L.U. 111 (em,lctt,mt,o,rtb,spa&u), DENVER, COIn October 2002, we moved into
our new location at 5965 E. 39th Avenue in Denver. In conjunction with our
Policy Committee Meeting held on March 8, and 9, 2003, we had an open house and
all had a good time. When in Denver, please stop and see our new digs.
We have been in negotiations with Public Service Company of Colorado since
January 2003, and the contract expires May 31, 2003. We hope the conclusion for
these negotiations look nothing like the beginning back in January, which
commenced with nothing but takeaways in the company proposals. They have an
aging work force and have had no apprentices for eight years. We negotiated for
over three years to get an apprenticeship program going again after they cut it
out to save costs. They have only had apprentices since last fall. Our goal is
work preservation for the bargaining unit, better living standards for our
members and safe working conditions.
L.U. 113 (catv,ees,em,i,mo&o), COLORADO SPRINGS, COWe hope that by the time
this column is read, the work situation for journeyman wiremen will have
brightened up.
As always, the local is busy with organizing efforts that would increase our
work opportunities.
The locals outside line unit unanimously accepted the new Colorado Statewide
Underground Project Agreement, which is an attempt to recapture our outside work
we have lost to other building trades unions.
A new contractor recently joined the IBEW ranks. Its CJs Construction and
Seeding from Pueblo, CO, a small contractor that specializes in directional
drilling. CJs Construction and Seeding will employ six people and is signatory
to the Colorado Statewide Line Agreement, Colorado Statewide Traffic Signal,
Communication and Low Voltage Agreement and the NORAM Communications Agreement.
The owners of the company are IBEW members who were working for Sturgeon over in
Grand Junction before going into business for themselves.
Local 125, Portland,
OR, retiree Harrison
Eastman, of Bend,
OR, turned 100
years old on Jan.
27, 2003.
L.U. 125 (lctt,o&u), PORTLAND, ORIBEW Local 125 member Harrison Eastman
turned 100 years old on Jan. 27, 2003. One of 13 children of a Clatskanie, OR,
family, he left home at age 13 to work as a "printers devil" at a printing
company. He began working in the line construction trade in 1924 and was
involved in construction of many of the original lines that connected Northwest
cities to form the first utilities. Much of the early work was done with
horse-drawn equipment over rough terrain.
Eastman joined Pacific Power in 1928 as a lineman in Condon, OR. After a
depression layoff, he rejoined the company in 1941 and retired from Pacific
Power in 1968 as a line foreman in Portland. He currently resides in Bend, OR,
with Gen, his wife of 50 years. He still attends company and union functions and
drives an automobile.
L.U. 141 (ees,i,o&u), WHEELING, WVWork remains slow in our area, with
members unemployed. Many thanks to IBEW Local 246, Steubenville, OH, for keeping
some members working.
Bus. Mgr. John Clarke and Organizer Randy Miller attended SCORE training in
Washington. Organizer Miller also hosted a COMET class.
Many of our members are currently taking the effective supervision training
course, taught by Mr. Chuck Davis. This weekend course teaches management
techniques helpful to successful supervisors.
Upcoming events for our members include the annual credit union dinner and a
family picnic scheduled for August.
Local 143, Harrisburg, PA, members at the Target
warehouse project.
L.U. 143 (em,i&spa), HARRISBURG, PA2002 was a very busy year. One of the
continuing larger projects is the 1.5-million-square-foot Target distribution
warehouse located on 36 acres south of Chambersburg, PA. The electrical
contractor is Parsons Electric, LLC, from Minneapolis, MN.
Many Local 143 members have and continue to work on the Target warehouse. The
full employment in the Harrisburg area allowed other IBEW traveling members from
Locals 307, 26, 429, 342, 131, 2113 and 743 to also work on this project.
The excess aluminum and copper scrap collected on this job will be sold in
the spring and a generous donation will be given to the Cumberland Valley Animal
Shelter in Chambersburg, PA.
Congratulations to Parsons Superintendent Dick Lambert, of Local 26, Asst.
Superintendent Clint Dinsmoore, of Local 131, Local 143 members Gen. Foreman
David Walter, Sub-Foreman Dick Vandrew and Sub-Foreman Ed Crim for a job well
done. And thanks to Lori Martin for this article and photo.
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