Sobering Facts

[Highplains Drifter]

Here are some sobering facts to make us stay united and try to over come the economy. I hope these facts open the eyes of the misfortunate and hopefully they will survive, and we will become stonger!

[MI-Lineman]

Here are some sobering facts to make us stay united and try to over come the economy. I hope these facts open the eyes of the misfortunate and hopefully they will survive, and we will become stonger!

Ah, quit bitchin and get back to work, says "Boomer"!

Huh? What brought this country out of the last big economic crunch? Oh ya!.....ORGANIZED LABOR!!!

[electriklady]

The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress. Out of its bold struggles, economic and social reform gave birth to unemployment insurance, old-age pensions, government relief for the destitute and, above all, new wage levels that meant not mere survival but a tolerable life. The captains of industry did not lead this transformation; they resisted it until they were overcome. When in the thirties the wave of union organization crested over the nation, it carried to secure shores not only itself but the whole society." Martin Luther King Jr.
—Speech to the state convention of the Illinois AFL-CIO, Oct. 7, 1965

[MI-Lineman]

Your're both full of shit.
It was the PRIVATE SECTOR, and Small business.

AND...If THAT mentality don't continue....
Your union shit ain't gonna matter. Cause there ain't gonna BE jobs.

AND, when times get tough...people gonna work. Union if it's convient...Non union, if it pulls a paycheck.

"Misery and despair"? Solved by Union? what a crock of shit.
New day, new age lady. It's called..."doin what needs to be done". OR...go "sign the books".

How's that "Hope and Change" workin for ya?

That was a VERY Eye opening post Drifter.

I just don't believe the "direction" of this...so called president....is gonna do a damn thing to make it better. That's why the balance of power is gonna CHANGE...in 2010. America's not ready for THIS much socialism....Yet.

Who in this thread said it's going to be this president who changes things? I said (and E.L. agreed) it's the Unions and its members who brought the country back Dumbass!

Your so brainwashed that you believe out of the goodness of their hearts the private sector created good jobs with benefits, weekends, wages, etc. Get real Swamp and study up on your history AT A LIBRARY NOT A REPUBLICAN BACKED WEBSITE!!

If we don't come back from this one it'll be partly because of pathetic self centered individuals like yourself who'll nibble at every little crumb that they through at ya! The rich (including your bud bush) will always be rich and we have to stand up and demand we keep what's left of the life the early picketers fought for! AND NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO GIVE ANYTHING UP!!

[loose neutral]

It took 8 years of Bush to F#(K it up. It's sure gonna take more than 1 year to fix it. Just take a look at the salaries of the top execs from these companies that are laying off and cutting jobs. They are getting their millions and bonuses while raping the rest of us. Here is just one example. http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/...oes-it-workers Also, the private sector and small businesses are now hiring more illegal aliens than ever before. You think that'll help us out of this mess? BULLS#!T!!!! We need to help ourselves. ORGANIZE !!!!

[Highplains Drifter]

Being the OP( Original Poster) of this thread I would very much like this thread to stay on topic and not be hijacked. If you look at the link and watch the growing numbers of folks being put into unemployment the Heart land or agriculture area is very stable. Why….. we must eat! We the IBEW are a service Union and provide a service to our society by building and delivering a quality product for the consumer. I my self as a JL(Journeyman Lineman) is being paid for my knowledge that no one can find in any book. Yes I can poop out a young journeyman in four years but can I pull his head out of his ass before his 12 years is up? Nooooo and that is what it takes to deliver a quality hand is 15 to 16 years!! I know that some of you Brothers and Sisters had some hard times with your strike and the construction sector has been weak, but not like the eighties was. Please ignore the negativism of what is happening in the country and let us become stronger as a group!

I welcome any comments the non union folks might suggest on making a stronger Union or just come and read this thread and like said” You don’t go to the Brothel just to listen to the piano player….you are eventually going to participate!” Drifter

[MI-Lineman]

Being the OP( Original Poster) of this thread I would very much like this thread to stay on topic and not be hijacked. If you look at the link and watch the growing numbers of folks being put into unemployment the Heart land or agriculture area is very stable. Why….. we must eat! We the IBEW are a service Union and provide a service to our society by building and delivering a quality product for the consumer. I my self as a JL(Journeyman Lineman) is being paid for my knowledge that no one can find in any book. Yes I can poop out a young journeyman in four years but can I pull his head out of his ass before his 12 years is up? Nooooo and that is what it takes to deliver a quality hand is 15 to 16 years!! I know that some of you Brothers and Sisters had some hard times with your strike and the construction sector has been weak, but not like the eighties was. Please ignore the negativism of what is happening in the country and let us become stronger as a group!

