HURRICANE KATRINA CONTRIBUTIONS
I’d like to thank all of you for your generous donations in support of our brothers and sisters who are victims of Hurricane Katrina. Keep those contributions coming! If for some reason you did not receive the letter asking for donations, please call the union hall and we’d be happy to send you one. Or, you may mail a check to: Local 26, IBEW, 6220 Kansas Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20011, ATTN: Hurricane Fund. Checks should be made payable to “Local 26 Hurricane Fund.” All donations must be received by October 31, after which time we will turn the money over to President Hill at the IBEW. He will then make a collective contribution on behalf of IBEW local unions across the country.
IMPORTANT REMINDER!
The General Membership Meeting on October 14 will begin at 8:00 p.m. For a short time, our meetings were changed to 7:00 p.m. by a vote of the membership, but then a motion was made and passed for the meetings to return to the 8:00 p.m. time. Also, the date of our Union meeting in November has been changed to November 4. Our regular meeting night falls on November 11th this year, which is a holiday observing Veteran’s Day. Please make a note of this.
PENSION INCREASE!
The Pension Trustees met recently, and I’m pleased to inform you that the monthly benefit will be raised from the present $78.50 to $80.50 per month for each year of service. Present retirees will receive a 3% increase.
DEATH OF PAST IBEW PRESIDENT
I am sad to report that former IBEW President John J. “Jack” Barry passed away in late August. Brother Barry served as President of the IBEW From August 1986 to January 2001. He was the person who started COMET and was instrumental in turning the IBEW around from losing market share to putting Local Unions back on the right track.
VIRGINIA POLITICS
I attended the Virginia State Building Trades Conference and met the candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General in Virginia–Tim Kaine, Leslie Byrne, and R. Creigh Deeds, respectively. On behalf of the members of Local 26, a contribution in the amount of $10,000 was made to each of these candidates to help in their run for office.
I will be sending the members who are residents of Virginia a list of all the endorsed candidates who organized labor needs to support in the November 8th elections. These names are also listed on page 2. It is of the utmost importance that we support those who have supported us in the past and who made a commitment to continue to support us in the future.
As you know, the political climate right now in the White House, Senate, and Congress is not in our favor. Nothing
says it more clearly that the most recent act of President Bush in light of Hurricane Katrina. If you were at the September union meeting, you heard an article I read taken from the September 9 issue of The Washington Post describing this blow to the working men and women of this country. I would like to share that article with you for those who were not present at the meeting:
“Bush Suspends Pay Act in Areas Hit by Storm - President Bush yesterday suspended application of the federal law governing workers’ pay on federal contracts in the Hurricane Katrina-damaged areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The action infuriated labor leaders and their Democratic supporters in Congress, who said it will lower wages and make it harder for union contractors to win bids.
“The Davis-Bacon Act, passed in 1931 during the Great Depression, sets a minimum pay scale for workers on federal contracts by requiring contractors to pay the prevailing or average pay in the region. Suspension of the act will allow contractors to pay lower wages. Many Republicans have opposed Davis-Bacon charging that it amounts to a taxpayer subsidy to unions.
“In a letter to Congress, Bush said he has the power to suspend the law because of the national emergency caused by the hurricane: ‘I have found that the conditions caused by Hurricane Katrina constitute a national emergency’.
“Bush wrote that his decision is justified because Davis-Bacon increases construction costs, and suspension ‘will result in greater assistance to these devastated communities and will permit the employment of thousands of additional individuals.’
“AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney denounced the Bush announcement as ‘outrageous’. ‘Employers are all too eager to exploit workers’, he said. ‘This is no time to make that easier. What a double tragedy it would be to allow the destruction of Hurricane Katrina to depress living standards even further.’
“Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, accused Bush of ‘using the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to cut the wages of people desperately trying to rebuild their lives and their communities.’
“Miller said: ‘In New Orleans, where a quarter of the city was poor, the prevailing wage for construction labor is about $9 per hour, according to the Department of Labor. In effect, President Bush is saying that people should be paid less than $9 an hour to rebuild their communities.’ ”
President Bush is exploiting the working people even in a time of disaster! This is just another example of why we need to vote, and cast our vote for Democrats!
Endorsed Candidates for the 2005 House of Delgates Races:
| David E. Poisson Vincent F. Callahan Stephen C. Shannon Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum David L. Bulova Robert D. “Bob” Hull Vivian E. Watts Dave W. Marsden Gregory A. Werkheiser Mark D. Sickles Kristen J. “Kris” Amundson David L. Englin Brian J. Moran Albert C. “Al” Eisenberg |
Clarence E. “Bud” Phillips Jackie T. Stump Joseph P. Johnson, Jr. W.B. “Benny” Keister Barbara M. Chrisley Eric H. Ferguson Ward L. Armstrong Onzlee Ware James M. “Jim” Shuler Bruce E. Roemmelt Jim K. Blubaugh Bruce A. Elder R. David Cox Lowell L. Fulk |
Robert H. “Bob” Brink Adam P. Ebbin Earnest W. Porta, Jr. Hilda M. Barg James M. “Jim” Scott Peter L. deFur David J. Toscano Rosalyn R. Dance William K. “Bill” Barlow C. Chuck Caputo Franklin P. “Frank” Hall Dwight C. Jones Jennifer L. McClellan A. Donald McEachin |
Roslyn C. Tyler Lionell Spruill, Sr. Kenneth R. Melvin Georgia F. Allen Supriya Christopher Paula J. Miller C.A. “Chuck” Feldbush Kenneth C. Alexander Algie T. Howell, Jr. Jeion A. Ward Mamye E. BaCote Linda M. Crandel Lynwood W. Lewis, Jr. |
NEW BUILDING
Demolition of the interior of our new Local 26 headquarters building in Lanham, Maryland should have started in late September. Drawings are scheduled to go out to bid early this month. Everyone is very excited about this relocation, and I’ll keep you updated on our progress.
