New owners at Northrup Grumman shipyards

Regulators urged to address utility worker shortage

New classifications win work in Calif.

Tree trimmers key to
IBEW growth

Sign erectors light it up

New software means more tools for organizers

Philips closes another
U.S. plant

North of 49°
Ontario Working Families Expose Tories' Real Agenda

Au nord du 49° parallèle
La Coalition pour les familles travailleuses
de l'Ontario expose le véritable agenda des conservateurs

2010 PBF Summary
Annual Plan

Alabama was ground zero for April's disastrous twisters, where more than 230 people died. Nearly half a million residents were left without power, making the state's 3,000 IBEW utility members a key component in its recovery.

"We had pretty much every single person we've got at Alabama Power out there working 24/7," says Casey Shelton, business manager of the U-19 coordinating council, which represents nine utility locals at Alabama Power.

They were joined in the recovery effort by 10,000 utility and outside line construction workers from 17 states, including Michigan. Detroit Local 17 Business Manager Kevin Shaffer told WWJ-TV that DTE Energy let employees borrow some of the utility's trucks to help transport IBEW members to Birmingham.

"They've decided to donate their semis," Shaffer says. "As many semis as we need, we will fill as many as we can … and send them down."

The sheer magnitude of the damage made the job daunting. "We're talking 200 transmission towers down," Shelton says. "There were poles and lines that were literally blown away."

There were some towns he says where "there was nothing left to restore power to."

"Cities started to look identical, the damage was so bad," he said.

Alabama Power estimates that more than 5,200 poles and more than 400 transmission system structures were damaged or destroyed, while more than 300 substations lost power.

The massive scope of the disaster meant that in many areas linemen had to literally rebuild the system from scratch.

"This wasn't a repair job, it was reconstruction," Shelton says.

But despite the numerous obstacles, it only took five days to restore electric service to all of the utility's customers who could still receive power.

Hill: The Courage to Rebuild Our Economy
Chilia: We Need Clean Air and Jobs

IBEW TV Photographers Win San Francisco Awards

Joseph A. Maziasz

N.H. Workers Sign Contract; Sears Techs Join IBEW; Recovery Program Aids Mich.; N.J. Muni Workers Vote IBEW

Electrical Training Boosts Safety for Calif. Firefighters

April 2011

Retiree Links Labor and Religious Traditions

What Democracy Looks Like; Take the Money and Run?; Misleading on Nukes?