of Congress to tour IBEW trainingcenters in late May to highlight renewableenergy training and win more help from thefederal stimulus package.

“People inside the IBEW often don’tappreciate how little is known about us inthe outside world. I’m amazed at how manypeople overlook us when it comes to train-ing,” says Siegel. IBEW locals and theMembership Development Department arelooking beyond the classroom to growthopportunities in the renewable industry.

“Mature and MeasuredResponse” on Climate ChangeAndrew Bangert, an 11-year member ofMadison, Wis., Local 159, is the state’sfirst master electrician to receive certifi-cation in solar installation. Bangert, whodirects and trains three crews in solarinstallation for H&H Solar EnergyServices, says work is piling up. Utilitiesare buying back solar energy at 25 centsper kilowatt-hour versus 10 cents perkilowatt-hour from fossil fuel-basedsources. Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy pro-gram provides a 25 percent credit forrenewables. Combined with a 30 percentfederal green energy tax credit, the stateprogram and advantageous utility ratesare creating new work opportunities forlocals in the state. Bangert has held infor-mational seminars for architects to intro-duce them to the Brotherhood’s trainingand skills.

“We need some changes to make solarand wind more competitive,” says Richmond.

In the U.S. Congress, such changesare hotly debated in the 2009 budgetnegotiations. The Obama administrationhas called for a 14 percent reduction inheat-trapping gases by 2020. UnderObama’s “cap and trade” system, indus-tries and utilities releasing greenhousegases above permissible caps would berequired to buy permits, exacting a coston production. Tax credits for producersof cleaner forms of energy could be sold,or traded, creating an incentive for elec-trical producers and users to move toalternative energy sources.

The IBEW is continuing to seek solu-tions to climate change that will balancethe needs of workers for stable jobs, com-munities for healthier air and employers—from small business like ION and H&HGroup to giant producers like AmericanElectric Power—for viability in the market-place. A joint position paper signed in 2007by International President Edwin D. Hilland AEP CEO Michael G. Morris continuesto guide IBEW policy.

Renewable Energy continued from page 1

Ensuring that IBEW members arethe best trained workers to carryout the challenging work in solar,wind and other renewable energy

sectors, the National Joint Apprenticeshipand Training Committee publishes its newGreen Jobs Curriculum this month. Thecomprehensive program will be woven intothe fabric of current IBEW apprenticeshiptraining and will serve as a resource forjourneymen looking to upgrade their skillsin the growing green jobs market.

“If you want insight into the future ofthe electrical industry, ‘green’ and ‘renewable’are the buzz words,” said Todd Stafford, asenior director at the NJATC. “Getting beyondfossil fuel-based power and toward electricitythat’s environmentally friendly is an impor-tant step. The IBEW is already a leader inproviding green energy. This new curriculumwill help keep us ahead of the curve.”

With 75 lessons on everything fromgreen building fundamentals to automatedbuilding operation, a two-volume workbookand seven textbooks will take apprenticesthrough the details of green energy distri-bution. Volume one focuses on the basicsof energy efficiency, photovoltaics andwind systems. The second volume outlinesprogrammable logic controllers, fuel cells,power quality and building automation –all key subjects to help improve the mod-ern electrical worker’s toolbox of skills.

The curriculum isn’t just for newapprentices. Aspects of it will be modifiedfor journeymen looking to make them-selves more marketable in the growinggreen sector, which is getting a push fromthe economic stimulus plan’s emphasis onrenewable energy and job creation.

To read more, visit www.ibew.org. �

NJATC RollsOut NewGreen JobsCurriculum

While promoting training, entrepre-neurship and good manufacturing jobs inthe renewable energy industry, saysPresident Hill, the IBEW will continue tolook toward a “mature and measuredresponse to climate change” that includes afull spectrum of innovation—fromadvanced coal to nuclear power to solar,wind and tidal wave technologies. �

ION Renewable Technologies workers are members of MinneapolisLocal 292.

Arecently-formed coalitionmay be a model for localunions pursuing federalfunds for training members

in green technologies, thanks toJames Avery, business manager of Newport News, Va., Local 1340, and other activistswho launched the Green Jobs Alliance three months ago.

Avery didn’t expect to be helping other locals and trades formulating funding pro-posals when he attended his first meeting to help form the alliance.

“We started out just talking about eastern Virginia, but our vision has expanded,”says Avery, who serves as treasurer of the alliance that includes nonunion employers,community colleges and nonprofit organizations. Avery sees his participation in thegroup as vital to protecting organized labor’s stake in the developing green economy.

The group, which has submitted an unsolicited proposal to Secretary of LaborHilda Solis seeking funding for enhanced training of apprentices and journeymen inrenewable technologies, is gaining national recognition for looking ahead to howmoney appropriated under the 2007 Green Jobs Act will be spent.

With the stimulus package, the Obama administration has imported most of the lan-guage from the Green Jobs Act and upped the ante to $500 million for renewable energy.

With out-of-work books still growing, Virginia locals are looking for seed money toestablish courses for journeymen and apprentices to learn wind turbine technology.

“Labor has been frozen out of the equation for eight years and it’s time to make aserious statement,” says alliance president Randy Flood, a former congressionalstaffer who started the group after reading the book Green Collar Economy, by VanJones, founder of Green for All, who is now a White House advisor on green jobs.

The alliance, says Flood, answers the Department of Labor’s requirement thatnon-profit groups seeking funds include both labor and management. The legislationcalls for the money to be spent to bring a wide array of constituencies into the greeneconomy—from unemployed youth to ex-offenders to workers who have lost their jobsdue to outsourcing.

During the May congressional break, Joint Apprenticeship Training Committeetraining centers across the country will open their doors to local and federal leadersto show them why the IBEW is the right choice when it comes to providing a skilledelectrical work force for renewable energy projects.

“If Congress is looking to invest stimulus money wisely in training a new greenwork force, they don’t have to look any further than their area IBEW training center,”said International President Edwin D. Hill. �

Virginia Activists TargetGreen Jobs Training Grants

Hundreds of thousands of jobs willbe created in renewable energymanufacturing. Will these employ-ment opportunities be “high-road,”

decent-paying union jobs, or will employerstake the “low road”—tapping into the des-peration of unemployed workers who havealready seen too much pain? The IBEW isnot giving up on bringing organized labor’sopportunities to workers in the sector,despite a recent setback.

In early 2008, some workers atCalifornia-based Clipper Windpower’s two-year-old turbine assembly plant in CedarRapids, Iowa, reached out to the IBEWseeking representation. Cedar Rapids Local204 Assistant Business Manager MatthewFischer says job safety, training, respect onthe job and the lack of a seniority systemtopped the list of worker concerns.

Experienced lathe operators andmechanics with 20 years in the industry—many in union shops—were placed on sec-ond and third shift, while young workerswere assigned to daylight hours. Legitimate

safety concerns were ignored by supervisors,some of whom had no previous experiencein manufacturing.

Despite divisions in the work force, 70percent of the bargaining unit signedauthorization cards.

Brian Heins, lead organizer, learnedquickly that IBEW had to proceed carefullyin the campaign. Workers reported that theplant was in trouble due to substandardgears and other parts of the turbines thatwere manufactured elsewhere.

IBEW offered to help workers securetheir jobs by organizing to gain them moreinput in company decisions. And Local 204,which includes a bargaining unit at AlliantEnergy, offered to support Clipper in seek-ing orders and expertise from the utility.

Clipper Windpower rejected the IBEW’soffer. They hired a union-busting lawyer tohold captive audience meetings to discour-age union support. Then, after workers’homes faced widespread flooding from theCedar River last June, the company providedthem generators and power washers free of

charge. The carrot and stick tactics broke theorganizing campaign, but the company con-tinued to have trouble turning out windmillsthat could operate without constant mainte-nance problems.

A few weeks ago, Clipper Windpowerput dozens of workers on the street—includ-ing almost all members of the volunteer

organizing committee.“If we could have worked with them

and helped fix their problems, there mighthave been a better outcome,” says Fischer.“We know they have some smart workers, butinstead of investing in them, they spent theirmoney on a union-buster.” They are just oneof the companies producing blades and partsthat don’t want labor unions in this industry,says Fischer, who is continuing to pursueorganizing leads at other “green” companies.

Unfortunately, the Cedar Rapids sce-nario is not an isolated one. In an article inThe American Prospect, Philip Mattera saysmany green energy manufacturers arereceiving healthy subsidies from states andmunicipalities even while they lobby againstreciprocal requirements that they maintaindecent working conditions and wages. �

w w w. i b e w. o r g T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009 3

IBEW Membership CardComing This Month

An organizing drive at Clipper Windpower’s plant inCedar Rapids, Iowa, was defeated after the firmhired a union-busting lawyer.

Q: Who gets a card?A: All dues-paying members of theIBEW. Those who have been on hon-orary withdrawal for less than sixmonths will also receive one.

Q: I’m retired. Will I get a card?A: Not yet, but the International Officeis developing a card for retirees.

Q: If I lose my card, will my informationbe secure?A: Yes. Once registered, only you canaccess your information online. Asalways, your data remains confidentialand secure at the International Office.

Q: Will I get a Code of Excellence card?A: The Code of Excellence is a set of stan-dards in contract language that commitsIBEWmembers to excellence and profes-sionalism on the job, every working day. Itis now mandatory language in the con-struction and utility branches and will besoon in telecommunications. If you havecompleted Code of Excellence training,you will receive a card with a COE desig-nation. Check with your local for any ques-tions about the Code of Excellence.

Q: Who should I contact if I have anyother questions?A: Call the International Office at(202) 728-6231 or send an e-mail tomyibew@ibew.org.

Membership Card Q&AKeep a close eye on your mailboxthis month because your newIBEW “smart” membership card ison its way.

The large amount of planning andtechnological setup required to make surethe cards were ready for use delayed themailing in January as announced by theElectrical Worker. (See “New IBEWMembership Cards: A High-Tech Sign ofPride,” Electrical Worker, January 2009).

Months of additional preparation bythe IBEW Information Technology depart-ment mean the cards will be ready to usefrom the moment you register yours online,said Department Director Darren DeMarco.Members will start receiving them in May.

The new card will make keeping yourdata current and checking up on valuableunion information as easy as clicking a mouse.

The card will connect you to a compre-hensive database at the InternationalOffice, allowing you to go online to:

• Change address, phone, e-mail andother information

• Calculate pension benefits• Confirm trade classification

Members who have completed Code ofExcellence training will receive a specialgold card indicating their certification.

Each card will have a unique bar codeand number. Once you receive your card,log onto https://my.ibew.org and enter thepersonal key listed on the letter accompa-nying your card to get registered. �

Is Low Road Down Side ofRenewable Energy Manufacturing?

This is the first in an occasional series lookingat the growth of green energy in Canada.

Lawmakers in Ontario are inchingcloser to passing one of the most farreaching green energy measures inNorth America.

Premier Dalton McGuinty’s GreenEnergy Act, which was introduced inFebruary, will invest $5 billion (Canadian)to upgrade Ontario’s transmission and dis-tribution system, introduce smart grid tech-nology, offer incentives to utilities thatproduce green energy and encourage thegrowth of solar and wind power.

“Ontario’s Green Energy Act could pro-pel the province past California as the mostinnovative North American leader in therenewable energy field,” said Denis Hayes,former director of the U.S. NationalRenewable Energy Laboratory.

The bill has won support from theprovincial labour movement due to its prom-ise of new jobs in construction, manufactur-ing and other sectors, which could kick-start

central Canada’s economy. It is expected tocreate upwards of 50,000 jobs if passed.Ontario, Canada’s manufacturing hub, lostmore than 70,000 jobs in February alone.

The challenge is making sure that newgreen jobs are good-paying union positions.

“We need to make sure that this workisn’t done with unskilled labour,” saidToronto Local 353 Education DirectorBradley Watt.

So far, the majority of wind energywork—the most developed of renewableenergy industries in Canada besides hydro—is done by the IBEW, said First DistrictInternational Representative Jerry Wilson.

Last year one of Ontario’s largest windfarms, Erie Shores, opened thanks to thework of electricians from Hamilton Local105 and London Local 120, with assistancefrom linemen from Toronto Local 353 andSudbury Local 1687.

The key to getting the work was con-vincing wind contractors that the IBEWhad the right skills and training to get thejob done in a timely and efficient manner.

“We wanted to show them that a skilledjourneyman already had the know-how todo everything from wiring turbines to main-taining them,” Wilson said.

The still-infant solar industry is shap-ing up to be more of a challenge. At thecenter of the fight is Sarnia, located nearLake Huron, where work started last yearon what will be Canada’s largest solar farm.More than 100 members of Sarnia Local 530went to work on the 60-megawatt facility,installing and wiring panels.

But last November, the minister oflabour ruled that solar installation work didn’trequire trained electricians, leading the con-tractor to fill the positions with untrained,nonunion workers. “The moment the sun hitsthe panels, we’re talking about live power,”said Local 530 Business RepresentativeMichael Lalonde. “To fully understand thedangers of this work, you need to understandthe principles of DC electricity.”

The local has filed a complaint withthe labour board over the minister’s deci-sion. Lalonde says that the board’s decision,

which could take months, will be prece-dent-setting in how provinces throughoutCanada view jurisdictional lines in solar.

In the meantime, Local 530 continuesto go after green energy work, planning forits first solar training sessions, modeledafter curriculum from the National JointApprenticeship Training Committee in theUnited States.

Locals throughout Ontario have begunincorporating both solar and wind traininginto curriculums in preparation for futuregreen growth, setting up wind turbines andsolar panels at their union halls.

While most wind work in Ontario isunion, nonunion contractors are trying tobreak into the market, particularly withthe likely passage of the Green Energy Act,making it vital that the IBEW continues toaggressively go after the work, FirstDistrict International Representative PeterRoutliff said.

“It’s coming and it’s coming fast,” FirstDistrict Vice President Phil Flemming said.“We have to be ready for it.” �

4 T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009

North of 49°

Ontario Locals Gear Up for Green Energy Act

Au nord du 49° parallèle

Les locaux de l’Ontario se disent prêts pour la Loisur l’énergie verte!Une première étape pour assurer desmeilleurs progrès de l’énergie renouvelableau Canaada.

Les législateurs ontariens doivent trèsbientôt adopter le projet de loi quiaura une portée considérable pourl’énergie verte en Amérique du Nord.

L’investissement de 5 milliards de dol-lars canadiens prévu dans le projet de loisur l’énergie verte du premier ministre del’Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, présenté aucours du mois de février, servira à mod-erniser le réseau de distribution d’électric-ité de l’Ontario, à introduire la technologiedu réseau intelligent, à offrir des incitatifsaux entreprises d’utilités produisant de l’én-ergie verte et à encourager la croissance del’énergie solaire et éolienne.

“La Loi sur l’énergie verte en Ontarioferait de cette province, un chef de file enAmérique du Nord dans le développementde l’énergie renouvelable, devançant laCalifornie”, déclare Denis Hayes, anciendirecteur du Laboratoire national sur l’én-ergie renouvelable des É.-U.

Cette loi a gagné l’appui du mouvement

syndical de la province en lui assurantqu’elle contribuerait à la création d’emploisdans le secteur de la construction, lesecteur manufacturier et autres, ce quipourrait faire redémarrer l’économie du cen-tre du Canada. Plus de 70,000 emplois ontété perdus dans le secteur manufacturier enOntario, au mois de février seulement. Sicette loi est adoptée, on peut s’attendre à ceque 50,000 nouveaux emplois soient créés.

La FIOE doit donc s’assurer que cesnouveaux emplois verts seront bienrémunérés et remplis par de la main-d’œu-vre syndiquée hautement qualifiée.

“Nous devons nous assurer que cesemplois ne seront pas occupés par des tra-vailleurs non qualifiés. Nos compagnonsont les compétences et les qualificationsnécessaires pour ces nouveaux emploisverts” souligne Bradley Watt, Directeur dela formation, pour la S.L. 353 de Toronto.

“Jusqu’ici la majorité du travail danscette industrie - la plus développée desénergies renouvelables au Canada, mise àpart l’énergie hydraulique – a été effectuépar des membres de la FIOE” souligneJerry Wilson, Représentant international

pour le Premier District.Des électriciens des S.L. 105 de

Hamilton et 120 de London ainsi que desmonteurs de lignes des S.L. 353 de Torontoet 1687 de Sudbury, ont rendu possible l’ou-verture d’un des plus grands parcs éoliensde l’Ontario sur les berges du Lac Érié, l’an-née dernière.

Le bureau du Premier District avait réal-isé un sondage sur les compétences de noscompagnons électriciens il y plus de deuxans. Le résultat a par la suite été présenté àl’Association canadienne de l’énergie éoli-enne. “Nous avons voulu leur démontrerqu’un compagnon qualifié avait déjà toutesles connaissances requises pour effectuertout le travail sur les éoliennes, du bobinagedes turbines jusqu’à l’entretien” ajoute-t-il.

L’industrie de l’énergie solaire estencore jeune et représente un plus granddéfi. Les travaux, sur ce qui deviendra leplus grand parc de panneaux photo-voltaïques au Canada, ont débuté l’annéedernière à Sarnia, près du Lac Huron. Plusde 100 membres de la S.L. 530 de Sarnia, enOntario, ont travaillé à l’installation et aucâblage des panneaux solaires sur des amé-

nagements de 60 mégawatts.Mais au mois de novembre dernier, le

ministre du travail décrétait que l’installa-tion de panneaux solaires ne nécessiteraitpas une formation spéciale pour les élec-triciens, offrant ainsi à l’entrepreneur lapossibilité d’embaucher des travailleursnon syndiqués sans formation. “Dès que lesoleil frappe les panneaux, ces dernierssont mis sous tension. Pour bien compren-dre les dangers de ce travail, vous devezconnaître les principes du courant continude l’électricité”, souligne Michael Lalonde,Représentant d’affaires de la S.L. 530.

La section locale a déposé une plainteauprès de la Commission des relations dutravail, au sujet de la décision du Ministre.Selon le confrère Lalonde, la décision de laCommission, qui pourrait ne pas être rendueavant plusieurs mois, créera un précédentsur l’interprétation des provinces canadi-ennes en ce qui a trait aux limites du champd’application en matière d’énergie solaire.

“C’est pour bientôt et cela viendra trèsvite! Nous devons être prêts!”, conclut PhilFlemming, Vice-président du PremierDistrict. �

w w w. i b e w. o r g T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009 5

All too often, just the rumor of amerger sends a chill through aworkplace. That certainly was thecase in late 2008 when telecommu-

nications companies CenturyTel andEmbarq, employing 7,000 members of theIBEW and CWA, announced plans to com-bine in a $5.8 billion stock-financed deal.

A March agreement between theunions and the companies goes a long waynot just in calming nerves, but in providingthe framework for a partnership that holdspromise for improving the new employer’scompetitiveness while preserving andextending contractual protections of thebargaining units. Current language protect-ing jobs from outsourcing and limiting workforce reductions is incorporated in theunderstanding.

“Launching a new company with up-front communication and dialogue betweenunions and management will prove itsworth in both the workplace and the mar-ketplace,” says International PresidentEdwin D. Hill.

The new company will employ unionmembers in 33 states and combine Embarq’s(formerly Sprint’s) predominantly landlineholdings with CenturyTel’s 17,000-mile corefiber network and technological innovations,enhancing opportunities to extend highspeed broadband into rural areas.

“The merger will succeed to the extentthat it improves existing service quality oncurrent landlines [and by providing]improved broadband services to a widercustomer base,” states the memorandum.The signatories agree to jointly supportpublic policy initiatives to make high speedInternet access universal and affordable,seeking public funds for broadband expan-sion “to the extent such funds are not bur-dened by unacceptable conditions.”

The parties agree to address theimpact of technological changes on thework force, encouraging employees toengage in retraining that will be providedwhere necessary. National and regionalcooperative resource councils (labor-man-agement committees) will meet to discussissues of common concern.

The two unions represent about 32 per-cent of the companies’ total work force.Recognizing that job reductions could occur,the parties agree that no more than 1 per-cent of the organized work force can bereduced during the first 18 months after theclosing of the merger. Any layoffs will be pro-portional to the size of each bargaining unit.

