Another Year, Another Class of The IBEW's Finest

 When the president and the organizer of our local walked into our classroom near the end of the last year of our apprenticeship and handed each of us a tramp guide and talked to us about rules of the road we were a bit nervous and somewhat excited -- both for the same reason:  the idea that we were about to be on our own as Journeymen Wiremen

We worked Intel, Atmel, Comanche 3, Penrose-St. Francis Hospital and a long list of other places.  Over the past four years, we all worked together and learned a great deal of information.  Our instructors taught us everything, from the basics of tools and safety to the complex anatomy of pipe bending, motor controls and AC and DC theory.  The Journeymen we worked with also taught us a lot.  The good ones taught us how we should do things.  They taught us why we need to take pride in our work.  The bad ones showed us, unbeknownst to them, what not to do.  Even our fellow apprentices taught us a lot.

We were part of a new school.  The NJATC, IBEW and NECA are pushing for stronger, better, faster, smarter workers, which is understandable because it is a cut throat market out there.  Producing a mediocre Journeyman isn’t just detrimental to IBEW Local 113 but also to the entire IBEW.  It's not an option.  So those who could pass the bar were able stick out the entire program, while those who could not were also sorted out and fell by the wayside.  The curriculum we learned was composed of the same core values of the IBEW but was  presented in a different light.  The material was enhanced and delivered in a new medium.  Journeyman after Journeyman explained how glad they were that we had this much information provided to us in our apprenticeship. Some even showed a small degree of envy.  In fact, everyone was pushing for us to learn more in order for us to become more.  Time after time, we were encouraged to step up to the plate and learn the various responsibilities of those who run the work -- from the foreman's to the project manager's, with the understanding that we would be the ones to fill those positions in time.  As members of IBEW Local 113 (and their Apprenticeship Program) we understood that more was expected from us -- that we were to be the good and shining example for the future...

Our Local Union meetings, the school outside of our school, was another place where we learned.  We learned compassion by passing the hat whenever a Brother or Sister, or their family, had fallen on hard times.  We learned generosity, by voting on donating funds to the various organizations in our city.  We learned the true meaning of democracy, by voting in our local meetings.  We learned why it’s important to be part of the solution, by getting involved in politics -- from the local to the national level.  We learned a great deal.

With all that we have learned, we will deliver both quality and quantity because we are part of an organization that stands up for what’s right.  We are part of a family that believes in doing good.  We are united Brothers and Sisters, and we will fulfill and hold firm to the oath that we took when we were sworn in because we work for the best contractors and we are part of the greatest Local in the IBEW.  We are now journeymen of Local Union 113.

*With special thanks to guest writer, Brother Jerry Swenson, and congratulations to him and all his classmates...

Announcements:

Colorado Springs Electrical JATC 2010 Classes…

*BPI Class – Oct. 11, 22 –  National certification to validate skills to conduct home energy audits

*Leed – Green Associate Exam Prep Class – Sept. 30 @ 8:00 a.m.

*Sign up now for upcoming classes on Instrumentation.  (This training will be held in Denver, Saturdays, beginning Sept. 11 through Oct. 30.)

*Photovoltaic System Installation – Nov. 29 through Dec. 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

*Building Automation – Sept. 11 through Oct. 2, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.  (This training will also take place in Denver.)

*CPR/AED/First Aid – Sept. 11 @ 8:00 a.m.

**Please call the JATC @ (719)632-1920, for more information or to register.

July 26, 2010 [go back to top] 

 

Brothers and Sisters, it’s that time again because it’s nearly time – to do that thing where we, as American citizens, exercise the most sacred of democratic practices: the vote.   Currently, only free citizens, of a certain age, who are legally registered to do so, and not prohibited by certain legal conditions, are allowed to take part in this celebration of democracy…  So it’s a pretty big deal.  We Union people take the idea pretty seriously, and our numbers, at around 83% member turn-out at the polls, speak for themselves.  While this could be 17% better, which we’re working on, it’s pretty darn good (especially when compared to the national average or, even, your own Local’s elections.)  We get it done, here, in Colorado, been getting it done, not just because somebody has to but also because there is always so much at stake – as usual, this time, everything… 

There’s a lot of disappointment, unemployment and general frustration out there – even amongst our members.  I know.  Add that to the fact that voter turn-out is always lower in nonpresidential elections, and we’ve really got our work cut out for us in November.

But when do we ever let hard work discourage us?  When do we back down from a fight that is just in cause?  We don’t.  Still, it takes an enormous amount of hard work and activism, from all of our affiliated Local Unions, to make winning the fight even remotely possible. 

Because having a fight plan, to organize the voice of Labor at the polls, is also a good idea, the AFL-CIO’s Labor 2010 Campaign is already under way.  Working America (the affiliated organization that allows the AFL-CIO to legally communicate with nonunion members who share our concerns) has continued to grow, and will also be involved in the effort – to educate, agitate and motivate…  The plan is simple.  It goes something like this:    When the people from the Labor 2010 Campaign reach out to you (and they will – by mail, by phone, in person…) just give them the respect they deserve and listen to what they have to say.  Be polite and allow them to do their job.  The strategy is put together, exclusively, to serve the needs of working people.  The endorsement process is not taken lightly, nor is it based upon anything but performance and Union friendliness.  The positions taken on amendments and propositions are based upon nothing but the possible effects on working families.  If you can do anything to help, the more the merrier…  Get involved.  Simple.

I could go on about individual candidates and issues that we are going to be given the privilege of voting on this November.  But you’ll be hearing enough about all that in the next three months.  The key is also to spread the word to anyone you can, especially your nonunion friends and neighbors.  Honestly, they do so much better a job at it than me (paraphrasing) that this is one of those times when I would just encourage people to visit the Colorado State AFL-CIO website (www.coaflcio.org/) to get all the details for Labor’s 2010’s strategy, goals and calendar.  (Sometimes, you just have to take the easy way out.) This will sure make things easier for the staff Labor 2010.  I’ll just give you a teaser…  No on Amendments 60 and 61; No on Proposition 101; No on proposed Initiative 45; a huge No to Scott McInnis, which reminds me that I would like to mention something about one of the candidates…  I saw a presentation that showed some possible scenarios involving a Scott McInnis governorship.  The one that stood out was a picture of a giant, doomsday-type meteor, headed straight toward the earth.  Respect this metaphor.  He has never been a friend to Labor and is already talking about how he can’t wait to sign Right-to-Work (for less) legislation.  With unemployment as high as it is, I’m sure there’ll be plenty of takers, for that line of crap, in the ever-expanding ranks of the uninformed and misinformed.  Besides that, Scott’s a plagiarizer.  (Plagiarism’s what they call it when you steal someone else’s written work, and make $300,000 by presenting it as the gift of your own genius.  I do it all the time – make $300,000, per article, but the difference is that all the stuff I steal is from really obscure sources.  Sometimes, depending on how pressed I am for time, I’ll at least make an effort to paraphrase…)

As long as I decided not to keep my word about candidates, I would also like to give a special shout out to a guy who should have the vote of every Union member in El Paso County – Thomas Mowle.  Sure, he only running for El Paso County Clerk and Recorder but, in the future, it sure would be nice to be able to take some things, here, for granted – like fair elections.  Tom’s scary smart and he gets it.  (He even went to a Union printer without being told to.)  If you need more information on Tom, he also has a website, a Facebook page and even uses the Twitter.  He would love to speak to anybody’s membership, in person, and you can get with me to make that happen.

And remember, if it seems like it was just that time, like the month before last, maybe it’s because Election Day, in America, is a bigger deal than many national holidays (like Labor Day and the Feast of Little Saint Anthony…)

Big corporations have sure done a tremendous job of causing Big Labor to use a pretty substantial part, of its budget and resources to fend off fascism on a bi-annual basis…

United, we stand.  Divided, we beg…

June 6, 2010 [go back to top] 

Foreword:

I’m not the one who should be doing this – writing this…  I’ve known Marc for only 9 years and, really, not all that well.  But I owe Marc a lot, just for giving me the opportunity to serve Local 113, in this capacity, for the last 5 ½ years (with all but the first two articles even proofed for content.)  He trusted me, as he has since, on many other occasions, with various other tasks, for no better reason than I was willing to show up or do the job.  He has also defended me (probably more than the one time I witnessed) when other people thought I had crossed lines I thought were only there to be crossed.  A few years ago, I received a notice about a workshop, on Labor and the Media that was being held in Denver.  I emailed Marc to see what he thought about me going.  Because I would be doing so as a representative of IBEW Local 113, and not just as a curious individual, I thought it was appropriate to ask for his blessing.  I said, “I know this thing is addressed to Labor Leaders, but, unless we’re already sending someone, I would like to go…”  His response, as usual, was quick and to the point.  He said something like, “You may not be a Labor Leader – yet.  I’m sure it will be worth the trip and I’m also sure we’d like to hear a report about it at the next meeting…”   I believe Marc Johnson is a great Labor Leader and probably one of the foremost Labor authorities in the entire state.  Great leaders inspire.  In his career with the IBEW, he has served on more boards, commissions and trusteeships than there is room to mention here.  In addition, he has presided over the Colorado Springs Area Labor Council and received, amongst other awards, the Anton Zafereo Award (for excellence in Labor Leadership.)  He stood on the shoulders of giants, is leaving some pretty big shoes to fill, etc., etc…

Thank You, Marc, And Good Luck!

I didn’t get much interviewing done over lunch.  I knew I wouldn’t, mostly because writing while eating is just plain silly and rude.  Instead, we just talked – about politics, current affairs, gardening…  What was funny, and something I couldn’t help thinking about, was how I had recently told him, in the company of others, that I didn’t think people (our members) thought he was very smart.  He had just finished giving a detailed and fairly brainy explanation for something, complete with a history lesson. 

I just looked at him and said, “See, that’s the problem – what you just did.   I don’t think people have any idea that you know all this stuff.  They don’t know that there’s a copy of the latest Newsweek and Mother Jones on your coffee table, and that you read them both…”

Later, one of the guys who was there told me he thought I might’ve hurt his feelings.

I told him I didn’t think that was possible.  After all, Marshall Johnson was a Lineman and (before that) a Marine.  Once you’re either, he says, you always are…

Marshall Johnson has also been the Business Manager, at IBEW Local 113, for the last 28 years but that career was never meant to be a forever thing.  He just kept getting elected.  If he had not decided to retire, effective at the end of this month, he most certainly would have been re-elected for another 3-year term in that position. 

When I started attending meetings, as a first-year apprentice, nine years ago, my BA was someone I thought I was supposed to hate and fear.  It seemed pretty reasonable, considering that he almost always seemed to be angry.  Later, after I’d gotten to know him a little better, I realized that this persona was a lot like the one I assumed as a father, when trying to discipline my own boys – not necessarily a complete bluff but good enough to make them think you were capable of terrible things if they didn’t get their shit together in a hurry…  In reality (or perhaps even just due to the mellowing of time) Marc Johnson is a quiet guy.  While he loves to tell stories, he didn’t seem very comfortable when the subject turned exclusively to him.  Instead of focusing on the achievements in his career, he seemed more concerned with areas where he thought he fell short.

“My first day as BA, the work just stopped,” he recalled.  “Out of about 450 members, with around 350 Inside Wireman, one third was suddenly on the books and many of the contactors were even talking about jumping ship…  Our vision, my vision, back in 1982, was less than perfect,” he added.  We all knew the nonunion electrical work force was getting bigger and more powerful, that they were coming, but we thought we were too good for them to replace us and that was a huge mistake.  I should’ve pushed harder to get the membership to understand what was coming.  And now we find ourselves chasing them, trying to recover what used to be ours…”

Marc remains confident that all is not lost, however, and insists that adaptability is the key to the IBEW’s success and will continue to be in the future. 

“We can’t continue to work with an Agreement that was crafted in the 60s,” he said.  “Like everything else, that too must continue to change and adapt to the times for us to remain competitive.  But that’s not the BA’s decision.  Because this is a true democracy, the membership needs to seek and approve change…”

The work situation is pretty bad right now, and even though this seems to be national phenomena, it’s not the note Marc wanted to go out on, as the leader of IBEW Local 113 (which currently has over 1,200 members.)