Pictured above from left to right-- Mike Shoemaker, Financial Secretary; David “Rick” Dawson, 20 Yrs.; Frank Jennings, 30 Yrs.; George Rigsbee, 30 Yrs.; Granville Walker (front), 30 Yrs.; Paul Ploski, 25 Yrs.; Elbert Gaddis, 20 Yrs.; Vincent Schoenbeck, 30 Yrs.; James Gyuras, 20 Yrs.; James Curtis, 25 Yrs.; John Magnanelli, 30 Yrs.; Darren Sullivan, 25 Yrs.; Robert Smith, 30 Yrs.; Chuck Graham, Business Manager
Pictured above from left to right-- Mike Shoemaker, Financial Secretary;
Gerard Ward, 45 Yrs.; Talmage Carawan, 60 Yrs.; 
Richard Stepp, 55 Yrs.; Warren Hogan, 55 Yrs.; Ken Robbinson, 55 Yrs.; Anthony Lombardi (front), 55 Yrs.; Dick Bissell, Club President; Paul Webb, 55 Yrs.
Pictured left-- Jimmy Noonan, 55 Yrs.
I would like to thank George Hogan and his wife, Karen, for helping out during the recent Pension Seminar. After another successful and well attended seminar, it got me thinking about how fortunate we are as Union workers, and of the benefits that we enjoy as Union members.
First and foremost are the Health and Welfare benefits that, when you are eligible, not only cover the member but may also cover the members family. We have medical care, dental care, eye care, hospitalization, prescription drug co-pay, accident and sickness and a death benefit thru our Health and Welfare plan.
Many of us are also covered by our various Pension Plans such as the Local 26 Pension Plan, the NEBF Pension Plan, and the IBEW International Pension Plan. All three of these plans differ from one another, and it would be impossible to go into detail here regarding the plans. In addition to our pension plans, we all hope to have Social Security continue so this would add to our Union pensions when we retire. In addition to normal pensions and early pensions, these plans also offer disability pensions to those who qualify.
Another benefit that most of us enjoy is the Individual Account Plan thru the Local 26 Trust Fund office. This is an account that is set up in your name in which contributions are deposited for every hour that you work. You then have different options where you can invest the money in your account. This was set up to supplement your Pension.
We are very fortunate to enjoy the benefits that we have because there are many open shop workers without benefits who will never be able to afford to retire.
FOURTH QUARTER DUES ARE DUE OCTOBER 1ST
RETIREMENT ASSESSMENT DUE
FOR JULY - SEPTEMBER is $34.00
by Mike Shoemaker, Financial Secretary
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July 2005
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August 2005 Richard D. Cates #1428 Douglas M. Clow #1429 Walter R. Everett, Jr. #1430 Kenneth D. Hampton, Jr. #1431 James E. McGrail #1432 |
September 2005 |
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Best Wishes for a Happy Retirement! |
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Nearly 60 percent of working Americans are not happy with the country’s economic situation, according to new research by Peter D. Hart Research for the AFL-CIO, despite the much-touted economic “recovery.” Health care, concern about jobs going overseas and gas prices top their list of concerns.
“Working Americans are fast losing economic ground. They are in economic crisis, and they know it, even if the Washington and Wall Street elite don’t,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.
People are most upset about declining real wages and the ensuing decline in the standard of living. A record 53 percent of working people say their family’s income is falling behind the cost of living. Over half say they’re not doing better than their parents did at the same age.
The cost of health care costs tops the list of problems working people say they face today. Fifty percent of working people say they personally worry very or somewhat often about not being able to afford health care. Americans are also worried about what health care costs are doing to the country. In fact, 73 percent say establishing a national health care system should be a top or high priority for Congress and the President. Only one in four (24%) workers say that health care in the country is headed in the right direction, compared to 68% who say it is on the wrong track. Moreover, just three in ten (30%) workers are satisfied with the health care system whereas 68% are dissatisfied. Satisfaction is lower than in 1994, the last time our country seriously considered a national health plan, when 36% were satisfied.
Working Americans want good jobs, but say they’re increasingly hard to find. Just 39% of workers report that they have a job that is full time, have health coverage from their employers, and a retirement plan where the employer is a contributor. Nearly 70 percent of workers believe that most of the new jobs being created are mainly lower-paying jobs -- up from 56 percent who held that belief just six years ago. They say the #2 issue facing them, after health care, is jobs going overseas, and 60 percent say they worry about this often. Three in five (63%) workers believe that in today’s economy it is hard to find a good job with financial security even with a college degree.
