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Employees at the utility’s office and service area in Hazard, Kentucky, voted overwhelmingly on June 10, 1998, to be represented by IBEW Local 978, (Charleston, West Virginia). Two separate units consisting of 10 employees in the meter reader/clerical unit and 40 employees in a physical unit, are preparing to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement, reports the local’s Business Manager, Charles Coleman.

Not In Our Area

Local 520, Austin, Texas, has been seeking to organize nonunion shops opened by former members. It targeted Larry Williams Electrical Maintenance and Construction of Taylor, Texas, who was the most recent defector. Williams was a 1987 graduate of the NJATC Program in Austin.

While a dues-paying member, he went into the contracting business and decided that his workers did not deserve the wages and benefits that he was afforded as a union member. He had managed to operate the business for quite some time until a Local 520 member saw his shop and filed charges against him. He never appeared before the trial board and simply stopped paying his dues.

After Williams had been in business for one year, a traveling Brother, Marvin Marshall from Local 278, Corpus Christi, volunteered to answer one of his ads in the paper and was hired. Two weeks later, Williams hired two other Local 520 members, Kris Price and Assistant Business Manager/Organizer Michael Murphy. In July 1998, the members showed up at the shop wearing union T-shirts and petitioned Williams for a raise. When the manager declined to meet the demands, the workers declared an economic strike, putting three of the contractor's eight employees out of work. Soon, one of the other employees signed an authorization card.

The union member began to picket the shop and a job site at a downtown hotel. The hotel owners were very displeased, and Williams lost the work. As Assistant Business Manager Murphy report: "At this point, Williams’ conscience and sense of survival got the best of him and he came in to have a discussion with the business manager. On July 31^st, Larry Williams Electrical Maintenance and Construction became our newest contractor, when he signed a Letter of Assent "A" that day. Congratulations go to Brothers Marshall, Price, Robert Biehle, and Ralph Merriweather, Assistant Business Manager/Organizer."

Local 804, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, Business Manager Jerry Wilson (right) and Organizer Brett McKenzie (left) stand beside the huge sign that invites all unrepresented electricians to obtain more information about the IBEW--a novel organizing idea that reflects the ingenuity IBEW locals apply to organizing.

Dispatches

Five employees, working for Maine Public Service Company voted on July 30, 1998, to be represented by Local 1837, Manchester, Maine. Negotiations are underway to reach a signed agreement;

Twenty employees at Mobile Tool International, Fort Wayne, Indiana, gained recognition when a majority of employees signed IBEW authorization cards, which resulted in recognition when the company accepted a card check. A college professor, viewing the signed cards against the excelsior list, verified that the majority wanted recognition by Fort Wayne IBEW Local 723;

Five employees, working for Lockheed-Martin at Fort Bragg, South Carolina, voted July 29, 1998 to be represented by Local 553, Raleigh, North Carolina, and the agreement has been executed. This location is one of many that the IBEW is currently attempting to seek recognition for employees working for Lockheed-Martin’s Miles Project, under the Service Contract Act.

Organized Voices

Pete Mitrovic
Local 120, London, Ontario, Canada

I have been an electrician for over 20 years and have always been nonunion, failing to get in the local. Of course, that all changed after a friend of mine said I needed to join Local 120 and get some respect. It was the truth--in the past five years, my wages had gone down, the jobs were less and less safe and you wouldn’t dare voice your concerns, or you were replaced. I love what I do, but I was finding it harder and harder to spend time with my family. If you said "no" to overtime, you may not be back. One of the worst jobs I have ever been on in my entire life was 12-hour nights, 7 days a week, for four months straight.

I asked my friend to see if he would help me with my application to the IBEW. I am pleased to say that I now wear a Union Logo with pride, and the feeling of being threatened is no longer over my head. For the first time in a long time, I can say "no" to overtime and be with my family. But of all the things that made me love the change more than anything was the day I left a nonunion electrical contractor for the last time, was when another electrical contractor (nonunion) asked if I would come and work for him even after all the problems he had caused. With great pride and self confidence, I asked if he ran a union shop, to which he replied "no." I told him, "Call me when you are." That in itself gave me a feeling that I hadn’t gotten for some time. I am now, and for the rest of my life an IBEW Brother.

Mark E. Bates
Local 124, Kansas City, Missouri

I’m from Olathe, Kansas. After attending college for two years, I decided to take a break from school and took a job with an open shop as an electrician’s apprentice. That was in 1975, and I have been working in the industry ever since. In April 1995, when I was working for Diversified Electric Company, I was contacted by the IBEW. Having been in the industry for 20 years, and in my early 40s, it became very apparent to me that I needed to do something about my future retirement plans. Working in open shops...wages were not commensurate with my skills; no benefits were offered and it was strictly a day’s work for a day’s pay. I became frustrated with the open shop’s [self-interest] and their lack of concern for their employees. The IBEW representative I spoke to about joining the union treated me with respect and dignity, and was very considerate of my situation. After weighing the tremendous benefits offered by organized labor, I made the decision to become an IBEW member so that I could provide a better life for me and my family, and secure my future as well. I have been with IBEW Local 124 for three years and two months, and am proud of the electrical trade. I have a lot of lost years to make up and I plan to do that with the IBEW!

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