“There is still some Brotherhood left but not like it used to be,” he said, with a frown.  “I think this idea of I’ve got mine, screw every one else was made popular by a president (Reagan) who said it’s OK to be greedy.  Well, it’s not OK – not in the Union – not for the Local – not for the country!  The new generation’s attitude worries me,” he continued.  “50% don’t give a rat’s ass about Brotherhood, about lifting not just themselves but others up, and this is very disappointing to me…”

I reassured him he was wrong, that feeling like that is just part of growing up and old – every generation’s curse, to believe the next generation is going to hell in a tool box…

Even retired, he will continue to worry – about the health plan, double-dip recession and the over balance of power in corporate America… But Marc has confidence that his replacement (whoever that might be) and the next generation of leaders will be up for the challenges ahead.  Though he has publicly threatened to drop in on the occasional meeting, I think it will probably be a while before that happens.  He plans on a real and long retirement, “…relaxing, having fun, drawing his pension and doing a fair amount of beer drinking.”

After a career in the IBEW that began 38 years ago, Marc is now ready for the challenge of doing nothing (or, at least, doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants.  Who’s being greedy now?)  And we, at IBEW Local 113, would like to recognize and thank him for the job he’s done – wish him well in what he plans not to do…

Anybody else got a BA who’s been quoted in a book by a national best seller?  I didn’t think so.  Thanks, so much (for that and other things.)

We’ll miss you, Brother Marshall Johnson.  Good luck!

And can you believe I did this without one reference to not letting the door hit your—

May 3, 2010 [go back to top] 

It’s been almost two years since the beginning of what was called our financial meltdown, and the government is just now getting around to debating the issue of financial reform.  So far, there have been absolutely zero steps taken (as in measures passed into law) to prevent the sort of financial manipulation and fraud, which caused the meltdown, from happening again.  But, rest assured, the only ones who can do something about it are about to start talking about doing something about it…  As we saw, with Health Care, the speed at which the needs and interests of the people can be expected to be addressed is sometimes blinding… 

Is anybody else starting to feel like it’s all just a bunch of circus-type theater?  Am I crazy when I think it’s all just professional wrestling, where baby faces fight heels in scripted matches?  We, The People, as the audience (also known as the mark) are being worked into a frenzy but don’t have much control over the outcome.  Meanwhile, after the match, backstage, sworn enemies are making dinner plans together – laughing all the way to the bank…

Am I crazy when I start to feel like it’s just two corporations, who sell basically the same product, competing, for our business?  For example, McDonald’s used to have a double Cheeseburger on their Dollar Menu but that second piece of cheese was (evidently) killing them so they removed it and renamed the bargain sandwich the McDouble.  Burger King, in an effort to compete with the Dollar Menu, countered with a double cheeseburger, which featured two generous slices of cheese, on their Value Menu.  (When nobody has any money or time to prepare a nutritious meal, this type of competition represents the highest form of oligarchy capitalism!)  But just when Burger King had lured the value-conscious public back to the superior taste of flame-broiled beef, with their two-slice-of-cheese double burger, they pull the same stunt.  Oh, there’s still a real double cheeseburger on the menu, for those who can afford the luxury, but the double burger on the Value Menu lost 50% of its cheesiness and became the Buck Double!  For a while, especially if they missed the TV commercials and were unaware of the change, the mark continued to order plain old double cheeseburgers.  In the short term, at 30 – 40 cents more, per real (though perhaps misguided) double cheeseburger purchase, Burger King almost recovered the original loss they took by reducing the price of their double cheeseburger in the first place!  The long-term benefit of offering any kind of double burger for $1 would surely make up the difference and then some!  Was it a very clever marketing plot, modeled after their chief competitor, or just part of an elaborate shell game?  After all, it wasn’t like Burger King really thought they could indefinitely offer more for less.  McDonalds had made the change, from the $1 Double Cheeseburger to the McDouble, nearly a year before (after they realized that second slice of cheese would surely lead them to ruin and bankruptcy.)   Still, the market for cheeseburgers (of any sort) is one of the fastest growing in the country, with nearly unlimited growth potential…

The Democrats, who were responsible for the dismantling of the Glass-Stegall Act (under President Clinton) are now the ones who are screaming for financial reform.  Well, good for them.  At least they can admit that something needs to be done, even if they won’t admit it should have been as easy as immediately reinstating the Glass-Stegall Act and imposing strict regulations on the buying, selling and trading of things (like derivatives) with no intrinsic value.  How hard would that have been?  The loans (which people like to forget are being repaid, with interest) would still have been necessary to help clean up the mess but would have almost certainly been a one-time deal.  The re-separation of commercial from investment banking would have done a lot to remove huge conflicts of interest (like selling off worthless derivatives and toxic assets to a company within your own company and then betting against yourself to lose) as well as it would have prevented financial institutions from getting too big to fail ever again.  Yet, just like the Public Option mysteriously disappeared from the health care debate, the reinstatement of the Glass-Stegall Act isn’t even being discussed in the debate over financial reform.  Did I mention that it’s almost been two years?  Regardless, something needs to be done and done sooner than later.  Meanwhile, the Republicans have gotten so used to playing the heels, for the last year, they don’t know what to do but disagree.  While doing nothing to help (like offering better solutions) and by labeling the financial reform bill as something exactly the opposite of what is (a technique they perfected between the years of 2000 – 2008) they are trying to say it will actually encourage government bailouts.  Bravo!  It’s a brilliant strategy but the clock is ticking…  Just ask people in Iceland or Greece…

Meanwhile, about 45% of the mark thinks Republican law makers are just being obstructionists, 45% think Democratic law makers are leading us down the road to hell and socialism, 8% can’t believe the referee is so easily distracted that he could miss blatant infractions of the rules and 2% are still wondering how long it will take before the second slice of cheese is removed (without even changing the name.) 

Andre The Giant once passed out in a hotel lobby, after drinking something like 120 beers in the bar.  He was too big to be moved, so the staff just threw a tablecloth over him and let him sleep it off there.  Guests of the hotel (the mark) weren’t fooled into thinking the big white lump on the floor was a piece of furniture but they never guessed it was a sleeping giant either…

April 13, 2010 [go back to top]

It’s Still A Big @#$%^&! Deal

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…  Only on some rare occasions do I even pretend to be a reporter.  I write a column, which is more OP ED than anything else.  That’s just the way things worked out, and where I appear to be most comfortable.  I joke around a lot but it just might be time to start taking some of my opinions seriously…

CLA:  Aug., ’09…  The idea that the American health care industry was putting profit before people wasn’t any sort of revelation to Wendell Potter.  He knew that.  He, like so many others in his profession, had simply chosen not to think about it.  After all, as he freely admitted, he was one of Cigna’s PR specialists given the task of discrediting Michael Moore’s film, Sicko (which he confessed, to Moyers, was pretty much 100% accurate.) 

While Potter said he wasn’t sure what the solution is, he is now thoroughly convinced that a system where health insurers’ main responsibility lies with share holders, rather than patients, is one that is tragically flawed.  And remember, he’s not just saying this because he thinks or suspects it to be true.  He knows. 

When asked what to expect in the ongoing health care reform debate, Potter was extremely pessimistic.  He pointed out that there was simply too much at stake, in terms of profit, for the health insurance industry to lose very much ground and does not believe they will.  Translation:  There will be little to no change, especially when insurers see the 50 million uninsured, not to mention the underinsured, as prospective customers and honestly believe that many go naked (their term for uninsured) because they choose to and not because they cannot afford coverage.

CLA:  Sept. ’09…  It’s all fun and games, until some senior shows up at an open (not screened, like Republican events) discussion about health care with a poster that reads:  No Socialized Medicine!  And Leave My Medicare Alone!

CLA:  Dec. ’09…  Meanwhile, party lines have remained party lines, with nothing less than the health care of a nation in the balance.  Republican law makers, like the Independent Senator from Connecticut, will do their best to support industry, over populace, and ensure that any reform(s) in the health care system will not cut into their already insane profits.  And Moderate Democrats, also on the take from the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, will be more than willing to cut a deal.  Those who have health coverage will be lucky if it doesn’t end up becoming a source of taxable income, and those without it will be lucky if not having a health plan isn’t made against the law.  (Hey, it works for cars.  Right?)

CLA:  Jan. ’10…  The only real winners in the health care crisis (no matter how meaningful we’re being told the reform is) will be the insurance companies, which are the very ones who need to be removed from the whole health care equation.

Has anyone else noticed that the insurance companies are just about the only ones who are not unhappy with the new health care legislation?  Has anyone else noticed that their stocks (along with those of hospitals and pharmaceutical companies) have risen just about every day since the legislation passed?  Just wondering… if what’s good for them will, ultimately, be good for us…

Still, I have to agree with the Vice President (and not just because I love when adults, who are speaking to adults, speak like adults.)  I have to agree that the new health care legislation is a big @#$%^&! deal simply because it’s the first major piece of trickle up legislation passed in over 30 years.  Regardless of how much insurers and pharmaceutical companies are going to make out in the deal, as foretold, the bottom line is that millions of Americans’ lives will be improved in the process.  The legislation not only falls under the category of being better than a stick in the eye but, also, is a huge step in the right direction – towards moving away from a for-profit health care system (like most industrialized, first-world countries) altogether.  And, with any luck at all, it will force Rush Limbaugh to make good on his promise to move to Costa Rica (where, oddly enough, he would receive socialized health care!)  While such critics of anything mandated think the whole issue is a Marxist scheme to redistribute wealth, I say, “Oh, well…”  That’s not the worst thing that could happen, in America, anyhow.  News flash:  Most of us, even those with good jobs (myself included, when I am working) do not make the required $88,000 a year (for a family of four) to not receive subsidized care under this new program.

March 9, 2010 [go back to top]

After an experiment with a once-a-week, five hour school day, which lasted about nine years, IBEW Local 113 apprentices will be returning to a night school format in August. 

Francis Vigil, the Apprenticeship Director, says the decision was not made lightly, and one that the Apprenticeship Committee had been mulling over for a while.  Like so many decisions currently being made in households across the country, this one was financially motivated.

“We’re not broke,” said Francis.  “But part of the Committee’s job is to see that we can operate into the future without going broke.  This is just the best solution to preventing what we know will be a problem – before we find ourselves there.” 

Come August, the two full-time instructors will be replaced by part-time instructors who will probably teach in six to eight week blocks (two nights a week, for 2 ½ hours.)  It’s old school, literally, because that’s the way it was done here for 52 years, before the Apprenticeship Committee thought days (once a week, for 5 hours) was the way to go.

While some have expressed concern that reverting back to nights, with a host of different instructors, may be detrimental to the apprentices, the fact that history is overwhelmingly on the side of those who received the classroom part of their apprenticeship education at night would seem to suggest otherwise.  We have a lot of great Journeymen Wiremen in our Local.  However, I don’t believe that any of them became great because of what time they went to school.  I’m pretty sure the greatness is more a result of their desire and dedication to the trade, which surely began during apprenticeship.  While the classroom part of the Apprenticeship Program is certainly valuable, I would, nevertheless, say that most of the practical learning experience occurs in the field.  Sometimes, I couldn’t even explain to my instructors what I was doing at work...  (You can make what you want of that.)  My point is simply that, as someone who went to school, for all four years, during the day, I don’t think I’m any better off than the night school Journeymen who taught me (both in the classroom and in the field.)  I will admit that, as someone who already had a family, day school was a little bit easier for me to handle.  A 40-hour (+) work week, along with two nights of schooling, would have been more disruptive to my family life but it wouldn’t have made too much difference.  I mean, it’s not like I still wouldn’t have leapt at the opportunity… 

And the flip side is that, once again, apprentices will be able to get a 40-hour work week.  The apprentices caught in the middle of this change will get a raise, simply by virtue of the fact that they will have around 110 more hours, a year, available for them to work.  It doesn’t sound like much but (multiplied by four years) it could make for a nice down payment on a new American car, upon graduation, not to mention the additional 440 hours towards the 8,000 needed to test for the license…

While the contractors will be paying out a little bit more in the process, they will no longer have to deal with the disruption involved in having apprentices leaving early, sometimes on various days of the week, on their scheduled school day.  (Even though that day was the same, all year long, they could never seem to remember when you had to go to school and always seemed to be put off by your using it as an excuse to early-out once a week…)

When asked about the possibility of the quality of the instruction going down, Francis was emphatic…  “I don’t believe that will happen at all,” he said. 

He believes the idea of bringing in different Journeymen to teach different parts of the curriculum may even prove to be more effective. 

“Of course, we’re going to reach out to the people who are already teaching some of our upgrade classes,” he said.  “And we have a lot of people who are true experts in particular fields.  So why not have someone who does nothing but work on fire alarm systems teach the fire alarm section?  Transformers, motor controls, whatever…  Look at how many different, specialized coaches there are on a baseball team.  I don’t think anyone could argue that this has hurt the quality of baseball…”

Of course, this means that the CSJATC will be looking for a few more good men (or women.)  So, if you are interested in teaching, especially if you consider yourself to be an expert in any particular aspect of electrical work, give Francis a call.  It could be a way to give something back to your Local, make some extra money and, maybe, even inspire the next generation of Local 113 Journeymen.