The new company will abide by commit-ments in existing contracts protecting bar-gaining unit work from being assigned tosubcontractors. The companies agree to inviteunionized construction contractors to partici-

pate in the ordinary contractor certificationprocess and, if qualified, to bid on projects.

IBEW TelecommunicationsDepartment Director Martha Pultar, whoparticipated in the negotiations that pro-duced the memorandum, says that the com-panies satisfied most of the unions’concerns that—along with community-

based issues—had led them to question themerger at public utility commissions in sev-eral states. CenturyTel, says Pultar, neverhad strong labor-management committeesas existed at Embarq. “We hope to havemore positive labor relations at the newcompany,” she says.

The companies will also establish a

Union Plus is launching a new bene-fits program, called Union SAFE—for Security, Assistance andFinancial Education—to provide a

wide array of benefits.Benefits under the Union SAFE initia-

tive for eligible members include:• Credit counseling services, budgetingadvice and no-fee debt management andbankruptcy counseling benefits.

• Hospital Care Grants of $1,000 to helpmembers who have been hit with large,unreimbursed hospital expenses who par-ticipate in the Union Plus credit card, mort-

gage or UnionSecure insurance programs.• Job Loss Grants of $250 for Union Pluscredit card holders who have beenrecently laid off for more than 90 days.

• Mortgage Assistance to help Union Plusmortgage holders who become unem-ployed, disabled or go on strike, maketheir payments.

Union SAFE also offers a college sav-ings grant of $500 to members who opennew 529 tax-free college savings accounts orpre-paid tuition accounts by June 30, 2009.

“America’s unions and Union Plus are

doing what we can right now to assist mem-bers in trouble—especially those who par-ticipate in a Union Plus program,” LeslieTolf, president of Union Privilege says.

Grant applications are available atwww.UnionPlus.org/UnionSAFE. �

national health care advisory committee toseek savings in health care insurance costs,while working together to support publicpolicy to improve health care deliverynationwide.

Pending state and regulatoryapprovals, the merger is expected to gothough this summer. �

Union Plus Benefits AssistMembers Hit by Crisis

IBEW/CWA Agreement Protects Workers inCenturyTel-Embarq Merger

More than $1.3 billion ofPresident Barack Obama’s fed-eral stimulus funds will go tomodernize Amtrak, the nation’s

passenger railway.

“It’s way overdue,” said IBEW RailroadDepartment Director Bill Bohné. “It willmean a safer, more reliable and cleanertransportation system for the riding public,and more jobs and work for IBEW members.”

President George W.Bush and some congres-sional GOP leaders triedto slash the railway’sbudget over the pasteight years, threateningto privatize the govern-ment-owned system.

President Obama and Vice President JoeBiden campaigned as strong supporters ofrebuilding our passenger rail system. Bidenhimself is a longtime Amtrak rider, havingcommuted by train from Wilmington, Del., toWashington, D.C., for more than 35 years.

More than $100 million of the stimulusmoney will go to repairs at Amtrak stations,maintenance shops and train cars, aninvestment that has already opened up 50new electrician positions.

Half of the openings are at Amtrak’sBear maintenance facility outsideWilmington, which is represented by Local2270. The other half are at the BeechGrove, Ind., facility near Indianapolis,which is represented by Local 784.

The IBEW represents more than 1,000workers at Amtrak. �

Amtrak Receives More Than $1 Billionfor Infrastructure Repairs

Amtrak is already hiringIBEW members at shopsin Delaware and Indiana.

Local 50 Members Raise Record Funds for United WayEven with the rocky economy as a back-drop, members of Richmond, Va., Local50 working at Dominion Virginia Powerraised nearly a quarter million dollars indonations for the United Way in 2008 –by far the local’s largest amount to date.

“Our members understand that sincewe derive our income from the commu-nity, we need to return some of it as well,”Local 50 Business Manager Jack Wellssaid. The local represents more than 3,500nuclear and hydroelectric workers, line-men and other employees at Dominionacross Virginia, West Virginia and NorthCarolina. “Times are tough right now for alot of people, and if we’re able to lend ahand, that’s what we’ll do.”

While overall community donationsto the United Way dropped at least 15 percent last year, Local 50 members stepped up theirlevel of participation in 2008. Twenty-nine percent of the membership donated, resulting ina 32 percent increase from the previous year.

6 T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009

Circuits

Data Center Owners Among Code of Excellence ConvertsWhen the second largest pharmaceutical company in the world announced its intention tobuild a data center to store its vast holdings of electronic records, GlaxoSmithKline turnedto the promise of the Code of Excellence.

More than a year later, just weeks away from completion of the massive and complexelectrical portion of the job completed under tight deadlines, the customer is still smiling.

“GlaxoSmithKline is very impressed,” said MBR Construction Services CEO KennyField, the project’s electrical contractor, signatory to Norristown, Pa., Local 380. “They haveother projects in the territory and it will go a long way to insuring those projects are union.”

The company had its pick of contractors for the $30 million electrical job when itreceived a presentation from Local 380 on the advantages of a Code of Excellence projectby the IBEW.

“As the job has moved forward, productivity is excellent and absenteeism is way down,”said Local 380 Business Manager Dave Schaaf. “It’s a nice story all the way around.”

Members have installed 110,000 feet of conduit underground and 235,000 feet of con-duit overhead in the suburban Philadelphia center.

The 200,000-square-foot building has two main electrical feeds, a normal and a back-up, which connect to two 35-kilovolt outdoor substations, both of which have their ownback-ups. The double-ended redundant power systems are designed to prevent any possibil-ity of data lost due to power failures.

“From an electrical standpoint, it’s a significant job for a contractor,” Field said. “Theunion supplied us with qualified people.”

Field advocated the continued use of the Code of Excellence, a voluntary pledge IBEWmembers make to professionalism, safety and quality workmanship. “It makes everyone alittle more responsible for what they’re doing,” Field said.

Third District Vice President Don Siegel said the secret to the success of the Code ofExcellence is a good working relationship with the contractor. “MBR has been an IBEWemployer and partner for over 80 years,” Siegel said. “Local 380 and MBR have provenonce again that the IBEW has the highest skilled and best trained electrical workers inthe industry.”

More than 100 members of Local 380 have been on the job over the past year, Schaaf said.“This is by far the biggest thing we have going,” Schaaf said. “It’s been a significant

thing for this local.”Local 380 members have been rewarded with multiple safety awards for their careful

work, Field said. “It’s been a very safe job.”

Richmond, Va., Local 50 leaders are honored for recordfundraising.

Members of Norristown, Pa., Local 380 received a safety award for their work on a new data center.

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to all our brothers who participated and for rep-resenting Local 17 with pride and confidence.

With sadness we report the loss of Bros.Orville Ashley, William Coffman, Jackie Hicks,Albert King, William Spitz, Otis Tar andHerbert Tewillager.

James H. Beaubien, P.S.

Worth of a UnionL.U. 23 (u), ST. PAUL, MN—On Feb. 29, 2008,IBEW Locals 23,160, 949 and 1426 filed for arbi-tration when Xcel Energy decided to unilaterallychange our pension plan relating to lump sumdistributions of our retirement benefits. The com-pany planned to change the interest rate calcula-tor from the negotiated GATT rate (30-year T-billrate) to the lower corporate coupon rate. Thiswould have dramatically reduced the benefitsthat we would have received on our retirements.

The arbitration was set to begin on Aug. 8,2008. On Aug. 1, the locals received correspon-dence from Xcel Energy conceding to the unions’demand that Xcel continue to use the negotiatedGATT rate when computing our retirement bene-fits. They also agreed to pay all costs associatedwith the canceling of the arbitrations.

This is an important victory that savedeach member thousands of dollars. If you everwondered about the worth of unions, this is ashining example. Incidentally, this also savedthousands of dollars for the nonunion individu-als as well. Maybe they will come around andjoin up. We will talk to them.

Bruce Ohmann, P.S.

Safety Committee MilestoneL.U. 37 (em,o&u), FREDERICTON, NEWBRUNSWICK, CANADA—The Corporate IBEW–NB Power Health and Safety Committeereached a major milestone in January 2009; theyhave met monthly for 15 years without skippinga single meeting. (See photo, pg. 8.)

The committee is composed of IBEW repre-sentatives as well as NB Power managers fromacross the organization and New Brunswick.Each month, they meet to talk about safety sta-tistics from across the organization, share expe-riences and discuss and resolve issues that arise.

At their regular meeting on Feb. 18, thecommittee members celebrated their milestoneand were joined by Ross Galbraith, IBEW Local37 business manager; David Hay, NB Powerpresident and CEO; and Paul Theriault, NBPower vice president of Human Resources.

“When you sit back and think about it, 15years without missing a meeting, that is amaz-ing,” said IBEW Local 37 Bus. Mgr. RossGalbraith. “This isn’t just a monthly meeting fordrinking coffee and catching up. You have had alot of very important and influential conversa-tions as a group and have had a huge impact onthe day-to-day safety of employees. The work youdo here has saved lives; I can guarantee that.”

Ross Galbraith, B.M.

St. Patrick’s Day ParadeL.U. 41 (em,es,govt,i,se&spa), BUFFALO, NY—The long, cold winter has finally come to anend. We experienced a better than normal win-ter work season. Hopefully work will remainsteady in the months ahead.

Legacy of Service HonoredL.U. 1 (as,c,ees,ei,em,es,et,fm,i,mt,rts,s,se,spa,st&ws), ST. LOUIS, MO—At the end of every Local 1“Local Lines” article, the names of members whopassed away during the two months prior to writingare listed. This is out of respect for members of thisgreat union and their lifetime service. The namesare in no particular order. All members who havegone before us contributed in some way to the bet-terment of this local union and the IBEW. Somemembers may have been more involved than oth-ers, some may have been officers or stewards, somemay have simply led by example; and yet, everymember is as important as the next. Let us neverforget, even during these tough economic times,that those who have gone before us fought for thebenefits and rights we have today. Without theirlegacy of fighting for working families, taking pridein their work, and exemplifying the work ethic andsolidarity of Local 1 and the IBEW, we would notbe as strong as we are today.

Please be advised of the following members’deaths: Virgil Greene, John Engle, Robert Reilly,Edward Stiles, Charles Boyer, Melvin Sieber,Robert Cull, Elmer McMullin, John Webber, PaulSkaggs, Thomas Skiles, Albert Mason andDorothy Ferguson.

Matt Gober, P.S.

Safety AchievementsL.U. 15 (u), DOWNERS GROVE, IL—On April 28,union members nationwide observed WorkersMemorial Day, a day of remembrance for workerskilled or injured on the job. Locally, a ceremonywas held in Rockford at the site of a WorkersMemorial Day monument. This year Local 15member Alex Calazzo, underground cable splicer,was remembered. Alex died in December 2008from injuries he received when a 4 kv-cable jointexploded in the manhole he was working in.

February was a month of safety achieve-ments for our Midwest Generation members atPowerton and Will County Station. PowertonStation members hosted a Safety & Health Fairfor its employees and featured booths by safetyequipment vendors. The Fair followed the sta-tion’s fewest OSHA Recordable Accidents in itshistory. Elsewhere, Will County Station finished2008 with no OSHA Recordable Accidents.

Southern Indiana and parts of Kentuckyexperienced a devastating snow storm thatdowned several thousand spans of wire andbroke a huge number of poles. With hundreds ofthousands of customers without power, ourmembers traveled to these areas to assist our fel-low IBEW members working for the local utility.

Last fall, the Illinois CommerceCommission hired the Jacobs Consulting Groupto review ComEd to determine if the utility ismeeting customer expectations, providing serv-ice reliability and maintaining proper staffinglevels to provide safety to the public and thework force. Local 15 followed the JCG 126-pagereport with 20 pages of questions disputing thefirm’s facts and the lack of supporting companydocumentation used by JCG in reaching its con-clusions. The union office filed its report withthe Illinois Commerce Commission.

Ronald V. Welte, P.S.

Environmental ProjectsL.U. 17 (catv,em,lctt,o&u), DETROIT, MI—OurDetroit Edison apprentice crew was very activelast summer on a number of environmentalprojects. They helped a Boy Scout with hisEagle Scout project by setting 10 poles with batnesting boxes attached to them at the WayneCounty Park, Crosswinds Marsh, and WetlandInterpretive Preserve. They also set nine polesfor an eagle enclosure at the Lake Erie MetroPark and assisted the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService by erecting an 85-foot pole on HumbugIsland for use as an eagle nesting platform.

We had seven teams and five apprenticescompete at the 25th Annual Lineman’s Rodeo inKansas City. In the journeyman contractor divi-sion, Carl McKissic, Trever Heimke and ClaytonByerly placed first, and the journeyman team ofThomas Swayne, Deven Heimke and DennisSpurlock placed sixth overall. Congratulations

Local Lines

(as) Alarm and Signal

(ars) Atomic Research Service

(bo) Bridge Operators

(cs) Cable Splicers

(catv) Cable Television

(c) Communications

(cr) Cranemen

(ees) Electrical Equipment Service

(ei) Electrical Inspection

(em) Electrical Manufacturing

(es) Electric Signs

(et) Electronic Technicians

(fm) Fixture Manufacturing

(govt) Government

(i) Inside

(it) Instrument Technicians

(lctt) Line Clearance Tree Trimming

(lpt) Lightning Protection Technicians

(mt) Maintenance

(mo) Maintenance and Operation

(mow) Manufacturing Office Workers

(mar) Marine

(mps) Motion Picture Studios

(nst) Nuclear Service Technicians

(o) Outside

(p) Powerhouse

(pet) Professional, Engineers and Technicians

(ptc) Professional, Technical and Clerical

(rr) Railroad

(rtb) Radio-Television Broadcasting

(rtm) Radio-Television Manufacturing

(rts) Radio-Television Service

(so) Service Occupations

(s) Shopmen

(se) Sign Erector

(spa) Sound and Public Address

(st) Sound Technicians

(t) Telephone

(u) Utility

(uow) Utility Office Workers

(ws) Warehouse and Supply

Trade Classification

One of the IBEW Local 15 overhead crews helpsrestore power after Indiana ice storm.

IBEW Local 17 apprentice crew members atDetroit Edison erect 85-foot pole on HumbugIsland for use as an eagle nesting platform.

At the February meeting the membershipvoted the CW and CE classifications into thebylaws. This will give our contractors anotheravenue to compete for the small work in our areathat we are currently losing to the nonunion.

Local 41 participated in the annual St.Patrick’s Day parade in downtown Buffalo.Thank you to all the members and their fami-lies who marched. A special thank you to Bros.Mike Eustace and Pete Czaster for a job well-done on the design and construction of thefloat. It looked great.

We encourage all members to contact theirelected public officials and let our voice beheard. With the state of the economy, the attackon organized labor and workers rights is greaternow than ever before. We need to let elected offi-cials know who we are and that our vote counts.

Remember to work safely, take pride inyour local union and be involved!

Michael J. Gaiser, B.A.

Work Remains SlowL.U. 43 (em,i&rts), SYRACUSE, NY—Work con-tinues to be slow. Our central New York weatheralso has been a challenge for projects that werescheduled to start. As of the first week in March,over 148 inches of snow had accumulated in theSyracuse area, with over 200 inches in some ofour northern towns. One bright spot was therefuel outage at Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station.Including those hired for pre-outage work, 71journeymen were employed for the outage.

Asst. Bus. Mgr. Pat Costello and Pres. DonMorgan recently helped organize an informa-tional picket at the Riverside Mall BurlingtonCoat Factory, Utica, NY. A number of the build-ing trades participated in a very cold morningto get our message out there. Also braving theelements were Bros. Ryan Costello, Paul Jory, AlMarzullo, John Nowak and Mike Paniccia. Ourthanks to all who participated for their show ofsolidarity and trade unionism.

Jim Corbett, P.S.

‘Caution and Optimism’L.U. 47 (lctt,mo,o,u&uow), DIAMOND BAR,CA—We start 2009 with caution and optimism.We are concerned over the damage done in thelast eight years, but optimistic that Pres. Obamais the right person to make the required repairs.

We have seen a slight slowdown in outsideconstruction. Several large transmission lineprojects are awaiting approval. The BlytheEnergy transmission line recently broke ground.

Work at the utilities remains steady.Southern California Edison received a reasonableruling on its rate case from the California Publicutilities Commission. We testified for SCE.

Workers at FP&L/Blythe Energy ratified athree-year first agreement.

The Southern California Chapter EWMCattended the annual meeting in New Orleans.Delegates participated in two days of communityservice prior to the conference. New Orleans stillbears many scars from Hurricane Katrina.

Several Local 47 members marched 10miles from Los Angeles to Westwood supportingthe Employee Free Choice Act. Los AngelesCounty Federation of Labor organized the event.

We are saddened to report the passing ofArt Ford and Paul Miller. Our thoughts andprayers are with their families..

In the March we erroneously reportedDavid Mendoza had passed away—we arehappy to report Bro. David is home recuperat-ing from a prolonged illness.

Live well, work union!

Stan Stosel, P.S.

Harborview Burn CenterL.U. 77 (lctt,mt,o,t&u), SEATTLE, WA—Harborview Burn Center located in Seattle hastreated more than 15,000 patients since it openedin 1974, including nearly all burn victims in theWashington area. This is why the WashingtonState Association of Electrical Workers, whichcomprises over 21,000 electrical workersstatewide, was instrumental in auctioning a goldcoin at the 2008 IBEW Ninth District ProgressMeeting and donating the proceeds of $10,000 tothe Harborview Burn Center. (Photo below.)

We are proud to welcome Patrick Darlingto serve on the Local 77 Executive Board. Pathas been a tremendous asset to Local 77 and inhis new role.

David Wheeler, P.S.

Honored for ServiceL.U. 83 (u), BINGHAMTON, NY—At theBrewster Unit Christmas dinner last year, for-mer longtime officer Gary Tiso was honored and

thanked by his union brothers, sisters and offi-cers. Brother Tiso’s tireless effort and dedica-tion as a former steward, vice president,president, unit chair and business agent for for-mer Local 994 and Local 83 are recognized by allwho have had the pleasure of working with him.Bro. Tiso is appreciated for his many years ofgood work and sacrifice on behalf of the union.

Don S. Tuttel, P.S.

Wind Turbine ProjectL.U. 99 (govt&i), PROVIDENCE, RI—The windturbine project at Portsmouth, R.I., High Schoolis just one of many proposed for this state andits vast shorelines. (See photo above.) Local 99has been involved with this project, with RyanElectric handling the installation. This 330-foot-tall turbine will generate 1.5 megawatts,enough to supply approximately 60 percent ofPortsmouth’s municipal electricity for schools,street lighting, town hall and other buildings.The $2.9 million cost was partly financed by thestate’s Renewable Energy Fund.

The surge in renewable energy will giveRhode Island’s economy a needed boost.Several companies are interested in theQuonset Business Park, to either manufactureor use as a staging area for these giant turbines.One such company, Deepwater Wind, has plansfor a manufacturing plant that will employ 880people and generate $60 million in wages. Thecompany will install eight turbines in RhodeIsland waters by 2012. There are also severalother turbine proposals for our state.

Hopefully, the IBEW and Local 99 will beable to take advantage of these opportunities atthe beginning of this budding industry by show-casing the knowledge and talent of our diversework force. Bus. Mgr. Allen P. Durand has beeninvolved with renewable energy at the federal,state and local levels for several years in anattempt to regulate and capture this work. Onlythrough our determination and diligence willwe be able to secure this work for our future.

Stephen P. Callaghan, P.S.

Spirit of BrotherhoodL.U. 103 (cs&i), BOSTON, MA—Two recentannual union events demonstrated the spirit ofbrotherhood. At the Liberty Cup Hockey Classicmatch-up between Local 103 and New York, NY,Local 3, both teams displayed great cama-raderie and enjoyed a meal at Local 103’s hallafterward. Local 103 won that game.

At the Journeyman/Apprentice SportsNight at Local 103, journeymen won the hockeygame and apprentices won the basketball game.There were also games for the kids and a get-together at the hall for all families.

