® www.ibew.org October/November 2006 The Beat Goes On here are moments that define the his- that the Convention accomplished this goal are mistaken. The delegates made the decisions, but now it us up to all of us to tory of an organization. The IBEW 37th act. Thinking it is somebody else’s responsibility will only International Convention in Cleveland guarantee failure. Each and every one of us must accept our own share of the responsibility to make the IBEW stronger in was that kind of event. a changing world. The Convention showed the IBEW at its finest— Our theme, “The Rhythm of the Past, Drumbeat of the good, strong trade union men and women coming Future,” was appropriate. The IBEW has a long and proud together to determine the course of their future. There history, and we must always be guided by and learn from the T was unity without unanimity. The debates were spir- struggles of previous generations of IBEW leaders and mem- ited, with a number of res- bers. They are the ones olutions going down and who gave us this union others winning approval. that has made such a dif- In the end, the bonds unit- ference in all our lives. It is ing all the delegates, and up to this generation to those they represent, were carry the Brotherhood for- made stronger not by pat- ward and to beat the sounding slogans and drums for progress, growth forced camaraderie, but and change. The delegates through mutual respect. in Cleveland, home of the Delegates showed that they Rock and Roll Hall of had the courage to con- Fame, started a rousing front the unpleasant reali- beat for the future. And ties of the present day and their unmistakable message forge the kind of bold is: The IBEW is ready to steps needed to bring the grow, and we will accept Brotherhood back to a nothing less than success. position of strength. It was Putting on an IBEW the kind of action worthy Convention is a huge task, of a great union like the and it takes the hard work EDWIN D. HILL JON F. WALTERS IBEW. of countless individuals to INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY-TREASURER We thank all members produce the materials and of the Brotherhood for the confidence create the setting in which delegates can do THE IBEW IS READY shown in us through your elected delegates “ the business of the Brotherhood. We would in giving us another term of office. As we like to recognize the outstanding effort of the said in Cleveland, this was not a vote for the TO GROW, AND WE WILL officers and staff of the Fourth District and of status quo; this was a vote for positive our host locals from Cleveland. We thank the change and action. And by having the ACCEPT NOTHING LESS many professionals whose services con- courage to confront our losses of the past tributed so much to the success of the Con- five years with honesty, the delegates have vention. And we thank the dedicated staff THAN SUCCESS. chosen the path of growth and optimism for ” and employees of the IBEW who stepped up the future. to the plate in such a tremendous fashion. We can never hope to overcome external challenges if we The next Convention will be held in 2011, and we are first don’t challenge ourselves. We will continue with the looking to have it in Vancouver, British Columbia. If we all renewed commitment to excellence that has marked the do our jobs, then the delegates to the next Convention will IBEW in recent years. More important, we must all be com- be celebrating five years of growth and accomplishment. mitted to doing the hard work it will take to get our reinvigo- Let’s do all in our power to make that happen. The beat rated organizing program off the ground. Those who thought goes on. 1 EXECUTIVE OFFICERS INTERNATIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS EDWIN D. HILL International President First District 900 Seventh St., N.W. PHILIP J. FLEMMING Washington, D.C. 20001 1450 Meyerside Drive, Suite 300 JON F. WALTERS Mississauga, Ontario, International Secretary-Treasurer Canada L5T 2N5 900 Seventh St., N.W. Second District Washington, D.C. 20001 FRANK J. CARROLL, JR. INTERNATIONAL 4 Armstrong Road, 2nd Floor EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Shelton, Connecticut 06484 Chairman IBEWJOURNAL ROBERT W. PIERSON Third District ® c/o IBEW Local 9 DONALD C. SIEGEL October/November 2006 Volume 105 Number 9 www.ibew.org High Point Plaza Office Ctr. 500 Cherrington Pkwy. 4415 W. Harrison St. #330 Suite 325 Hillside, Illinois 60162 Coraopolis, Pennsylvania 15108 First District Fourth District JOSEPH P. CALABRO PAUL J. WITTE c/o IBEW Local 1158 37th International 8260 North Creek Drive, 1149 Bloomfield Avenue Suite 140 Clifton, New Jersey 07012 Cincinnati, Ohio 45236 Second District Convention Coverage MYLES CALVEY Fifth District c/o IBEW Local 2222 JOSEPH S. DAVIS 1137 Washington Street, Suite 2 100 Concourse Parkway, Suite 300 Birmingham, AL 35244 Dorchester, Massachusetts 02124 2 37th Convention Reflects 22 Day Three Third District Sixth District SALVATORE J. CHILIA JOSEPH F. LOHMAN State of Our Union c/o IBEW Local 38 8174 Cass Avenue 28 Election