×
Forgot Login?
Business Manager's Report
Mar 02, 2024

Business Manager Report

IBEW Local 659

March 2024

Greetings everyone,

I hope this message finds you well. As we transition into March, I wanted to provide a summary of the engagements and discussions that took place during the month of February.

Throughout February, our team remained actively engaged in various initiatives, including filing (2) more additional NLRB elections with a select group of workers at Mercy Hospital in Roseburg, as well as Hunter communications. It was a busy month, but the following are some of the key highlights.

We began the month with a productive trip to LU 1245 in Vacaville, California, with several linemen delegates (Ron Budesilich and Tim Rhodes) where we had fruitful discussions regarding the 9th District Lineman exam. This visit was about trying to have all locals in the 9th District utilizing the same bank of 275 questions and possibly extending it to be a national test.

In the weeks following, we traveled to Portland to collaborate with LU 125 and LU 57, focusing on the PAC/IBEW Executive Committees and Commitment to Excellence. These discussions provided valuable insights and laid the groundwork for future collaboration efforts. We discussed continued partnerships with our Pre-Apprenticeship working with PP&L on build out of EV Chargers and Renewable Resources.

One of the key highlights of the month was a meeting convened to discuss the simplification of craft entry processes at PP&L. We engaged with labor and management stakeholders to streamline processes for Apprentice Qualified individuals, Pre-Apprentices, Utility Specialists, and Groundmen, to help improve/clarify the various pathways.

Additionally, we met with PP&L and part of our bargaining team to set dates and outline next steps for upcoming bargaining sessions. These discussions underscored our proactive approach to negotiations and our commitment to achieving mutually beneficial outcomes. The company has verbally agreed to use our extension as the baseline and correct the issues that were raised for the no votes and continue to bargain additional proposals for both labor and management.

I attended the Business Managers Meeting and Organizers Conference, which provided us with valuable opportunities to stay informed of industry trends and best practices, further enhancing our organizational effectiveness. There were discussions about organizing our Professional & Industrial campaigns and the tools for the International Office that are available.

Furthermore, we reviewed changes to membership development policies at the International Offices, aligning our strategies with broader organizational goals. It was refreshing to hear that some of our more local International Representatives share some of our concerns with these new policies and have made our point clear to the International President and modified or added language that we are comfortable with in the 9th District, as well as creative strategies to protect our concerns.

Our engagement in the labor-management committee meeting for hydro operations or soon to be known as renewable resources, demonstrated our commitment to addressing operational challenges and fostering collaboration across the board. There were no contentious subjects and after checking with our stewards before the meeting we did not have much to add. We did have one submission that arrived after the deadline that was not discussed. The same topic is also one of our negotiation proposals that we will either address in negotiations or discuss at the next Hydro/Renewable Resources LMC.

We also participated in a Pre-Apprentice event at Glide High School, promoting workforce development and community engagement. We were able to engage with students in hands-on demonstrations and labs to show them the many different opportunities they can explore in the electrical industry.

Looking ahead, we have confirmed dates for bargaining sessions in March, ensuring proactive planning and preparation. We have dates set for March 4, 2024, March 5, 2024, as well as March 8, 2024, where we will then continue to set more dates as needed to continue discussions.

Our office has also reviewed our Outside Construction referral and book policies and plan to remove our COVID protocols of allowing remote book signing without having to show up in-person initially. After coordinating with the other (3) locals, we realized that LU’s 77, 125, 483 all have different guidelines. We are coordinating with the locals to discuss how we can work together to make our guidelines the same throughout the four locals. LU 125 still allows full remote signing and does not mandate anyone to come in person. But we have heard your concerns about book 2 being overloaded and our office has also experienced strain with a high volume of people calling to be added to our books. Which could be mitigated by removing our COVID policy and mandating in-person book signing at least, initially for that year, and re-signing or returning to the books after a call could still be done remotely.

Thank you for your continued support and collaboration.

Warm regards,

Nick Carpenter

nick@ibew659.org

541-227-9736


-
IBEW Local 659
4480 Rogue Valley Hwy, Suite 3
Central Point, Oregon 97502
  541-664-0800

Top of Page image
Powered By UnionActive - Copyright © 2024. All Rights Reserved.