JATC Dir. Phil Mason retired after manyyears with the JATC. The new director is LeoPurcell, former business agent.

Local 103 is offering ongoing JourneymanRigging/Hoisting Engineer classes, which will ben-efit the industry and further IBEW employment.

We now have a U.S. president who is proudto be associated with unions. His stimuluspackage and other efforts are for the Americanpeople and will create jobs and boost the econ-omy. We need to support our president in whathe is working to accomplish.

It has been my pleasure to serve as Local103 press secretary. As I retire, I wish my sons,Brian, a journeyman, and Kevin, a fifth-yearapprentice, all the brotherhood and friendshipsI have been privileged to enjoy for 39 years as aLocal 103 member.

In Labor’s Voice,

Bill Molineaux, P.S.

Three GenerationsL.U. 111 (em,govt,lctt,mt,o,rtb,spa&u), DENVER,CO—Not every day do we find three generationsof the same family with a combined total of 98years’ service with Local 111. The Montoya fam-ily has done just that. Sam Montoya, 81, beganworking in 1942 in Trinidad as a 21-year-oldapprentice groundman for Frontier Power Co. In1953, Sam moved his family to Denver where he

8 T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009

Providence, RI, Local 99 is working on a wind tur-bine project at Portsmouth High School.

Members of the Corporate IBEW-NB Power Healthand Safety Committee celebrate a milestone.Back row, from left, are: Larry Bailey, NB Power;Phil Hepditch, Local 37 Executive Board member;Dave Lavigne, NB Power; Martin Boucher, NBPower; Gaetan Chiasson, Local 37 ExecutiveBoard member; and Lynn Arsenault, NB Power.Front row: Paul Theriault, NB Power; ClintonSharpe, NB Power; Steve Hayes, Local 37 presi-dent; Duff Boyd, NB Power; Gary Munn, Local 37assistant business manager; and Ross Galbraith,Local 37 business manager.

Washington State Association of Electrical WorkersSec.-Treas. Don Guillot (third from left), businessmanger of IBEW Local 77, is among those presentfor the donation of $10,000 to Harborview BurnCenter. From left are: Carolyn Blayney and GayleNisbet, Harborview Burn Center nurse managers;Guillot; Dr. Nicole Gibran, HBC director; WSAEWPres. Gary Younghan; IBEW Local 46 Bus. Mgr.Virgil Hamilton; Dr. David Heimbach and Dr. TamPham, burn surgeons; and Burn Plastics ClinicMgr. Merilyn Moore. Not Pictured: WSAEW VicePres. Ray Egelhoff.

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25-kw solar panel system on the roof of ourunion hall for their “hands on training” for theclass. Sullivan Solar Power is the contractorand is represented by John Gurski, who isteaching the class. We hope to employ morebrothers and sisters in the future in the solarvoltaic field.

Work in the Jacksonville area is very dis-mal now, to say the least. Several projects arecurrently on hold for various reasons, butfinancing seems to be the main culprit. I thankall the locals that have been able to employ ourmembers in these trying times.

Alan Jones, Pres.

Minority Caucus a SuccessL.U. 191 (c,i,mo,rtb&st), EVERETT, WA—Aftervisiting the New Orleans National ElectricalWorkers Minority Caucus, our union held anEWMC event Feb. 19. While working together tocreate a community service organization dedi-cated to bettering the community, we are comingto understand what we can do as an organizedgroup. Our members joined together and volun-teered in New Orleans to help community serv-ice efforts by wiring homes affected byHurricane Katrina.

We just finished $62 million in electricalwork for the T-mobile data center. The projectwas completed in eight months and utilized250 wiremen. The local thanks all the travelersfor helping Local 191 staff the heavy workload.We could not have accomplished this withoutthem. We must have had a traveler from everystate in the nation assisting us with successfulcompletions for many projects. With these sub-stantial projects coming to an end, we havebegun to experience a decline in our workload.Our workloads are continuing to fall as theeconomy weakens.

Robert De Velder, P.S.

joined Local 111. Over the years, he worked forUnion Power, Commonwealth, Reynolds andWasatch (Utah). He retired 19 years ago afterworking for Sturgeon for 18 years where he wasa lineman and a foreman.

Sam recently received his 55-year servicepin in a presentation at the union. His sonMick, and grandson Scott, were there to con-gratulate him. Mick will mark 40 years as aLocal 111 member on June 1. A lineman, heworked for Sturgeon for 18 years as a memberof Unit 1 before joining Xcel Energy, becominga member of Unit 2. Mick’s son Scott Montoya isa fifth-step apprentice lineman in Unit 1.

At press time, PSCO (Xcel) negotiationscontinue. In the face of tough negotiations, unityis key for our membership’s fight to keep whatwe have worked so hard for over many years.

Dennis Z. LeTurgez, P.S.

Classes OfferedL.U. 125 (lctt,o,t&u), PORTLAND, OR—Providingeducational opportunities for our members is apriority for our local. This spring we’re planningto offer our general shop steward class for cur-rent and potential shop stewards. The class willbe held at the Local 125 business office.

Based on requests from the shop stewardswho attended our class in 2008, we are planningto develop an advanced shop steward class thatfocuses on investigations, communication andarbitrations. In addition, Local 125 is also creat-ing a career development course that addressesinterviewing and résumé preparation. Please letyour business representative know if you wouldlike to participate in the development processby joining us for the alpha and beta versions ofthe classes. For more information about any ofthese classes, please visit our Web site atwww.ibew125.com or call the business officeat (503) 262-9125.

Marcy Putman, P.S.

Spring & Summer EventsL.U. 141 (ees,i,o&u), WHEELING, WV—Workin the area is still slow. We remain optimistic.The social committee has some exciting eventsplanned. On June 19 there will be another greattrip to see the Washington Wild Things, a pro-fessional baseball team based in Washington,PA. And it’s that time of year again—the Local141 annual golf scramble and picnic is in the

planning stages. We can use all the help we canget. The date is set for Aug. 22. Clear you calen-dars. I hope to see you at both events.

Journeyman training is in full swing. Signup for classes today.

Justin Klempa, P.S.

Advancing Our AgendaL.U. 159 (i), MADISON, WI—On Feb. 27, over80 members took part in our first ever Code ofExcellence training. The majority of the surveysreturned show overwhelming support for thisprogram. I think most members believe we needto do something to take back our market share.

Due to our victories in November 2008, weare finding it easier to advance our agenda in thestate legislature. So far we have stronger prevail-ing wage language proposed in the state budget,and the rules for state licensing are progressing.As Dave Boetcher, our president and state lobbyistsays, “It’s nice to be on the offense for a change.”

The bad news is things are still slow herein Madison. We have higher unemployment inour area than we have ever had before. We dohave many projects just coming out of theground that should put quite a few of our mem-bers back to work.

As always, everyone work safe. We wantyou around for a long time to come.

Joel Kapusta, B.A.

George Meany Scouting AwardL.U. 163 (ees&i), WILKES-BARRE, PA—Local163 mourns the loss of the following retiredmembers who recently passed away: JosephRogan Sr., Philip Sarno and John J. Olejnik, alongtime JATC instructor, E-Board andExamining Board member. These brothers willbe sadly missed.

We are very proud of our members whohave received the George Meany Award for con-tributions to youth through Scouting. Theyinclude: Bros. Ken Evans, Dominic Aritz, EricGrohowski and, most recently, Michael Caffrey.Bro. Caffrey was recently honored at theGreater Wilkes-Barre Labor Council dinner andpresented with an award by Local 163 Bus. Mgr.Michael Kwashnik. (See photo above.) Local163 has sponsored a 17-foot canoe for the NEPABoy Scouts summer camp.

A trap shoot was held for members andguests. The event was organized by Bro. MarkTarence and everyone had a good time. InDecember 2008, the annual children’sChristmas party was held, coordinated by Bro.Eric Grohowski and all his elves.

Apprentices recently worked on a Habitatfor Humanity house. The project in Wilkes-Barre converted an old doctor’s office into afive-bedroom home.

John T. Nadolny, P.S./Tr. Dir.

New Business Managers ClassL.U. 175 (c,em,i,lctt,mt,o&u), CHATTANOOGA,TN—IBEW Local 175 recently hosted a NewBusiness Managers Class.

Those in attendance were: Rhett Sanford,Local 1753 business manager; John Perritt Jr.,Local 1758 president; Ron Lynch, Local 807 chair-man; Mark Corn, Local 398 president; ChuckMoore, Local 776 business manager; Curtis Sharpe,Local 721 vice president; Charlie McKinney, Local700 business manager; Danny Turner, Local 365business manager; Mark Stewart, Local 248 busi-ness manager; Donald Tindall, Local 1537 businessmanager; Douglas Leath, Local 962 president;William Floyd, Local 1591 business manager; KaronMingo, Local 2277 business manager; TerryWilliams, Local 962 business manager; TracyNewman, Local 1323 business manager; C. KimDawson, Local 1749 business manager; Int. Rep.Amanda Pacheco, I.O. Education Dept.; Int. Rep.Jim Ayrer, I.O. Education Dept.; Tenth District Int.Rep. Keith Craig; Tenth District Int. Rep. JimSpringfield; and Tenth District Int. Vice Pres.Robert P. Klein. We wish all these brothers and sis-ters the best of luck in the future.

Keith Owensby, P.S.

Solar Panel InstallationL.U. 177 (bo,ees,i,mo,o&pet), JACKSONVILLE,FL—Members of Local 177 who are taking asolar voltaic class at our JATC are installing a

Local 111 retired member Sam Montoya (center),his son Mick (left) and grandson Scott (right) havea combined total of 98 years in Local 111.

Local 163 Bus. Mgr. MichaelKwashnik (second from left) pres-ents the George Meany Award toLocal 163 member MichaelCaffrey (third from left). Extendingcongratulations are the awardrecipient’s sons Michael Caffrey Jr.(left) and Kyle Caffrey.

Local 177 members install solar panels on the roof of the union hall. From left, back row, are: James Brockand Sanders Masters; middle row, Marvin Sanders, Larry Elliot, David Miller, John Gurski; and front row,Andrew Bridgham, Dwayne Taylor, Mary Richardson and Leroy Brown.

Participants attend the New Business Managers Class at Chattanooga, TN, Local 175.

Promoting IBEW LaborL.U. 193 (i,lctt,o,rts,spa&u), SPRINGFIELD,IL—Rail Splitter Wind Farm is expected to befinished by early spring.

The linemen and line clearance/tree trim-mers helped southern Illinois and Kentuckyduring the recent ice storm. About 40 brothersgave their all! Local 193 has approximately 50journeyman wiremen on Book I.

Local 193 Organizer Glenn Baugh had abooth at the Jacksonville Chamber OfCommerce Business Expo 2009. Local 193 wasletting construction users know that we areready and able to take on all electrical projectsin the Western Division.

Bros. Tom Schafer and Eric Campbelldemonstrated the workings of electricity tothird- and fourth-graders at Pleasant Hill School.Plenty of favorable letters and goodwill flowedfrom this learning experience! Thanks, men!

Local TV ads promoting Local 193 havebeen running. Photos of several classificationshave been shown. Remember to always promoteall IBEW labor!

We extend our sympathy to the family ofJack L. Burris Sr., who passed away.

Don Hudson, P.S.

‘Fine Class of Apprentices’L.U. 197 (em&i), BLOOMINGTON, IL—We arelooking for the work situation to turn aroundfor us this spring. Work has been slow here.

We look forward to topping out anotherfine class of apprentices. Our apprentices aredoing a good job finishing up their annual classprojects. The retirees look forward to judgingthe competition every spring to see what ourfuture leaders have been learning. Recentlyapprentices gave up a Saturday morning toattend a Soares Grounding class. Journeymen,remember these extra classes are open to all tocontinue brushing up on skills and knowledge.

Last year Brandon Major, son of fourth-year apprentice Mario Major, was in an accidentthat left the young man paralyzed. Brandonrecently returned home from the hospital.Mario’s fellow apprentices collected money atjob sites and union functions to assist the Majorfamily. They also built a wheelchair ramp atBrandon’s home.

Our efforts to elect friends of labor to pub-lic office are yielding results. U.S. Rep. DebbieHalvorson and Sen. Richard Durbin are takingan active role in hearing our voices. Upcomingregional elections are also important. One ofour own, Chris Carlson, is running for city coun-cil in LeRoy, IL. Good luck, Chris!

This year our contracts are up, so attendunion meetings and make your voices heard.

Mike Raikes, P.S.

Newly Chartered LocalL.U. 225 (u), BURLINGTON, KS—2008 was anexciting year for Wolf Creek Nuclear OperatingCorporation and newly chartered IBEW Local 225.

Local 225 officers were elected and a three-year contract was ratified in December 2008.Congratulations to all members and many thanksto Bus. Mgr. Roger Turner, Pres. Doug Morris, VicePres. Ray Rogers, Rec. Sec. John Cuffe, Fin. Sec.Angela Johnson, Treas. Sherry Skidmore, and E-Board members Steve Dawson, Tim Burger, RussTaylor, Bernie Handley, Rickey Yeager and JohnCuffe. Our nuclear powered Local 225 is at 388members and growing monthly.

We have a lot to celebrate. We justachieved 10 million safe man-hours, largely dueto ATOMS, our employee driven BehaviorSafety program. The program encourages safebehavior through formal “no name, no blame”peer observations.

Our Pro-Active Committee was recentlycalled to action by Chairperson JenniferHopkins. Jennifer was contacted by ResourceCenter for Independent Living case managerVickie Gillespie about unmet needs of peoplewith disabilities in our area. Workers at WolfCreek rallied together and gathered householditems not funded by other sources. The itemswere placed in more than 20 laundry basketsand have been distributed in four surroundingcounties. Chad Wilkins of RCIL was over-whelmed with the donation. Looking forward toanother good year in 2009!

Albert R. Halfmann, P.S.

Service Pins AwardedL.U. 241 (i), ITHACA, NY—The following membersrecently received service pins: for 55 years of serv-ice—Richard Moore; for 50 years of service—Charlie French, James Bishop, David Doane,Ramon Clark and Harrison Raymond Jr.Congratulations to these members and to all mem-bers who are dedicated to all the IBEW stands for.

On Jan. 31, 2009, retired former businessmanager John E. “Jack” Cortright passed away.Jack joined the local in 1949 and was businessmanager from 1968-1979. He was elected presi-dent of the Cortland-Tompkins Building TradesCouncil in 1967. Through his efforts, the firstcontract between Cornell University and theBuilding Trades Council was signed in 1970. Hewill be remembered for all he achieved.

Work productively and safely.

Michael A. Creasy, P.S.

Employee Free ChoiceL.U. 245 (govt,lctt,o,rtb&u), TOLEDO, OH—With a new U.S. president and a total overhaulof the top branch of government, we believethat labor can take a sigh of relief. Hopefully,

the threat of “national right to work,” “paycheckprotection,” and the likes of these threats toorganized labor are finally dead and buried, atleast for now.

We, as labor leaders, union members andworkers, do have our work cut out for usthough. We all need to work hard to get the“Employee Free Choice Act” enacted so we canpreserve the middle class. The National LaborRelations Act was enacted to protect workerorganizing and to encourage collective bargain-ing. Through the years, this legislation has beenmanipulated so that the corporations hold allthe cards. Passage of the Employee Free ChoiceAct would restore workers’ freedom to formunions, free from the fear of intimidation andcoercion of employers.

We as American workers deserve betterthan the current economic inequality anddecline. By supporting the Employee FreeChoice Act, we can restore freedom for all work-ers and bargain for a better life for working fam-ilies. Please write to your legislators to supportthis legislation so that we can preserve andstrengthen our middle class. For more informa-tion, please see www.employeefreechoice.org.

Philip LaCourse, Pres.

Members Take OSHA 30L.U. 257 (em,i,rtb,rts,spa&t), JEFFERSONCITY, MO—The work picture is slow for Local257. Our members are taking this time to gettheir OSHA 30 cards. We’ve had a great turnoutwith OSHA 30; some 80 percent of our membershave taken the class.

Local 257 was pleased with November2008 election results. We hope Pres. Obama andthe U.S. Congress can bring our country backfrom this economic crisis.

We look forward to a brighter work picturefor Local 257 in upcoming months. We have abig federal courthouse project starting in sum-mer 2009. Our local contractors are busy bid-ding on other projects being released this year.

Local 257 had another setback for work,with the new St. Mary’s hospital project put onhold for now. Yet those involved are still planningand designing projects to start at a later date.

On a brighter note, two meetings wereheld Feb. 18 in Fulton, MO, regarding construc-tion of a second nuclear reactor in CallawayCounty. Discussions involved how to pay for theproject and approval for Ameren UE to buildthe second plant. It was a successful meetingwith 10 to 1 in favor of building a second reac-tor. We thank all who attended.

Our condolences to families of recentlydeceased members Norman Hart, Brian Sidwelland Wilfred Schulte.

Ryan Buschjost, P.S.

COMET TrainingL.U. 307 (ees,es,i,o&u), CUMBERLAND, MD—Local 307 member Rich Karge reported for twoweeks of active duty in March at Camp Dawsonin Kingwood, WV. He is scheduled to deploy inJuly with the National Guard to Iraq for a year ofactive duty. [Please watch for an “IBEW OnDuty” article and photo in an upcoming issue ofThe Electrical Worker.] We admire Rich’scourage and pray for his safe return.

Here at home the downturn in the econ-omy has had a negative effect on funding fornew projects. Opportunities for work this spring

may not be as plentiful as last year, but we dohave some projects to be bid.

Congratulations to the apprentices, con-struction wiremen, construction electriciansand journeyman wiremen who completedCOMET training on March 2-3, 2009.

Local 307 mourns the loss of Bro. Dave“Bolts” Brown. Our condolences go out to hisfamily.

Jon “Rosey” Rosenberger, R.S.

A Night at the RacesL.U. 309 (i,lctt,mo,mt,o,rts,spa&u),COLLINSVILLE, IL—As of this writing the workpicture for the inside is holding steady whilework for the outside has slowed. Journeymanand apprentice linemen are experiencing fullemployment, but equipment operators are suf-fering layoffs.

Inside projects that are still progressingare Suncoke at U.S. Steel, Abengoa EthanolPlant and Transcom at Scott Air Force Base.

On Feb.17, Int. Rep. Donald R. Woolridgespent the afternoon at our local presenting newofficer orientation and the Code of Excellenceprogram. This was appreciated and well-received by our new officers.

Contract negotiations with Fairmont Parkwere concluded at the end of February. Local309 will host a night at the races at FairmontPark on June 27. We hope for a good turnout insupport of the racetrack.

Those appearing at the March union meet-ing for pin presentation were: George Berkaw,Robert E. Hill, Ronald J. Schrodroski, EdwardHayes, Roger W. Levin, Jimmie W. Wildhaberand Keith Howard. Congratulations to all!

Scott Tweedy, A.B.M.

St. Patrick’s Day ParadeL.U. 313 (i&spa), WILMINGTON, DE—IBEWLocal 313 was well-represented at this year’s St.Patrick’s Day parade in Wilmington. Participatingwere journeyman wiremen and their families,apprentices and many retired members. Membersyoung and old showed off their “Irish” spirit andtheir “Kiss Me I’m Union” pins.

On the JATC front, first- and second-yearapprentices got hands-on training this year withthe new Conduit Bending Lab. This new lab willenable the apprentices to become more familiarand proficient when bending off-sets, saddlesand kicks in conduit. Also, the second-yearapprentice classes participated in the FlukeTest Instrument curriculum, which exposed theapprentices to the latest Fluke meters andtheir functions. This lab will help the studentsbecome more familiar with the testing func-tions of the meters such as voltage, amperageand resistance measurements and how they areused in the field.

Finally, PM Realty Group employees thank

10 T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009

Local 197 membershelped build a wheelchairramp for Brandon Major’sreturn home. Among thevolunteers are Local 197members Jack Roberts,Robin Roberts, Ned Carr,Mitch Carr, Rob Sipes,Brian Burns, RandyHolland, Daryl Erschenand Chris Arbuckle.

