November/December 2004

Greetings:

IVP Phil Flemming

As we draw close to the end of this year 2004 it gives me great pleasure to recognize all the hard work, long hours and dedication given to our Union, the IBEW, by so many Sisters and Brothers across the First District, Canada. There have been many tough decisions made by Local Union Officers and members during this past year and many of you have stood up and been counted.

Our membership numbers have not increased like we would have liked, but I can tell you that it has not been from the lack of trying. I know that many of you have committed yourselves to the task of organizing and for this I thank you. We try to identify the movers and shakers in the “Coast to Coast Update” and as always happens when you try to acknowledge people you miss some important achievements and I do apologize if we missed your Local Union. It wasn’t intentional.

I want to recognize the continued cooperation of the International Representatives in the First District and the work that they do with great commitment and enthusiasm. I want to ensure our staff of Lois, Michelle, and Kim in the Mississauga office, and Suzanne from the Regional office know that they are appreciated throughout the year and many thanks to them for their efforts.

I want to wish you all a very happy family holiday season, all the best in the New Year, and I want to ensure all Local Unions continued support from the First District Office. All the best.

Phil Flemming
International Vice President

Andrew Kohl from Kohl Productions Inc. has been working on filming the last locals that signed up to be part of this Construction Organizing Video and putting some final touches on identification tags and links. There will be various categories to visit, such as safety, family, pension, work opportunities and more. There will be a “contact us” site and from here the non-union worker can link to all locals and log on directly to the local’s web site when the DVD is in a computer that is online. The finished product should be ready for delivery early in the New Year.

The IBEW Construction Council of Ontario, along with the Electrical Contractors Association of Ontario, recently brought Mark Breslin in from the U.S. to deliver his speech on organizing using the Top Down Approach. Since then, a number of Ontario Locals have switched gears from what they were doing in the past, and are now attacking organizing from the Top Down approach. If they follow Mark’s theory, it should work. Good luck on the new approach.

In Local 353, with the help of a number of organizers, Comet, Comet II and New Member Orientation are running continuously. The local is in the process of developing a computer data base system that will allow access for all organizers and Local Unions.

Line trades workers, technicians, support personnel, system operators, and more – approximately 325 former CUPE 500 workers will be merged into the membership of IBEW 2034 on December 31, 2004.

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, CLC

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