And, those Americans without a college education are feeling particularly gloomy. Sixty-three percent of non-college graduates believe their income is falling behind the cost of living, compared to 39 percent of college graduates. Working parents have their own concerns. Seventy-one percent of working parents worry very or somewhat often about not being able to afford education costs for their children, and 61 percent worry about not being able to balance work and family.
Finally, Americans want to retire with dignity, and they’re not at all sure they’ll get that chance. Sixty-five percent of Americans say companies are falling short on providing adequate and secure retirement benefits, compared to 52 percent in 1999. Fifty-nine percent say that their employer contributes to their health care plan. Only 40 percent are confident that they’ll be able to retire with financial security. Eighty-six percent of working Americans -- the most surveyed -- say Congress and the President should strengthen laws that protect employees’ rights to receive pay and retirement benefits they have earned when their company files for bankruptcy. Workers do not buy into the Bush plan for changing Social Security (28% favor, 58% oppose).
People want unions for good reason. The recent survey found that more than nine in ten (93%) union members are covered by health insurance, whereas 83% of their nonunion counterparts are covered. Three in four (76%) union members receive paid sick leave, more than the two in three (66%) nonunion members who receive this benefit.
from the AFL-CIO website: http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr08302005.cfm
researched by Franny Olshefski, President
COPE Volunteers gather each year to light up the Mason District Crab Feast. This year’s 38th annual event included Virginia’s top three candidates for office: Tim Kaine for Governor, Leslie Byrne for Lt. Governor and Creigh Deeds for Attorney General. Thanks to the following Brothers who gave up an evening to help with this event: (left to right) Steve Walker; Rachel Rifkind, Mason District Chair; Jim Steele; Bill Giusti; Wayne Curtis; Jerry Papa; Doug Meador; and Ron Stokes.
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Pictured above-- Organizers Joe Dabbs, Melvin Cherry, and John Collins lead Local 26 members in a picket line in front of a Tower-Davis job site |
Our informational picketing is having a positive effect in a number of ways. Currently, we are picketing Tower-Davis Electric. They are a non-union shop that has been working with the general contractor Glenn Construction building condo units. The picket site is located on 14th Street between Church and P Streets.
Since our picketing began, we have been able to increase public awareness that Tower-Davis is a non-union shop performing the electrical work on the site. With the cost of the condos ranging from $250,000 to over $400,000, union labor is competitive and affordable. In fact, several of the trades on the project are union. Our picket site is next to the sales office for the condo units. This has afforded us the opportunity to talk to several of the purchasers and potential purchasers of the units. They are of the same opinion as our members that the workers should earn a decent wage along with health insurance and retirement benefits. Many of the clients have expressed this concern to the property owner. We have received additional help with our target through the building trades. The building trades organizing coordinator has contacted the organizers for each craft on the project to bring them up to speed with our picketing efforts. Most of the time, workers on a jobs site are told that the picketers are unemployed electricians. This is purposely done to keep the workers from the union. With the help of the building trades organizing coordinator, the workers at this site understand that the social economic standards of all workers are elevated through our picketing efforts. They have been informed that our members do this to improve the industry. Community and public support towards our effort has been great. We have organized several employees who are now working on educating the Tower-Davis work force on the values of working Union.
by Joe Dabbs, Organizer
Two can have fun for the price of one! Purchase your Entertainment Book now and find out how. Let’s go have a celebration! It’s affordable now when you purchase your Entertainment 2006 book for a low cost of $25.00.
Visit the Credit Union office the week of October 17-21, 2005 and receive a complimentary gift in honor of International Credit Union Day. (While supplies last).
Office hours are Monday thru Friday 9-12 & 1-3:30
Telephone 202-829-5404
Fax 202-723-3190
Audio Response 1-800-724-7573
e-mail information@ibew26fcu.com
In the last couple of newsletters, I have encouraged all members of Local 26 to get involved with the plight of our Local Union. I talked about the “harvest (for the Local) being great but the workers few”. A good example of the need for union members to get involved is what has recently happened within the AFL-CIO. I am talking about the decision of three large International Unions to leave. This seriously diminishes the strength of labor. These unions claim they can better grow their unions outside of the family of labor. I don’t believe that! Hopefully, we, as members of Local 26, have not decided that we can grow better outside of our local union family. Because in the final analysis, family is all we have. As members, we may not agree on everything but we’re still part of the Local 26 family. So take ownership of your local’s future by getting involved. Attend Union meetings, call and offer your time. You are also welcome to Coalition meetings every third Friday of the month at 6:00 p.m.
Because of the generosity of some of you and one of our signatory contractors – Singleton Electric – the Jasmine Fund has reached its goal! On behalf of the officers of the Local 26 Minority Coalition we thank you, our members, and Singleton Electric for helping in this worthy cause. Sister Pauline Best would be very proud of us.
by Larry Greenhill, Sr., Minority Coalition President