IBEW Local 313 contingent marches in theWilmington, DE, St. Patrick’s Day parade.

w w w. i b e w. o r g T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009 11

while the overall event raised $37,000. Some ofthose who participated in the event are shownin the accompanying photo. Thanks to all themembers for their participation and generouscontributions.

John Fernandes, A.B.M./Pres.

Food Drive a SuccessL.U. 459 (ees,em,govt,so&u), JOHNSTOWN,PA—Local 459 completed another successfulyear with its annual food drive. We had a recordyear for contributions even though the economyis so bad. With the current situation of job lossesand unemployment, many more people are inneed and the members really stepped up.

Our members and employers contributed$10,105 and numerous boxes of food. This is thelargest amount ever collected since we started.The monetary donations went back out to 17area food pantries in the districts where ourmembers reside. Food coupons in the amount of$500 were purchased and sent to our memberswho have been off work and out of benefits.

The local thanks all the stewards who workedhard collecting funds and food from the member-ship. A special thanks to Rec. Sec. Mary Perdew,who is also chairperson of the local’s food drive.

Kenneth L. Richards, Pres./A.B.M.

Newly Elected OfficersLocal 503 (t&u), MONROE, NY—Greetings,brothers and sisters. I would like to announcethe newly elected officers and E-Board mem-bers for Local 503.

Brian W. Scott was elected as businessmanager/president, and Scott Jensen as vicepresident. Re-elected were Joe Hosking as treas-urer, and Jacqueline Sanchez as recording sec-retary. The newly elected E-Board members are:Mark Angeloni, Christopher Battiato, HowieBauscher, David Erickson, Scott Hallock, BrianHutchings, Jean Marie Johnson, Jim Ludecker,Jamie Miller, Steve Reynolds, Edward Shuart,Ken Titland and Jeff Wilbur. Brian McPartlandreturns as business agent.

Newly elected for 503.3—Chmn.Rob Decker, Vice Chm. Bob Arraiz and Rec. Sec.Joe Trizzino.

Bus. Mgr. Doug Drummond and the negotiatingcommittee on achieving ratification of a newthree-year agreement between Local 313 andPM Realty at the J.P. Morgan Chase data cen-ters. Thank you to all for your hard work andperseverance to see the contract signed.

Robert F. MacLennan, P.S.

IEC AppointmentL.U. 349 (em,i,mps,rtb,spa&u), MIAMI, FL—Wehad a special guest and friends at the Februarylocal union meeting. We were visited by FifthDistrict Int. Vice Pres. Joe S. Davis and FifthDistrict Int. Rep. Gerald M. Counihan. Int. VicePres. Davis gave an excellent speech. He notedthat the IBEW has 11 IVP districts with 11International Vice Presidents; and that the IBEWInternational Executive Council comprises an IECchairman and eight IEC districts. Vice Pres. Davisnoted that Local 349 is in the IEC Fourth District.

Int. Pres. Edwin D. Hill has appointedLocal 349 Bus. Mgr. William “Bill” Riley asFourth District IEC member. Int. Rep.Counihan noted that this IEC appointment is agreat honor and said he looks forward to con-tinue working with Bro. Riley and Local 349 ashe has in the past.

We the officers and members of Local 349congratulate Bus. Mgr. Riley on this accom-plishment. This honor came with a lot of hardwork and dedication and is well-deserved.

Remember to work safe, work smart. Amind is like a parachute; it only functions whenopen. Attend local union meetings; keep yourlocal union strong.

Frank Albury, P.S./Exec. Bd.

IBEW Life Saving AwardL.U. 351 (c,cs,i,it,lctt,mt,o,se,spa&t), FOLSOM,NJ—Local 351 member Paul Morgano receivedthe IBEW Life Saving Award at our generalunion meeting in February.

While working at the new addition to theWilliamstown High School last December, Bro.Scott Poley became entangled in an existing hot277 circuit and the ceiling grid. Realizing hewas in a bad position, he made the ladder swayand fall. When Scott fell to the ground his handwas still clenching the MC cable, which trav-eled 10 feet down with him. Bro. Paul Morganowas working close by, heard the commotion andran to Scott’s aid. He put one foot on Scott’schest and yanked the MC cable from hisclenched hand. Thanks to Paul’s quick think-ing, Scott’s life was saved.

Daniel Cosner, P.S.

Groundbreaking for New HallL.U. 357 (c,i,mt&se), LAS VEGAS, NV—Local 357has outgrown our current union hall. On Jan. 26,we were proud to break ground on our new hall.With the commencement of a groundbreaking cer-emony, the officers and staff were pleased to bejoined by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman as wellas other city and county officials.

Also present at the ceremony were twopast business managers—retired Int. Sec.Ralph Legion and retired Int. Rep. Cecil Wynn.After the dedication ceremony and the first dirtwas moved, refreshments were served.

Local 357 is saddened to announce the sud-den loss of a staff member, Bro. William Poma.

Tim Bolton, P.S.

Graduation-Retiree DinnerL.U. 363 (catv,em,govt,i,t,u&ws), NEW CITY,NY—Apprenticeship program graduates as wellas recently retired brothers and sisters werehonored at our annual dinner dance.

The evening’s program was introduced byPres. Timothy Riley and a warm welcome wasgiven by Bus. Mgr. John Maraia. Distinguishedguests included New York State Sen. ThomasMorahan and Commissioner Patricia Smith, NewYork State Department of Labor, who acknowl-edged in her speech that our local union’s appren-ticeship program is one of the best in the state.

Diplomas were presented to the graduatesby Training Dir. Craig Jacobs, Bus. Mgr. Maraiaand Governor of the Hudson Valley Chapter ofNECA Jeffrey Seidel.

Presentation of watches to retired mem-bers immediately followed. Dining and dancingfollowed the program and everyone had anenjoyable time. Local 363 thanks our appren-ticeship instructors, who give their time andtalents to the apprenticeship program.

Timothy Poulin, P.S.

Brotherhood Alive and WellL.U. 429 (em,i,lctt,o,ptc,rtb&u), NASHVILLE,TN—Our recent service pin ceremony andretirees breakfast was a great success.

Everyone is proud of our TV, radio andbillboard advertisements that promote theIBEW and help make the public, customers andnonunion electricians aware of who we are andthat we have been the best-kept secret.

Congratulations to our NEJATC appren-ticeship graduates. The new journeyman wire-men are: (spring class)—Kevin Adams, JodeyBeard, Marcus Frey, Michael Guest, Brian Gunn,Clayton Hamilton, Ronald Huey, Brian Koon,John Kuffel, Mathew Sansom and ChristopherSolomon; (fall class)—Matthew Edmonds,Brook Erb, John Norman, Lobo Richards, James

Scott, Christopher Wallace and Michael Wood.Thanks to all the locals that have provided

work for our members and to all who have helpedLocal 429 members during this bad economy.

Thanks also to Local 429 members andothers who worked on disabled veteran KevinDown’s “Home for a Hero,” designed for accessi-bility. [Please watch for an “IBEW on Duty”article and photo in an upcoming issue of TheElectrical Worker.]

Gerald A. Grant, P.S.

‘History-Making Effort’L.U. 449 (catv,em,i,o,rtb,rts,spa&u), POCATELLO,ID—The Employee Free Choice Act could be themost meaningful labor legislation we have seenin decades. We could actually see the intent ofthe National Labor Relations Act met as manymore workers who seek representation and acontract end up with both. That would be a starkcontrast to what we’ve seen for far too long, asmany who tried to get a meaningful voice in theiremployment traded their dreams for the reality ofmistreatment and loss of their employment. Oneintent of the proposed legislation is to foster andencourage collective bargaining as a stabilizinginfluence in the labor-management relationship.You can have a part in this history making effortby reading our IBEW publications and checkingout www.ibew.org, to become more informed onlabor’s perspectives. The next step would be toactually contact your representatives and givethem some input so they don’t hear from onlythose who would continue to deny workers theright to collective bargaining and a meaningfulvoice in their futures.

We congratulate Bros. William T. Irvingand Gary Cover upon their retirements.

We offer condolences to the families ofDallas Christopherson, Vern Lambert andRonald Scott upon their passing.

Don Watters, Pres.

‘Penguin Plunge’ FundraiserL.U. 457 (u), MERIDEN, CT—Several Local457 members took part in a “Penguin Plunge,”which raises money locally for the ConnecticutSpecial Olympics.Team 457 raised over $2,500,

Local 351 member Paul Morgano (left) displaysIBEW Life Saving Award as he shakes hands withLocal 351 member Scott Poley.

Shown at the Local 357 groundbreaking ceremonyfor a new union hall are local staff members, fromleft: Vice Pres. Edward “Eddie” Gering, Rec. Sec.Linda Bieniek, Executive Board member FrankUpright, Pres. Charles “Tom” Stetson, Treas. TerryHeins, Bus. Mgr./Fin. Sec. David R Jones, andExecutive Board members David Riggio, KenyonCrouch, Albert “Al” Harris, Susan “Sue” Huening andJack Flieg.

Local 457 members participate inthe “Penguin Plunge” fundraiser forthe Connecticut Special Olympics.From left are: Honorary MemberRyan McClean, Asst. Bus. Mgr. JohnFernandes, Wallingford Division’sCantrece Adams and Eric Lefebvre,Paul Gagnon from Yankee Gas, andLarry Polaske from CL&P.

Our officers and E-Board members lookforward to a successful working relationshipwith all companies Local 503 and its units areassociated with. The officers also wish to wel-come our new members and ask that they makeevery effort to attend the next monthly meetingto be sworn in, hear updates on the latest com-munications, share concerns or questions, andsupport the new administration as they moveforward in their newly elected duties.

Please check out our new Web sitewww.ibew503.org.

Mary M. Casey, P.S.

Stimulus Plan Brings HopeL.U. 531 (i), LAPORTE, IN—As I write this arti-cle, spring is fast approaching. It was a very long,cold and snow-filled winter season here. Our ter-rible winter did not help our job situation, whichat this writing is gloomy, same as our weather.

With the Blue Chip Casino and severalother jobs being completed, work has been rela-tively slow. There seem to be a lot of jobs beingplanned for this upcoming year, so things shouldget better soon.

Local unions of all trades have been pick-eting the new Olive Garden restaurant going upin Michigan City. With so much unemployment,it’s a shame the company chose to go nonunion.Let us all keep this in mind when this project iscompleted.

One bright spot is our new president’sstimulus plan. Hopefully, this will get construc-tion jobs started around the country. It seemsmost people support the plan. After all, youhave to start somewhere. The only criticisms Iseem to hear are from the “Bushees,” who gotus in this mess in the first place. Like we’resupposed to solve in one month, what it tookBush eight years to get us into. On that note,think about warm weather. By the time youread this article it should be hot.

Jim Switzer, P.S.

Officer Training SessionL.U. 533 (rr), CHICAGO, IL—Officer trainingwas held Jan. 21 at the Hampton Inn in Chicago.The training was conducted by Sixth District Int.Reps. Richard J. Gessler and Mary Harrigan, andRailroad System Council #16 Gen. Chmn. Dale E.Doyle. Local 533 officers attending the trainingseminar were Treas. Larry Roberts, Fin. Sec.Michael G. Cronin, Pres. Armando Lopez, Rec.Sec. Eric Graf, Local Chmn. Paul Mayer andAsst. Union Stuart Albert Chavez. Officers from

Locals 794 and 757 also attended the session.Local union officers’ duties and responsibili-

ties, as well as budgeting ideas, were discussed.Additionally, a guest speaker, an attorney withRailroad experience, gave a presentation on work-ers’ rights and highlighted topics on designating alegal counsel. Our officers found the training help-ful and will use the topics discussed as a buildingblock to strengthen our union. We thank the facili-tators for their time, insight and encouragement.

Local 533 wishes to recognize registerednurse Sandy Oestmann, daughter of longtimeLocal 533 member Gary “Moose” Oestmann, forher week-long volunteer work in Guatemala forthe Outreach For World Hope organization.

James Kucharz, V.P.

Employee Free Choice ActL.U. 551 (c,i&st), SANTA ROSA, CA—We areflooding Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office withletters to support the Employee Free Choice Act.

Here is a fantastic letter from third-yearapprentice Brian Klinger:“Dear Senator Feinstein:

I used to work for a non-union electricalcontractor. The Journeyman who trained mewas paid $24 an hour after four years withthis company. This guy was trusted to work onenergized equipment and risked his life for hisemployer, but he was never adequately com-pensated. Instead the owner complained aboutinjuries by saying, ‘Do you realize how manyvacation houses I could have if I didn’t have topay for insurance on you?’

This is the reason every worker shouldhave the right to unionize. When work is diffi-cult and dangerous, a skilled worker shouldhave the power to demand a living wage. $24per hour is not enough to buy a house in yourdistrict. A commercial Journeyman is beingexploited at this wage. We need unions to pro-tect the vast majority of Americans from thegreed of the ultra rich. Trusting the rich to pro-tect the interests of all Americans has gotten uson the brink of disaster.

We need unions, and we need theEmployee Free Choice Act.”

Denise D. Soza, P.S.

‘Keep Our Voice Alive’L.U. 557 (i,mt,rts&spa), SAGINAW, MI—What awinter! Lots of snow, cold and wind gave peoplereason to stimulate the economy and travel tosomewhere warm, if they could afford it.

In Saginaw, a foundry closed and a semi-conductor plant began to expand. Our electedofficials have tried to keep the expansion here,which means Local 557 hands and many fromout of the area have found work. The rural set-ting is being transformed; not many years ago alocal grain elevator was the skyline. Now numer-ous towers dwarf the Hemlock elevator milesapart, and still more work is to be done.

Working families who live in a Republicandistrict need someone to appeal their cause.Having people like Thea Lee, policy directorand chief international economist at the AFL-CIO, appear in the media and support ourcause keeps our voice alive.

No congressional Republicans supportedthe stimulus package, but they have expressedan opinion. The Republicans’ “trickle-down the-ory” has helped keep middle-class incomes stag-nant. Corporate greed is still shipping jobs and

money overseas. What a mess workers wouldhave if their Social Security had been in individ-ual accounts in stocks. I wish we had moreDemocrats making decisions for our country!

John E. Clemens, P.S.

EWMC New Orleans ConferenceL.U. 569 (i,mar,mt,rts&spa), SAN DIEGO, CA—The Electrical Workers Minority Caucus recentlyheld its 19th Annual Leadership Conference inNew Orleans, LA. Local 569 was represented byits EWMC chapter president, Mr. Kevin Gorman,and its EWMC treasurer, Mr. Steven Steppe. Agoal of the EWMC is to encourage minority work-ers to be greater activists in community affairs.The conference began Jan. 15 with a communityservice event. EWMC volunteers repairedchurches, schools and parks, and completely re-wired some damaged houses in the New Orleansarea. Local 569 EWMC members helped re-wire ahouse in St. Bernard Parish.

A host of great speakers, including MayorRay Nagin, attended the conference. Themayor thanked the EWMC for their repair workin areas still left devastated three years afterHurricane Katrina. The conference welcomedkeynote speaker IBEW Int. Pres. Edwin D. Hill,whose words of support for the EWMC are asource of inspiration. Local 130 Bus. Mgr.Robert “Tiger” Hammond expressed a heartfeltthan-you for the efforts of the EWMC. I ask theIBEW community at large to keep New Orleansin its thoughts and prayers.

Nicholas J. Segura Jr., P.S.

Hope for Brighter Days AheadL.U. 595 (c,govt,i&st), DUBLIN, CA—These aredifficult times for our members, as we havenearly 20 percent unemployment. We hope forbrighter days ahead as a result of Pres. Obama’s

stimulus package and the end of the rainy sea-son. Obama administration policies will helplabor make great strides in years ahead. OurIBEW leadership is also taking steps to advancethe union as the economy turns around.

We are happy to finally have a statebudget, although parts of it are damaging toworking families. Sacrifices will be made todeal with the huge loss of revenue to state,county and local government budgets. Difficulttimes still ahead will give us more incentive toelect a Democratic governor next year.

Local 595 sent 12 members to NewOrleans to participate in the January ElectricalWorkers Minority Caucus LeadershipConference. EWMC volunteers did communityservice work in the hurricane ravaged city.

Eighty Local 595 members attended an AirQuality Management Board meeting to supportfinal approval to build a 600-megawatt powerplant in the city of Hayward. This would providework for 650 construction workers for two years.

Our San Joaquin/Calaveras jurisdiction ispreparing for contract negotiations; our agreementexpires June 1. Our new health reimbursementaccount is up and running and we look forward toimplementation of our Drug Free Workforce pro-gram this summer in Alameda County.

We mourn the loss of longtime industryleader Terry Givens Sr. As a contractor and a part-ner of the IBEW, Terry diligently promoted theelectrical industry. Our condolences to his family.

Tom Mullarkey, B.R.

Code of Excellence AdoptedL.U. 613 (em,i,o,rts&spa), ATLANTA, GA—Wehave high hopes of good employment this year.

Starting Jan. 1, 2009, our local adopted theCode of Excellence, a standard under whichmembers do their jobs in a conscientious manner.Simple, right? It should be, but some have a hardtime understanding what it means to be an IBEWjourneyman wireman. Being a journeyman wire-man is an honor that brings respect to the trade,a sense of knowledge and tradition unequaled inany other craft. Our training is vast and deep,continuing on until we retire. We go to work everyday with a sense of pride and satisfaction knowingwe give the contractor the very best edge for bid-ding and being awarded contracts. Our safety pro-gram is excellent, as is evident by the fewaccidents that happen.

The Code of Excellence Committee is madeup of eight people. Four are from labor and fourfrom management. From management are: JohnRoland, Ken Attaway, Alton Abercrombie andDavid Sokolow. From labor are: Gene O’Kelley,Wayne Sanders, Clayton Bess and Len Walters.

Steve Warren, A.B.M./P.S.

12 T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009

Local 503 Bus. Mgr./Pres. Brian W. Scott (secondfrom right) is sworn in by retired business man-ager/president Robert V. Citrolo (second from left).Also shown are Vice Pres. Scott Jensen (right) andBus. Agent Brian McPartland (left).

Saginaw Valley State University adds a housing cen-ter, creating jobs for Van Herweg Electric and IBEWLocal 557 members. At the job site are, from left,front row: Brennan Neumeyer, Bob Dupuis and BernieAtwater; back row, Mike Mossner, Joshua Latty, TerryWashington, Randy Halas and Chad Van Herweg.

EWMC members, IBEW representatives and othervolunteers from across the United States join Local130 Bus. Mgr. Robert “Tiger” Hammond (back row,second from left) at re-wired home in St. BernardParish, New Orleans.

Team leader Bridget Hall (front, center), a Local595 Executive Board member, joins an energeticgroup of fellow volunteers participating in theEWMC volunteer effort in New Orleans.

w w w. i b e w. o r g T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009 13

‘Cream of the Crop’ AwardL.U. 617 (c,i,mo&st), SAN MATEO, CA—The localwas honored at the Feb. 24 AFL-CIO CommunityServices and San Mateo County Central LaborCouncil luncheon recognizing exceptional serviceand financial assistance to the 2008 Union Foodand Toy Drive. Local 617 received the Cream ofthe Crop Award for the outstanding results offundraising efforts initiated by Pres. Mark Leachand the Executive Board.

On Feb. 26 more than 75 Local 617 mem-bers and representatives of seven local contrac-tors joined another 125 union trades people atthe San Mateo Union High School District Boardmeeting. They overwhelmed ABC representationwith accurate information and presence. Localpoliticians and building trades speakers advo-cated for support of project labor agreements inschool district projects. By the end of a longevening, union labor had secured a majorityvote of the board to utilize district PLAs.

Bus. Mgr. Dominic Nolan and the ElectricalTransit Negotiating Committee put in long hourssecuring a new contract for the workers at SFOAirTrain.

In these difficult economic times, membervolunteerism remains strong. New committeesrise to address the important issues facing ourlocal: healthcare, organizing, education andsolar. On the job, at the hall, and in the commu-nity, 617 members meet the challenges facingus with inspired vitality and shared solutions toget the job done.

Dan Pasini, V.P.

