IBEW

LOCAL 949

NEWSLETTER

Winter 2011	Volume 10	Issue 3

FINISHED-THE HALL HAS A NEW LOOK!

12908 NICOLLET AVE S. BURNSVILLE, MN 55337 1-800-833-0949 Local 949 meeting is at 10:00 a.m. On the 3rd Saturday of each month Members’ welcome!
Another New Look!

Local 949’s website has a new look too! More information, more sophisticated, more user friendly. The member login is required to access some of the information under Member Resources so you will want to register. Your username would be your first initial with your last name. The password is the last four digits of your social security number.

Make it easy on yourself and add it to your favorites. Notice in the bottom right hand corner of the home page--yes, that’s right--UNION MADE!

www.ibewlocal949.org

Any organizing leads are appreciated and should be sent to The attention of Business Rep Mike O’Connor At moconnor@ibewlocal949.org Organizing is tough but workers at GE Transportation in Kansas City, Missouri recently voted 44-41 to join IBEW Local 1464-the first time a union has organized a GE bargaining unit in 10 years!

Mobile Technology curriculum on line for IBEW Members

An online learning program focused on mobile technologies is the latest offering of NACTEL, THE National Coalition for Telecommunications Educational and Learning, a partnership of leading corporations, the IBEW and the Communications workers of America (CWA) that has trained thousands of union members since 1997. Courses are also available in operating systems.

Topics in the mobile technology curriculum include basic radio concepts, analog cellular, digital, emerging wireless technologies, mobile devices, mobile operating systems, VoIP in mobile networks and high-level convergence.

Students may choose to take individual courses to supplement job skills without committing to full degrees. Or they may apply the courses at a later date to 19-credit hour certificates or 64-credit hour associate’s degree in mobile technologies.

All NATCEL courses are online and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As a member of the NACTEL coalition, IBEW can offer a tuition discount for its members. For more information, visit: http://www.nactel.org/ibew/as-mobile.html.

In addition to the mobile technologies curriculum, NATCEL invites workers to sign up for two and four credit courses on operating systems provided by Pace University’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science. The courses are 100 percent online and will help prepare industry students to troubleshoot the various operating systems they see in clients’ homes.

The NLRB is complete…for now

As of January 9, 2012, thanks to President Obama’s recess appointments of three new members, The National Labor Relations Board is now complete. In Chairman Mark Pearce’s words: “We are gratified that the Board is now at full complement and can continue the important work of resolving workplace disputes and protecting employee rights.”

B:Sharon Block, Terence Flynn F:Brian Hayes, Mark G. Pearce, Chairman, Richard Griffin President Obama used “recess appointments” to add three new members because Republicans have spent the past year blocking nominations in an effort to keep the agency from functioning. Those efforts would have paid off soon, since after Craig Becker’s term on the board expired at the end of 2011, the NLRB would have been reduced to two members, which is the number it had for more than two years from 2008 to 2010. This effectively shuts down the board, since the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that two members does not constitute a legal quorum, and thus, a two-member board can’t make binding rulings. Becker’s appointment was also a recess appointment in 2011.

The new members are Department of Labor Attorney Sharon Block, labor lawyer Richard Griffin, and NLRB counsel Terence Flynn. Block and Griffin are Democrats and Flynn is a Republican.

In a recent decision, the NLRB ruled that requiring employees to sign arbitration agreements that contain clauses prohibiting employees from pursuing class or collective actions is a violation of federal labor law.

The NLRB stated that the agreement used by “nationwide homebuilder D.R. Horton, requiring employees to waive their right to a judicial forum and bring all claims to an arbitrator individually was unlawful.”

Locked-out workers from American Crystal Sugar joined forces with the locked-out workers from Cooper Tire to march 1,000 miles on a Journey for Justice. The journey will highlight the corporate greed that marks their lockouts and the growing drive by corporate CEOs to drive down wages and benefits to pad their own pockets.

More than 1,300 Crystal Sugar workers, members of Bakery Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) have been locked out of seven facilities in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Iowa since last August.

More than 1,000 United Steelworkers (USW) members were locked out of their jobs at Cooper Tire’s in Findlay, Ohio in November, despite the union’s good-faith offer to continue working under the terms of the previous agreement while negotiations toward a new one proceeded. (In 2008, when Cooper Tire was in financial trouble, members of USW Local 207L made concessions worth $31 million to save their plant. Meanwhile CEO Roy Armes saw his compensation more than double between 2007 and 2010 to over $4.7 million). Replacement workers were hired though Strom Engineering, the same contractor that supplies replacements for the Crystal Sugar lockout.

David Foster, Executive Director of the Blue Green ► Alliance and a former USW regional director, noted the spread of lockouts as a tactic by employers looking to force concessions on workers in a down economy. “If companies can so easily lock out experienced workers and hire replacements through a contractor like Strom, then we will see labor standards drop across the board. This isn’t just about these two lockouts, this is about our way of life in this country.”

The six-day journey will make stops in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana before concluding in Findlay. There will be rallies, fundraisers for the lock out workers and their families and other actions along the way.

Right to Work-Not

Despite its misleading name, this type of law does not guarantee anyone a job and it does not protect against unfair firing. By undermining unions, so-called “Right to Work” laws would weaken the best job security protections workers have-the union contract.

A “right to work” law is a state law that stops employers and employees from negotiating an agreement -also known as a union security clause- that requires all workers who receive the benefits of a collective bargaining agreement to pay their share of the costs of representing them. Right to Work laws say that unions must represent every eligible employee, whether he or she pays dues or not. In other words, “Right to Work” laws allow workers to pay nothing and still get all the benefits of union membership.

“Right to Work” laws aren’t fair to dues-paying members. If a worker who is represented by a union and doesn’t pay dues is fired illegally, the union must use its time and money to defend him or her, even if that requires going through a costly, time-consuming legal process. Since the union represents everyone, everyone benefits, so everyone should share in the costs of providing these services. Amazingly, nonmembers who are represented by a union can even sue the union if they think it has not represented them. In plain English, this is a union-busting tactic.

Workers in states with so-called Right to Work (RTW) laws have a consistently lower quality of life than in other states-lower wages, higher poverty, less access to health care, poorer education for children-according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Census Bureau. On average, workers in states with “Right to Work” law earn $5,538 a year less than workers in states without these laws.

Right to Work-Not in Minnesota

Why should Minnesota adopt a losing RTW strategy that lowers the standard of living for workers and their families? Ask your Senators. A Senate committee voted 7-6 to refer the “right to work” constitutional amendment to its next stop at the Senate Rules Committee. All DFLers on the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee voted against the measure. One Republican, Bill Ingebrigtsen R-Alexandria, who helped organize a sheriff’s deputies’ union in the 1970s voted against it. The remaining Republicans voted for it.

The vote means the bill is still alive. But no action has yet been taken in the House and sponsors are not sure if it has enough support to pass both floors. If it does, the question of the right to work would be put on the ballot If voters approve it, it would become an amendment to the state Constitution.

Local Union 949 does not support this legislation. Members are encouraged to contact their legislators now and tell them to vote “NO” on this union-busting legislation that does not benefit the state of Minnesota.

Changes in the Executive Board

Following Scott Darsie’s retirement, Phil Ottens (Alliant Energy) was appointed to President, Mark Fischer (OTP) to Vice President and Anna Brush (Hickory Tech) to Recording Secretary. Treasurer is Kelly Deggan. Rick Oakes remains Business Manager and Financial Secretary.

Jon Sitzmann from CenterPoint Energy was appointed Board Member at Large in December 2011. He joins Jeff Wiseman (Intek Plastics), Bill Gordon (Crosslake Telephone), Rick Martin (Prairie Island) and Kelly Ruddle (Dakota Electric).

Local 949’s officers, staff, and members extend sincere thanks to Scott Darsie for his leadership of this local union and warm wishes on his retirement

Hooray for…

Travis Saurer (Otter Tail Power Company, Fergus Falls) for another outstanding season of racing. Saurer raced his car 77 times and won 41 features, with 26 clean sweeps to win the National WISSOTA Midwest Modified title for the second time. His other title came in 2004.

Not only that, but Saurer also piloted a WISSOTA Modified in 68 shows and won 11 times in that class. He also had four track championships, two in the Midwest Modified and two in the Modified.

Race fans can keep track of the Saurer’s #21x team by visiting www.21xracing.com or www.travissaurer.com.

Info courtesy of Dirt Modified Magazine

Travis Saurer with National Trophy

STILL SERVING OUR COUNTRY BRADLEY BERGEMAN/ALLIANT ENERGY JAKE MATZ/INTEK JASON PODRITZ/INTEK

IBEW Hour Power brings you to Minneapolis, MN to show how money invested by IBEW members and other Building Trades members is redirected into construction jobs that hire union members all over the country. www.ibewhourpower.com

The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance

Brotherhood Outdoors is a unique TV series of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance that celebrates hardworking union sportsmen and women as they join host Tom Ackerman for outfitted hunting and fishing adventures across North American or turn the tables to act as his guide, taking him to their own favorite honey holes. See it on the Sportsman Channel every Thursday night.

FREE BUDGET AND DEBT COUNSELING Personal credit advice designed and discounted for union members puts you back on the road to financial recovery! Credit Counseling through Money Management International (MMI) can help with debt repayment and more. Free budget analysis session. A written Action plan summarizes your financial situation, and provides a budget and timeline. Customized Debt Management Plan (DMP) if you need assistance to eliminate debt with no set up fee and first ear DMP fees reimbursed after completing 12 months. Bankruptcy? MMI is accredited to provide counseling for union members entering bankruptcy. Get your coupon for a free session by going to www.unionplus.org/coupon-center/credit counseling

Take Advantage of Union Plus Credit Counseling Today!

Call 1-877-833-1745 for a free, no-obligation money and credit assessment. Experienced counselors are available 24/7.

Or, complete a request for confidential credit counseling online.

Credit counseling services are available at branch locations in some areas.

Learn more at UnionPlus.org/CreditCounseling.

Union Plus is brought to you by Union Privilege, established by the AFL-CIO to provide consumer benefits to members and retirees of participating labor unions. Union Plus services are available to all Local 949 members and retirees, but is not endorsed by, nor in any way affiliated with IBEW Local Union 949.

Weingarten Rights If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated or have any effect on my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my union representative, officer, or steward be present at this meeting. Without union representation, I choose not to participate in this discussion. Call the Hall

Burnsville Office: 12908 Nicollet Ave S.

Burnsville, MN 55337-3598

Phone 1-952-890-8484 or

1-800-833-0949.

BARTZ, Rick, Business Rep.	ext. 106

BREKKE, Sharon, Dues Processing	ext. 103

DEEGAN, Kelly, Treasurer

KAUFMAN, Mark, Business Rep.	ext. 107

OAKES, RICK, Business Mgr..	ext. 104

O’CONNOR, Mike, Business Rep	ext. 105

SOWER, Katie	ext. 102

THOMFORDE, Gary, Business Rep.	ext. 108

TIEDT, Elain, Office Mgr.	ext. 101

E-mail: first name initial last name@ibewlocal949.org

Example: roakes@ibewlocal949.org

www.ibewlocal949.org keeping in touch with our members Address change? Call the Hall and the International or use websites. THANKS!

Of interest:

Local 949 meeting is the third Saturday of each month at the Burnsville Office at 10:00 a.m.

Find your legislative representatives:

www.house.gov

www.senate.gov

Support Unionism

www.ibew.org

www.aflcio.org

www.shopunionmade.com

Comments welcomed at the Burnsville address or cy43@charter.net

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Check This Out:

…Shopping for electrical trade gifts? Here is a site you should know about. Find a varied selection of items for linemen, engineers, and telephone and cable guys too. Go to

www.etgiftstore.com

From our History:

“We all do better, when we all do better.”

Paul Wellstone

“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie--deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth--persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

John F. Kennedy

Our condolences go out to the family of former Local 949 Business Representative Luvern Stern who passed away at his home Sunday, March 11, 2012.
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Burnsville MN Permit No. 202

Who put this Newsletter in your hands?

You have it thanks to our union brothers and sisters, who started doing this back in 1775 by vote of the Second Continental Congress. The US Postal Service is as much a part of our national heritage as our Constitution, and was made official in 1789, the same year the Constitution was adopted.

But now the United States Postal Service (USPS) is in danger of financial collapse. Although mail volume is falling, its not the Internet killing the USPS, it’s a congressional mandate. The $20 billion in deficits over the past four years have been the direct result of $21 billion in pre-funding payments made over the past four years mandated by the Postal Service Accountability And Enhancement Act of 2006.

No national company would choose to make pre-funding retiree health its highest corporate priority in today’s economy, and no company would use all of its borrowing capacity to do so. But that is precisely what the Postal Service is being forced to do.

Its $15 billion debt limit was established in 1970 to allow the Postal Service to invest in new retail mail processing facilities and keep its huge fleet up to date. In 2005 the Postal Service did not even have to use its borrowing authority—it had no outstanding debt. Virtually all of this debt has gone to pre-fund retiree health benefits. In absence of these payments the Postal Service would have been moderately profitable despite the worst recession in 80 years, and would have had the borrowing authority left to weather the bad economy.

The U.S. Postal Service Obligation Recalculation and Restoration Act of 2011 (H.R.1351) has been introduced to allow the USPS to use pension overpayments to meet its financial obligations and keep its door open. This bill will address the cause of the USPS’s financial crisis without cutting pay and benefits, eliminating collective bargaining rights or slashing service.

ASK YOUR CONGRESSMAN

TO SUPPORT THIS BILL!