Thig Ar Latha!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

February 1, 2010 [go back to top]

The Supreme Court recently decided that it’s OK for corporations (and Unions) to express their freedom of political speech by lifting the campaign contribution restrictions that were in place to keep special interest groups from having too much influence over the outcome of elections.  While it’s only fair – that Labor be granted the same rights as Business, in this area, the idea that this is some kind of victory for Labor is laughable.  It’s like saying that wolves and toy poodles are equally entitled to the same piece of steak… 

While Labor certainly does a lot to get candidates elected, as I have even been witness to, it usually has more to do with the dedication and persistence of very small groups of activists than large sums of political free speech.  Let’s be honest, about those who represent maybe 12% of the work force taking on those who represent just about everyone else.  It may make the book keeping less complicated, and dealing with PACs a thing of the past, but the idea that Labor is now free to contribute to campaigns on the same level as Exxon-Mobil, Cigna and Bank of America is hardly comforting.

While the decision should thrill those who brought us such timeless classics as Hillary The Movie and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, as well as other PACs funded by large, corporate interests, the sadder truth is that the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform was a step in the right direction – to keeping any special interest groups (ours included) from influencing the outcome of elections in this country.  Now, I’m afraid, even this thin veil of make-believe fairness has been stripped away – opening up elected offices (once again) to the highest bidder, at a time when corporate interests and professional lobbyists already have a strangle hold on American politics.

Obama was criticized, during the 2008 election, for refusing to go the limited public finance route.  Supposedly, he made this choice because he raised so much money from small donors.  However, he certainly had his share of corporate sponsorship too.  In fact, some of the same huge corporations supported both candidates.  (It’s called hedging your bet.  If you understand the concept, then you may even be capable of understanding hedge funds but you need to talk to a professional broker, or gambler, if, like me, you’re still having trouble with derivatives.)  Ironic, then, that the President should publically rebuke the 5 Supreme Court Justices who formed the majority decision in this case, in his recent State of the Union address.  (If there was a wink and a nod, I missed it.) 

As far as I’m concerned, any amount of corporate financing in federal, state or local elections is too much.  The first step to running the lobbyists out of Washington, D.C. is to take away the incentives for lobbying.  But I was willing to take small steps – toward a government of the people, by the people, for the people…  If it was something I could look forward to for my children, even, that would have been enough.  The decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission seems to put the writing on the wall, though, that we’re going to (at least temporarily) be taking a slight detour from that direction.  If nothing else, the publicity this case generated served to remind me that Obama should be filling at least two Supreme Court Justice Seats.  Maybe, next time around, when we’re still spinning our wheels on the same patch of ice, years from now, when nothing has changed, the vote will be 5-4 the other way.  After all, law is all about precedent, and nobody does a better job of setting it than the Supreme Court.  It’s good to know that the members of the Supreme Court are appointed to lifetime positions (meaning they stay there, sometimes a lot longer than they have any business deciding anything for anybody, until they die or retire for health-related issues) by someone who was put in office with Exxon-Mobil’s Cigna’s and Bank of America’s best interests in mind…

Remember, huge, faceless, insanely wealthy corporations are people too (unless, for some reason, you want to sue them, or they’re too big to fail, etc.)

For homework, and as part of Black History Month, please Google Paul Robeson.  Thanks.

January 1, 2010 [go back to top]

I spent 2009 watching things die.  I suspect, in 2010, many of them will. 

My dog, a very good friend, has started to leave little gifts on the floor, on a semi-regular basis.  For a medium-sized, Samoyed-mix, who could be as old as 17, I guess he’s had a real good run.  Still, it’s a shame – to watch his body struggle to keep up with his unconditional dog love mind…  He’s deaf as a stone, has arthritic hips, and has some seriously bad breath (probably due to tooth decay) but he never complains about anything.  I guess if he was in pain or distress he’d let me know, since he has no trouble letting me know that other things (like trying to look at his teeth) cause both.  I heard a veterinarian, on the radio, say that I’ll know when it’s time because he’ll begin to lose the spark in his eyes.  He sleeps a lot more than he used to but, when he’s awake, the spark is still there.  So I’m content to clean up after him, I guess, until it’s not.  Still, I’m hoping he just takes an extra-long nap…

I watched hope and change fade away, into the woodwork, as politics in America gradually returned to business as usual… 

The collapse of our economic system, and consequent government bailout of under-regulated financial institutions, made me wonder if I wasn’t watching American Capitalism die.  (Seeing Capitalism: A Love Story convinced me that I was.)  Those who would like to see a two-party class system rushed to capitalism’s defense, naturally blaming the administration who inherited the problems, rather than the one that created them, as if our greatness as a nation was somehow tied to the economics of exploitation.

They convinced the easily duped to gather – with pitch forks and misspelled, misinformed placards, demanding their right to have the shit kicked out of them a little bit more.  A little slow on the uptake, these people arrived at the idea of revolution almost 50 years late and for all the wrong reasons.  But that’s what you get when it is, indeed, televised…

Unlimited military spending will continue indefinitely and without question. 

The only real winners in the health care crisis (no matter how meaningful we’re being told the reform is) will be the insurance companies, which are the very ones who need to be removed from the whole health care equation.

The Employee Free Choice Act, which some us put a lot of time and energy into, has become a very low priority.  If it ever does see the light of day, which looks doubtful at this point, it will probably end up being as toothless as the health care reform and not much help to the millions of working Americans who need it the most.

Business as usual…

I witnessed the general decay of common sense, in more ways than I would have ever imagined…

Gold (a mineral substance which gains most of its intrinsic value from being soft, malleable and shiny) continues to rise in value – something that traditionally happens during periods of fear and uncertainty.  Companies sprang up, all over the place, asking people to send in their jewelry and dental fillings, to capitalize on the scam.  Some television news personalities even became spokesmen for the gold trade, on the side, and used their shows (which already catered to fear and despair mongering) as platforms for promoting a failsafe investment.  (I plan on using mine to build a life-sized statue of myself, just like Spiderman’s arch rival, The Rhino!)

All of the above was pretty hard on me; especially considering that what I watched die the most in 2009 was also my own career.  Injured, on the job, back in June of 2008, I finally got a chance to participate in the circus known as Colorado Worker’s Compensation (by February of 2009.)  Apparently, quality medical treatment and rehabilitation is not really their concern – as long as a determination of Maximum Medical Improvement is reached.  I went through a slow year, in which little progress was made.  I was dumb enough to believe that I would be fixed (and that they wanted me to be.)  But with only about a year’s wages (for me) at stake, the simple truth is that Colorado is a terrible state to get injured on the job.  Anybody else who has been already knows this.  They don’t care.  If I would have responded to five visits to physical therapy, five visits to a chiropractor and three spinal injections, stretched over the course of a twelve month period, then it would have been nice.  I did not, and can (currently) no longer do the job I used to do.  If I ever hope to, I guess I’ll have to fix myself.  I might be able and I might not.  I just don’t know…  I liked what I did and would like to think that it’s not going to amount to a check (for a third of a year’s wages) and the door hitting me on the way out but, right now, the situation looks less than promising.  For eight years (and being as old as 36 when I got in) I guess I had a pretty good run though…

Here’s to hoping 2010 turns out to be a little better – that maybe that thing about windows opening when doors close turns out to be true.

December 7, 2009 [go back to top]

It’s been quite an eventful year.  As I look back on it, I wonder where the time went…  Between Michael Jackson, Sarah Palin and Tiger Woods, it’s been so hard to concentrate and keep track of what’s really happened.  Remaining well-informed (about anything) has become real work.   Even without a job, I’ve done a miserable job of keeping up because it’s become so distasteful.  I think I mentioned that not watching the local news seemed to help but I still can’t escape the assault of useless information.  I believe my New Year’s Eve resolution is going to be to switch my computer home page from CNN to Comedy Central (but failed resolutions will be the feature of a different column.)

I’m pretty sure, after the joy and bliss of the big Democratic presidential victory wore off, that I haven’t witnessed too much change (either of the kind I could believe in or that which was simply too good to be true.)  I know that it’s only been a year and that change, sometimes, takes time.  It’s just that, as the product of a society based strongly in instant gratification, patience has never been a strong point.

I know the new boss inherited some pretty big problems, with the wars and the imminent economic collapse, etc.  I know I sure wouldn’t want his job, just because even janitors and maids don’t really enjoy picking up after others.  Still, I just wish the American individual was regarded as too big to fail… 

What the people who keep screaming about Socialism don’t seem to understand is that under-regulated Capitalism is what led to its necessity in the first place.  While Brothers and Sisters continue to lose their homes, Bank of America and Citi Bank are paying back all their Socialist TARP money early.  Suddenly, the money’s there (and paying it back early allows them to avoid having to conform to any of the government’s stipulations on things like bonuses and salary caps.)  Never mind that the government could have probably paid off every existing home mortgage in the country for less than the bail out cost, with the end result being the same – that the banks got their money.  What’s really important is that such respectable corporations, even those involved in legally approved gambling and loan sharking, made it through the crisis without losing so much as the ability to compensate their talent with exorbitant sums of money.  Without these captains of industry, I’m sure America would quickly plummet into Third World status…

Meanwhile, party lines have remained party lines, with nothing less than the health care of a nation in the balance.  Republican law makers, like the Independent Senator from Connecticut, will do their best to support industry, over populace, and ensure that any reform(s) in the health care system will not cut into their already insane profits.  And Moderate Democrats, also on the take from the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, will be more than willing to cut a deal.  Those who have health coverage will be lucky if it doesn’t end up becoming a source of taxable income, and those without it will be lucky if not having a health plan isn’t made against the law.  (Hey, it works for cars.  Right?)

As long as we have the Tiger Woods and the NFL for a few more weeks, everything will be fine.  I’m just worried about what happens afterwards.  (Again, I’m getting ahead of myself.)  Maybe the Patriot Act could be repealed during the lull…

I know it’s Christmas time – the part of the year that’s supposed to bring out the best in us, where we open our hearts and such…  I’m just tired of seeing people purposely being fooled, by promises of unlimited rewards and unprecedented experiences, and being told to chase what doesn’t matter.  All of us know someone, union member or not, that is struggling this holiday season.  As always, let’s remember that our actions, as Union members, demonstrate what we believe in – the non-partisan politics of people.

Merry Christmas, from all the proud members of IBEW Local 113!

November 12, 2009 [go back to top]

It’s not too often that I get to write about huge labor victories within the jurisdiction of IBEW Local 113 (and by not too often, I’m pretty sure I mean that I have never written about a huge labor victory, of any kind, since I began writing this column, over five years ago.)  So while we are celebrating firsts, let’s also celebrate another, as this story comes from the other half of Local 113’s membership – the maintenance electricians.  I have been approached, a few times, by maintenance electricians who want to know why I never write anything about them.  My standard answer has always been the same:  “Oh, I know why.  Because you never tell me what to write about.  I have no idea what you do or what goes on where you work.  And, to be honest, I rarely write anything that has anything to do with what’s going on in the Local.  If you’d ever bothered to read it, you’d know that it’s mostly about what’s going on in my big head.”  (Usually, I’ve lost them by Because you…, and it sometimes hurts the big ego inside my big head to finish saying that to the back of someone’s head, as they’re walking away.)

Well, this month is different.  This month, I am happy to report that our maintenance electricians, out on Fort Carson, have won a Davis Bacon victory that should bring hope to all those who work on government facilities throughout the state. 

Long story short…  All the back in October, 2006, the Fort Carson Department of Power and Water (DPW) announced a mold abatement project would be awarded to Fort Carson Support Services.  The project required over 40 additional carpenters be temporarily hired, was scheduled to take at least six months and would run over 1.1 million dollars.

Shortly after the project began, IBEW Local 113, which had organized Fort Carson Support Services years earlier, was informed, by members at a Local Unit Meeting, that this project certainly met the requirements for the Davis Bacon Act.  (The standard for Davis Bacon is $2,000 in materials or 32 man hours.)

By November of 2007, a letter writing campaign was put together by Local 113 President, Charley Johnson, reaching out to Congressmen Doug Lamborn and Mark Udall, as well as Senator Ken Salazar. 