Eager for Work to BreakL.U. 683 (em&i), COLUMBUS, OH—Waiting forwork to break is like waiting for winter to end. Weneed time for Pres. Obama’s stimulus package toget going and get everyone back to work. It tookawhile to get this country in this shape and it willtake quite some time to get us out. Hopefully thiswill wake some people up to see what can happenwhen anti-labor politicians and others get freereign over this country. They keep telling us theyare there for us, to do what is best for us, but itturns out they did what was best for them. Weneed to give Pres. Obama’s plan a chance and seehow it works out. It was nice to see our labor lead-ers welcomed back to the White House.

At this time work is slow in our jurisdictionand as always we appreciate the opportunitiesthat other locals have given to help our mem-bers. Hopefully work will pick up this spring.

We express our condolences to the fami-lies of recently deceased members GeraldCooley and George Shaw.

Rick Deime, V.P./P.S.

Annual Picnic June 27L.U. 723 (em,govt,rtb,rts&t), FORT WAYNE, IN—Local 723’s annual picnic will be held June 27, 11a.m., at the Franke Park Fort Wayne Children’sZoo. The picnic is open to active and retiredIBEW members and their immediate family only.This was a big hit last year and we hope to seeeven more of you this year. The deadline torespond is June 12.

We thank retiree Bob Zahn for the bestwishes he sent to us and his continued interestin our local. Thanks also to Molly Getts, our2008 Essay Scholarship winner, for coming in toread her winning essay to our Executive Board

PG&E NegotiationsL.U. 1245 (catv,em,govt,lctt,o,pet,t&u), VACAVILLE,CA—Retiree medical benefits, on the bargain-ing table this spring with Pacific Gas & Electric,are prompting the company and union to seekcreative solutions to the problem of skyrocket-ing costs.

Company contributions to retiree medicalwere capped in 2000, leaving retirees to pay anever-larger share of premiums. Retirees, onaverage, now pay 25 percent of their pensioncheck for medical insurance. Active employees,by contrast, pay about 1 percent of their wagesto medical premiums.

The company and union, with assistancefrom a compensation consulting firm, are coop-eratively exploring a multi-prong solution to theproblem that could include: a health savingsaccount as part of a high deductible plan;improvements to the company’s RetirementSavings Plan; reallocating costs from retirees toactive employees; converting sick leave benefitsto a Retirement Medical Savings Account;redesign plan for current retirees by adjustingthe current cap or having retirees pay a fixedpercentage of the premium; and complete re-design of retiree medical for future retirees,including creation of Retirement MedicalSavings Account.

The union planned steward meetingsthroughout PG&E service territory in Marchand early April to provide background informa-tion on the issues.

Eric Wolfe, P.S.

Employee Free Choice ActL.U. 1253 (i), AUGUSTA, ME—This local unionhas joined in the fight for passage of theEmployee Free Choice Act. In December 2008,IBEW Locals 1837, 567, 1768 and 1253 met withU.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe’s local office in an ini-tial step to provide testimony and seek support.

As an active participant in the Helmets to

and at our Unit 1 meeting. We also thank ourmembers for their increased interest and par-ticipation in the unit meetings.

For more information on the items above,on when our unit meetings are held, and onother upcoming events, including our annualgolf outing, visit our Web site www.ibew723.orgor call the local at (888) 844-0373.

Michelle Barbour, P.S.

Junior Seaton MournedL.U. 759 (u), FT. LAUDERDALE, FL—On Feb.15, Local 759 member Junior A. Seaton, 37,died in the line of duty while working on aplanned outage.

Bro. Seaton’s positive attitude and his con-tagious smile will be missed. Junior was fromJamaica and hired on as a lineman in 2007.Hundreds turned out to pay their respects athis viewing here. He was to be buried inJamaica. Junior left behind his wife, Simone,and two young daughters, ages 9 and 6. Thiswas Local 759’s first fatality since 1977.

In 2008 we held local elections. Electedwere: Bus. Mgr./Pres. Tim Haynick, Vice Pres.Steve Donovan, Rec. Sec. Walt Crosson, Fin.Sec. Keith Murphy and Treas. Tim Brucker.

The 2008 hurricane season was kind to us.We hope 2009 will be just as kind. Also as ofthis writing, we are in the middle of contractnegations and are hopeful that by our next arti-cle we will be able to report the results.

Glen Plock, P.S.

New Signatory ContractorL.U. 915 (i&mt), TAMPA, FL—Local 915 wouldlike to recognize our new signatory contractorHoops Electric from Venice, FL.

The staff of Local 915 went to the contrac-tor’s shop to explain the benefits of joining theIBEW and what the union would mean to theircareers. We welcomed five of these new mem-bers who attended our January union meetingto be sworn into the IBEW before the member-ship. Congratulations to Shawn Dwyer, MikeMessaros, William Rosa, Brian Kloo and KevinJackson. We welcome you all from HoopsElectric to our membership.

We had our annual work party in Februarywith a great attendance from our members.Approximately 40 members showed up to dosome routine maintenance around our grounds,and add a new sink and table to our cook shed.We were done with our tasks early and had agreat time of fellowship and food afterward.

Thank you to all who attended and for the greatwork that was done. We continue to have a sur-prising attendance from our apprentices.Apprentices are the future of our Brotherhoodand we are proud to have them.

Theresa King, P.S.

Support Employee Free ChoiceL.U. 953 (catv,em,lctt,o,spa,t&u), EAU CLAIRE,WI—Local 953 had another successful fishingderby in February. We had a good turnout and agood time.

We are actively encouraging our membersto call our legislators to request that they vote“Yes” on the Employee Free Choice Act. Ourmessage to legislators: “America’s workers arethe most productive in the world, but we aretaking the brunt of the pain in today’s economy.Please restore our freedom to bargain forsecure jobs, health care and retirement bene-fits, and fair pay by co-sponsoring and voting forthe Employee Free Choice Act.”

Fellow members, please encourage yourfriends and neighbors to organize.

Arlin Ziemann, B.M./F.S.

2008 ‘A Banner Year’L.U. 1049 (lctt,o,u&uow), LONG ISLAND, NY—It was another banner year for Local 1049.Under the leadership of Bus. Mgr. RobertShand, we negotiated new collective bargainingagreements for our members in our Gas andElectric Craft Divisions. We ended 2008 negoti-ating on behalf of our members employed byWRS Environmental Services Inc. In each ofthese contracts, we successfully negotiatedincreases in the wage, benefit and trainingpackages. Each agreement was overwhelminglyratified by the membership.

With the merger of IBEW Local 1049 andformer Local 1381 complete, we are now in aneven better position to represent our members.With a larger and more active membership, wehave been better able to support the entire LongIsland community. We have been able to do thisthrough our Community Affairs, GovernmentalAffairs and Organizing Committees, whichactively support labor’s missions.

During the past year we also began severalinitiatives, the largest of which is our SafetyAdvocate Program. It is so successful that sev-eral local unions have established their ownsafety advocate programs using ours as a model.We have also endeavored to completely updateand modernize our union hall, including themeans by which we communicate with mem-bers. Additionally, we have enhanced our rela-tionships with the local unions that also workfor our largest employer, National Grid.

Thomas J. Dowling, R.S.

Local 915 members help out at the local’s annual work party.

Local 1245 Bus. Mgr. Tom Dalzell (second fromleft) meets with shop stewards John Rasmussen(left), Rick Helzer (second from right) and LouiePence (right) following a stewards meeting inStockton to discuss upcoming negotiations withPacific Gas & Electric over medical benefits.

Local 759 mourns the February 2009 death oflineman Junior Seaton, shown at lower left.

14 T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009

Hardhats program, we were pleased to join inwelcoming Richie Eckler as the guest speakerat the Maine Building and Construction TradesMarch 12th meeting held at the State House inAugusta. Eckler, who is northeast field repre-sentative for Helmets to Hardhats, was joinedat the meeting by Robert Schwartz, HTHWounded Warrior Program coordinator.

A number of years-of-service pins werepresented at the February union meeting.Awarded their 35-year pins were: SteveCunningham, Roger Lockhard and Pete Mayo.Presented 30-year pins were: Brian Bradstreet,Dick Lerette, Al MacMaster and Greg True.Congratulations to each of you and thanks foryour many dedicated years of service!

We’re saddened to announce the passing ofretired members Owen Grasse, Kenneth Rancourtand Vernon Smith. Each played a vital role in thislocal union and will be greatly missed.

We welcome Pres. Obama and his adminis-tration and prepare for the brighter future webelieve lies ahead.

William Gifford, P.S.

Kudos to Recent RetireesL.U. 1307 (u), SALISBURY, MD—Congratulationsto five retiring members: Christine Bramble, GaryCalloway, Chris Carter, Charles Conley andKennard Cook.

Sister Bramble started with ChoptankElectric Co-op in 1971, as a stenographer clerkin the Sudlersville District. The job title laterchanged to Regional Customer ServiceRepresentative and the Sudlersville operationmoved to Chestertown, where Christine com-pleted her career in November 2008.

Bro. Calloway was hired by ChoptankElectric as a storeroom attendant’s helper in theDenton District in 1983. Gary became an appren-tice tree trimmer in 1984 and advanced to treetrimmer in 1985. He retired in November 2008.

Bro. Carter began with Choptank Electricin 1980, as a draftsman. Chris worked as anengineering fieldman from 1985 until hisNovember 2008 retirement.

Bro. Conley started with ChoptankElectric in 1984, as an apprentice lineman. Heprogressed to journeyman lineman in 1986 andto chief lineman in 1995. In recent yearsCharlie worked as a meter tester 1st class andas Work Order and Material coordinator. Heretired in November 2008.

Bro. Cook began at Choptank Electric in1987 as a communications clerk. He entered theapprentice lineman program in 1988 and becamea chief lineman in 2000. Kenny retired inNovember 2008.

Best wishes to all for a happy retirement.

Edward D. Sparks Jr., F.S.

Telecom Code of ExcellenceL.U. 1357 (t), HONOLULU, HI—Local 1357members greeted 2009 with mixed emotions.We are encouraged by Pres. Obama’s team,which appears to be the right fix for our nationand labor. However, Bus. Mgr. Scot Long and histeam have had their hands full with HawaiianTelcom, which filed for bankruptcy reorganiza-tion under Chapter 11 in late 2008. The local iscommitted to working in partnership with theemployer to bring in customers, find ways togrow the business, and continue to protect thecollective bargaining agreement. And while weexperience some tough times and work towardresolving situations affecting our members, wecontinue to drive home the message of workingsafely and diligently, and continuing to be thebest we can be, in keeping with the IBEW’sCode of Excellence.

Bus. Mgr. Long and Pres. Ted Furukadoattended the Telecommunications LeadershipForum in Naples, FL, in January where theemphasis was on the Code of Excellence.Following their return, Pres. Furukado put hisnewly learned skills to work by providing newmember orientation and leadership training tocurrent and prospective members of our Saipanunit, and by conducting organizing clinics withnew employees of telecommunications providerIT&E, which yielded 21 applicants for member-ship. Job well done!

Karenann Wedge, P.S.

Major Storm RestorationL.U. 1393 (catv,lctt,o,t&u), INDIANAPOLIS,IN—At this February writing, Local 1393’sjurisdiction was recovering from a devastatingwinter storm that affected utility customersthroughout our statewide jurisdiction. Thanksto all our construction and utility members whoworked long hours in adverse conditions tomaintain and restore service.

Outside line construction work in Indianais slow at press time, with 23 journeyman line-men on Book 1, 14 journeyman linemen onBook 2, four linemen and six wiremen on Book3, 16 operators on Book 1, four operators onBook 2 and one operator on Book 4.

Most recent contract settlements includeFulton County REMC, Whitewater Valley REMCand Vectren. Thanks to Vectren bargaining com-mittee members Tim Overman, Mike Griggs, JeffRogers, Dan Gabbard and Bus. Agent Robert Foxfor a job well-done during difficult negotiations.

Stewards training for members employedby Hoosier Energy was held April 17, with moretraining to follow soon for our stewards workingfor other employers.

Please work safe and attend your localunion meetings.

T. J. Bailey, B.M./F.S.

Welcome to New MembersL.U. 1523 (u), WICHITA, KS—We are beginningto see the fruits of our labor. We have turned outthree new cable splicer journeymen: Sam Salas,Kyle Hazelwood and Brad Happy. Also, two jour-neyman linemen topped out: Jerod Vathauer andShawn Honer. Congratulations to all.

We also added to our membership thenewly organized Mobil Data tech specialists ofWestar Energy in Topeka and Wichita. We arehappy to have them on board. Along with all

this good news, we added the newly organizedAsplundh Tree Experts serving Butler RuralElectric Cooperative. Congratulations and wel-come to all our new Local 1523 members. As wecontinue to grow our numbers, let’s keep look-ing ahead to the future.

Bus. Mgr. Merv Wiltshire met with theretirees of KG&E (former name of Westar) andWestar for breakfast in March, enjoying conversa-tion and reminiscing. Eldon Sterack received his60-year IBEW membership award and pin at thebreakfast. Congratulations to Eldon and all ourmembers who kept the lights on over the decades.

Our new Web page is up and running, in alimited fashion, while it is still under construc-tion. Contact the union hall to let us know whatyou would like to see on your page.

Candy C. Cruz-Dodd, P.S.

New Graduating ClassL.U. 1547 (c,em,i,o,t&u), ANCHORAGE, AK—The Tom Cashen Alaska Joint ElectricalApprenticeship Training Trust proudlyannounces the graduation of a new class of wire-men and linemen. The wiremen are: Noel Brown,Jeff Bryant, Guy Carroll, Brian Faulkner, BillyLuce, Sterling Lundgren, Patrick Robichaud,Devin Rolland and John Schneider of Anchorage;James Davis, Brian Fairchild, Joseph Hosey andJake Stedman of Juneau. The linemen are: BradBaldridge, Billy Cannon, Leigh Conducy, EricGavalya, Jeremiah Holbrook, NathanMaki, Travis Schultz and Toby Tremble ofAnchorage; Justin Chaput of Juneau; ArthurHedberg of Homer; Dirk Williams of Kodiak;and Brandon Klobucar of Soldtona.

Local 1547 served as the host location foran Employee Free Choice Act letter-writingcampaign. Members from more than a dozenlocal unions stopped by the hall in Anchorageto write a letter to their members of Congress.

Melinda Taylor, P.S.

Work Situation to ImproveL.U. 1579 (i&o), AUGUSTA, GA—The bad eco-nomic conditions in our area are finally startingto improve.

Our work situation at the Savannah RiverSite will improve thanks to the efforts of Bus.Mgr. Ken Ward and his leadership as presidentof the Augusta Building and ConstructionTrades. He made sure we all worked long daysto gather information to submit to the Obamatransition team when they were preparing forthe stimulus package.

Savannah River Site received almost $2 bil-lion, which will put much of our membership towork for some time to come. We can all be proudthat we have a business manager who puts thismuch effort into getting work for our local.

Remember, our union meeting is held thethird Monday of each month; supper starts at6:30 p.m. and the meeting starts at 8 p.m.

Will Salters, A.B.M.

Winter Ice StormL.U. 1701 (catv,ees,i,o&u), OWENSBORO, KY—The state of Kentucky was declared a state ofemergency after a January ice storm took outpower throughout the state for several weeks.The governor’s office contacted Local 1701 toprovide contractors and manpower for FEMAto help restore power to residential areas. OurBig Rivers Transmission group branch took ahard hit also and had to rebuild some of theirtransmission towers and power lines. We thankall Big Rivers members, inside members andout-of-town IBEW contractors who worked longhours throughout the ordeal.

Bus. Mgr. Gary Osborne appointed Bro.Larry Boswell as our new membership develop-ment coordinator due to the passing of Bro.Mike Roby. The Executive Board appointed Bro.Bryon Hunt to the Executive Board due to theretirement of Bro. Steve Thomson. The boardalso appointed Bro. Joe Fulkerson to a vacantposition on the Examining Board.

Bro. Kenny Rafferty signed a letter ofassent and will be operating as SpectrumElectric. We look forward to working with Kenny.

Phil Palmer, Don Turley, Jason Scott andTodd Armes passed the journeyman wiremanexam. Welcome, brothers.

The LMCC held a meeting in February.Daviess County Judge Executive Reid Haire wasinvited for discussions on the $160 millionOwensboro Downtown Development projectscheduled to start in 2010. We have commit-ments from public officials that all work will bedone by local citizens.

We mourn the passing of Bro. Joe Coffinand retired Bros. Tom Payne and Glenn Self.

Tim Blandford, P.S.

Economic DownturnL.U. 1739 (i&o), BARRIE, ONTARIO,CANADA—The work picture remains slow inour area with the recent economic downturn.Many of our members are currently on the road.The auto industry has taken a major hit duringthis recession and this has affected a widerange of industries in our area.

On a positive note, at the time of this writ-ing, our local union hockey team was eagerlyawaiting the annual IBEW hockey tournamentscheduled for April 3-4, 2009, hosted by Local 3,New York, NY.

We thank the following local unions forproviding work opportunities for our membersover the last several months: Local 1687,Sudbury; Local 894, Oshawa; Local 804,Kitchener; Local 120, London, ON; Local 586,Ottawa; and Local 424, Alberta. It is trulyappreciated by the rank and file.

Frank Kastle, P.S.

Enjoying Local 1523 union camaraderie are, fromleft, front row, new cable splicer journeymen BradHappy, Kyle Hazelwood and Sam Salas; and sec-ond-year apprentice Ryan Bain. Back row, journey-man cable splicer Tom Homewood and foremencable splicers Terry Fleming and Cory Saylor.

The Beaver Ridge Wind Project in the town ofFreedom, ME, was installed by members of IBEWAugusta Local 1253 for signatory contractorSullivan and Merritt.

w w w. i b e w. o r g T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009 15

Retirees

New Meeting PlaceRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 3, NEW YORK, NY,NORTH FLORIDA CHAPTER—Our chapterheld its annual Christmas/Hanukah party atBenvenuto’s in Boynton Beach, FL, on Jan 9.The food, one-man band and dancing wereexcellent and fun! All the brothers and sistershad a great time, thanks to Norma Modena, whomade the arrangements.

A barbeque was held at South CountyCivic Center March 13. It was attended bynearly 100 retirees and their spouses and wasanother great outing.

Our meetings include lively discussionsranging from the security of our pensions due tothe current state of investments in this economy,to political debates regarding “Buy American”language in the economic stimulus bill.

The chapter will meet in our new meetingplace on the second Friday of each month at 10a.m. in the Delray Beach South County CivicCenter. Many of our members are “Snow Birds”and we welcome all Local 3 retirees to ouraffairs and meetings. No meetings are held dur-ing the summer.

Dick Dickman, P.S.

10-Day Caribbean CruiseRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 3, NEW YORK, NY,WEST FLORIDA CHAPTER—On Jan. 23, sevenof our club members and their wives sailed on a10-day southern Caribbean cruise aboard theHolland America ship “Noordam.” In addition tohaving a great time we met many interesting

people sailing with us, including a young jour-neyman from the IBEW Honolulu Local 1186.This was our fourth cruise in as many years andwe look forward to our next outing.

Ben Costa, P.S.

Newly Chartered ChapterRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 3, NEW YORK, NY,SOUTHWEST FLORIDA GULF COAST CHAP-TER—It’s official. On March 9, 2009, IBEW Int.Pres. Edwin D. Hill signed the charter for theLocal 3, New York, NY, Southwest Florida GulfCoast Retirees Chapter.

It took the work of many Local 3 members toorganize the chapter. Special thanks go to chaptermembers Edward Cleary, past president of Local 3,for his insight and wisdom; Pension Dir. ThomasGallagher, for his belief in us that we could do it;and Local 3 Bus. Mgr. Christopher Erikson, whohas supported us all the way from day one.

Chapter meetings have been well-attendedin an atmosphere of camaraderie and brother-hood. (See photo below.) At the March meeting,at least 20 or more of the large constructionprojects were built over again and again.

