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July/August 2005 IBEW Journal L.U. 21 (catv,govt&t), DOWNERS GROVE, IL—The rewrite of the Illinois Telecommunications Act in 2005 remains a hot topic for our union. Via Senate Bill 1700, the Illinois General Assembly is considering changes to the Act, decisions that will affect the quality of telecommunications for many years to come. A massive lobbying effort by members, officers and staff is underway. It is only with across the board service quality standards that we can help guarantee access to a reliable and well-maintained phone system for Illinois citizens and good union jobs for our members. At Comcast, after six years of tough bargaining, a tentative agreement was reached for a Chicago bargaining unit. At press time the agreement is still subject to ratification by Local 21 members. Two other units are still in negotiations. In late 2002, SBC laid off hundreds of members in clear violation of our contract. In a major victory, the U.S. District Court in Chicago denied SBC in their attempt to get the court to vacate a 2004 arbitrator’s decision that ordered SBC to comply with the contract, meet with the union, and produce certain information they should have prior to the layoff. This fight’s not over, but our goal is to get members back on the payroll ASAP. Thomas Hopper, P.S. L.U. 26 (ees,em,es,govt,i&mt), WASHINGTON, D.C.—The golf outing was a huge success again this year, with a substantial amount of money made to help fight diabetes. Thanks to all our volunteers, sponsors, participants and especially to Bro. Butch Ramos for a superb job of coordinating this annual event. Reminder to members: General membership meetings now begin at 7 p.m. At the May general membership meeting, the members made a motion for this time change and the change became effective in July. Our Credit Union celebrated its 50th anniversary recently with a luncheon and business meeting. Several former employees and volunteers attended, as well as many of our Credit Union members. Tribute was paid to and our deceased Bro. Harry Creamer and Mrs. Creamer, founders of the Credit Union in 1955. The following brothers retired since our last article: Jerry E. Baker, Miguel M. Barrientos, James A. Dean, Charles H. Payne, James D. Phibbs, Howard T. Pullen, Howard L. Faris, Robert P. Garland, Don P. Mackessy, Edwin E. Smith and James T. Zell. We are saddened to report the following deaths: Bro. George R. Leukhart Jr. and retired Bros. Mike Murphy, William M. Hamby, Marshall Sowers, Arthur Roe, Larry J. Bickett and Jame V. Gingrich. Charles E. Graham, B.M.
L.U. 38 (i), CLEVELAND, OH—Pictured in the accompanying photo are Local 38 job stewards Jay Monday from Harrington Electric and Nick Herdinhoffer from Atlas Electric. Both are job stewards on a multi-million dollar project at 1375 Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland for WVIZ-TV and Idea Stream Radio. Other tenants in the building are architectural and engineering firms that Lake Erie Electric is working on. Thanks to the stewards for stepping up and taking the jobs and for the good job they are doing. Work should start soon across the street at the Halle’s Building for the new administration offices the CWRU will move into. Lake Erie Electric was awarded the first phase of the new $90 million Charter Steel job. Lake Erie Electric has also been doing a lot of work on the new Hot Dip Galvanizing Line at ISG on a time and material basis because bid packages have not been released at the time of this writing. Work should also be starting on the new City View shopping complex in Garfield Heights off I-480. The complex is located on an old landfill site and the EPA gave approval for construction to start. Dennis Meaney, B.R. L.U. 44 (catv,lctt,o,rtb,s&u), BUTTE, MT—At press time our local was gearing up for our Montana Lineman’s Rodeo and Local 44 picnic scheduled for July 16, 2005, in Deer Lodge, MT. The Local 44 Golf Tournament will be held Aug. 20, 2005, in Helena. Please contact the Local 44 office for details. I look forward to seeing everyone there. Don W. Hendrickson, B.M./F.S. L.U. 46 (c,em,i,rtb,rts,st,cs,es,mt, mo,mar,as&et), SEATTLE, WA—April 14 was Pin Recognition Night, the first time in our new hall and with plenty of parking for a full house! Congratulations to all! We really made a difference this spring by lobbying elected officials in Olympia, testifying at hearings and meeting with the governor, all of which helped ensure successful passage of HB 2255, the bill to restore unemployment benefits to previous levels. We were also successful with the apprenticeship utilization bill. We went to arbitration, and won, to save benefits—as provided by our bargaining agreement and approved by our members—for the early retirees. In our local we value our family members; the skills and wisdom learned through the trade and passed along are our heritage. We take care of our own, and we fight to make sure the "moral" thing is done. We are developing 10- and 30-second radio spots for some local stations, with sponsorship by individuals and/or any group/club. Put your "2 cents" in and make your voice heard. We are starting a can recycling campaign and we’ll have "penny jars" at the hall for those who wish to empty those annoying pennies from their pockets. When added together pocket change and unified voices make an impact. Karlena Bromiley, P.S.
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