Just one short year later, the Department of Labor was involved and arrived at Fort Carson to interview Job Steward, Joe Meehan.  The Department of Labor confirmed that Davis Bacon work was, indeed, being performed on the base.  There was a process involved in having the law enforced on the contracting office, the Department of Power and Water, and would not prove to be easy because of their resistance.  (The DPW wanted to pay suppressed wages on the maintenance side rather than the contracting side, and falsely classify new work as maintenance.) 

In February, 2008, Job Steward Joe Meehan, along with fellow Steward, Steve Fowler, met with Congressman Doug Lamborn to discuss the injustice in detail.  The following month, Congressman Lamborn showed up at Fort Carson to discuss the matter with the contracting office of DPW.  Afterwards, it is clear that they will be held responsible for paying the back wages in the dispute but they claim not to know how they will be able to fund the back wages. 

Two more months pass before the Department of Labor rules in favor of Big Labor.  Naturally, the Contracting office, at DPW, appeals the decision and demands a clarification of what work is and what work is not Davis Bacon – a classic stall tactic (as if they truly didn’t know…)  The dispute is then sent to Austin, TX, to be heard by the Mountain Division Demographics Department of Labor Headquarters.  They go back and forth for about ten months…

Finally, in February, 2009, Contracting informed Fort Carson Support Services that Davis Bacon would be recognized – past, present and future, and was going to pay, retro-actively, for all wages due from the beginning of the contract originally signed by KIRA and CSC in June of 2006.

By April, 2009, the Davis Bacon wages for 2006 were paid in full.

By September, 2009, the Davis Bacon wages for 2007 were paid in full.

By October, 2009, the Davis Bacon wages for 2008 were paid in full and are all current, presently being paid on a weekly basis. 

A four year journey that ended in triumph… 

Thanks to the perseverance of some very dedicated union members, nearly a quarter of a million dollars was rightfully restored to the pockets of those working at Fort Carson – something for all of us to be thankful for (the idea that we can and do win sometimes.)

October 8, 2009 [go back to top]

A Bailout For Colorado Springs

What sad times are these, when passing charlatans can suddenly get directions to, and attend, an Area Labor Council meeting to spread a message of gloom and doom for the city of Colorado Springs and seek Labor’s support for anything…  That’s what I thought, when I met Councilwoman, Jan Martin, for the first time, in August. 

In November, the good people (as well as the not so good – democracy’s a bitch that way) will be asked to decide:  SHALL CITY TAXES BE INCREASED $46,000,000 ANNUALLY BY INCREASING 2009 GENERAL PROPERTY TAX 6.00 MILLS, 1.00 ADDITIONAL MILL PER YEAR FOR FOUR YEARS, CONTINUING THEREAFTER, CONSTITUTING VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE?

This is how Question 2C will appear on the ballot, simple and straight forward – what is known in the business of local politics as a mill levy.   If, like me,  you are someone who thinks a mill is a place where things like wood, paper, gin or flour get turned from raw product to a refined, sellable good; and a levy is something built to stop flood waters and a place to drive your Chevy to, don’t get discouraged.  As long as you are 18 years old, and registered to vote, you still get to play the game the game of local politics.  Luckily, expertise on the issues and candidates has never been a prerequisite for voting in America (even if things like being a white man, who is also a property owner, have been….)

Though I would be lying (more than usual, even) if I said I understood Question 2C entirely, I know it’s one of the most important decisions facing the people of Colorado Springs this November.  Why else would any member of the Springs City Council seek Labor’s support to ensure its passage?  Why else would the Gazette and the Independent (for the first time ever) print co-endorsements for 2C, side by side, in their newspapers?

Bottom line is that threats and extortion work.  With a projected $25.4 million budget shortfall in 2010, Colorado Springs is in serious trouble.  (As usual, pay no attention to the Jans behind the curtain because how the problem came about is apparently not up for debate.)  Just as some corporations were recently deemed too big to fail by the Federal government, for fear of the ripple effect this could cause in the economy, if Colorado Springs fails, all who live there will be hurt in some way.  So, ours is not to wonder why but just to do or die – to fix the mess, and stop the bleeding, even if it’s just a quick fix, designed to keep the City departments operating at current (2009) operating levels.  Nobody wants to see significant cuts in all City departments, including Fire and Police, parks, an already dismal transit system, and street maintenance.  Nobody wants to lose anything, or go backwards in any way.  Problem is, nobody ever really wants to pay for the cost of moving forward.

When I look at the list of pros and cons that accompanied the mailing I just received for the notice of Question 2C, I am equally swayed by both.  Basically, there has been no accountability (sound familiar?) within the Springs City government for years.  With any amount of foresight and planning, this financial crisis could have been avoided.  Money has been squandered and promises have been broken but we have no one to blame but ourselves.  We (or, at least, the majority of Springs voters) elected these know-nothings and allowed them to run our city into the ground, in the first place.  They can blame TABOR (the supposed Tax Payers’ Bill of Rights) or whatever they want, for the mess we’re in now, but who were the ones who thought TABOR was such a great idea?  Again, the majority of voters…  This is what happens when stupid people, with no reasonable vision for the future, control politics…  Given their horrific track record, we would be foolish to trust the Springs government to spend any tax increase wisely.  Why would they suddenly start? 

As someone who doesn’t own a home worth $225,000, I don’t stand to lose very much by 2C’s passage.  At the very least, richer people will be forced to pay more – according to their property values.  However, and as usual, the ones in the middle are the ones getting squeezed in this scenario.  This is simply because the rich are still the minority, in all numbers (whether home ownership, or anything else) and those who do not own homes (which is a sizable percentage) will not be affected at all. 

In the end, though, when faced with the idea that two Wrongs don’t make an airplane, I will probably vote in favor of 2C.  While I understand those who will choose not to, I am not really interested in how much worse things can get…  I will do this reluctantly and angrily, with the promise to take a greater interest in local politics and hold my locally elected officials more accountable to the needs of the people (especially those in Organized Labor) who pay them.  No matter how you feel about what’s on November’s ballot, please make yourself heard – no matter what…  Remember to vote early and often!

September 10, 2009 [go back to top]

I haven’t been paying too much attention to the make-believe news lately.  I’ve simply lost interest.  I started watching reruns of Family Guy, instead, and realized that made me a happier person.  (If I manage to stay awake until Craig Ferguson’s monologue, I even go to sleep happy.)  I’ve also slacked off on the way I used to keep up with world events, which was by Watching The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on Hulu. 

I was just getting tired of all the nonsense and non-news I was being subjected to, and having a lot of trouble with the idea of Dick Cheney suddenly being credible (as a talk show guest or anything else.)  The idea, that the 10 years prior to Obama’s presidency (yes, I’m now counting Clinton’s last two, where a Republican controlled Congress allowed no progress) were not, in any way, responsible for the current economic condition of our country, was just too absurd…  The idea, that Obama’s policies for change and recovery would somehow threaten the average, working (poor) American, was even more absurd… 

That people are dumb enough to believe that death panels will be involved in a government-run, public health care system is just too amazing for words, really.  But there they are, on free and pay television news, as legitimate as Dick Cheney, marching around with their tea bags and disrupting health care town hall meetings – proving that truth is way stranger than fiction.  Sure, they’re the minority but you’d never know it.  I’m thinking this might have something to do with the fact that people feel less obligated to argue about something that they know they are right about.  It’s all fun and games, until some senior shows up at an open (not screened, like Republican events) discussion about health care with a poster that reads:  No Socialized Medicine!  And Leave My Medicare Alone!   That’s when you know that the age of news is over…

Because of my newfound apathy, I was completely in the dark about the whole fake news distraction of the concern for Obama’s recent speech to the nation’s yutes – all before it even occurred.  Part of my problem, in my lack of understanding, was that I try to surround myself with rational people.  When I asked them what all the fuss was about, they explained things exactly the way I saw them, and this only made me more confused.

ME:  Presidents do this all the time, right? 

FRIEND(S):  Yes.  The president addressing school children is nothing new.

ME:  So, what’s the big deal?  Do you think it’s about race?

FRIEND(S):  No.  Maybe.  Supposedly, people are worried about him trying to indoctrinate the kids into ideas based in Socialism?

ME:  How?  By telling them to stay in their government-funded schools, do their homework, get plenty of rest?

FRIEND(S):  That, and maybe something about volunteerism…

ME:  Are they passing out arm bands?  Is it youth brigade or the highway?

FRIEND(S):  I guess the Republicans think so.

ME:  Wow.  And people say I’ve got a soft spot for conspiracy theory…

When my 8-yr-old returned from his government-funded school that day, with a blank stare on his face, mumbling, “Must have free health care,” and immediately sat down and started his homework…  I just let it slide. 

The 12-yr-old wasn’t allowed the opportunity to watch the speech.  I thought it could’ve done him a little bit of good too, but it was no big deal.  Besides, kids never listen anyhow.

Announcements:

IBEW Local 113 would like to congratulate the graduating class of 2009.  We are very proud of them and know the feeling is mutual – that they will make us proud.

August 12, 2009 [go back to top]

While I try not to make a habit of writing about television shows, every once in a while I see something worth while (usually on PBS, as is the case here) that makes a public issue as clear as it can possibly be made.  Of course, the only problem is that maybe 5% of television viewers shared the experience.  I know that real facts about issues that concern every American are not necessarily very entertaining, and should not be expected to compete with breaking news about the latest dead celebrity, but PBS still does an admirable job (especially on Friday night) of at least trying – to present news and information without bias or sensationalism. 

On Friday, July 31, The Bill Moyers Journal featured a guest who told me all I need to know about the issue of health care reform.  Wendell Potter worked in the health insurance industry for 20 years, many of those as a VP for Cigna, one of the largest health insurers in the country.  He’s not just some crack-pot, know-nothing, talking head, (like some networks consistently use as experts, believing that the act of placing them behind a camera is what seals their credentials.)  He’s the real thing and, because he has decided to spill some beans about the health care industry’s dirty little secrets, he is what they call an insider.  (Those who keep quiet and tow the line are simply referred to as loyal employees.) 

The reason Potter left his position at Cigna and is now speaking out against the health insurance industry had nothing to do with animosity towards his former employer, being mistreated or any other sort of bad blood/sour grapes situation.  He left, on good terms, of his own free will because he simply realized he could no longer do his job with a clear conscience.  Naturally, Moyers wanted to know why – why now, after so many years, would he walk away and begin to speak out against an industry that compensated him so well?  The answer was that he had an epiphany.  It happens. 

As an insider, Wendell Potter knew all about the numbers.  He was well aware that close to 50 million people in the country were without any health coverage at all.  (And let’s just call that a low ball number, especially considering the source it’s being provided by.)  Part of the problem, he said, was that those were just numbers to him and people just like him.  While visiting his parents, last year, in Tennessee, he decided to check out a health fair that he saw being advertised in a local paper.  The event was being held in rural Virginia but only about an hour away.  He went expecting to see a few hundred people, maybe, getting their blood pressure checked and receiving information about healthy living.  What he saw shocked him (eventually) right out of his job – thousands of people, from four different states, receiving free medical and dental care (all from volunteer doctors and dentists) in outdoor animal stalls, at a fair grounds.  Suddenly, the numbers had faces.  He said he felt like he was in a third world country.  Later, flying back to Cigna’s Philadelphia headquarters, on one of the company’s corporate jets, while being served his meal on gold-rimmed china, about to tear into it with gold-plated utensils, he found himself without appetite, not being able to erase the scenes from the health fair from his mind.  The idea that the American health care industry was putting profit before people wasn’t any sort of revelation to him.  He knew that.  He, like so many others in his profession, had simply chosen not to think about it.  After all, as he freely admitted, he was one of Cigna’s PR specialists given the task of discrediting Michael Moore’s film, Sicko (which he confessed, to Moyers, was pretty much 100% accurate.) 

While Potter said he wasn’t sure what the solution is, he is now thoroughly convinced that a system where health insurers’ main responsibility lies with share holders, rather than patients, is one that is tragically flawed.  And remember, he’s not just saying this because he thinks or suspects it to be true.  He knows. 

When asked what to expect in the ongoing health care reform debate, Potter was extremely pessimistic.  He pointed out that there was simply too much at stake, in terms of profit, for the health insurance industry to lose very much ground and does not believe they will.  Translation:  There will be little to no change, especially when insurers see the 50 million uninsured, not to mention the underinsured, as prospective customers and honestly believe that many go naked (their term for uninsured) because they choose to and not because they cannot afford coverage.  Imagine that!  We have already seen where the idea of being too big to fail leads.  The health insurance industry is (obviously) extremely well-funded, in the lobbying department, and also a very generous campaign donor, on both sides of the aisle.  (A recent CNN poll even suggested that as many as 57% of Americans believe that the recent disruptions at town hall meetings over health care reform have been instigated by health insurance industry lobbyists.) 