The chapter meets on the second Mondayof each month, at 11 a.m., at The Golden CorralRestaurant at 4690 Colonial Blvd., Ft. Myers,FL. All Local 3 members are invited to attend.For further information, call Chapter Chmn.George Dondero at (239) 593-6297 or e-mailGdondero@aol.com.

George Dondero, Chmn/P.S.

Bro. Leo Raffio HonoredRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 3, NEW YORK, NY,CENTRAL FLORIDA CHAPTER—At ourFebruary regular meeting we honored Bro. LeoRaffio, 97-year-old “honor” member.

Officers and members in attendanceextended hearty congratulations and bestwishes to Bro. Raffio.

Gary Klein, R.S.

Spring ActivitiesRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 3, NEW YORK, NY,WESTCHESTER/PUTNAM CHAPTER—We hada long, snowy winter. Hope everyone stayed safeand warm.

Our annual Christmas/Hanukkah holidayparty was very successful. Over 100 brothersand guests enjoyed wonderful food, dancing togreat music, and socializing at the beautifulTraveler’s Rest Restaurant in Ossining, NY.

Sadly, in January our beloved brother andformer treasurer, Angelo Martin, passed awayafter a long illness. He will be greatly missed.

At this late winter writing, we were look-ing forward to spring activities: a luncheon inApril at Traveler’s Rest Restaurant, our annualgolf outing at Beekman Country Club, and theunion family picnic in June.

We welcome all new retirees to our meet-ings, held the second Tuesday of each month atLocal 3 headquarters on Bloomingdale Rd.,White Plains, NY. Get the latest union informa-tion on benefits and other news. Enjoy coffeeand cake, catch up with old friends and makenew ones.

Vincent Panzarino, P.S.

Club Travel PlansRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 26, WASHINGTON, DC—This year our travel plans continue to take us tonew places! We revisited Charlestown races andslots, and the Amish market and Kentmoor. Wewill take our third cruise, this time to theCaribbean, in August, conveniently leaving fromBaltimore Harbor. The ship departs Aug. 27. Ifyou still want to join the cruise, please contactRick Warner at (240) 472-0438 ASAP!

We continue to support OperationPaperback and as of this writing planned tosend our sixth shipment after April 15!

We elected our new officers for two-yearterms: Pres. Dick Bissell; Vice Pres. Rick Warner;Treas. Terry Campbell, Rec. Sec. Teresa Watsonand Sgt.-at-Arms Bill Leith. Appointed ExecutiveBoard members (per our new by-laws): Jerry Papaand Henry Becker. We thank our past recordingsecretary, Gene Long, for his dedication to the clubserving in that position for 24 years. We presentedhim with a parting gift, and we hope he will beable to continue to attend meetings.

We welcome new members and remindeveryone that eligibility for joining is that:either you or your spouse/significant other areretired from Local 26, or that you have reachedthe age of 50. Our travel is open to any memberof Local 26, their family and friends.

Susan Flashman, P.S.

‘Upbeat Club Meetings’RETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 38, CLEVELAND, OH—For our January retirees meeting, our club presi-dent and his team had a FBI Responder Team into show us how the FBI gathers evidence from acrime scene. The team demonstrated how to makefootprint casts, finger prints, tire impressions, anduse fibers for dogs to smell to track down a person.

In February, we took a bus trip toWheeling, WV, for shopping and sightseeing withour members and their spouses. And some of thegroup were fortunate enough to get Lucky 7’s.

In March, we had corned beef and cabbagecatered in to our monthly meeting. This is anannual event that everyone enjoys.

Our club president and his staff keep ourmeetings upbeat and our members and theirspouses love to attend. With the arrival ofspring, more events are being planned.

Our club is saddened by the passing ofdear members and spouses. May God be withthem and their families.

God bless our troops and God bless America.

Arthur Lesjak, P.S.

The Local 3, North Florida Chapter, Retirees Clubannual picnic on March 13 at South County CivicCenter was a great success.

Local 3, Westchester/Putnam Chapter, RetireesClub officers attend 2008 Christmas/Hanukkahparty, from left: Marty Hogen, John Wasilko, BillRobertson, Richard Mills, Dominic Pironti, JohnHansen and Vincent Panzarino.

Local 26 retired members receive service awards presented by Retirees Club Pres. Dick Bissell (thirdfrom right). Among award recipients are, from left: Kenneth Campbell, for 35-years of service; JulianWilliams, for 45 years; Robert “Snuffy” Holcomb, 40 years; Anthony Epperhart, 45 years; Deborah Leach,25 years; [Bissell]; Roy Brown, 45 years; and Alfred Leeyoung, 40 years.

Local 3, West Florida Chapter, Retirees Club mem-bers and their spouses enjoy a Caribbean cruise.

Local 3, Southwest Florida Gulf Coast Chapter, Retirees Club members pose for a group photo after ameeting and luncheon. Among the group are, standing, from right: Chapt. Chmn. George Dondero; DennisMcSpedon, former president, Local 3; and Chapt. Trustee Edward Cleary.

16 T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009

Wednesday in September. Jack and JackieMcLellan and Tom and Anne Randall organizethis event each year for us and every year it is ahuge success. Teams of foursomes are compiledso that all have an equal chance of winning,using the “best ball” system. Everyone goeshome with a prize. Bob Morrison donated a tro-phy for recognition of the best foursome of theday. The first plaque on the new trophy willread: “2008—Jackie McLellan, Bob Morrison,Tom Randall, Al Wetering.”

Activities are planned for non-golfers byTerry Hungle and the tournament is followed bydinner enjoyed by all.

We send our best wishes for continuedgood health to all retirees.

Nancy Stinson Philbin, P.S.

Charity Golf TournamentRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 558, SHEFFIELD,AL—On Dec. 11, 2008, we held our Christmasdinner and 85 people attended. As usual thefood was good and everyone enjoyed the fellow-ship! We also had three past presidents of thelocal union and the current president attend-ing. Current Local 558 Pres. Steve Crunk wasjoined by former presidents Glenn Young, TomWhitfield and Larry Farmer. There is a lot oflocal union history behind these four men.

Our efforts to raise funds for needy fami-lies went really well. Donations from the localunion membership, our local contractors, andthose who were in our charity golf tournamentcame to $4,600. With this we were able to help22 families. Bro. Fred Pendergrass and Bro.Tommy Alexander worked hard to make thetournament a success and it was! Tee time was8 a.m. and Bro. Doug Watkins and Bro. DannyJoe Rickard had to be there at 6:30 a.m. pre-pared to sign in the golfers. Thanks, brothers.

We are already planning a tournamentagain this year. Our local union membershipgave us a great boost in this year’s effort by

Fishing Trips PlannedRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 99, PROVIDENCE,RI—Since our last article, we enjoyed a well-planned Christmas luncheon where many of ourmembers received service pins. Our SunshineCommittee visited our brothers who are notable to attend our functions, hoping to spread alittle Christmas cheer.

Now that we are approaching spring andthe summer months, Bro. Robert Beardwood hasplanned three fishing trips for our enjoyment. Inthe past we have always had a great day on thewater and I’m sure this year will be no exception.

On the good news side we, like everyoneelse, were glad that Pres. Obama signed thestimulus bill into law; now our out-of-workbrothers and sisters can be employed.

Our monthly meetings are well-attended;we enjoy a nice lunch and the company of ourretired brothers. It is a pleasure to see new facesand hopefully our club will continue to grow.

We are saddened by the recent deaths ofretired Bros. John Walsh, William Butler andCharles Purdy. May they rest in peace.

We meet the third Tuesday of each monthat 12 noon. Come and spend a couple of hourswith your brothers and help us keep the spiritof brotherhood alive.

Raymond Germershausen, P.S.

Tribute to Guest of HonorRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 103, BOSTON, MA—The guest of honor at our March luncheon was90-year-old Earnest Wilkins, joined by his wife,Connie. Ernie is a 33-year retired member. He isalso a survivor of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

Bro. Wilkins was assigned to the USSArizona until weeks prior to the attack beforehe was transferred to the USS Crossbill, whichwas also in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Erniehas received many awards over the years for hisservice to our country. Tears come to his eyeswhen he recalls the many shipmates he lostthat day. Ernie and Connie are celebrating their71st wedding anniversary.

The Golf Club recently returned from ourfifth sojourn to Florida. We are trying to figure amethod to allow for a larger contingent of play-ers. Mainly involved are logistics to feed, trans-port and house all who wish to participate.Local golf, which also attracts many retirees,commenced in April.

We are also trying a cruise from Boston tothe Maritime Provinces—in order to stimulatethe economy and fraternity. The cruise is for 14days and cabins begin at $1,099.

Any member having difficulty adjusting to

retirement can contact us at Local 103. We canget you involved in a number of activities.Remain active.

Leo Monahan, P.S.

Farewell to Pres. ClarkRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 130, NEW ORLEANS,LA—Our former club president, Ron Clark, con-ducted his last meeting as president at the Dec. 9,2008, Christmas party. Bro. Clark was electedMarch 16, 1995. Former vice president GeorgeClesi is now president. Former board member RonGurtner is now vice president. Buddy Carver issecretary-treasurer. The following members arestill on the board of directors: Henry Daries,Philip Fielding, Donald Meyer and WinfieldSalathe Jr.

Our next meeting will be June 25. For thismeeting members may bring a guest and we willhave food and refreshments. We will presentIBEW watches to the following club memberswith 60 years of service: Henry Haas III andWilliam Nauck.

The labor movement lost a longtimefriend, Bro. Joseph Bertucci, who passed awayFeb. 13. Joe was a 62-year active member inIBEW Local 130 and executive secretary of theSoutheast Louisiana Building and ConstructionTrade Council for the past 40 years.

We are saddened to report the passing of:Bros. Freeman Ballard Jr., Joseph M. Bertucci,Raymond Ducote, Nathan Hankel, Lester L.Joubert Sr., Leo Klein, Nicholas J. LaPara, AndrewMilitello Jr., Edward J. Oliver, Louis Schulz andStephen P. Wilson Jr. May they rest in peace.

Until our next article, God bless America.

Buddy Carver, P.S.

All Are WelcomeRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 236, ALBANY, NY—TheRetirees Club of Local 236 (also for members offormer Locals 166, 438 and 724) was started over35 years ago. We invite all retirees of these localsto join us on the first Tuesday of each month at

10:30 a.m. at the Labor Temple, 890 Third St.,Albany, NY, on the second floor. Your attendanceat these meetings will ensure that this club willbe able to continue to serve our fellow retirees.Please come and join us for a good time.

Jim Porter, P.S.

Good Food & FellowshipRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 466, CHARLESTON,WV—Hello from wild, wonderful West Virginia.Thanks to our military servicemen and womenand veterans for keeping us safe and comfort-able. Thanks to all who rang the bells for theSalvation Army in past years.

Please come to the union and retiree meet-ings so you can share a good meal before themeeting and share your much-needed opinionduring the meeting. Remember the picnic thissummer for more good food and fellowship. Manyof you missed a good dinner-dance last NewYear’s Eve. Mark it on your calendar for this year.

Our future retirees are invited to their firsteligible meeting to receive their choice of an IBEWpocket watch or wristwatch in honor of their yearsof Local 466 service. Our retirees from formerRoanoke Local 637 are also most welcome, alongwith your spouse or guest, to club meetings heldthe first Wednesday of each month at 1:30 p.m.

We pay our final respects to the followingdeceased members: Marshall Ferrell, JohnHagerman Jr., Clifford Frame, BernardMcGraner Sr., Mike Searls, Bernard Todd andRichard Koontz Sr.

Larry Fogarty, Pres.

Sarnia HappeningsRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 530, SARNIA, ONTARIO,CANADA—Our members continue to support ourRetirees Club with enthusiastic attendance at ourmonthly meetings. Often, our members commenton how fortunate we are for this chance to cometogether and enjoy quality time together.

One highlight of 2008 was our Local 530IBEW Retirees Golf Tournament, held the first

Local 103 Retirees Club guest of honor retired Bro.Earnest Wilkins and his wife, Connie, attend Marchluncheon.

Awarded “Best Foursome” at last year’s Local 530IBEW Retirees Golf Tournament were, from left:Tom Randall, Jackie McLellan, Bob Morrison andAl Wetering.

Attending Local 558 retirees dinner are, from left,former local union presidents Glenn Young, TomWhitfield and Larry Farmer, joined by currentLocal 558 Pres. Steve Crunk.

The Local 130 Retirees Club thanksLocal 130 officers and staff for supportof the club. Among local union officersand staff are, from left, back row: Pres.Manuel Galle, Chet Held, Clay Leon,Alvin Riley and Chad Lauga; front row,Stacey Rupp, Ann Musacchia, JeaniePeterson, Dawn Hall and Bus. Mgr./Fin.Sec. Robert F. Hammond III.

Attending a Local 236Retirees Club meetingare: from left, seated,Jack Simmons, PhilClemens, Mike Ray andJim Porter; standing,Ken Hinckley, EarlNelson, Ed Barbin, JoeEinzig, Jim Seiter andJohn Keon. (Photo byJake Amsler.)

Local Surname Amount1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Engle, J. D.. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . McMullin, E. G. . . . . . . . . 3,000.001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reilly, R. C.. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sieber, M. F. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Webber, J. K. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Schoeneman, R. C. . . . . 3,000.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aramboles, F. A. . . . . . . 6,250.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Attis, J. W. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bach, K. T. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,947.883 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beatty, W. F. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boria, G. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cobb, B. E. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crawford, J. A. . . . . . . 12,500.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fisher, J. H. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fusco, J. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelso, J. A. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,125.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leach, E. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Levine, J. M. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . McFadden, J. . . . . . . . . 3,000.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nash, D. E. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,836.343 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nicoll, D. G. . . . . . . . . . . 2,968.693 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ortiz, C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Schrager, L. Z. . . . . . . . . 1,500.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Schwartz, A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vesperman, L. H. . . . . . . 3,000.003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zuckerman, M. . . . . . . . . 3,000.005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barone, A. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dixon, R. T. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heckathorn, R. R. . . . . . . 6,250.005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hohman, F. L. . . . . . . . . 3,000.005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Willard, R. F. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Renz, L. P. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Strausbaugh, R. M. . . . . 2,142.869 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blair, B. P. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,104.489 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bore, J. J. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fleckenstein, R. L. . . . . 3,000.009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stich, E. B. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wheeler, R. P.. . . . . . . . . . 6,250.0011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapleau, R. R. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clinton, J. P. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Esposito, E. . . . . . . . . . . 2,942.3911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fields, H. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,876.7911 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Findon, R. W. . . . . . . . . . . 2,874.0011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fronzke, W. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James, G. R. . . . . . . . . . . 2,874.3611 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Landry, R. F. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Medrano, C. A. . . . . . . . . 2,848.0011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nowak, E. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wasson, C. S. . . . . . . . . 1,500.0012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Simpson, J. O. . . . . . . . . 4,187.5012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Skidmore, E. L. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Birkhead, L. E. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scraper, E. E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Falls, E. G. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hamric, H. L. . . . . . . . . . . 1,894.0017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Neubert, D. S. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ault, D. F. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Behan, J. W. . . . . . . . . . . 2,937.5818 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gyur, E. L. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.0018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ormiston, L. F. . . . . . . . . 1,467.9920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Danforth, L. B. . . . . . . . . 2,940.7920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Holub, W. E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stroope, R. L.. . . . . . . . . . 2,894.3820 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yost, R. R. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0022 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Downs, D. A. . . . . . . . . . . 2,928.0622 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mindrup, H. E. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0024 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bissinger, J. A. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0024 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Herbert, J. F. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.0024 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stidham, J. F.. . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0025 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cavanagh, J. E. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0025 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kerbs, F. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0025 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Van Audekerk, C. G. . . . . 3,000.0025 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vanston, J. P. . . . . . . . . . . 2,812.7426 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Verbeck, H. P.. . . . . . . . . . 6,250.0032 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Benham, B. A. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0032 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Schmenk, E. G. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0035 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mageski, A. J. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0035 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Riendeau, B. . . . . . . . . 12,500.0038 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Albee, L. L.. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0038 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Berg, R. M.. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0038 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blair, R. A. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00

Local Surname Amount38 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Haffey, B. P. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0038 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Johnson, J. N. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0038 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Levin, R. P. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.0038 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mihna, J. G. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0041 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Klein, G. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,914.0041 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richert, G. W.. . . . . . . . . . 2,947.1942 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hepton, T. W. . . . . . . . . . . 4,450.0043 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O’Hearn, R. H. . . . . . . . . 6,250.0043 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pritchard, H. J. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0043 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scheibel, J. D. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0045 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Burkard, K. G. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0045 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ronne, J. K. . . . . . . . . . . 2,846.3746 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Howe, L. D. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0046 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jurgensen, D. E. . . . . . . 2,400.0046 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vogt, F. W. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,935.0046 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ward, R. D.. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,434.1146 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yoder, J. A. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,899.3848 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Engelman, J. L. . . . . . . . . 5,746.0051 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evans, J. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0051 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kozlowski, S. . . . . . . . . 1,467.9953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Galey, L. M. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0056 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rutkowski, M. S. . . . . . . 3,000.0057 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Smith, A. D. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0057 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vlamakis, S. G. . . . . . . 12,500.0058 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bolchi, M. J. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0058 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Delboy, M. J. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0058 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evans, D. E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0058 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Geisert, R. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0058 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kenworthy, H. . . . . . . . . 2,940.7958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Malmgren, J. H. . . . . . . 3,000.0058 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pratt, F. C. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,961.5958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sloan, J. V. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,752.5058 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taylor, E. C. . . . . . . . . . . 2,850.6658 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas, H. L. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0058 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Waatti, H. D. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0058 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Woznick, R. J. . . . . . . . . 2,938.0060 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cotter, J. W. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0068 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Burns, J. F. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0068 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hathaway, K. F. . . . . . . . . 2,907.0068 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Imerzel, J. R. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.0069 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Liles, H. O. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0073 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mather, D. H. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0076 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Einarsson, J. E. . . . . . . . . 3,000.0077 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Behm, L. A. . . . . . . . . . . . . 734.5077 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Calvin, G. R. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0077 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frombach, E. W. . . . . . . 3,000.0081 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cole, R. F. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0086 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brightenfield, J. A. . . . . 5,553.4086 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reinhardt, G. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0090 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Donahue, J. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0095 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hauser, R. A. . . . . . . . . . . 2,908.5097 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brady, S. L. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0097 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hathaway, W. H. . . . . . . 2,864.7997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Newton, A. C.. . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0097 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sinnenberg, J. F. . . . . . . 3,000.0098 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ciallella, A. C.. . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0098 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . McGrenra, J. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.0099 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Petrarca, R. R. . . . . . . . . 2,950.0099 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pierson, T. C. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.0099 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walsh, J. J. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00102 . . . . . . . . . . . . Bettinger, L. J. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00102 . . . . . . . . . . . . Bradley, J. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,949.73102 . . . . . . . . . . . . Morse, W. G. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00102 . . . . . . . . . . . . Rourke, F. R. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00103 . . . . . . . . . . . . Delaney, P. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,951.99103 . . . . . . . . . . . . Desmond, L. R. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00103 . . . . . . . . . . . . Flanagan, T. M. . . . . . . . . 2,938.00103 . . . . . . . . . . . . Goff, C. P. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00103 . . . . . . . . . . . . Howe, R. T.. . . . . . . . . . . . 2,932.78103 . . . . . . . . . . . . Webb, B. J. . . . . . . . . . . 2,938.00103 . . . . . . . . . . . . Wilkins, W. D.. . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00104 . . . . . . . . . . . . McSweeney, R. W. . . . . 3,000.00110 . . . . . . . . . . . . Peterson, R. D. . . . . . . . . 2,000.00112 . . . . . . . . . . . . Davis, J. E. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00113 . . . . . . . . . . . . Strassburg, W. R. . . . . . . 6,250.00115 . . . . . . . . . . . . Kirkby, G. E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00124 . . . . . . . . . . . . Abel, A. E. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00124 . . . . . . . . . . . . Boyer, S. P. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00

w w w. i b e w. o r g T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009 17

In Memorium

PBF Death Claims Approved for Payment in March 2009

donating $5,000 to our needy family fund! Ourclub members thank them very much. We willwork hard to match that for the need out there.

