MEETING DATE CHANGES
Please make a note that our November and December regular meeting nights are being moved up a week earlier. November’s meeting will take place on November 3 due to the 10th being a holiday in recognition of Veterans’ Day. Our December union meeting will be our annual Christmas Party/Meeting being held December 1st at Sardo Hall for local area members. Both meetings will start at the regular time of 8:00 p.m.
OSHA COURSE
There is an OSHA 10 course available online for anyone interested in taking it. Go to: www.careersafeonline.com. The cost is $18.00, and you can call with your credit card number or provide it online to request an order and confirmation number. You may then take the online course. Upon successful completion, you will be mailed your OSHA card.
AGREEMENT BOOKS
The new agreement books are being printed at this time so, hopefully, you will have one in your possession before too much longer.
PENSION SEMINAR
We have a Pension Seminar scheduled here at the hall on Saturday, October 21. Anyone nearing retirement should try to attend since there is a lot of great information regarding all of your retirement plans. You need to contact the Finance Office to register for the seminar.
DC OFFICE
Our DC office on Blair Road, NW is continuing to progress nicely with the plan of it opening in October becoming more of a reality. We also have the new phone number now working there which is 202-291-2405. The fax number is 202-829-0134.
PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS
Congratulations to Brother Steve Zimmerman who won a seat in the 2nd District on Calvert County’s Central Committee. Steve was the 3rd highest vote getter out of 13 candidates! Thanks to all our brothers and sisters who supported him in this victory. Other labor endorsed candidates were winners in the primary as well. Please see the list of those candidates on page 3. The state candidates will need your support in November, once again.
GENERAL ELECTIONS
The General Election for all states and Washington, DC is Tuesday, November 7, 2006. Washington, DC, Maryland, and West Virginia all have Congressional and State races, while Virginia will have only a Congressional race. The General Election voter registration deadline for Washington, DC and Virginia is October 10th, Maryland is October 17th, and West Virginia is October 18th. See page 2 for the endorsed candidates.
The 34th Virginia State AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention was held August 17-19 and President Butch Ramos, Business Agents Bill Giusti, Jerry Lewis, and Lorne Seay were among the 190 delegates who attended. Keynote speakers included AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, Governor Tim Kaine, and Cecil Roberts of UMWA. Elections were held at the Convention for State Federation Officers. Jim Leaman and Doris Crouse-Mays were unanimously elected President and Secretary-Treasurer, respectively. Also, elected to serve another term on the Executive Council was Bill Giusti. The highlight of the Convention was a tribute to retired Federation President Danny LeBlanc, who is now the Governor’s Senior Policy Advisor for Workforce Development. The following candidates were endorsed:
Virginia AFL-CIO 2006 Congressional Endorsements
1st District: Shawn O’Donnell
2nd District: Philip Kellam
3rd District: Robert (Bobby) Scott
5th District: Al Weed
7th District: James Nachman
8th District: James Moran
9th District: Rick Boucher
10th District: Judy Feder
2006 U. S. Senate Endorsement:
James Webb
House District 50 Special Election:
Jeanette Rishell
by Bill Giusti, Virginia Business Agent
Maryland Congressional Race
Senate: Benjamin Cardin
House of Representatives:
District 1: Jim Corwin
District 2: Dutch Ruppersberger
District 3: John Sarbanes
District 4: Albert Wynn
District 5: Steny Hoyer
District 6: Andrew Duck
District 7: Elijah Cummings
District 8: Christopher Van Hollen
Maryland State Race
Governor: Martin O’Malley
Lieutenant Governor: Anthony Brown
State Attorney General: Douglas Gansler
Comptroller: Peter Franchot
Senate: see Maryland State Legislative Endorsements
Primary Election Winners (below)
House of Delegates: see Maryland State Legislative Endorsements
Primary Election Winners (below)
District of Columbia Congressional Race
House of Representatives: Eleanor Norton
District of Columbia State Race
Governor: Adrian Fenty
| District of Columbia Endorsements Delegate to House (At Large): Eleanor Holmes Norton Council (At Large): Phil Mendelson Council 1: Jim Graham Council 5: Harry Thomas, Jr. Council 6: Tommy Wells Maryland Local Office Endorsements |
Calvert County Commissioner (At Large): Dixie Miller Commissioner (At Large): Wilson Parran State Attorney: Gregory Wells Central Committee: Brother Steve Zimmerman St. Mary’s County Commissioner 1: Elfreda Talbert Mathis Sheriff: David Zylak Maryland State Legislative Endorsements |
Prince George’s County District 21 Delegate: Barbara Frush Delegate: Ben Barnes District 22 Senate: Paul Pinsky Delegate: Tawanna Gaines Delegate: Justin Ross Delegate: Anne Healey District 23 Senate: Douglas Peters District 23A Delegate: James Hubbard District 23B Delegate: Marvin Holmes District 24 Senate: Nathaniel Exum Delegate: Carolyn Howard Delegate: Michael Vaughn Delegate: Joanne Benson District 25 Senate: Ulysses Currie Delegate: Dereck Davis Delegate: Melony Griffith District 26 Delegate: Veronica Turner Delegate: Kris Valderrama District 27A Delegate: Joe Vallario Delegate: James Proctor District 47 Senate: Gwendolyn Britt Delegate: Doyle Niemann Delegate: Victor Ramirez Tri-County District 27B Delegate: Sue Kullen District 28 Delegate: Peter Murphy District 29 Senate: Roy Dyson District 29B Delegate: John Bohanan |
Important Notice for All Participants in the Electrical Welfare Trust Fund--Please note that effective December 1, 2006, Caremark will be the new prescription benefit program manager for all EWTF participants.
