Nebraska Members Help Bring Presidential Debate to Your Living Room
September 29, 2008
 The first presidential debate between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain was one of the biggest media events of the year, with an estimated audience of more than 70 million Americans.
AT&T, in charge of telecommunication services for the debate, needed two communications cabinets – six feet tall cabinets which transmit visual and audio data directly to news organizations’ broadcast feeds – but the contractor they had lined up dropped out at the last minute.
Members of Omaha, Neb., Local 1974 stand in front of one of
the two communications cabinets used at the first pres. debate.
Without the cabinets, it would be nearly impossible for news outlets to broadcast the event in real time.
Both devices were due at the University of Mississippi – host of the debate – in less than a week when the call came into Nebraska-based Connectivity Solutions Manufacturing Inc., a leading producer of telecommunications equipment. The more than 500 production workers represented by Omaha Local 1974 had six days to put together two cabinets.
“The first reaction we heard from management was ‘We’re in trouble,” said Omaha Local 1974 Business Manager Dan Buelt.
Normally it takes four weeks to build a communications cabinet but by using spare parts from older models and speeding up their work schedule, Local 1974 members made it happen. “We spent a lot of time chasing down old equipment,” said lead engineer Bill Meyers. Members of Omaha Local 1614, which represents clerical employees at the company, also had to rush, working with vendors to get needed materials delivered to the factory floor.
“Our members really rose to the job,” Buelt said. “They knew it was an historic event.”
One cabinet was located in the auditorium, which will transmit data from the debate to a second cabinet located in an equipment room where media outlets can plug into.
Photo used under a Creative Commons license from Flickr user transplanted mountaineer.
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