This isn’t about capitalism versus socialism, as all the make-believe, free-market tea baggers would like you to think.  As usual, it’s just about the haves and the have nots.  It’s about executives, eating from gold-rimmed china, on corporate jets, deciding who will thrive and who will slowly get thinned out – the two Americas John Edwards spoke of…  Even Obama’s plan doesn’t go far enough toward a fair and equitable system for all.  And not until we have a health care system that treats everyone as a face, instead of a number, or a dollar sign, will this country be nearly as great a place as it can be.  

As members of Organized Labor, who may already have health care, please do not take it for granted and be tricked into not wanting universal coverage for all.  I am currently naked, along with my family, through no fault of my own.  I was injured on the job.  Though I won a Worker’s Compensation judgment, and do receive Total Temporary Disability benefits, it’s just enough to pay my bills and that’s it.  There is nowhere near enough to pay for a Cobra Plan.  When health insurance is paid for by your employer, other insurers (like Worker’s Compensation) like to pretend that it isn’t part of your actual wages.  I should hope so.  Otherwise, how could Cigna (also my former provider) possibly explain where nearly $5 an hour, 50 – 60 hours a week, for nearly a year and a half, minus an annual $500 deductible, of course, went towards my family’s actual health care?  That could get tricky.  No one in America should have to make choices between health care and things like paying the utilities or putting good, nutritious food on the table (which, oddly enough, seems to be related to health.)   As I write this, my 8-year-old son has been battling a fever of 103 for the last two days.  He’s under constant supervision, along with a regimen of cold baths and children’s Motrin, and high protein food.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed; hoping whatever is ailing him is nothing serious.  But that’s no way to live…

July 8, 2009 [go back to top]

As the class of 2009 is set to graduate from the CSEJATC, we celebrate more than the transformation of apprentices to journeymen.  Although passing the State Electrical Exam is a process that can occur like the turning of a page, the transformation from student to teacher is one that can take years but is, really, the greater goal of the apprenticeship program.  I think the expression goes like this:  With great responsibility comes greater responsibility…  

With this in mind, our Apprenticeship Director, Francis Vigil, wanted to remind the new journeymen (and re-remind all of our journeymen) to take this great responsibility seriously.  This system, where those with more knowledge and experience in the trade teach and monitor the progress of apprentices, is the cornerstone of union labor excellence.  It’s what allows us to back up the claim that we have the best schooled, best trained work force available – but only if the system functions properly.  Just like life, in general, honesty is the key here, especially when it comes to the part about monitoring progress…

The apprentice’s monthly work report is basically the only solid documentation of an apprentice’s on-the-job performance and, according to Francis, there needs to be more time and honesty applied to these reports.  For various reasons, many of the reports seem too hastily filled out and, sometimes, downright inconsistent. 

“While the journeyman/apprentice working relationship needs to be efficient and functional, we just can’t afford to be worried about hurt feelings here,” he said.  “If an apprentice really is doing great, that’s great.  There’s room for that in the Comments box too.  But if there are problems, the journeymen need to address them, on the work reports, and discuss the work report together, just like it says to… because it’s not about punishment or discipline but making people into IBEW quality electricians.  You’d be surprised at how often problems arise where an apprentice’s work report history just doesn’t match up with what’s really going on,” he added.  “And when that complaint comes from a trusted, respected journeyman, we know our system of documentation has broken down and failed us…”

Aside from journeymen being more honest, and using the work report as the tool it was meant to be used as, apprentices need to be more honest too, and stop cheating themselves.  The report needs to filled out by the journeyman you spent the most time working with that month – not the one you get along with the best (that you know won’t say mean things about you and get you in trouble.)  The report also needs to be presented to the journeyman at an appropriate time – not at the very end of the work day, on the day before it’s due.  (This, I know, will make a journeyman crazier than asking to have it filled out during break or lunch, and is the chief cause of reports being filled out in a hurry, with only checked boxes and no written comments.)

Some journeymen truly appear to hate apprentices (in much the same way some of your teachers appeared to truly hate students, back in school.)  Apprentices, don’t let them fool you!  Unless you are completely incompetent, in which case you’ve slipped past a pretty selective screening process undetected, you do a lot to make their job easier and keep them in touch with a different world (if not a different generation.)  While you can’t please everybody all the time, it’s still important, as a student, to learn all you can from everyone you can and give your teachers the respect they deserve for the knowledge they possess.  Naturally, new journeymen will seek to imitate their favorite teachers, and there seems to be a trend away from the idea of carrying on a cycle abuse in the journeyman/apprentice relationship.  This is a good thing, as we all know that positive reinforcement simply works better and produces a better learning environment.  However, there still needs to be a balance and, as Francis said, that balance needs to be rooted in honesty. 

We are here, all of us, to help each other – not just in this trade, or in this union, but on this planet…  Just as world will never be a perfect place, neither will the work place.  But only when we address our problems (no matter how big or how small) with honest dialogue can we even begin to hope for real solutions. 

At least when Francis says, “My door is always open because my job (the CSEJATC’s job) is to help people succeed,” he means it.  Who else has that kind of support system built in to their profession, honestly?

Announcements:

IBEW Local 113 would like to thank everyone who helped to make this year’s annual picnic a great success – from those who helped organize, plan and work the event, to those who simply participated.  As usual, a great time was had by all.  In keeping with our policy which allows some members to get to see their names in print (in places besides the police blotter – just kidding, of course!) here are the results of the Horseshoe Tournament: 

1^st Place – AJ Whitt and Steve Vinzant

2^nd Place – Archie Scott and Bruce Crocker

3^rd Place – Robert Schober and Kyle Morris

Congratulations to these men!  Their ability to throw heavy, oddly-shaped metal objects at a stake in the ground, with great accuracy, is nothing less than outstanding!

 June 11, 2009 [go back to top]

By the time you read this, Colorado’s grocery workers may already be on strike and/or locked out.  As of today, they’ll know what’s going to happen in a week – this after several midnight deadlines have already passed.  The truth of the situation is that they have been going to work in a state of limbo, unsure of what the future holds, for quite some time now.  While this is something that a lot of us face, and all bets have been off (about the future) since corporations and politicians began selling American workers down the river, with a renewed sense of urgency, back in the 1980’s, the idea of going in to work and not knowing whether or not you will still have your job at the end of the shift (through no real fault of your own) has become the ugly reality for many American workers. 

There’s no need to ask for whom the bell tolls.  It tolls for anyone that can be replaced at a lower cost, especially in a struggling economy.  Never mind that the economy was primarily destroyed by the greed of the wealthy, who only thought they were trying to claim what was rightfully theirs as the ruling class.  Never mind the jobs and money that have been shipped overseas so that profit margins could increase for those smart enough to understand the bottom line.  Never mind a senseless and illegal war fought for the benefit of American (mostly Texan) oil men who needed to see their interests in Saudi Arabia protected from a country that was only ever allowed to produce oil at 1/3 of its capability but had the ability to seriously destabilize the market (and, therefore, profit margins) if they produced just a little more.  Never mind the men behind the curtain, who have been furiously stuffing their pockets, at other peoples’ expense, throughout history, since the idea of ownership began…  And, please, never mind that I am ranting.  I’d like to think that it will all work out in the end but that thing about the meek inheriting the earth isn’t looking too promising right now.  (I can only believe that this was another one of those largely misunderstood, allegorical statements, which may have, very simply and obviously been referring to children.  After all, history has been most unkind to meek adults.  And, let’s face it, meekness, as a strategy, doesn’t work real well at the bargaining table.)

This is no time for Colorado’s grocery workers to be meek.  Once again, it’s time to tell those in control of the capital that they have nothing without labor.  As members of Organized Labor, we know this, I’m sure, and will do our best to support the UFCW.  We know the drill, if or when it comes to a strike/lockout situation.  In the usual sense of preaching to the choir, I’m not thinking I need to tell union members to respect a picket line to show their support of striking union members.  However, when the UFCW strikes, it puts good union members (who would never shop at Wal-Mart, regardless of convenient justifications) between a rock and a hard place.  The best solution I’ve heard so far is really just the lesser of two evils – Super Target (which is not a whole lot better than Wal-Mart, and also extremely union unfriendly.) 

Regardless of what we do, in our own ways, to show our support, we must also try to influence others – friends, family and, especially, people who may not feel one way or the other about unions.  The grocery workers happen to be some of the most visible union members that people deal with on any sort of regular basis, simply because of the nature of the service they provide.  This is what makes a grocery workers’ strike a unique opportunity to influence public opinion (not that it’s an opportunity that anyone is hoping for, as thousands of people stand only to lose, at least in the short term, should a strike occur.)  The fact is that things don’t look good for UFCW workers and haven’t for months.  (I know this from reliable sources.)  We need to be prepared, for what appears to be inevitable, and we need to be proactive.  If every union member who reads this could convince one or two (or fifty) people to be sympathetic to the UFCW members’ cause, that could sure make a difference in the public perception of the strike. 

If that line is drawn in the parking lot, I will be there.  I will bring my children too.  In addition to being able to say that they spent some of their summer vacation in Michigan and Ohio (where the devastation is real and overwhelming) I want them to be able to say they helped support struggling American workers who were being screwed to death – not a great summer activity, to be sure, but one they will hopefully remember.  It’s the best I can do, since I know they won’t learn a thing about this country’s labor history in school…

May 7, 2009 [go back to top]

How Much Torture Is Too Much?

For those who don’t understand what all the whoopla is about, in regard to the recently released memorandums on torture, or why it is important that people are held accountable for their content and the subsequent actions they allowed, I would like to simplify the matter some.  The rules set forth by the Geneva Conventions, as well as the federal War Crimes Act, the Anti-Torture Act and the Convention Against Torture are all pretty clear about what can and cannot be done to prisoners of war.  The fact that the war in question was an extremely vague one, a war on terror, does not mean that those who were captured in the process were not prisoners of war.  You can call them enemy combatants or high value detainees but prisoners of war are prisoners of war, and clever language doesn’t change that.  The United States of America had an obligation to uphold the higher values that we all believe we stand for as a nation and treat these prisoners in a way that reflected respect for law and human decency.  To do otherwise was to endanger the lives and welfare of our very own soldiers if they should be captured, in the war on terror or in any future conflict.  Instead, top administration officials looked to Justice Department lawyers, within the Office of Legal Counsel, and said, “Give us a legal way around the laws.  That way, we won’t be breaking them.”

Though it almost sounds too simple, this is exactly what they did.  While I will freely admit that most of what I know about law comes from television and reading John Grisham, I do understand the importance of precedence in law.  Legal rulings are constantly based upon previous rulings that have stood the test of time and, often, the Supreme Court.   Because the Bush administration had no legal precedence for their actions, they asked Justice Department lawyer, John Yoo, back in January, 2002, to create memorandums to provide legal arguments which supported their position (mainly that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to detainees from the war in Afghanistan) and then referred to those memorandums later, in other legal memorandums.  Out of nowhere and nothing, they created their own sort of precedence to suit their needs. 

Later that same month, then White House counsel (later, Attorney General) Alberto Gonzales, in a memorandum to the president, declared that the advice in Yoo’s memorandums was sound – that he should, indeed, declare the Taliban and Al Qaeda outside the coverage of the Geneva Conventions.  (Doing so would keep American officials from being exposed to prosecution under a real law – the Federal War Crimes Act, which carries a death penalty sentence.)

In August of 2002, a memo from Jay S. Bybee, with the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department, provided validation for the use of torture to gain information from Al Qaeda operatives.  Mr. Bybee’s memo also redefined torture in ways that were created to allow interrogators to avoid being charged with it.  More fancy language…

Fast forward to March, 2003…  A Defense Department legal task force prepared a memo, which drew upon the aforementioned memos, to proclaim that President Bush was not bound by either an international treaty prohibiting torture or by a federal anti-torture law because, as Commander in Chief, he had the authority to approve any technique necessary to protect the security of the country.  (This is what he meant when he said, “I’m the decider!”)  This memo also stated that executive branch officials, including those in the military, could be exempt from domestic and international prohibitions against torture for various reasons, including the belief by interrogators that they were acting on orders from superiors “except where the conduct goes so far as to be patently unlawful.”  (I think the key word there was patently – like, does some other group or country hold the patent rights to this particular torture technique?  As far as acting on orders from superiors, I don’t even want to touch that.)

Former top administration officials, including Dick Cheney, have contended that the public release of these memorandums was irresponsible and a danger to national security.  I guess the rationale here is that terrorists, enemy combatants, high value detainees and the like will become sneakier and much more careful if they know what the nature of their punishment might be? 