Caremark is a quality prescription benefit manager with a network of participating pharmacies that is comparable to the network you had with Express Scripts (your current pharmacy benefit manager). The EWTF Trustees believe that Caremark’s level of service and commitment to quality coverage will be of significant value to all participants and their dependents. In November, you will be receiving detailed information about your new prescription coverage with Caremark. You will also receive new ID cards bearing the Caremark logo.
Remember that your pharmacy benefits have not changed—only the pharmacy benefit manager has!
Once you have your new materials, feel free to contact the Fund Office at 301-731-1050 (or toll-free at 1-800-929-EWTF) if you have questions, or send email to info@ewtf.org.
Greetings Brothers and Sisters! Where did the summer go? We are already into fall. Soon it will be winter, then spring. These natural phenomenons called “seasons” can have varying impacts on our lives, especially if we are not prepared for them. The key word is preparation. If we are not diligent in preparing we could, in some cases, suffer dire consequences. So when we, as humans, are going through our seasons (infancy, childhood, teenage years, and adulthood) certain principles known as “building blocks” are injected. In short, we are prepared. And whether you agree or not, you can usually spot those people who have not prepared. If that’s not enough, once we reach the desired level of preparedness we realize that we have to do even more. Now we have to “maintain a certain edge” in order to stay ahead of the pack.
Brothers and Sisters, we could apply this very same analogy to our “labor or union movement”. Certain work ethics were injected into our labor movement during its spring or infancy. Today, we find ourselves in the adult or winter season of our existence. Those of us who have reaped the benefits of being prepared by our movement MUST step up, dig in and be a part of taking this movement to the next level. There are many ways to do that. The most important is to give back. “How do I do that?” you ask. By setting aside two or three hours a month to volunteer for tasks or projects that will strengthen our union movement. It doesn’t matter if it’s Christmas In April, helping with one of the annual Christmas parties, being registered so that we can exercise our legal right to vote, or making telephone calls to other members encouraging them to participate. Besides being qualified electricians, we are also members of our communities, and we should not be ashamed to let our neighbors know what we stand for. Get involved! Call me at the Hall--301-918-8804. Please note, next month’s Minority Coalition meeting will be moved to November 3rd, due to the Veterans’ Day Holiday. See you at the next Union meeting.
by Larry Greenhill, Sr., Minority Coalition President
Charles Ferguson, 35 Years; Ed Ruprecht, 30 Years; Michael Lynch, 30 Years; Christopher Gillen, 30 Years;
Jeff Gonzalez, 30 Years; John Hauck, 30 Years; Dennis Gasque, 30 Years; Thurmon Rogers, 20 Years
Brothers and Sisters, I know that all of you have been presented with a ton of political literature from the AFL-CIO, your Union, and other sources. Please take the time to become informed so that you can make the correct decisions on Election Day.
The Union-endorsed candidates will best represent your needs as a working man or woman and preserve your rights to bargain collectively. Understand that we are under attack by some who would take away our right to belong to a union and do whatever it takes to destroy unions if they remain in power. The choice is clear that we must act as a united force if we are to remain a factor in the policy making decisions being made every day in Congress as well as in state and local legislatures. VOTE!
In the August newsletter I asked for members to contact me if they were interested in a sporting clay outing. I received several responses and will be contacting those members by phone in October to schedule a preliminary event at Prince George’s Shooting Center. We also extend an invitation to any contractor who would be interested in participating or sponsoring an event. Several contractors have expressed such an interest.
I would like for each interested member to gather a team of four individuals to bring to the outing. No prior experience is necessary to participate, and fun will be had by all.
by Butch Ramos, President
Thanks to all the Brothers who joined Local 26 in celebrating Labor Day.
