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New IEC Officers Sworn-in

International President Edwin D. Hill and Secretary-Treasurer
Jon Walters administer the oath of office to new International Executive Council members Myles Calvey, left, Chairman Robert Pierson and Stephen Schoemehl.

Appointed

Howard Ritchie, Jr.

Howard L. Ritchie Jr., International Representative, Construction Department, was appointed Dir­ector of Personnel, effective January 3, 2006. He replaces William Bohné, who has been ap­pointed to direct the Railroad Department.

“It will be a great opportunity to meet and know all the employees as personnel director and to help make things work smoothly at the I.O.,” says Brother Ritchie.

Initiated as an inside wireman apprentice into Washington, D.C., Local 26, in 1972, Ritchie graduated in 1975. He was elected to the local’s examining board in 1986.

In 1990, Ritchie was appointed to Local 26’s staff
by then-Business Manager John Widener. He as­sumed responsibility for servicing and organizing in the wage grade, blue-collar government sector of newly amalgamated Local 27, organizing workers at the Pentagon and the Holocaust Museum .

In 1993, Ritchie was retained on staff by newly-elected Business Manager Buddy Satterfield. He served as trustee on the pension, annuity, health and welfare and joint apprenticeship training funds and on labor-management committees. When Satterfield, currently special assistant to President Hill for Membership Development, was ap­pointed to the International staff in 1998, Ritchie was appointed to serve out his term. He was re-elected in 2001.

Brother Ritchie was ap­pointed International Rep­resentative and assigned to the Construction Department in 2003. He worked on IBEW participation in alternative energy programs including solar and wind power. Brother Ritchie also assisted Director Mark Ayers on several endeavors, including administration of the national construction and specialty agreements, Helmets-to-Hardhats and the Transmission and Maintenance Agreement.

A native of Hyattsville , Maryland , Ritchie graduated from St. John’s College High School in Washington , D.C. , in 1968 and attended the University of Maryland at College Park for two years. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1969 to 1975.

Brother Ritchie, a motorcyclist, enjoys spending time in Ocean City, Maryland , with his wife, Cecelia.

The officers and membership of the IBEW wish Brother Ritchie much success in his new position.

Deceased

J. Rolland Thivierge

The IBEW is saddened to report the November 15, 2005, death of retired International Representative J. Rolland Thivierge. He was 79.

Brother Thivi­erge was initiated into Montreal, Quebec , Local 561 in 1945 (Local 561 went defunct in 1994). A railroad worker, he served as local chairman and audit chairman before being appointed a temporary organizer in 1966. A few months later, he was brought on as an International Representative in the 10th District, which at that time represented the Brotherhood’s railroad industry. (In 1998, an IBEW constitutional referendum eliminated the former 10th District, and moved the industry into the International Office as a department. The former 12th District then became the current 10th District, representing Arkansas , North Carolina , South Carolina and Tennessee .)

As an International Representative, Thivierge assisted Canadian railroad locals in contract negotiations and collective bargaining certifications. He also represented the IBEW at various labor organizations, including the International Labor Office in Geneva, Switzerland , to which he was appointed Canadian Railway Labour Association delegate in 1975.

Thivierge, whose avocation was opera singing, shared his talent with IBEW brothers and sisters at international conventions and progress meetings throughout the 1970s and 1980s with his impressive rendition of the Canadian national anthem. He retired in 1987.

He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and Societé des Artisans. In his retirement, Thivierge enjoyed fishing, singing and pétanque, a European outdoor bowling game similar to Italy ’s bocce. Thivierge and his wife, Jeannine Nault, had six children and several grandchildren. The IBEW officers, staff and members send Brother Thivierge’s family and friends our deepest condolences. 

Deceased

Thomas O. Roberts

The IBEW re­grets to an­nounce the Dec- ember 6, 2005, death of retired Ninth District International Representative Thomas O. Roberts. He was 85.

Brother Roberts was initiated into Fresno, California , Local 100 in 1947. A California native, he served on the local’s apprenticeship committee for 10 years and the examining board for two years. He was assistant business manager for seven years.

In 1965, he was assigned to the Ninth District staff, where he traveled across the state of California servicing construction locals. Remembered by his co-workers as a kind,
congenial man, he retired in 1986.

Roberts served in Europe and North Africa during World War II. Captured in Europe , he was a prisoner of war. He attended courses at California State University in Fresno and the University of Southern California. His hobbies included yachting, restoring old cars, real estate and golf. His first wife, Marge, preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife, Carol.

The IBEW officers, staff and members extend our deepest sympathies to Brother Roberts’s many friends and family.

Deceased

Bernard Flaherty

The IBEW mourns the loss of Cornell University School of Industrial Labor and Relations Associate Director Bernard I. Flaherty, a labor educator well known and admired for his contributions to the Brotherhood and the entire trade union movement. He died on October 17, 2005, at age 71.

Flaherty was a major force behind the development of many successful IBEW programs, including COMET (Construction Organizing Mem- bership Education Training) and Mutual Gains Bargaining, both of which have helped countless members throughout the IBEW. Working closely with leadership and staff, Flaherty traveled across the United States and Canada leading workshops.

At the 1996 IBEW Convention in Philadelphia , Flaherty addressed the delegates, commending the IBEW for its commitment to education, new ideas and innovative initiatives. “History warns us that the price of freedom for working men and women is eternal vigilance,” Flaherty said. “The IBEW and its leaders find no rest.”

Flaherty’s introduction to unionism came at the age of 17, when as an employee of a shoe factory in upstate New York , he was fired for circulating a petition in support of a union.

He went on to spend nearly 20 years at the New York State School of Industrial Labor and Relations at Cornell as a professor and associate director. Most recently, he was a labor-management consultant specializing in training for mutual gains, negotiations, and partnership for unions and companies. He provided facilitation services in Canada , Great Britain , Northern Ireland and Argentina . He served as mediator and arbitrator on the New York State Mediation Board. He served for six terms on the Oneida County Legislature.

Flaherty earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Utica College at Syracuse University and a Master of Arts in constitutional law from Colgate University . He is survived by his wife, Sandra, five children and 11 grandchildren. The IBEW expresses our deepest condolences to his family and many friends.