What was, in my opinion, irresponsible and dangerous was to try to legally support the grounds for torture in the first place.  I like Jack Bauer too – because he’s a fictional character!  These memos are a big deal because they prove that Bush administration officials intentionally sought to skirt domestic and international law to justify their actions.  As hard as it seems to believe, they knew the difference between right and wrong.  In addition to some really questionable legal practices by members of the Justice Department, the memos show a blatant disregard for the rule of law – what most people would consider to be right…  Releasing the memos is not about living in the past or dragging the previous administration through the mud some more.  It’s about owning up to our mistakes and trying to reclaim our place as a supposed leader in the free world.  However, there is no sense in President Obama releasing these documents at all if there are no plans to hold anyone accountable for their actions.  The idea that we simply move forward from here seems ridiculous, especially now, knowing what we only suspected to be true.  As someone who supported Obama, and the idea of transparency in government, I will be very unhappy if these memos were released just to say I told you so.  Those of us who knew it wasn’t just a few bad apples at Abu Ghraib, and that what was going on at Guantanimo was wrong, would like to see some justice.  We’re getting so tired of seeing the little guys take the falls.

April 9, 2009 [go back to top]

And now for something completely different…

(which is me writing about actual Local 113 news)

With the completion of their rooftop solar panel project, on March 26, IBEW Local 113 took a bold step into the 21^st century.  The Astralux system, which consists of 144 Sharp solar modules (or panels) and three Fronius IG Plus DC power inverters, is now the largest solar generating system connected to the Colorado Springs Utilities grid.  (Astralux Environmental Solutions is a Boulder-based company that helps individuals and businesses assess the process of implementing solar power.  Sharp solar products are now being made, by IBEW members, in a clean factory in Memphis, Tennessee.)  Ours is a direct use system, which means that power is used as it is generated.  Unlike other systems, which may also store created power in battery banks, ours is more directly suited for businesses – where most of the energy consumption occurs during the day.  On paper, it is designed to produce 80% of the hall’s electrical energy needs.  However, Business Agent, Marshall Johnson, believes this figure could be quite conservative.

“Of course, the numbers are going to vary,” he said.  “But on many days we’ll be producing more electricity than we actually use.  Then, we’ll be selling the kilowatts back to Springs Utilities.” 

Marc was quick to point out that the utilities don’t buy the excess back at the same price they sell it to customers but, either way, the system will certainly pay for itself – through the savings and the excess sold back, as promised.

On the day I stopped by to check the system out, the meter was, indeed, spinning backwards, as the three inverters were operating at a combined 28.5kw (which is only about 90% of their combined 31.1kw capacity.)  The hall uses an average of 197kw a day.  In the first 13 days the system had been operating, 2069kw had been generated – nearly 500kw on the plus side.

After an immediate $93,330.00 rebate, through the Springs Utilities Renewable Energy Rebate Program, the project cost Local 113 members $164,226.00.  (As a non-profit organization, IBEW Local 113 does not qualify for any State or Federal rebate programs.  However While this seems like a lot, for the amount of time it could take for the system to pay for itself, there is no telling what the benefit could be down the road – both for contractors and Local 113 members, who we hope will be installing a lot more of these systems in the future.    Naturally, the rack system for the solar modules was built so that the modules could be angled for maximum efficiency.  The fact that they are also highly visible to (heavily travelled) Highway 24 motorists is just good fortune.  We are also in the process of building a stairway that will allow easy access to the roof, so that prospective customers, members and anyone else interested in solar can see the system, up close and personal.

“It’s not just about the money,” insisted President, Charlie Johnson.  “The idea came from the floor.  Our members wanted this.  I think we all realize the importance of being on the forefront of any new electrical technology, and our members understand that the best way to lead is by example.  It proves we’re not just talking when we claim that the IBEW sets the standards in the electrical industry.  Besides that, it’s also about doing the right thing.  You don’t get any greener than this.  I think we can take a lot of pride in the fact that we’re also doing something that’s good for the environment.”

It’s not very often that what’s good for the electrical industry (and the IBEW) is also good for the environment.  However, this is, clearly, one of those instances.  In case you were wondering how good this system is for the environment, here are some of the  benefits we sometimes forget to even mention when talking about green energy – in the form of avoided emissions from power plants.  In addition to the 881,275 pound of coal that will not need to be burned, over the next 25 years, our solar system is estimated to offset:

*1,743,934 pounds of CO2 (the leading greenhouse gas)

*5,596 pounds of NOx (which creates smog)

*5,066 pounds of SO2 (which causes acid rain)

*345 pounds of particulates that cause asthma

This is the equivalent of taking 10 cars off the road, for 25 years, or planting 14.7 acres of trees!

I think we can all agree that this is great news, and not just for IBEW Local 113.  With somewhere near 330+ sunny days a year, in southern Colorado, we think the idea should catch on – especially with an administration that appears to have some regard for the environment.  If we could somehow manage to profit from the benefits of solar power… Well, that would just be an added bonus.
 

 March 9, 2009 [go back to top]

The next big lie…  The stock market is everything… 

I am bewildered by the level of scrutiny being placed on our new president’s progress, since taking office, a month and a half ago.  With the exception of comedic personalities, no real comparisons are being made by the drive-by, liberal media, which put Obama’s first six weeks up against G. W. Bush’s – head to head.  If you google the subject, your predominant hit would be a list of various headlines which read, “Obama Less Popular Than Bush After First Month In Office.”  Then you can follow the links to the various Republican- based organizations reporting on this wacky phenomenon.  Even though the headline is misleading, to say the least, popularity isn’t exactly what anybody should be looking to compare anyhow.  Actions and behavior would seem to be of more importance and greater substance.  However, facts can sometimes get in the way of trying to prove an irrelevant point that isn’t true.  If I considered myself to be a real news reporter, which I do not, I would dig a little deeper and come up with some hard, fact-based comparisons.  I would probably have to use methods of research more comprehensive than google, but I would put in the time and crunch the numbers and details.  That’s what reporters and investigative journalists are supposed to do.   Apparently, that would be asking for too much, though, just as it would be from me. 

Instead, I’ll tell what I remember:  For at least three of his first six weeks, George W. Bush was vacationing.  Stealing elections is hard work, and so is campaigning in elections that are in the process of being stolen – with all those bright lights, cameras and big words being thrown around…  He needed to relax.  So, just like anybody else who has just landed a new job, he took some well deserved time off and went to chill at his ranch.  OK.  There’s 50%, side by side.  What else?  Somewhere in the first six weeks, on or around February 9, 2001, The USS Greeneville (a fast-attack Los Angeles-class submarine) collided with a Japanese fishing boat in the Pacific Ocean, south of O’ahu, Hawai’i, sinking the vessel and killing nine people, including four high school students.  Wow!  That was embarrassing but what did Bush have to do with it?  Well, the Greeneville was on a mission, that day, to give what amounts to a pleasure cruise to a group of influential Republican corporate donors, mostly from the Texas oil and gas industries (including Enron.)  It was a Thank You present to the donors from the newly elected commander in chief of the Navy. Investigations later revealed that some of those civilians were actually manning the controls of the submarine when it hit the Japanese vessel.  What else?  Well, there were all those Ws that the outgoing administration removed from the White House computer keyboards, in a vicious act of pure malevolence and poor sportsmanship.  We heard an awful lot about that…  It must have taken at least a day to throw all those old key boards away and replace them with new ones…  That’s it.  I’m stumped for Bush substance and achievements in the first six weeks of his presidency. 

March 9, 2009, “Obama Overturns Bush Policy On Stem Cell Research.”  Obama has some more actual achievements (that are in no way embarrassing to his presidency or the country) but I don’t believe I need to go any further because one is enough, in the first six weeks, to place him ahead of his predecessor – just one achievement.  Agree or disagree, on moral grounds, but he promised to restore science to its proper place in our culture and I believe scientific research into subjects that show promise for curing diseases is good – maybe even good for the economy.

This brings me to another point of amusement.  We knew Obama was inheriting several big, steaming piles (one of which is the current state of the economy.)   Pundits even begged the question about why anyone would want to assume the helm of the good ship America at this time.  And, yet, some people’s sense of selective amnesia is so powerful that the new administration’s plans to get out some big shovels are suddenly the problem, instead of those responsible for creating the problem(s.)  I’m kidding, of course – about the selective amnesia.  Some of those same people who are responsible for the current state of the economy are also responsible for trying to create a national sense of gloom and doom, based mainly on the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, while accusing the president of trying to scare people.  They are very much aware of what they are doing, which is telling great big lies and trying to pass them off as legitimate, objective news -- again.  After all, they have the same access to history and the internet as I do, and the same access to film clips and sound bites that Jon Stewart does on The Daily Show.  Who do they think they are kidding?  Unfortunately, just like Bush did for eight years, lots of people.

I’m not sure which is a more ridiculous premise:  the idea that the stock market is currently reacting to the new Obama policies (instead of the policies of the previous eight years) or the idea that we measure the success of our leaders by the success of the Dow (which is little more than sanctioned gambling that leads to self-fulfilling prophecies in the market place.)  I hate to be an optimist (ask anyone) but I also like to remember that it was not Barack Obama who devalued the American dollar so terrifically, in the last six weeks.  But hey, let’s take out our frustrations on him, and those deadbeats who got mortgages they couldn’t afford, anyhow.  Mortgage companies that facilitated the loans, banks who made and then sold the loans, and those who thought it was a smart bet to insure the loans -- they had nothing to do with any of our financial woes.  Meanwhile, who was telling Americans to buy, buy, buy, because there was no end in sight to the money making bonanza?  Regardless, Republicans, in the House and Senate, are now suddenly fiscal conservatives who are worried about the debt that may be passed on to future generations by Obama’s stimulus spending programs and the bail outs (which began under Bush, without much oversight or direction.)  Well, better late than never(?)

The immediate future doesn’t look too good but we knew that.  It’s why Americans overwhelmingly voted for change – maybe not even change we could believe in but, at least, change we could hope and strive for…

Just remember, when a historical look at the stock market reveals patterns that support me, the science of predicting the future is solid.  When the historical patterns do not support me, it’s not a science at all (not to mention bad luck.)

Socialism is on its way!  Run for your lives!

Thig Ar Latha!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 

January 8, 2009 [go back to top]

Another day, another new year…  And, in keeping with the tradition of New Year’s resolutions, I would like to offer up a few. 

First of all, and most importantly, in 2009 I resolve to spend more time with my family.  This decision wasn’t entirely my idea but let’s just say the company I was working for helped me along.  Except for the gory details (and the fact that this would later cause my home refinance to fall through because the title company had the audacity to double check on my employment status two weeks later) I have no hard feelings.  It’s the nature of the work I do.  Just like CEOs of major corporations, electricians get laid off.  As Sarah Palin would say, that’s why the founding fathers, in their infinite wisdom, invented the unemployment benefit system.  Honestly, it was nice to be home, around the house, for the holidays.  Whenever this opportunity presents itself, I almost always appreciate the break.  The down time offers the chance to regain some perspective and catch up on everything else I’ve been neglecting – like my family.

On the last day of my boys’ winter break, I thought it would be nice to see a movie (on something larger than our 20” television screen) so we headed out to Tinseltown.  I gave them their choice and they wanted to see Marley And Me.  I had heard that it was supposed to be very sad but figured that if they were men enough then so could I be.  As is often the case, anymore, I was wrong.  I left the theater in tears, with my 8-year-old comforting me.  Having a 15-year-old dog, who is in the stages of rapidly declining health, made the movie even more gut wrenching.  I was reminded that Yakutie is also a part of my family that I had been neglecting for a long time.  I was so glad to get home and have the chance to take him for a limp around the block – both of us.  I was glad for the opportunity to be reminded of the unconditional love that only a dog seems capable of (which would not have happened if I had spent the day at work.)  I have resolved to spend as much quality time with my dog as I can before he is gone, as another New Year seems most unlikely for him.

In 2009, I resolve to be a better Union member.  Because of the hours I was working, I let my participation slip – meetings, volunteerism, political activism.  I was certainly happy with the way things turned out in November but I felt like I didn’t do as much as I would have liked to help.  Like all of us, I realize the future is uncertain and that we need to continue to fight for the rights of working people, everywhere, despite the victories we think we may have achieved on a state or national level.  On a Local Union level, there is always more work that needs to be done.  Just ask.  I will try to remember that anyone can claim to be proud of their Union membership but that this pride needs to be demonstrated by action (and not just shirts and bumper stickers.)