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Labor Day Picnic at Veterans Park in Woodbridge The Brothers who attended include Randolph Scott, Ron Stokes, James Shazer, Chuck Mauer, Ross Hackett, Bill Giusti. |
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Labor Day Parade in Covington, VA Business Agents/Brothers Tom Miller, Lorne Seay, and Barry Rose are pictured here with Governor Tim Kaine. |
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Thanks to the volunteers who took time off and assisted at the 39th Annual Mason District Democratic Crab Feast. Those who attended include Brothers Tim Tyler, Larry Greenhill, Jr., Jim Steele, Steve Jones, Bill Flesher, Bill Giusti, Ron Stokes, Douglas Meador, Brad Pribble, Walt Gerring, and Retired Brothers Tom “Pizza Man” Gough, Jerry Papa, and Steve Walker.
We are happy to announce that you can now make your dues payments over the phone. Local 26 has made it possible to pay dues or assessments over the phone with either a Master Card or a Visa Credit Card. To do this, you will need to have the card with you when you call and provide us with the account number and the expiration date on the card. We believe this will help make paying dues or assessments much easier for many of our members. We will not keep the credit card numbers on file, so each time you pay over the phone you will have to provide the information requested. Please do not ever leave this information on a voice mail and expect us to pay your dues. This must be done live over the phone.
You can still make payments by mail, pay in person, or call the Credit Union and pay from your Credit Union account. Remember, you can pay dues annually as well as quarterly.
FOURTH QUARTER DUES ARE DUE OCTOBER 1ST.
RETIREMENT ASSESSMENT DUE
JULY - SEPT is $32.00.
by Mike Shoemaker, Financial Secretary
July 2006
Russell E. Pullen #1479
Irving Brodsky #1480
Robert E. Donaldson #1481
Peter G. McCray #1482
Charles L. Pensmith #1483
Pedro J. Reyes #1484
Joseph S. Zelaya #1485
August 2006
James L. Bresnaham #1486
Raymond J. Robinson #1487
James M. Williams #1488
September 2006
David A. Ennis #1489
Maynard Robinson, Jr. #1490
Charles W. Thompson #1491
Thomas L. Buckner #1492
Frederick M. Hanel #1493
Larry E. Moyers #1494
Best Wishes for a Happy Retirement!
Retirement Assessment for July, August, & September is $32.00.
Back by popular demand
“Switch & Save”
If it has a title let us try to save you money!
We will beat your current vehicle, motorcycle, boat or recreational vehicle loan rate by *1%-2%.
You can save hundreds over the life of your loan just by reducing the interest rate by 1%-2%.
All you need is:
1. Completed loan application
(application can be faxed or mailed)
2. Your original loan contract
3. Sales contract
4. Current lender information
5. Title
6. Six months of timely payments
7. Current pay stub
Terms remain the same. It’s that easy! No lengthy approval process. No credit analysis. We’ll be happy to make a free comparison for you and let you know exactly how much money you can save. Because this is such an incredible deal, we can only offer it from October 1, 2006 to November 15, 2006. Hurry before this offer passes you by! Call today for more information on refinancing.
*Some restrictions may apply. 3.99% APR is the lowest loan rate offered by IBEW 26 FCU with this promotion. This offer is not good on existing IBEW 26 FCU loans. Promotion is for a limited time only.
Visit the Credit Union office the week of October 16-20, 2006 and receive a complimentary gift, (while supplies last), in honor of International Credit Union Day.
Two can have fun for the price of one.
Purchase your Entertainment Book now and
find out how. Let’s go have a celebration.
Entertainment Books make a wonderful gift idea for the holidays. Dine, shop, travel, and save up to 50%. This Book quickly pays for itself with Safeway $20 savings and a $25 restaurant certificate. You can purchase your Entertainment 2007 Book for a low price of $25.00.
Office hours: Monday thru Friday 9-12 & 1-3:30
Website: ibew26fcu.com
email: information@ibew26fcu.com
Telephone: 301-306-0610
Toll free line: 888-306-0610
Audio response: 800-724-7573
Fax: 301-306-0746
During the busy times in our industry it is important to remember the goals for organizing. As members of the IBEW, we are to help elevate the moral, intellectual, and social conditions of our members, their families, and dependents, in the interest of a higher standard of citizenship. Cultivating feelings of friendship among those in our industry will enable us to communicate that unions want to: promote reasonable methods of work, settle disputes between employers and employees, assist each other in sickness, secure employment, seek a higher standard of living, and seek security for the individual. These are the same issues the non-union worker faces. Their employer often puts them in difficult situations, and the employee does not know were to turn for help. With an increasing work load and retiring baby boomers, the demand for electricians is great. We need to continue to educate non-union workers on the value of working union to keep Local 26 strong.
The growing strength of our Union also needs to be used in the political arena. The Employee Free Choice Act introduced in the current Congress would do the following:
-Allow employees to freely choose whether to join Unions.
-Provide mediation and arbitration.
-Establish stronger penalties for violations of employee rights.
The bill has 216 co-sponsors in the House, two short of the total needed for passage. In the Senate, 43 lawmakers have signed on. Even if passed, the Bush administration would veto the bill, making the upcoming elections in 2006 and 2008 all the more critical for working people.
by Joe Dabbs, Organizing Coordinator
