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Apprentices manning the Local 102 JATC booth at the IBEW Local 102 Trade Show 2001.

IBEW Local 102's (Paterson, New Jersey) Electrical and Communications Trade Show was a lesson on what cooperation between workers and contractors can accomplish when they work together.

Co-hosted by the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), the event attracted more than 3,000 people to a full day of seminars, product demonstrations and certification sessions. It was sponsored by Graybar Electric, a national wholesale distributor of communications and data products.

"It was win-win all the way around," said event organizer Lou Baram, business agent at Local 102, who co-organized the gathering with Graybar's Fred Zetterstrom.

The April 30 event gave vendors a chance to show their new wares and gave the IBEW an opportunity to recruit non-union workers and students considering a career in the industry. Among the attendees were workers from non-union jobsites targeted by show organizers. And 200 students from four vocational schools in northern New Jersey also attended the show.

"They were all very impressed," Brother Baram said. "They walked away with a full bag of stuff, a free dinner and now they know where to come to fill out an application."

Over 60 vendors came to the Whippany event, many to showcase tools and equipment that had not yet hit the market. The day included seminars in subjects such as new code change information, new teledata tools, basic telecommunications cabling and overcurrent protection, all designed to bring home the necessity of constant learning in an ever-changing trade. The firestopping seminar even provided an opportunity for those in attendance to receive certifications for voice, data and video communication cabling.

It took six months for Local 102 to organize the trade show, which the local hosts every two years. On the day of the conference, shuttle buses were overwhelmed, parking lots were jammed and downtown businesses were impressed with the sheer drawing power of the trade show.

"This day established Local 102 very solidly in the community," Baram said. "Everybody wanted to know what was going on. The contractors and members are proud to be a part of it and the vendors were so impressed at the turnout."

Local 102 represents 3,300 members throughout northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania.