Passenger rail upgrades sought for Northeast Corridor

Top-Notch Skills
Members dominate
first-ever competition

Dire States
Your job, paycheck, voice — at risk

North of 49°
IBEW Wins Indigenous Inclusion Award

Au nord du 49° parallèle
La FIOE remporte le prix pour l'inclusion du peuple indigène

This issue contains important new information for "A" members of the IBEW regarding the Pension Benefit Fund and their rights under ERISA, which should be read and retained for future reference.

First U.S. Offshore Wind Farm Opens off Atlantic Coast

Business Manager Michael K. Daley and everyone with Providence, R.I., Local 99 had reason to celebrate when the first offshore wind farm in U.S. waters became fully operational in mid-December.

"It was awesome," Daley said. "It was a feeling of so much pride that the IBEW had been a part of this."

There could be even better news on the deep blue horizon. Deepwater Wind's Block Island Wind Farm — which Local 99 not only helped build, but helped get off the ground because of its ongoing dialogue with Rhode Island officials — could lead to more work for IBEW members.

Hopefully, a lot more.

"The real prize was not the five turbines," said Paul MacDonald, Local 99's legislative director. "I look at that as a demonstration project. The real prize is what's going to come."

About 50 Local 99 members were involved in the construction, most at a temporary mainland facility at the Port of Providence. Block Island is 13 miles south of the Rhode Island coast.

The project is tiny compared to the massive offshore wind farms that have sprouted up around the world during the last two decades, particularly in European coastal areas.

It showed, however, that they have a place in the United States. MacDonald said wind generation helps hold down energy costs, which could also make it more attractive to businesses.

"It has to come because the cost of energy is getting out of hand," he said. "In the Northeast, it's getting so expensive that it stymies business. People are thinking of ways to stop that."

"This [the Block Island project] is a demonstration that it's feasible and that it works," he added. "When we have these things with 200, 300 or 500 turbines, that's when you're really going to see a lot of jobs."

Stephenson: Excellence off the Job
Chilia: Raising the Stakes

John Easton Jr.;
Louis M. Gauthier;
William 'Bill' Warchow;
Harrison West

Now Hiring: New Life
and New Jobs at Illinois Nuclear Plants

'We're in a Union …
We Have All We Need': Why These Members
Give Back

A Universal Experience;
Dollars and Sense;
Nothing New Here

December 2016

Detroit's 'Wobbly' Kitchen:
Serving Up a Healthy Dose of Community Spirit