And, finally, in 2009, I resolve to come up with better excuses for my continual abuse of The Labor Advocate’s monthly deadline – beginning, of course, next month.  This month’s is fairly lame:  When I’m not working, and trying to uphold the above resolutions, I have no real awareness of what day it is because I don’t need to, haven’t needed to, keep track…

Happy New Year!  

Announcements:

Upcoming classes:  Feb.  7, 2009 – Motor Control 1 @ 8:00 a.m.

                                Feb. 21, 2009 – Motor Control 2 @ 8:00 a.m.

                                Feb. 14,2009 – 2008 NEC Code Change/License Renewal
                                                           Prep @ 8:00 a.m.

                                Transformer Class – Feb. 16, 18 & 23, 25 @ 5:30 p.m.

Please call the JATC to sign up for classes at 632-1920

All I Want For Christmas Is a Bailout for the Working Class

Seems like everybody else got their Christmas early – Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, the banks…  And, without meaning to beat a herd of dead horses, I don’t know why everyone is getting so upset over the bailout bonanza.  Relax.  It’s all good.  After all, it’s only worthless green paper, or worthless promissory notes that represent random monetary values as ascribed by the Federal Reserve Bank.  I think we’ve been through this before but Christmas season is always a great time to remember that money is what money does.  Money is not power.   Money is food, shelter and clothing.  From there, the only difference is in degrees.  (I guess if I had higher degrees of any of these, I might feel more powerful but I’m pretty sure that feeling would only be shared by me.)  That being said, I still wish I had been born filthy rich and never had to work a day in my life, as struggling is turning out to be extremely overrated and doesn’t build as much character as rich people (who have never had to) say it does.

We were told that the $700 billion bailout was necessary to keep the country’s economy from falling apart.  They didn’t want to do it, they claimed, but they had to… 

More of George W. Bush’s legacy, along with some union bashing, on the way out… 

As I write, guess who is being blamed for the Big Three auto makers not getting their early Christmas.  Naturally, it’s the UAW’s fault for not agreeing to drastic pay cuts for its members.  I’m pretty sure Labor has given up enough in the last 35 years!  However, as the saga of the American auto industry bailout has unfolded, the hints have been dropped.  The reason the Big Three cannot compete has nothing to do with gross mismanagement or ridiculous and disproportionate salaries of CEOs and other suit wearing apes in high places.  The real problem is union wages, health care and benefits that have suddenly snuck up on them (without any warning whatsoever.)   When I watch a commercial (like five times during one football game) in which fireman, cowboys, construction workers and army men compete against each other in an obstacle course, racing $40,000 trucks, that get about 18 mpg, over exploding bridges and through a swinging truck pendulum of doom, it all becomes clear to me…  Of course it’s the overpaid UAW workers’ fault! 

Funny, though, how nobody paid any attention to what mode of transportation the other bailout beggars used when they showed up in D.C. which their hands out and their best dumb looks on their faces.  Suddenly, it was wrong for CEOs to want to get someplace the fastest way possible (and the fact that AIG spent over $350,000 on a luxury retreat for members of upper management, right after receiving their bailout, was never mentioned, as if it never happened at all.)  I guess the CEOs of high finance and mortgage brokering took Amtrak and hoofed it the rest of the way, from Union Station to Capitol Hill, barefoot.  And, by the way, who cares?  Did it make the Big Three CEOs look like arrogant bastards?  Sure but that’s only because they are – all cut from the same cloth as the others.  But what do they care?  Who really loses if the American auto industry goes bust?  A whole lot of hard working members of the not-so-middle-class (anymore) have much more to lose.

As union members we understand what’s going on here and, as usual, it’s up to us to educate the unenlightened and make our voices heard on the subject.  The whole idea of throwing the little guy under the bus has got to stop.  Of course the government should keep the American auto industry from going bankrupt.  For starters, all other foreign car makers are subsidized by their respective governments, just because such large industries are very important to them.  They should be a source of national pride as well as profit. Secondly, comparing American car makers to their foreign competitors who build here (to avoid import tariffs, which are much higher everywhere else than they are here) is like comparing apples to oranges.  Sure, they’re both somewhat round but the playing field is nowhere near level.  In which states have these car companies set up shop and why?  Southern and Right to Work.  As usual, the problem isn’t the unions but the lack of them. 

Make sure you tell your blow hard, FOX parroting friends and relatives this, if they can manage to grasp the idea that we all do better when we all do better (preferably over Christmas dinner.) 

Merry Christmas!

Be safe.  Buckle up.  Seatbelts save lives.  Don’t drink and drive, etc.

Still, no peace on earth…  Maybe just some good will towards Brothers and Sisters…

In Memoriam

On a sad note, Bill Strassburg passed away on December 1, 2008, at the age of 59.  Bill was initiated on September 1, 1974.  He was a Master Electrician and a contractor for Berwick Electric for over 25 years.  He was also served as a member of Local 113’s Apprenticeship Committee for the last 21 years.  Our hearts and prayers go out to Bill’s family and friends this holiday season.

November 12, 2008 [go back to top]

 Thank You President Bush

 While I don’t want to take anything away from our newly elected president, or undermine the historical importance of his election, I believe it’s time to give credit where credit is really due…  After all, perhaps no one did more to help Barack Obama become president than (and I hate to say it) George W. Bush.

As mentioned last month, the Republican ticket would (as I predicted) turn out to be very conducive to the Democratic landslide but even this was largely due to the fact that John McCain could not distance himself enough from the failed policies of President Bush.  Many said that the recent financial collapse hurt McCain more than anything else but, really, you can take your pick of failed Bush policies – economic, foreign, domestic, military, diplomatic – and there was McCain, for the last eight years, over 90% of the time…  Thank you President Bush, for being so good at misleading the elderly!  It took a while, and may have caused more damage than it was actually worth, or can even be corrected in my life time, but I think the end result will turn out to be worth it.

This Thanksgiving, I would like to give special thanks to George W. Bush. 

In no particular order, thanks for:

9/11, the resulting loss of civil liberties brought forth by the Patriot Act, the Department of Homeland Security, an illegal and immoral war in Iraq, freedom fries, Mission Accomplished, Guantanamo, Abu Grahib, Kenny Boy Lay, Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft, Jack Abramoff, Brownie, illegal and warrantless wire tapping of American citizens, tax breaks that benefited not just the wealthy but also the extremely wealthy, and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. 

Without this great compilation of leadership excellence, we might not have Barack Obama to be thankful for this November.  And I am thankful for Barack Obama – for the possibility of change I can believe in.  It was so exciting, not because of the color of his skin but because he is literate and was, hands down, the better candidate. 

Yes, it was very exciting to be at a victory party, at Local 113’s Hall, where we were also able to celebrate the defeat of Amendments 47 and 49.  I was also very proud that IBEW Local 113 put in more volunteer hours than any Union in the PPALC in the effort to make that happen.  Being a part of that effort made their defeats that much sweeter.  Hopefully we can get Amendment 54 repealed but we might need some help with that.

As always, thankful to be Union.

Happy Thanksgiving!

September 21, 2008 [go back to top]

Privatize the profits

But socialize the losses

Penalize the workers

Exonerate the bosses

August 12, 2008 [go back to top]

Don’t Know Much About History…

Recently, I spoke to a Brother who had just returned from the Rocky Mountain Labor School about his experience.  Of special interest to me was what he thought of the history lesson.  It was a tough class for many, mostly because it was one of the early ones and the instructor made everyone stand up and sing.  While I wasn’t crazy about the singing, like most of the crowd, I came around.  The more I learned, the easier it got.  I remember being blown away by all the things I learned about America’s rich Labor history that somehow managed to escape the history books of my formal education.

So, this year, in the spirit of things you probably were not taught about in school, I wanted to deal with some history.  I would be willing to bet that the average American knows very little about Labor Day, mostly because (as I’ve mentioned) the information was never made available to them.  Whether this is because Labor Day is considered to be less historically important than other American legal holidays, or because it may remind people that our whole economic system rests in the hands of the working class, I am not sure.  I do know that nobody loves a conspiracy like I do, and I would like to think that the mystery surrounding Labor Day falls into this category – one of those best kept secret things…

Just to confirm how mysterious Labor Day is, ask any Bother or Sister you’re working with what they know about Labor Day.  As members of Organized Labor, we should be a little bit wiser than the average American on the subject, but, sadly, the vast majority of us are not.  And, naturally, I also fall into the vast majority.  (I’ll be honest.  I have to Google and then plagiarize just about anything factual I write – no surprise to those who know me, and can vouch for my lack of intelligence and split-second attention span, but hopefully a total shock to others.)

Aside from being one of our most sacred days off, Labor Day, unlike other, lamer holidays, like Independence Day, is always celebrated on the first Monday of September.  It’s a guaranteed three day weekend!  (Personally, I think all American holidays should be celebrated on Mondays or Fridays – including Easter, which is a giant rip off because it always falls on a day that most people don’t work anyhow.)  But how was the first Monday of September chosen, and why?  I know that I’m not supposed to wear white after Labor Day but I don’t know why.  Somehow, in America, Labor Day has managed to get mixed up with lots of things that it has nothing to do with, like getting a red hot deal on a new vehicle (along with limited, 0% APR financing, for well qualified buyers) and summer fashion.  In fact, Labor Day has come to be more associated with sales events and the end of summer than anything else.  Let’s see what we can do about getting the Labor part back into Labor Day.

While there’s some dispute over who is the actual founder of America’s Labor Day, most research seems to support the fact that the holiday was first proposed by a machinist named Matthew Maguire, who was serving as the secretary of the Central Labor Union, in New York, in 1882.  The first Labor Day was held, oddly enough, on a Tuesday – September 5^th of that year.  In 1884, the Central Labor Union decided that a three day weekend was a much better idea and Labor Day was being celebrated in many industrial U.S. cities by the following year.  However, it took over a decade for the first Monday in September to catch on. 

Most of the world marks, Labor Day (commonly known as May Day) on May 1, with rallies and parades.  The reason we don’t is partly because of the ideological differences between Samuel Gompers and Eugene Debs, and the fact that Gompers wanted Labor to distance itself from radical Socialism.  Ironically, May Day's origins can be traced to Gompers, who led the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, in a general strike on May 1, 1886, in Chicago, as part of its push for an eight-hour work day.  On May 4, during a related labor rally in Haymarket Square, someone threw a bomb, which killed a policeman and sparked a deadly riot.  As a result, four radical labor leaders were eventually charged and hanged for the crime.   By 1890, Americans as well as European Socialists had latched on to the anniversary of the May 1 strike to honor those four leaders, considered to be martyrs, as well as all workers, and were celebrating Labor Day on May Day.  However, the Pullman Strike, which occurred in May, 1894, helped to distance American Labor from May and was partly responsible for making Matthew Maguire’s choice for the holiday the one we settled on.  Here’s how:  When the striking Pullman Palace Car Company workers won the support of the American Railway Union, which was led by Samuel Gompers’ rival, Eugene Debs, railroad traffic came to a standstill throughout most of the country.  President Grover Cleveland wanted to crush the strike but not at the expense of alienating the newly formed American Federation of Labor, led by Gompers, who had not yet become involved.  In an attempt to do what we commonly call pandering today, Cleveland and the Democrats proposed the proclamation of a national holiday to honor the American worker.  May Day was purposely avoided though, in an attempt to distance the holiday from the radical socialists and anarchists who chose to celebrate on this day.  On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed an act of Congress establishing Labor Day as a federal holiday on the first Monday of September.  He even sent the pen he signed the document with to Gompers as a present.  Less than a week later, Cleveland ordered Federal troops to march on Chicago.  Gompers and the AFL refused to support the strike, which, then, quickly collapsed.  How’s that for solidarity?

I know I feel better and wiser now.  The nearly complete absence of radicalism in the history of American politics gets explained, more or less, and now you know why the majority of the world’s workers worship at a false altar of Labor Day that has nothing to do with big sales events and what color clothing to wear.

The Pikes Peak Area Labor Council will hold its annual Labor Day picnic on Monday, September 1, at Turkey Creek, between 11:00 and 4:00.  All trades and all people are welcome to this event.  We should all try to bring someone who is not a member of Organized Labor to our respective picnics and events or, at the very least, try to let someone who has no idea know why, exactly, they have the day off at all.
 

July 10, 2008 [go back to top]

Effective at the beginning of this month, give or take a few weeks but certainly by the time this will be read, Les Thompson will no longer be working for IBEW Local 113.  I miss him already -- mostly because, like many things he did without fail, Les was the one who faithfully reminded me, every month, with a forwarded email, which Wednesday the Labor Advocate article was due.  (I’ve used many excuses for being late, over the last four years, but Les failing to notify me of the deadline was never one of them.) 

