Business Manager’s Report:
Monthly Update
from Chuck Graham
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
There was a motion made at the Union meeting in August to change our meeting time back to 8:00 p.m. starting in October. Please make a note that beginning October 14, meetings will once again start at 8:00 p.m. 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.
PICNICS
Both our Roanoke and DC area picnics were a huge success! Thanks to Brother Tom Miller for his efforts in putting the Roanoke picnic together. He did a superb job! Many members and their families attended, and it appeared everyone had a wonderful time. The DC area picnic had a great turnout as well, with everyone enjoying the good food, fun, and brotherhood. Thanks to Brother Franny Olshefski for coordinating this event. See below for some photographs of both picnics and our photo gallery for all of them.
PICKET DUTY
We have begun picketing once again and our target is a job at 14th and P Street. Tower-Davis is the non-union electrical contractor. When you receive your letter to serve picket duty, please try to attend on your scheduled date. As outlined in our bylaws, serving picket duty is a requirement of all Local 26 members.
VIRGINIA POLITICS
I cannot stress enough the importance of the upcoming elections in Virginia. The races for Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General are heating up with the elections just around the corner on November 8. As you know, the political climate right now in the White House, Senate and Congress is not in favor of working people or organized labor. Therefore, it is extremely important that, if you are a Virginia resident, you are registered to vote AND vote for those people who support us. Encourage your family members, friends, and neighbors to register if they have not already done so. If you need help in registering, please contact Bill Giusti in the Manassas office at 703-690-6126, Lorne Seay in Charlottesville at 434-975-4239, or Tom Miller in Roanoke at 540-563-0336.
NEW BUILDING
In mid August, I met with the architects and went over the preliminary drawings on our new headquarters in Lanham, Maryland. When the drawings are completed, a demo permit will be requested and demolition on the interior of the building will begin sometime in the near future.
CONGRATULATIONS
LOCAL 26 SOFTBALL TEAM!
We are proud to announce that the Local 26 softball team placed second out of 37 teams in the IBEW National Tournament held July 29 and 30. On Saturday, they won their division play, going on to finish in second place on Sunday. The team members are: Christopher Bruner, John Collins, Richard Curl, Jr., Mark Duncan, George Giggetts, David Haddad, Allen Hall, David Kirchner, Jr., Kyle McMillian, Timothy Niehenke, Al Patterson, Mark Pontello, Dion Smith, Gary “Lenny” Sydnor, Jr., and Paul Winner.
Congratulations |
to those members below who received their service pins at |
the August General Membership Meeting! |
Pictured above from left to right-- Mike Shoemaker, Financial Secretary; James Winpigler, 20 Yrs.; Sterling Leon, 20 Yrs.; Leon Sexton, 20 Yrs.; Roger Caldwell, 30 Yrs.; Thomas Buckner, 25 Yrs.; William Beltz, 30 Yrs.; Ted Kirkland, 30 Yrs.; Charles A . Sullivan, Jr., 30 Yrs.; Linwood Sherman, 30 Yrs.;Rhett Roe, 25 Yrs.; Duane Sours, 35 Yrs.; Chuck Graham, Bus. Manager
This fall, the National Electrical Code Seminar will be held on Saturday, September 24, 2005, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be based on NFPA 70E- Electrical Safety Work Practices. Watch your mail for a postcard from JATC, or call Rich Murphy at 202-829-2330, for further information.
This year’s retired members’ crab feast will be held on Saturday, October 8, 2005 from 1 p.m to 5 p.m. It will be at the pavilion on Mayo Beach in Edgewater, Maryland. The menu includes hard crabs, crab soup, Italian sausage with peppers and onions, hot dogs, condiments, coleslaw, potato salad, corn-on-the-cob, baked beans, carrot cake, ice water, soft drinks, and beer. Please bring crab knockers if you have them.
