April 2013
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Also In This Issue Workers Memorial Day commemorated read_more

Management squashes nascent campaign read_more

Small nuclear plants risk closure read_more

First contract bargained with Sears techs read_more

Sequester hits IBEW's federal workers read_more

North of 49°
Anti-Union Forces Gaining Strength in Canada read_more

Au nord du 49° parallèle
Les forces anti-ouvrières prennent de l'ampleur au Canada read_more

NEBF Annual Funding
Notice read_more

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  Cover Photo


Super Storms Demand
More IBEW First Responders

When they hear the words "first responders," most people probably draw upon images of uniformed public safety officers and firefighters rescuing citizens in trouble.

But when trouble comes in the gales of frequent and freakish storms, the first responders are often tree trimmers wielding chainsaws or utility linemen hanging out of bucket trucks to clear toppled trees and lift lines to let the ambulances and fire trucks in.

Thousands of these seasoned workers carry IBEW cards. And all of them are concerned that, as their numbers dwindle due to rolling waves of retirements, they and the communities they serve — sometimes hundreds of miles away from home — could be left in peril.

Sandy's Waves Test Gas Workers

After Hurricane Sandy struck the New Jersey coast last October, CNN aired video footage of soaring flames engulfing bungalows on the New Jersey Shore's beaches and shooting skyward in plumes from ruptured gas pipes that might be routine at nearby oil refineries but had no place in a summer vacation spot.

"Before the firefighters could come in, we had to cap the natural gas pipes and find valves that were covered by four feet of sand," says Tom Curtis, president, Neptune, N.J., Local 1820.

Curtis, a 33-year IBEW member, and his crew of Jersey Natural Gas workers readied to drive to the peninsula to cap the lines, then realized the roadway from the mainland had been completely washed away. read_more

  Local Lines

Officers Column Who is Pro Business? read_more

TransitionsRick Tira read_more

CircuitsKnoxville Leaders Honor IBEW with Street Naming;
Michigan Training Center Recognized by County Officials;
Hawaii's First-Ever Lineman Rodeo read_more

LettersA Life Well Spent;
GOP friends or foes?:
Flip Feature Fancy read_more

In MemoriamJanuary 2013 read_more
February 2013 read_more

Who We AreTopping Out: Tools in One Hand and a Degree in the Other read_more

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