Tom Whitfield, Pres.

Holiday LuncheonRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 611, ALBUQUERQUE,NM—Local 611 retirees had their annualChristmas lunch and gift exchange Dec. 5, 2008,at a local Furr’s Buffet. (See photo below.) It wasa nice mini-reunion with 10 retirees and theirspouses and/or guests attending. Bus. Mgr. ChrisFrentzel and Pres. Carl Condit attended. Picturesof members dating back as far as 60 years wereon display. The celebration was fantastic.

All retirees are invited to participate inthe ninth annual Local 611 softball tournamentJune 5-7. If you cannot participate, then comeout, watch the games, have some hotdogs andburgers and enjoy the day. For information, callCarl Condit at the union hall, (505) 343-0611.

The work situation in the jurisdiction ispicking up. At press time, 90 are on Book One.The UNM cancer building, the Albuquerque stu-dios and the Tri-labs are holding their own; RioRancho hospital is on hold.

Our condolences to the families of broth-ers who passed away: retired journeyman wire-men Henry E. Carnell, Mike Barrera, James W.Tate, Patrick G. Duffy and Sherwell S. Buoy.

Let’s remember our brothers who are inassisted living and nursing homes and those whoare sick. They need that call from another brother.

Tracy Hall, Pres.

Quarterly MeetingRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 613, ATLANTA, GA—We, the retirees of Local 613, Atlanta, GA, hadour quarterly meeting on March 18. The topicwas our Death Benefit Fund. Local 613 Fin.Sec. David Collier explained to those presentwhat family members of deceased membersshould do to receive benefits through thelocal and International death benefits.

We mourn the passing of the following mem-bers: Tommy Burnett, William Pickett, WilliamFolden, William Harper, Billy Woodall, AlbertFolden, Jerry Strickland, Tommy Seals, JohnJones, Jack Steele and Kenneth Cook.

Blake McLeod, Pres.

Summer LuncheonRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 654, CHESTER, PA—On June 25, 2008, retirees and guests weretreated to their summer luncheon by the Local654 membership. We are fortunate to have a sum-mer luncheon and Christmas luncheon and wethank the members. It is a great chance to meetwith “old” friends and renew acquaintances.

Several service awards were presented toretirees: for 50 years of membership—Gerry

Bannan, Bill Bryant, Lou Filippone, Jeep Hanley,Bob Hart, Dennis Killian, Lou Macauley, BerbOsborne, John Papili, Lou Papili, Al Simeone,Chuck Simmons, Jim Smith; for 55 years—Bill Simmons; and for 65 years—Lucien Metzger.

We mourn the loss of retired Bros. TyroneJohnson, Opie “Sam” Crotty, Jimmy Maher, AndyBella and Al Gaiser Sr.

T. Francis “Jeep” Hanley, P.S.

PG&E NegotiationsRETIREES CLUB OF L.U. 1245, VACAVILLE,CA—Retiree medical benefits were on the tableas negotiations got underway March 23 betweenLocal 1245 and Pacific Gas and Electric.

The union proposed a variety of measures tonot only reduce the burden on current retireesbut also to create new approaches to dealing withthe costs that will face future retirees.

The union proposed that current retireespay a fixed percentage of their medical premi-ums, replacing the current formula whereretirees absorb all premium increases.

For future retirees, the union proposed com-pany-funded Retirement Medical Savings Accountsfor employees and spouses, an option to convertunused sick leave and vacation upon retirement toRetirement Medical Savings Accounts, increasingthe company match to the Retirement SavingsPlan, and pension improvements.

The union also proposed initiatives on“wellness” and an extension of the existingRetirement Premium Offset Account, amongother proposals.

The company is seeking greater cost-shar-ing by active employees on medical premiums.

Retiree Club chapters in Dublin, San Jose,Santa Rosa, Vacaville and Merced have beenpressing the company for several years to helpreduce the burden on retirees, who have bornethe full cost of all increases in medical premi-ums since the year 2000. Retirees have senthundreds of letters to company officers askingfor relief on medical premium costs.

Any agreement reached at the bargainingtable will have to be ratified by current mem-bers at PG&E.

Eric Wolfe, P.S.

Local 654 retiree Alfonse Simeone and his wife,Angie, enjoy 2008 retirees summer luncheongathering.

IN MEMORIAM continued on page 20

Local 611 retirees attend 2008Christmas luncheon: from left: Local611 Bus. Mgr. Chris Frentzel, Leo“Olie” Olson, James Meeks, NapDuran, Carl Brown, Ralph Cochran,Harold Paschke, Vivian “Rainbo”Romero, Don Brady, Hal Kissengerand Tracy Hall. Local 611 Pres. CarlCondit snapped the photo.

HOWTO REACH US

We welcome letters from our readers. The writer should include his or her name, address and, ifapplicable, IBEW local union number and card number. Family members should include the localunion number of the IBEW member to whom The Electrical Worker is mailed. Please keep lettersas brief as possible. The Electrical Worker reserves the right to select letters for publication and editall submissions for length.

Send letters to:Letters to the Editor, The Electrical Worker, 900 Seventh Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001Or send by e-mail to: media@ibew.org

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Electrical Worker, 900 Seventh Street, N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20001.

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Publications Mail Agreement No. 40011756.Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:P.O. Box 503RPO West Beaver CreekRichmond Hill, ON L4B 4R6

Next to Michigan, South Carolina has the highestunemployment in the U.S. One would thinkthat the state’s governor would be loudly cam-paigning for federal help. Instead, Gov. Mark

Sanford is rejecting millions of dollars from the Obamaadministration’s stimulus package unless the feds allowhim to use the money to pay down the state’s debt.

Sanford is not alone. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindaland Mississippi’s Haley Barbour are also rejecting fed-eral help. They say that tax cuts—not governmentspending—are the way out of our economic slump.

Where have they been? Didn’t the Bush adminis-tration’s tax cuts for the wealthy help turn a budgetsurplus into the huge deficits that the Obama adminis-tration inherited?

And as for paying down the debt, maybe Chuck Moore, business manager of Local776 in Charleston, S.C.—a guy who knows a whole lot about how Sanford’s policies arehurting hard-working men and women—has the right idea.

Say your car breaks down, says Moore. When you get your federal tax refund, shouldyou use it to pay down your credit card debt, or spend some money fixing your car so youcan get to work and keep from losing your job? It’s no idle question.

Local 776’s bread and butter is Nucor’s nearby steel mill. If Sanford rejects federalstimulus money for rebuilding roads and bridges, it will deprive Nucor of contracts, keep-ing building trades members on the street.

About 80 IBEW members showed up at the recent phony populist Charleston teaparty. They carried signs supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, a real brass-tackssolution to the low-wage, low-benefit future that faces working families if so-called lead-ers like Sanford, Jindal and Barbour—all potential candidates for president—havetheir way. �

I n t e r n a t i o n a l B r o t h e r h o o d o f E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r s

The Electrical Worker was the name of the first official publication ofthe National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in 1893 (the NBEWbecame the IBEW in 1899 with the expansion of the union intoCanada). The name and format of the publication have changed overthe years. This newspaper is the official publication of the IBEW andseeks to capture the courage and spirit that motivated the founders ofthe Brotherhood and continue to inspire the union’s members today.The masthead of this newspaper is an adaptation of that of the firstedition in 1893.

18 T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009

The most popular classes at colleges these daysaren’t in the business department—they’re insolar photovoltaics, building retrofitting andwind turbine installation.

With the renewable energy industry expected togenerate more than 20 million jobs by 2030, many youngpeople see green-collar jobs as a smart choice.

And with billions of federal stimulus money com-mitted to investing in sustainable energy, the greenindustry looks to be a bright spot of growth amidst grow-ing stunningly high unemployment.

The rapid emergence of new green jobs will requiretens of thousands of skilled electricians who can safelyand professionally install and wire solar panels and windturbines and retrofit buildings. And, as the articles inthis issue show, we are already doing the work.

For nearly a decade, we’ve incorporated renewable energy into our training and thismonth the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee will collect more than70 lessons into one single green curriculum.

During the Memorial Day break, we are inviting congressional leaders to see for them-selves what the IBEW is doing to meet the demands for new electrical workers. We havestate-of-the-art training facilities, incorporating the latest in renewable power technologyfrom solar arrays to programmable logic controllers.

And unlike many colleges, where even an associate degree can put a student morethan $10,000 in the hole, IBEW apprentices start building their own path to the middleclass the moment they pick up their first tool and textbook.

The IBEW has the curriculum, instructors and training facilities needed to meet theneeds of greening our economy. For any political or industry leader concerned with cre-ating a new energy work force, our doors are open. �

F R OM T H E O F F I C E R S

EXECUTIVEOFFICERS

Edwin D. HillInternational President

Lindell K. LeeInternational Secretary-Treasurer

INTERNATIONALEXECUTIVECOUNCIL

ChairmanRobert W. Pierson

First DistrictJoseph P. Calabro

Second DistrictMyles J. Calvey

Third DistrictJohn R. Clarke

Fourth DistrictWilliam W. Riley

Fifth DistrictStephen Schoemehl

Sixth DistrictGregory A. Lucero

Seventh DistrictPatrick Lavin

Eighth DistrictRick Dowling

INTERNATIONALVICE PRESIDENTS

First DistrictPhillip J. Flemming

Second DistrictFrank J. Carroll

Third DistrictDonald C. Siegel

Fourth DistrictSalvatore J. Chilia

Fifth DistrictJoe S. Davis

Sixth DistrictJoseph F. Lohman

Seventh DistrictJonathan B. Gardner

Eighth DistrictTed C. Jensen

Ninth DistrictMichael S. Mowrey

Tenth DistrictRobert P. Klein

Eleventh DistrictCurtis E. Henke

THE ELECTRICALWORKER

EditorEdwin D. Hill

C. James Spellane

Mark Brueggenjohann

Mike Nugent

Malinda Brent

Len Shindel

Carol Fisher

Alex Hogan

Lucas Oswalt

James H. Jones

Lindell K. LeeInternational Secretary-Treasurer

Green Training for the Future

Edwin D. HillInternational President

Still Sticking Workers withRight-Wing Ideology?

In his more than fiveyears as lead organizerfor Anchorage, Alaska,Local 1547, Chris Tuck

honed his skills at connect-ing with people and talkingunion with workingAlaskans from differentwalks of life. Now he’sbrought those skills, alongwith his lifelong commit-ment to working families, tothe state house in Juneau.

Tuck, a Democrat, waselected to the state legisla-ture last November, prevailing in a dis-trict of Anchorage that has a more than 2to 1 GOP advantage by a razor-thinmajority of less than 300 votes.

“My vision for Alaska is one thatmany people support, where Alaska is aplace for meaningful jobs and opportuni-ties for families,” Tuck said about hisopen seat challenge.

Tuck started his IBEW career at anelectrical supply house more than 20 yearsago. Because of the bad economy in Alaskaat the time, he had to wait more than eightyears before he was sponsored into anapprenticeship. But he knew that an IBEWmembership card was worth waiting for.

His mother, a former hairdresser andsingle parent who moved to Alaska fromCalifornia when Tuck was five, got a jobas a secretary with the state governmentand the decent salary and health benefitsprovided by her union kept her and herson out of poverty.

“The union put us in the middleclass,” he said.

Tuck was always interested in poli-tics, and in 2004 he made his first run forpublic office, taking on a long-entrenchedincumbent state representative, RalphSamuels, in the district he now repre-sents. “Even though I knew I would lose,I talked with voters about issues thathadn’t been discussed before,” he said.“The state was slashing health care forkids and financial support for seniors andI couldn’t sit and take it anymore. Weeducated the public and brought peopletogether to find solutions.”

No one gave Tuck a chance but in theend, his cash-starved grassroots campaignnetted him nearly 40 percent of the vote.

While falling short, Tuck got both his

name and his issues out there. He wasappointed by then-Anchorage mayor, nowU.S. Sen. Mark Begich to the city’sEducation Workforce Advisory Council,helping to oversee Anchorage’s schoolbudget and its adult job training program.

Tuck had been active in school affairsever since the birth of his son, who startedthe 11th grade last fall. “I knew someday hewould be going to Anchorage schools so itwas important to be involved.”

In 2007 he made another run for office,this time for the Anchorage School Board.With some help from his IBEW brothersand sisters, Tuck pulled in 67 percent of thevote, gaining him a seat on the board thatoversees more than 50,000 students.

He planned to serve for at least threeterms, but developments in his home dis-trict changed his plans. Samuels, the legisla-tor in his district, was getting ready to retire.

Seeing an opportunity to pick up anopen seat, the state Democratic Party con-vinced Tuck to get into the race.

Tuck has found that his union experi-ence has served him well in the realm ofelected politics.

“We focus on pocketbook issues of ourconstituents and we’re always held account-able for our actions,” he said.

He is the second IBEW member serv-ing in the state legislature. Sen. BillWielechowski, associate general counsel forLocal 1547, was elected to the state senatein 2006.

Tuck says his priorities are creatingdecent paying jobs for Alaskans, opening upmore educational opportunities and findinglow-cost solutions to the energy crisis.

“Everything organized labor has won,we’ve had to fight for,” he said. “Peopleelected me to continue to fight for thethings that help working families.” �

Alaska Organizer BringsLabor’s Voice to the State House

Lettersto theEditorLettersto theEditorReminiscingHaving been a member of Local 3 for over 50 years I remember a time having been for-tunate to have known and worked under the outstanding leadership of the late Harry VanArsdale Jr., an icon in labor’s history. I remember attending a special apprenticeshipmeeting about a small nonunion job being done at Prospect Park in Brooklyn and Harrywas calling for mass demonstrations. He said in his wisdom that if it was allowed to becompleted, the profits from that job would be applied to a larger nonunion job till eventu-ally they would all be doing new construction nonunion.

Somewhere along the line membership became complacent and dropped the ball,and so it came to pass today that the nonunion poses a huge threat. If we fail to learnfrom our mistakes we are doomed to repeat them. Stop the small jobs before thesenonunion contractors become large enough to do the bigger jobs.

Patrick J. SimonielloLocal 3 retiree, New York

A Dedicated MemberThere was never a prouder member of the IBEW than George O.Wein (Amarillo, Texas, Local602 and now-defunct Amarillo Local 460). After 60 years as a member, business manager forseveral terms, and officer, our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfatherdied on Feb. 2, 2009, at the age of 82. George walked the walk and refused to shop at storesthat he remembered 30 or 40 years earlier had gone nonunion for their electrical work.

His greatest contribution to the industry was not only the education and training ofyounger electricians, but also the teaching of the necessity to take care of your responsi-bilities in life.

The Family of George WeinLocal 602 member, Amarillo, Texas

Road to Recovery?Last month’s Journal article “The Road to Recovery” (Winter 2009) was seriously defi-cient in its coverage of the health care crisis and its implications for our country’s eco-nomic recovery. It concluded with a quote from President Hill, “When we have a plan wecan agree on, we’ll need a lot of membership participation to get it passed.” We do havea plan we can agree on, President Hill, and that is Rep. John Conyers’ HR 676, ExpandedMedicare for All. It’s the only plan with broad based, rank and file, grassroots support. Atthis writing, 481 union organizations in 49 states, including 120 central labor councilsand 39 state AFL-CIOs have enthusiastically endorsed this bill.

There is no support for any of the other bills except that of the insurance and phar-maceutical industry lobbyists that drafted the legislation for their puppet legislators. Justlast month the Missouri state IBEW conference endorsed HR 676; that’s all 21 locals inthe state, 21,000 members!

The fact that 78 percent of the AFL-CIO has endorsed this (at the state level) andthe national AFL-CIO has yet to take a stand worries me. Does anyone in D.C. listen towhat their union brothers and sisters back home are saying? We want HR 676 passedand we expect our national union leaders to represent us. As important as EFCA is fororganized labor, universal single-payer health care is for our country and we in organizedlabor need to devote time, money and manpower to its passage.

Ray KennyLocal 48 member, Portland, Ore.

Wage InequalityIf wages for workers increased at the same rate as CEO pay did over the last 20 years,the minimum wage would not only be a livable wage but a more comfortable one. Thegap between the top executives and workers rose over 500 percent in the 1990s andcurrently is around 419 to 1. In the ‘80s that gap was 42 to 1. It would seem then on theexecutive scale, workers making $29,000 a year, ought to be making $110,000. Doesn’tthat sound great? Just remember how CEO's finance their enormous compensation: bykeeping the workers’ wages down.

Terry SmolikLocal 176 member, Joliet, Ill.

w w w. i b e w. o r g T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009 19

If you have a story to tell about your IBEW experience, please send it tomedia@ibew.org.

Who We Are

Rep. Chris Tuck, left, with legislative aides Aurah Landau and retiredAnchorage, Alaska, Local 1547 member Gene White.

20 T h e E l e c t r i c a l Wo r k e r � May 2009

Local Surname Amount124 . . . . . . . . . . . . Jackson, R. V. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00124 . . . . . . . . . . . . Tarry, F. M. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00125 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hansen, F. S. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00125 . . . . . . . . . . . . Pedersen, D. A. . . . . . . . . 6,250.00125 . . . . . . . . . . . . Wight, A. B. . . . . . . . . . . 2,817.54126 . . . . . . . . . . . . Fusari, D. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00129 . . . . . . . . . . . . Guffey, J. C. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00129 . . . . . . . . . . . . Shade, E. C. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00130 . . . . . . . . . . . . Ballard, F. A. . . . . . . . . . . 2,944.00130 . . . . . . . . . . . . Johnson, T. J. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Boruta, E. M. . . . . . . . . . . 2,936.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Bunnetto, G. . . . . . . . . . . 4,522.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Cozzi, A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Diamond, A. G. . . . . . . 12,500.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Dilegge, A. F. . . . . . . . . . . 2,958.39134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Farrell, R. H. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Heimdal, P. R. . . . . . . . . 2,910.39134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Helman, R. M. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Jakubik, G. T. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Keseric, N. D.. . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Lala, R. V. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,500.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Mueller, P. E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Nathanson, H. F. . . . . . . 2,949.59134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Odonnell, J. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Popowski, W. F. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Reid, B. D. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Sassolino, A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Schemmel, W. R. . . . . . . 3,000.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Seifert, W. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00134 . . . . . . . . . . . . Tumbarello, A. J. . . . . . . 3,000.00141 . . . . . . . . . . . . Pickering, H. R. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00143 . . . . . . . . . . . . Sterner, J. W. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00146 . . . . . . . . . . . . Berroyer, P. L. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00146 . . . . . . . . . . . . Burge, R. L. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00146 . . . . . . . . . . . . Daut, R. L. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00146 . . . . . . . . . . . . Gregory, L. D.. . . . . . . . . . 2,890.77153 . . . . . . . . . . . . Kawka, T. F. . . . . . . . . . . 2,938.00158 . . . . . . . . . . . . Gauthier, J. P.. . . . . . . . . . 2,083.34158 . . . . . . . . . . . . Waerzeggers, L. M. . . . . 3,000.00159 . . . . . . . . . . . . Natvig, P. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00159 . . . . . . . . . . . . Palmer, R. E. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00160 . . . . . . . . . . . . Campbell, D. F. . . . . . . . . 2,785.00163 . . . . . . . . . . . . McGuire, J. J. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00163 . . . . . . . . . . . . Rogan, J. F. . . . . . . . . . . 2,897.00163 . . . . . . . . . . . . Sterbinsky, G. A. . . . . . . 2,947.99164 . . . . . . . . . . . . Anderson, C. R. . . . . . . . . 4,856.53164 . . . . . . . . . . . . Blickendorfer, R. W. . . . . 3,000.00164 . . . . . . . . . . . . Gliatta, L. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00164 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hanley, D. E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00164 . . . . . . . . . . . . Lambert, J. J. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00164 . . . . . . . . . . . . McCoy, N. J. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00164 . . . . . . . . . . . . Mitchell, W. F.. . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00164 . . . . . . . . . . . . Schneider, E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00175 . . . . . . . . . . . . Brown, J. A. . . . . . . . . . . 2,931.09175 . . . . . . . . . . . . O’Hara, T. R. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00175 . . . . . . . . . . . . Roof, E. D. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,639.25175 . . . . . . . . . . . . Shaver, A. L. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00176 . . . . . . . . . . . . McDonald, C. J.. . . . . . . . 3,000.00186 . . . . . . . . . . . . Delgado, I. J. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00191 . . . . . . . . . . . . Adams, O. E. . . . . . . . . . . 2,922.00191 . . . . . . . . . . . . Harvey, V. A. . . . . . . . . . . 2,934.00191 . . . . . . . . . . . . Morisset, C. . . . . . . . . . . 2,949.59194 . . . . . . . . . . . . Chance, H. C.. . . . . . . . . . 2,950.00194 . . . . . . . . . . . . Johnson, R. R. . . . . . . . . 2,891.00194 . . . . . . . . . . . . Nottingham, L. R. . . . . . . 3,000.00204 . . . . . . . . . . . . Rush, R. D.. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00206 . . . . . . . . . . . . Deffenbaugh, C. K. . . . . 2,801.56210 . . . . . . . . . . . . Cowperthwaite, D. W. . . 3,000.00212 . . . . . . . . . . . . Brune, R. J. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00212 . . . . . . . . . . . . Stiene, J. W. . . . . . . . . . . . . 600.00212 . . . . . . . . . . . . Wilfert, C. W. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00213 . . . . . . . . . . . . Black, T. D. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,905.00213 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hoppe, E. J. . . . . . . . . . . 2,856.00213 . . . . . . . . . . . . Makowski, C. . . . . . . . . 2,935.86222 . . . . . . . . . . . . Johnson, A. G. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00223 . . . . . . . . . . . . Bishop, W. H. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00223 . . . . . . . . . . . . Blair, R. B. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,937.59226 . . . . . . . . . . . . Fitzgerald, E. J. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00234 . . . . . . . . . . . . Scettrini, P. J.. . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00236 . . . . . . . . . . . . Gall, E. W. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00241 . . . . . . . . . . . . Clark, R. W. . . . . . . . . . . 2,936.00