Les will be taking the big fight to what he hopes will be a higher level, as a state-wide organizer for the IO.  When I asked him if it was like a promotion, he just laughed and said, “I guess we’ll wait to see about that.” 

Those who know Les, even a little bit, can appreciate that response – always the make-believe pessimist…  In reality, he has to be quite the opposite to do what he did (what he will continue to do) or he would have quit trying a long time ago.  This is one of the reasons that Les is an inspiration to me – his ability to forge on, in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.  Besides that, he is also my friend.

So, here we go, again, with back to back, nostalgic stories about friends of mine in the Local… 

When I went out to Intel, as an unindentured apprentice, in the summer of 2000, Les gave his business card and told me to give him a call if I had any questions or needed anything.  The week I started happened to be the same week as the 113 picnic, at Turkey Creek.  I really wanted to go but had no idea where the hell it was.  So I called Les up, the morning of the picnic, to see if I could get directions. The call went straight to voice mail, and though I left a message (complete with, “I’m sure you don’t know who I am but…”) I figured that we were just out of luck about the picnic.  Short story long, he returned my call, about ten minutes later, and gave me directions.  As I would discover repeatedly, there was really no such thing as business hours when it came to dealing with these people.  When we arrived at the picnic, still lost, Les immediately approached me, asked to make sure that we had no trouble with the directions and let us know how glad he was that we could come.  I found it amazing that he remembered who I was, after only one previous, face to face meeting.  I didn’t understand that, along with many other things, it was part of his job to remember.

Over the next eight years, I became a frequent visitor in Les’s office.  Sometimes I had legitimate questions for him (like, Isn’t it, technically, a lock out if they’re saying that we can’t work the Friday after Thanksgiving?  Because that’s not one of our negotiated, scheduled days off…) but most of the time just to talk, go outside for a smoke and have a cup of coffee. 

Because of Les, I became politically aware and active (even working with him, for a brief time, on the cable access television show, The Democratic Voice, which he produced, filmed, edited and sometimes hosted.)  Because of Les, I became active as a Union member and a delegate to the Area Labor Council.  Because of Les, I believe that what I refer to as the big fight is worth fighting – that, one day, common sense and justice for the American worker will, indeed, prevail.  I wanted to thank him for that – publically.  (I figure that if I embarrass him even half as much as I embarrassed Ro last month, it will probably only be about half of what he deserves.  He is not one for patting himself on the back.)

Les Thompson held the position of Organizer and Assistant Business Agent, at Local 113, for about the last ten years.  I do not know if, during that time, he influenced others as much as he influenced me.  Regardless, I’m sure he will be missed by many more than me around the Hall – for his knowledge, his wit and his unique perspective on things.  I would like to wish him luck with his new position, whether it turns out to be a promotion or not.  Also, in the same vein, I would like to take the opportunity to do the same for our new Organizer, Mike Ham.  With great power comes great responsibility or something like that.  In other words, Mike, isn’t it good to know that you will only be responsible for half of that equation?  (First order of business though, even though it’s got nothing to do with organizing anyone but me:  You’re now in charge of reminding me I’m supposed to at least send Mike Kindig an email, four hours after deadline, explaining that, as usual, the article is on it’s way.  You’ll need my email address to forward that email to me, like twelve times a year or so.  I’ll be by sometime soon for coffee!)   
 

August 2007 [go back to top]

Report on the 2007 Grace Carroll Rocky Mountain Labor School

Last year, I told our members how impressed I was – by everything about the Grace Carroll Rocky Mountain Labor School… because I didn’t expect it to be so good.  This year’s RMLS didn’t take me by surprise that way.  I can not say enough about the courses, the instructors (who volunteer their time to teach them) and the overall experience.
A part of that overall experience that was missing from last year, when the school was held 15 minutes away, at UCCS, was the actual trip itself.  Traveling from Colorado Springs to Flagstaff, Arizona, to attend the school, was quite different.  You don’t spend over 20 hours in a car with three other members of your Local (and share a very small suite with them for a week) without getting to know them a little bit better.  This year, getting to know Frank, Daniel and Glen (who I only previously knew by sight and maybe casual conversation) was as much a part of the overall experience, for me, as the school itself.  And I mean that in a good way.  I think we honestly enjoyed each other’s company and conversation.  I think I could’ve made this trip with anyone but it was a pleasure to make it with them.
Anyhow, I’m not going to bore everybody with all the gruesome details from the classes I took or recopy a bunch of facts and figures from handouts I received.  I think most of us are pretty well aware that things have been and could be better in the labor movement.  Again, in the wonderful world of recorded labor history that never managed to make it into any of my formal education texts, I learned a lot about the past.  However, the focus of most of the classes was more on the present and the future – what we can and MUST do to help preserve ourselves, as trade unionists, and to preserve the quickly disappearing American middle class…
I will say that my favorite class was Internal Organizing, which dealt not only with growing your Union but also getting more of your Local’s current members more involved in Union activities.  This class was taught by one Colorado’s own, a man named Mike Hurley, who would make an excellent guest speaker at any Local Union event.  His passion for his subject matter was amazing and contagious.
My favorite activity actually involved a sort of field trip.  Nurses at the Flagstaff Medical Center, who were in the process of trying to form a Union, arranged for the entire RMLS to join them for a private screening of Michael Moore’s new documentary, SICKO, at a local cinemaplex.  The movie was excellent, and should be seen by every American above the age of 16, but was also very relevant to the nurses’ cause (which is, also, people before profit.) 
After the movie, everyone (which was roughly 160 Union members and activists) shuttled over to the hospital to take part in a candle light vigil.  (Of course, they didn’t trust us with actual fire, so we used glow sticks.)  Before leaving, we all put our signatures (and Local Union numbers) on a giant, mock Union contract for the nurses.  For me, this was quite a powerful and moving experience, just because we were taking the classroom learning to the streets.  We were activists acting (which may seem like a redundancy but I have noticed that activists sometimes talk, and write, a lot more than they actually act.)  I don’t know if we made a difference with the hospital administrators but I’m sure we made a greater impact than the nurses could have made on their own.
I’d like to thank my Local, for sending me again.  It was, again, an honor and a privilege to represent Local 113 in Flagstaff. 
I hope we continue to support ourselves by supporting this great school in the future and would encourage other Colorado Locals (regardless of trade or affiliation) to do the same.

In Memoriam
On a very sad note, Billy Farmer lost his battle with cancer on the first of this month.  Billy Barrnett Farmer Jr. was only 43 years old (born on November 26, 1963) and was a member of I.B.E.W. Local 113 since August of 2000.  He was the oldest of six children (sisters: Culleena, Melinda and Melody; brothers: Mark and Jim) and leaves behind five children (Dustin: 17, Christopher: 16, Mickey: 15, Brandon: 10 and Kaitlyn: 3) and his wife, Terry. 
I did not know Billy well but what I did know of him I sure liked a lot.  He had what I value most in just about any human being – a quick wit and a great sense of humor.  He made me laugh every time I ever spoke to him, including the times which were well after he knew he was dying (and I’m sure he felt like crying.)  I’m not sure how he was able to do that.  He was extremely brave.  I can only imagine the pain and the loss suffered by those who were close to him – how very much they will miss what I only had the chance to glimpse in my brief association with him.  Billy’s family and friends must be extremely brave too – is the only explanation I can think of…
A small service was held for Billy, atop Pikes Peak, on Tuesday morning, August 7, 2007, in which his ashes were scattered into the wind.
We, at I.B.E.W. Local 113, would like to reach out to the entire Colorado Labor community in asking those who can to assist the family Billy left behind.   A fund has been set up at the One Thirteen Credit Union.  This we decided to do just because…
Contributions can be sent to:  One Thirteen Credit Union
                                                3505 N. Chestnut
                                                Colorado Springs, CO  80907
With checks made payable to:  Billy Farmer Memorial Fund
Anything anybody can do would be greatly appreciated. 

July 2007 [go back to top]

The Results are In...

The official results for I.B.E.W. Local 113’s 2007 election were made public last month, at our June 6th meeting (which was a day after last month’s article was submitted.)  So, for the benefit of the Colorado Labor community and Local 113’s faithful readers who may have missed out, we would like to share those results.
 
President:  Charlie Johnson*
Vice President:  Brian Bradley*
Recording Secretary:  Mike Ham*
Business Manager/Financial Secretary/Convention Delegate:  Marshall Johnson
Treasurer:  Scott Henderson
Executive Board, Inside Members:  Joe Balderrama*, John Favors, Leon Mattsen*, Les Thompson
Executive Board, Outside Member:  Clint Fadness*
Executive Board, Members At Large:  Adam Leute*, Art Krisak*
Examining Board:  Joe Meehan*, Jimmy Geist*, Charlie Pierson*, Matt Hall*, Stephanie Richardson*
Building Association Trustees:  Joe Balderrama, Francis Vigil*, Jimmy Geist*, Mike Ham*

The asterisks indicate newly elected officers, which represent quite a changing of the guard for our local.  We would like to congratulate all of the winners and thank everyone who participated in the election process which we consider to be one of the fundamental values of the Union way – democracy on the most basic level.  (Even when you feel like you don’t get too much democracy from your democratically elected officials in government, you will always have democracy in your Union!  If you don’t believe this, all you have to do is attend a meeting.)

In other, real, I.B.E.W. Local 113 news, we have a new Strategic Action Plan.  The plan, which consists of nine goals, was drafted by local officers and Eighth District representatives with the hope of addressing some of the serious issues we face in the electrical industry and in our community.  Again, for the benefit of the Colorado Labor community and the faithful readers, here’s the skinny…

The first goal was for the Mark Johnson to contact the International Vice President to request the reinstatement of quarterly organizing meetings.  These meetings would give Local officers and organizers the chance to share information with each other and brainstorm on a regular basis.  The letter has been sent and we are waiting for reply.

The second goal is to support the proposed State Electrical Statute.  This will involve enlisting the support of all I.B.E.W. Locals and their delegates to the Colorado State Conference of Electrical Workers, in conjunction with State representatives, to help draft some meaningful legislation which will make Colorado a safer and more Union-friendly place for electrical work to be done.  A meeting with State representatives has been scheduled and will take place later this month.

The third goal was to re-establish Wednesday as Union Day in the work place by encouraging members to wear their Union colors and show their Union pride.  While this is something that many members do on a regular basis anyhow, coordinating it down to a specific day will be a nice touch.
The fourth goal was to send a copy of our Statement of Purpose (recently moved and changed by the floor to Mission Statement) with all charitable contributions.  For those who don’t know what that is, here it is:  To enlighten and organize all workers within our area of influence.  To maintain a quality and production standard for our membership and customers.  To lead our industry and promote brotherhood, so that all workers embrace the moral, economic, political and social benefits of IBEW membership, thus assuring everyone the opportunity to work, live, and retire with dignity and respect. Therefore, it is the imperative duty of every electrical worker to do all in his/her power to achieve the strength necessary to set the terms and conditions of employment. The reason for including a copy of this statement is so that people who we help have a better idea of who we are and what we stand for when we donate to their causes.
The fifth goal is to establish a committee, by August 1, 2007, in conjunction with our Labor Management Cooperative Committee, to propose various means of improving our Local’s public image in the community.
The sixth goal is to increase our construction membership by 5% by June 30, 2008.  Quite simply: organize, organize, and organize!  The number of people we’re putting through school is not expected to be anywhere near the amount we’ll need down the road. Members were encouraged to reach out to their nonunion brothers in the electrical field, to help show them the light.
The seventh goal is to establish a 40 Hour Club.  Unlike what it sounds like, this club would encourage members to give 40 hours of (non court ordered) community service which would be sponsored by our Local.  (This could actually fall under #5.)
The eighth goal is to survey the membership in regards to training preferences.  When the members have input as to which upgrade classes and training the JATC sponsors, they might be less likely to complain about the choices – maybe…  This process is scheduled to begin in August.
Finally, the ninth goal is to publish this plan by August 31, 2007.  Check.  (Looks like I’m taking next month off!)  The reason for doing this is to let everyone in the Colorado Labor community take a look and see if some of the same types of ideas may work in their own particular fields.  Many of these goals can be a part of any Labor Union’s Strategic Action Plan.  If you don’t have a plan, there’s no time like the present to get one!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
*The Local Union picnic and Pin Awards will take place on Saturday, July 14.

*The JATC Completion Dinner will be held, at the Hall, on Friday, July 27, beginning at 6:00 p.m.