of 1590 E. 23rd Street Darien, Illinois 60561 Spirit of Brotherhood, Cleveland, Ohio 44114 Vice Presidents Seventh District Fourth District Change Evident from Start JONATHAN B. GARDNER JACKIE E. GOODWIN and International 320 Westway Place, Suite 531 c/o Local 136 to Finish Arlington, Texas 76018 Executive Council 845 Gadsden Highway Birmingham, AL 35235 Eighth District 4 Opening Day Fifth District TED C. JENSEN 36 Day Four STEPHEN SCHOEMEHL 2225 West Broadway, Suite H c/o IBEW Local 1 Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402 9 Keynote Speech 5850 Elizabeth Avenue Panoramic Photo of Ninth District 43 St. Louis, Missouri 63110 of International MICHAEL S. MOWREY 37th International Sixth District 2500 Venture Oaks Way, President Hill GREGORY LUCERO Suite 250 Convention c/o IBEW Local 66 Sacramento, California 4345 Allen Genoa Road 95833-4221 12 Acceptance Speech Pasadena, Texas 77504 Tenth District Day Five Seventh District of International 48 PATRICK LAVIN ROBERT P. KLEIN c/o IBEW Local 47 5726 Marlin Road, Suite 500 Secretary-Treasurer Action on All 600 N. Diamond Bar Blvd. Chattanooga, Tennessee 54 Diamond Bar, California 91765 37411-4043 Walters Amendments to the Eighth District Eleventh District RICK DOWLING LINDELL K. LEE Day Two IBEW Constitution c/o IBEW Local 213 6601 Winchester Avenue 16 4220 Norland Avenue Suite 150 and Resolutions Burnaby, BC V5G 3X2 Canada Kansas City, Missouri 64133 19 New Plan Targets Adopted by the the Unorganized IBEW JOURNAL HOW TO REACH US Convention Edwin D. Hill, EDITOR We welcome letters from C. James Spellane, DIRECTOR our readers. The writer should include his or her name, Carol M. Fisher, address and, if applicable, 58 Convention Committees SR. EDITORIAL ASSISTANT IBEW local union number and Malinda R. Brent, card number. Family members COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST should include the local union 62 District Photographs Len Shindel, number of the IBEW member COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST to whom the Journal is mailed. Please keep letters as brief as Jeannette Burchick, possible. The Journal reserves SECRETARY the right to select letters for ARCHIVES publication and edit all submis- Mike Nugent, sions for length. Pre-Convention Activities INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE Send letters to: Letters to the Editor, IBEW Journal, 900 Seventh Street, N.W., 66 Pre-Convention 74 Electrical Industry Washington, D.C. 20001 or send by e-mail to: jour- Activities Expo 2006 [email protected] ©2006 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. 67 Political Conference 78 Rockin’ Block Party All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. on Union-made paper. IBEW Journal (ISSN: 0897-2826) Published monthly, except Janu- and Gala Celebration ary/February and October/November, which are combined issues, 70 Women’s Conference by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 900 Seventh Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001. Subscriptions prices in the 81 Convention Pins United States and Canada, $4 per year in advance. Periodicals Minority Caucus postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. 72 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to IBEW Journal, 900 Sev- Behind the Scenes enth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001. This Journal will not 82 be held responsible for views expressed by correspondents. Paid advertising is not accepted. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40011756 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to B&M Mailing Services Limited, 35 VanKirk Drive, Unit 15, Brampton, Ontario L7A1A5. E-mail: [email protected] IBEW 37th INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION SEPT. 11-SEPT. 15, 2006 37th Convention Reflects State of Our Union Spirit of Brotherhood, Change Evident In All Activities from Start to Finish You could see it in the faces and hear it in the voices of delegates, officers, staff and guests. Descriptions like “the best IBEW Convention ever” were on the lips of many, including some of the most veteran leaders of the Broth- erhood. With its theme “Rhythm of the Past, Drumbeat of the Future,” the 37th Interna- tional Convention of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Cleveland, Ohio, held September 11-15, 2006, embodied the spirit of renewal and commitment to excellence that has per- ters put before the delegates an amend- Treasurer Walters’s case for an increase in vaded the IBEW over the past three years. ment to the IBEW Constitution to imple- the contribution rate to the Pension Bene- Delegates showed remarkable unity in ment $1.00 increases in the per capita tax fit Fund (PBF), agreeing with the argu- their support for putting the IBEW back on paid by local unions to the International ment that a financially sound PBF is an a path to growth and reversal of the mem- to be implemented in three phases, on important part of the Brotherhood’s bene- bership losses that have beset the union January 1 of 2007, 2009 and 2011.