I welcome any comments the non union folks might suggest on making a stronger Union or just come and read this thread and like said” You don’t go to the Brothel just to listen to the piano player….you are eventually going to participate!” Drifter

First thing is, our higher ups in the Unions need to set their differences aside and join forces!

I attended a "State Council" meeting at our union when that damned hours of service first came along. The IBEW in Detroit fought it all the way and had a coalition of groups against it. Our union belonged to the coalition but welcomed the law. One of our lowly little members proved to them there was an exemption for us and it left for a while but soon returned. The union said their lawyers claimed they could be sued if we caused an accident after 14 hrs? When I stood up and asked why we belonged to a coalition with another union thats fighting it the former state pres and I bickered back and forth. Eventually he accused me of being loyal to the IBEW and I mentioned how "it's obvious the general membership doesn't vote for them"! He told me the IBEW didn't belong on Edison property and a few other things!

All this a day after our national pres told us we need to unite with other unions and nonunion folks to fight bush's other plans!

I hope I didn't hijack your thread H.D. but this is one example of why WE MEMBERS NEED TO TAKE BACK OUR UNIONS AND UNITE TOGETHER AND REVERSE THE DIRECTION THIS COUNTRIES HEADED IN!!

[electriklady]

IBEW President Endorses iCeL Systems
July 9, 2009 by admin · 3 Comments


The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is an international labor union representing electricians, linemen, and public utility workers, led by President Edwin Hill. The IBEW has over 750,000 members and conducts a myriad of training programs for electricians and journeymen in conjunction with the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). The LMCC is the third party which educates, advocates, moderates, and markets on behalf of the electrical and construction industries.

iCeL Systems CEO Chaz Haba met Tom Martinez, Statewide Director of Business Development for the IBEW-NECA LMCC, and Kim Craft of IBEW Local 11, back in 2006. Mr. Haba explained in detail the unsurpassed benefits of pairing iCEL Systems with renewable energy; the safety, reliability, and uniquely long life impressed these industry professionals. Haba’s relationship with the IBEW and NECA evolved further with Jim Wilson and Marvin Kropke, and eventually he met with President Edwin Hill in 2008. Huge proponents of a clean energy future, the IBEW and NECA decided to become the major installation arm of iCEL Systems throughout the United States.

Edwin Hill boldly endorsed iCEL Systems in a 2009 letter to Steven Chu, the U.S. Secretary of Energy. “The IBEW is proud of its commitment to iCEL Systems, Inc. and looks forward to creating new jobs that will support the increased viability of renewable electricity generation.” Mr. Hill predicted, “When implemented they will serve as the missing link in the plan for energy independence.”

iCEL Systems looks forward to making this vision a reality. Beginning with Local 11, the IBEW will be training its members to install iCEL energy storage and management systems paired with clean renewable energy at its 250 training centers. This powerful partnership of IBEW, NECA, and iCEL Systems will create hundreds of new green union jobs across the country, grow a smarter grid, and spur the budding Internet of Energy™.


Looks to me that the IBEW is being proactive in the fight to create new jobs!
With the "green" initiative, the face of IBEW members may change, but the "heartbeat" of organized labor(it members) will pump loud and strong, and sustain us through tough times. We will all stand together...united!

[heelwinch]

he..talk about brain washing

[topgroove]

While Worker Pensions Fail, CEOs Get RichWASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2009The traditional pension is quickly becoming an endangered species. But today, a government report found some executives have gotten huge retirement packages, even as their companies were dumping employee pension plans onto taxpayers as CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports. At the very same time pensions were drying up for 122,000 United Airlines workers, its top executives were cutting deals to make their own golden years comfortable and secure. CEO Glenn Tilton, CFO Frederic Brace and COO Peter McDonald together got $7.6 million worth of retirement benefits in four years - from 2002 to 2006 - and earned a combined $55.5 million compensation, with perks like a car and driver and country club memberships. That's one small sample of the outrage packed into a new Government Accountability Office report. It studied 10 of the largest companies to dump their underfunded pension plans into the laps of the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which is $22 million in the red.