The crab feast will be held rain or shine. Please remember, this is an “All You Can Eat” crab feast on the premises only. Anyone seen taking crabs to their car will no longer be served!
The cost is $25.00 for members, spouse or guest, and $30.00 for other guests. The deadline for reservations is Friday, September 23, 2005. There will be no tickets; however, your name will be recorded when you send in your request. Please make checks payable to “Retired Members Club, IBEW Local 26” and mail to Eugene S. Long, 802 Coxswain Way, #202, Annapolis, MD 21401. You may contact Gene Long, 410-897-0456, or Dick Bissell, 301-277-5823, for further information.
Pension Seminar
There will be a Pension Seminar at the Union Hall on Kansas Ave. on Saturday, October 1st . We will discuss the Local 26 Pension, the International Pension, and the NEBF Pension. The seminar is mainly for members and spouses who are near the age to start planning for retirement, but all members are welcome to attend. We have also scheduled a representative from Social Security to be present to discuss Social Security benefits and answer any questions you may have. The seminar will start at 8:00 a.m. and should end around noon. We will have refreshments in the morning. Space is limited, so be sure to call the Finance Office at 202-829-2900 to register.
As a reminder, quarterly dues can be mailed in to the Finance Office, or you can come to the Finance Office window in person and pay by credit card. Credit card payments are not taken over the phone. Those members with a Credit Union account can call the Credit Union to have their dues paid with a Credit Union check.
FOURTH QUARTER DUES ARE DUE OCTOBER 1ST
RETIREMENT ASSESSMENTS DUE FOR
APRIL-MAY-JUNE ARE $22
by Mike Shoemaker, Financial Secretary
Minority Coalition
Somewhere I read “the harvest is great but the workers are few”. When was the last time you did anything to help your union in a constructive way? In an organization like ours, it is the members who care, who believe in their union and work hard for it, who spell the difference between success and failure ( from Labor’s Story, 1961). Brothers and sisters, that is still true today. Get involved, make a difference!
The Local Union 26 Minority Coalition meets the third Friday of every month at 6:00 p.m. and is open to all dues paying members. Come out and join us. We’re still accepting donations to the “Jasmine Fund” and are slowly nearing our goal of $2000. If you would like to contribute, make your donation to: “Local 26 Minority Coalition-Jasmine Fund”, and mail it to 6220 Kansas Ave., N.E. Washington, DC 20011.
“The strength of the labor movement is based on fellowship-members of a larger family bound together by shared beliefs and ideals”. Worker fellowship has built the labor movement and only worker fellowship will maintain it.” (from Labor’s Story 1961).
by Larry Greenhill, Sr., Minority Coalition President
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 Roanoke, VA |
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Organize and Picket
for your rights!
As the dynamics of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers change, so do the practices of organizing. Recently, organizers from Local 26 teamed up with Local 24 organizers during a hand billing effort. By joining forces, we were able to distribute information to all of the workers of our target prior to the beginning of a company- wide meeting. Non-union contractors constantly move from one local union’s jurisdiction to another’s while contracting work. This has led to some of the changes in the approach to organizing directed by our district. Working together with other local unions on multi-jurisdictional targets is helping us to be more effective.
Picket duty is back in full swing. As always, the support from the members on the picket line, from surrounding jobs, and from those that drive by the picket site has been outstanding. Picketing heightens public awareness to our cause. This is another tool we use to educate the non-union worker on the benefits of working union. Local 26 members have done a great job continually communicating why all electrical workers should be working under a collective bargaining agreement. To be able to man all of the jobs our contractors are awarded, we must continue to reach out to the unorganized.
by Joe Dabbs, Organizer
Joint efforts from
IBEW Local Unions 24 & 26--
Handbilling
Primo Electric
Pictured above from left to right-- Front row: John Lamm, Melvin Cherry, Joe Dabbs, Ed Pruski, Frank Voso, James Roselle
Back row: Pete Demchuk, John Collins, Bob McIntyre, Roger Lash
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