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March President’s Report

Mar 9, 2023 | President, President's Corner, Recent News

Last month the President’s Report focused on the Constitution of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers – specifically the Declaration and the first Object.  This month’s article will continue to study the Objects of the IBEW Constitution, how they support the Declaration, and how we can put them to work in our daily lives.

Object #2 is “To promote reasonable methods of work,” We can accomplish this Object by teaching and following the National Electrical Code, maintaining our apprenticeship, and upholding our Collective Bargaining Agreement including fighting for protections and working conditions every time we negotiate our contract.

The history of the IBEW states that the mortality rate of linemen in the 1890s was one out of every two hired and the national mortality rate for electrical workers was twice the national average of other industries. The early IBEW, at that time named the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (NBEW), saw a need for improving safety and working conditions overall. The National Electric Code also began in the 1890s for safety reasons. By coming together as a Union and teaching/following the NEC and with the help of OSHA, we have promoted reasonable methods of work and lowered the mortality rates of electricians to 0.09 fatalities per 100,000 workers.

The IBEW along with the contractors of NECA make up the entities that maintain our apprenticeship. Through the Austin Electrical Training Alliance (AETA) along with on the job training we prepare the best electricians in the industry for a long and rewarding career. The AETA has standards approved by the Department of Labor that promote reasonable methods of work and adhere to NEC as well as OSHA standards. IBEW apprentices are learning the why” behind safe practices through classroom instruction and then the “how” with on-the-job training. We can also help by mentoring an electrician on the jobsite and passing down the knowledge we have earned through years of hard work.

Our Collective Bargaining Agreement has been crafted over the generations with many examples of reasonable methods of work. Our ancestors fought for break time, overtime, 8-hour workdays, shift differential, a tool list, cold water, travel time, proper cause terminations, and much more. It is up to each of us to uphold our CBA and to fight for other working conditions each time we negotiate.

The first sentence of our Declaration is “Our cause is the cause of human justice, human rights, human security.” By working towards sustaining reasonable methods of work we are championing our Declaration. The men and women who came before us fought for a better life through hard work. They struggled for human justice though equal pay for equal work, human rights through safe working conditions and fair benefits, and human security by returning home to their loved ones in the same condition as when they left for work in the morning. It falls on us to continue the work of our ancestors and keep striving to lift each other up. Please be kind to each other, give 8 for 8, and keep up the good fight!

 

In solidarity,

Kasey D. Lansangan, Card #7865835