Local Surname Amount242 . . . . . . . . . . . . Dickert, D. D. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00242 . . . . . . . . . . . . Holmes, R. A. . . . . . . . . . . 2,958.39242 . . . . . . . . . . . . Richards, R. R. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00246 . . . . . . . . . . . . Jelski, F. H.. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00257 . . . . . . . . . . . . Gilbert, W. L. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00257 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hart, N. J. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00257 . . . . . . . . . . . . Schulte, W. F. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00258 . . . . . . . . . . . . Utterback, W. G. . . . . . . 2,850.66265 . . . . . . . . . . . . Dworak, P. J. . . . . . . . . . . 2,948.79269 . . . . . . . . . . . . Layne, A. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00269 . . . . . . . . . . . . Rigle, T. R. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00270 . . . . . . . . . . . . Richardson, R. L. . . . . . . 2,930.00271 . . . . . . . . . . . . Staab, W. R. . . . . . . . . . . 2,940.79275 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hull, R. E. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00275 . . . . . . . . . . . . Maat, B. R. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00275 . . . . . . . . . . . . Velting, A. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00278 . . . . . . . . . . . . Williams, R. A. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00280 . . . . . . . . . . . . Westbrook, R. E. . . . . . . 2,948.79281 . . . . . . . . . . . . Sidwell, D. R. . . . . . . . . . . 5,292.19288 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hamer, A. P. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00292 . . . . . . . . . . . . Gierke, R. M. . . . . . . . . . . 2,943.99292 . . . . . . . . . . . . Healy, R. A.. . . . . . . . . . . . 2,894.39292 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hoeft, M. J. . . . . . . . . . . 12,500.00292 . . . . . . . . . . . . Juutilainen, H. M. . . . . . . 3,000.00292 . . . . . . . . . . . . Olson, C. D. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00292 . . . . . . . . . . . . Vanhorn, R. W. . . . . . . . . 2,840.00295 . . . . . . . . . . . . Ingram, G. E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00295 . . . . . . . . . . . . Mathews, J. L. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00300 . . . . . . . . . . . . Rogers, C. G. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00301 . . . . . . . . . . . . Davenport, J. E.. . . . . . . . 2,916.78302 . . . . . . . . . . . . Spencer, G. A. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00304 . . . . . . . . . . . . Kinzie, J. G. . . . . . . . . . . 12,500.00307 . . . . . . . . . . . . Wallizer, R. G. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00309 . . . . . . . . . . . . Schomber, B. J.. . . . . . . . 6,250.00313 . . . . . . . . . . . . Murray, E. P. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00313 . . . . . . . . . . . . Saunders, J. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00313 . . . . . . . . . . . . Scatasti, A. F. . . . . . . . . . . 1,250.00317 . . . . . . . . . . . . Blackstock, J. W. . . . . . . 6,250.00318 . . . . . . . . . . . . Story, R. A. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00322 . . . . . . . . . . . . Shaw, B. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,931.18322 . . . . . . . . . . . . Wedlock, S. L. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00325 . . . . . . . . . . . . Peaslee, W. W. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00332 . . . . . . . . . . . . Machula, E. R. . . . . . . . . 2,935.86332 . . . . . . . . . . . . Negovan, A. L. . . . . . . . . 2,916.00340 . . . . . . . . . . . . Broff, T. R. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,924.78340 . . . . . . . . . . . . Noring, C. L. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00343 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hermann, G. A. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00347 . . . . . . . . . . . . Fisher, W. R. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00349 . . . . . . . . . . . . Rand, D. F. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00349 . . . . . . . . . . . . Welikson, L. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00351 . . . . . . . . . . . . Flynn, J. C. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00351 . . . . . . . . . . . . Games, G. R. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00351 . . . . . . . . . . . . Rafferty, J. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00353 . . . . . . . . . . . . Bamber, M. . . . . . . . . . . 12,500.00353 . . . . . . . . . . . . Brown, F. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,918.00353 . . . . . . . . . . . . Davis, D. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00353 . . . . . . . . . . . . Godfrey, J. D.. . . . . . . . . . 3,628.88353 . . . . . . . . . . . . Marciniak, S. W. . . . . . . 6,250.00353 . . . . . . . . . . . . McLaren, J. R. . . . . . . . . 6,250.00353 . . . . . . . . . . . . Minall, E. N. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00353 . . . . . . . . . . . . Nazare, S. H. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00354 . . . . . . . . . . . . Buckner, P. L.. . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00354 . . . . . . . . . . . . Goodsell, M. J. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00357 . . . . . . . . . . . . Bilbro, J. V. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00357 . . . . . . . . . . . . Ousley, L. R. . . . . . . . . . . 1,384.50357 . . . . . . . . . . . . Shafer, D. L. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00360 . . . . . . . . . . . . Cunningham, P. J.. . . . . . 3,000.00363 . . . . . . . . . . . . Bender, F. T. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00363 . . . . . . . . . . . . Flannery, T. W. . . . . . . . . 6,250.00364 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hemenway, A. J. . . . . . . 3,000.00364 . . . . . . . . . . . . Kerkhoff, R. E. . . . . . . . . 4,022.50366 . . . . . . . . . . . . Ringdahl, K. D. . . . . . . . . 1,500.00369 . . . . . . . . . . . . Albritton, J. E. . . . . . . . . 2,918.50369 . . . . . . . . . . . . Barnhill, B. T. . . . . . . . . 12,500.00369 . . . . . . . . . . . . Young, M. D. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00379 . . . . . . . . . . . . Reyes, L. C. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00382 . . . . . . . . . . . . Cooper, G. F. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00387 . . . . . . . . . . . . Carbajal, B. O. . . . . . . . . 2,868.24387 . . . . . . . . . . . . Graber, L. E. . . . . . . . . . . 2,951.99400 . . . . . . . . . . . . Cassidy, R. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00401 . . . . . . . . . . . . Strawn, L. F. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00405 . . . . . . . . . . . . Tibbits, M. M.. . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00415 . . . . . . . . . . . . Gunnerson, D. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00424 . . . . . . . . . . . . Allan, A. H. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00424 . . . . . . . . . . . . Bushell, W. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00424 . . . . . . . . . . . . Doyon, M. M. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00424 . . . . . . . . . . . . McHonick, J. L. . . . . . . . . 6,250.00429 . . . . . . . . . . . . Tidmore, B. L. . . . . . . . . 2,964.79440 . . . . . . . . . . . . Trojan, P. T. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00441 . . . . . . . . . . . . Foutz, H. A.. . . . . . . . . . . . 2,961.00441 . . . . . . . . . . . . Funke, E. R. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00441 . . . . . . . . . . . . Kay, F. X.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00

Local Surname Amount441 . . . . . . . . . . . . Simpson, W. C. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00441 . . . . . . . . . . . . Tate, M. L. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00443 . . . . . . . . . . . . Mason, O. W. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00453 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hunt, D. F. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,637.41456 . . . . . . . . . . . . Stratakes, L. G. . . . . . . . . 2,956.32465 . . . . . . . . . . . . Layton, W. A. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00466 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hagerman, J. W. . . . . . . 3,000.00474 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hearn, D. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00474 . . . . . . . . . . . . Nelson, R. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00477 . . . . . . . . . . . . Ruano, H. R. . . . . . . . . . . 1,500.00479 . . . . . . . . . . . . Drummond, V. E. . . . . . . 2,917.98479 . . . . . . . . . . . . Shellhammer, D. A.. . . . 12,500.00481 . . . . . . . . . . . . McEvoy, J. L. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00481 . . . . . . . . . . . . Sproule, A. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00483 . . . . . . . . . . . . Petrovich, M. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00483 . . . . . . . . . . . . Rochefort, L. F. . . . . . . . . 2,948.79488 . . . . . . . . . . . . Abercrombie, R. C. . . . . 2,938.84488 . . . . . . . . . . . . Depeano, J. L. . . . . . . . . 2,910.50490 . . . . . . . . . . . . Lacasse, J. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00494 . . . . . . . . . . . . Johnson, T. J. . . . . . . . . 6,250.00494 . . . . . . . . . . . . Koester, A. R. . . . . . . . . . . 4,459.90494 . . . . . . . . . . . . McCoy, A. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00494 . . . . . . . . . . . . Schroeder, L. F. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00505 . . . . . . . . . . . . McNally, P. E. . . . . . . . . . . 6,177.00508 . . . . . . . . . . . . Sellers, A. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00520 . . . . . . . . . . . . Tidwell, C. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,878.64527 . . . . . . . . . . . . Ciabattoni, J. W. . . . . . . 2,967.10527 . . . . . . . . . . . . Duran, J. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,942.87531 . . . . . . . . . . . . Lazarek, K. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00531 . . . . . . . . . . . . Martin, C. C. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00531 . . . . . . . . . . . . Wilson, W. J. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00540 . . . . . . . . . . . . Trew, T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,500.00544 . . . . . . . . . . . . Carbone, J. A. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00545 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hughes, E. E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00553 . . . . . . . . . . . . McLawhorn, W. H.. . . . . . 3,000.00553 . . . . . . . . . . . . Moricle, E. E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00553 . . . . . . . . . . . . Styles, M. H. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00558 . . . . . . . . . . . . Covington, J. H.. . . . . . . . 2,939.18558 . . . . . . . . . . . . Davis, J. W. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00558 . . . . . . . . . . . . Rodgers, A. Z. . . . . . . . . 2,956.79558 . . . . . . . . . . . . Wix, E. C. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,932.78568 . . . . . . . . . . . . Baillargeon, Y. . . . . . . . . 1,430.08568 . . . . . . . . . . . . Beaudreau, J. P. . . . . . . 3,000.00569 . . . . . . . . . . . . Ferguson, W. C. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00569 . . . . . . . . . . . . Huckstadt, O. C. . . . . . . 3,000.00577 . . . . . . . . . . . . Paulick, R. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00577 . . . . . . . . . . . . Steffen, M. K.. . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00584 . . . . . . . . . . . . Reed, T. E. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,377.00584 . . . . . . . . . . . . Wilson, R. D. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00586 . . . . . . . . . . . . Charron, G. R. . . . . . . . . 6,250.00595 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hutchens, E. P. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00595 . . . . . . . . . . . . Rose, R. J. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00602 . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelley, K. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00606 . . . . . . . . . . . . Jones, R. R. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00606 . . . . . . . . . . . . Kersey, C. G. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00611 . . . . . . . . . . . . Barrera, M. . . . . . . . . . . 2,947.50611 . . . . . . . . . . . . Carnell, H. E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00611 . . . . . . . . . . . . Fincher, S. D. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00613 . . . . . . . . . . . . Meaders, W. F. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00613 . . . . . . . . . . . . Pickett, W. C. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00613 . . . . . . . . . . . . Tate, D. M. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00617 . . . . . . . . . . . . Smith, T. H.. . . . . . . . . . . . 4,649.52625 . . . . . . . . . . . . Denison, M. D. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00640 . . . . . . . . . . . . Decroce, J. M. . . . . . . . . 6,250.00640 . . . . . . . . . . . . Haney, D. W. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00640 . . . . . . . . . . . . Sandoval, J. G. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00640 . . . . . . . . . . . . Zachrich, J. W. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00648 . . . . . . . . . . . . Spencer, J. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00648 . . . . . . . . . . . . Stoutenboroug, R. L. . . 3,000.00649 . . . . . . . . . . . . Beeman, D. E. . . . . . . . . 6,250.00649 . . . . . . . . . . . . Friederich, L. G.. . . . . . . . 2,958.00649 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hays, C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,582.31649 . . . . . . . . . . . . Jones, E. R. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00649 . . . . . . . . . . . . Whittleman, L. L. . . . . . . 2,805.06654 . . . . . . . . . . . . Richardson, J. W. . . . . . . 6,250.00659 . . . . . . . . . . . . Carlock, E. O.. . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00661 . . . . . . . . . . . . Oliver, W. E. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00665 . . . . . . . . . . . . Daniels, R. R. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00665 . . . . . . . . . . . . Trombley, W. E. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00668 . . . . . . . . . . . . Mounce, H. J. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00668 . . . . . . . . . . . . Mount, J. H. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00673 . . . . . . . . . . . . Udell, C. B. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00676 . . . . . . . . . . . . Aeppli, E. A. . . . . . . . . . . 1,500.00676 . . . . . . . . . . . . Jay, J. R.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00683 . . . . . . . . . . . . Rice, H. C. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00692 . . . . . . . . . . . . Lipke, W. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00697 . . . . . . . . . . . . Poor, R. J. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00702 . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaiser, R. E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00712 . . . . . . . . . . . . Frazee, J. R. . . . . . . . . . . 2,083.33712 . . . . . . . . . . . . Gorgas, T. J. . . . . . . . . . . 2,083.34712 . . . . . . . . . . . . Jones, J. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00712 . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelch, G. F. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00

Local Surname Amount716 . . . . . . . . . . . . Jones, J. R. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00716 . . . . . . . . . . . . Vance, D. N. . . . . . . . . . . 2,926.90725 . . . . . . . . . . . . Lake, D. L. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00725 . . . . . . . . . . . . Lincoln, J. E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00734 . . . . . . . . . . . . Randall, R. W. . . . . . . . . 6,250.00743 . . . . . . . . . . . . Drexel, H. W. . . . . . . . . . . 2,921.00763 . . . . . . . . . . . . Collins, R. C. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00768 . . . . . . . . . . . . Fifer, D. D. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00768 . . . . . . . . . . . . Schott, R. R. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00769 . . . . . . . . . . . . Herbert, R. D.. . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00812 . . . . . . . . . . . . Spade, W. D. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00816 . . . . . . . . . . . . Cossler, C. F. . . . . . . . . . . 2,965.17852 . . . . . . . . . . . . Howell, G. D. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00852 . . . . . . . . . . . . Shattles, R. R. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00855 . . . . . . . . . . . . Sell, J. L. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00862 . . . . . . . . . . . . Hanson, J. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00894 . . . . . . . . . . . . Miller, W. D. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00894 . . . . . . . . . . . . Rogers, D. G. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00910 . . . . . . . . . . . . Deso, N. N.. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00910 . . . . . . . . . . . . Staves, T. F. . . . . . . . . . . 2,933.58914 . . . . . . . . . . . . Bray, R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00915 . . . . . . . . . . . . Decker, R. L. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00915 . . . . . . . . . . . . Nolen, H. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00915 . . . . . . . . . . . . Pixton, J. J. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00968 . . . . . . . . . . . . Fitcher, H. V. . . . . . . . . . . 4,508.50969 . . . . . . . . . . . . McSweeney, E. F. . . . . . . 2,836.001002. . . . . . . . . . . . Luinstra, D. D. . . . . . . . . 3,000.001087. . . . . . . . . . . . Burton, W. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.001106. . . . . . . . . . . . Bolt, G. R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750.001186. . . . . . . . . . . . Agricola, B. I. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.001186. . . . . . . . . . . . Inouye, D. M. . . . . . . . . . . 5,000.001186. . . . . . . . . . . . Izumoto, K. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.001205. . . . . . . . . . . . Craven, M. D.. . . . . . . . . . 6,250.001220. . . . . . . . . . . . Flower, P. P. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.001245. . . . . . . . . . . . Bitney, R. J. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.001249. . . . . . . . . . . . Corley, J. F.. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.001253. . . . . . . . . . . . Grass, O. K. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.001253. . . . . . . . . . . . Smith, V. G.. . . . . . . . . . . . 2,952.951340. . . . . . . . . . . . Montgomery, E. S. . . . . 6,250.001377. . . . . . . . . . . . Davis, J. L. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,859.571392. . . . . . . . . . . . Kuchik, P. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,960.001393. . . . . . . . . . . . Carlisle, J. R. . . . . . . . . . . 2,887.961525. . . . . . . . . . . . Skelton, M. E. . . . . . . . . 3,000.001547. . . . . . . . . . . . Drinkhouse, D. A. . . . . . . 6,250.001687. . . . . . . . . . . . Wilson, K. J. . . . . . . . . . . 1,000.002150. . . . . . . . . . . . Geske, M. M. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.002150. . . . . . . . . . . . Wiench, M. G. . . . . . . . . 3,000.002286. . . . . . . . . . . . Pickett, A. E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00I.O. (12) . . . . . . . . Johnson, E. B. . . . . . . . . 6,250.00I.O. (134) . . . . . . . . Wollek, S. J. . . . . . . . . . . 6,250.00I.O. (886) . . . . . . . . Bennett, M. C. . . . . . . . . 2,321.20Pens. (134) . . . . . . Conroy, E. W. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (467) . . . . . . Jennings, T. K. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (561) . . . . . . Brais, P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (637) . . . . . . Pendleton, J. H.. . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (835) . . . . . . Bennett, C. S. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (1788) . . . . Coulter, W. A. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (1788) . . . . Garrison, G. R. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (2231) . . . . Chapple, P. D. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Betancourt, F. M. . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Blasco, G. R. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Boxer, J. C.. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Calli, M. J. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Carter, E. W. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Chesney, J. R. . . . . . . . . 2,931.18Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Daugird, C. F.. . . . . . . . . . . . 983.09Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Davies, G. L. . . . . . . . . . . 2,326.47Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Delong, G. R. . . . . . . . . . . 2,880.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Ewert, R. W. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Hitt, W. T. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Johnson, T. V.. . . . . . . . . . 2,968.18Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Kempf, R. C. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Kline, J. A. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Lindberg, C. W. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . McCarley, J. W. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Moore, E. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,900.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Norris, A. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Owen, R. E. . . . . . . . . . . 2,731.20Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Peterson, B. L. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Peterson, E. E. . . . . . . . . 2,826.64Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Pritchett, J. E. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Rapinac, S. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Reeder, F. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Reynolds, H. E. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Shane, L. N. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Sisneros, M. E. . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Ward, W. A.. . . . . . . . . . . . 2,943.99Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Wilkes, N. W. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Worley, C. E. . . . . . . . . . . 3,000.00Pens. (I.O.) . . . . . . Zimmerman, W. J. . . . . 3,000.00

Total Amount . . . . $1,814,176.39

In Memoriamcontinued from page 13