October 2014 - IBEW LOCAL 204

October 2014
Volume 34 Issue 10
A Good Time Was Had by All!
By Dave George – Business Manager
The IBEW Local 204 Annual Picnic was held at Arrowhead Park in Neola, IA just
outside of Council Bluffs, IA on Saturday August 16th. About 65 members,
retirees and their family members were in attendance.
Local 204 members, retirees and their families enjoyed delicious grilled rib-eye
steaks, salad, baked potatoes and beans for lunch, and brownies for desert. A
great selection of beverages were also available to quench the thirsts of
everyone present.
IBEW LOCAL 204
A large selection of prizes were also given away to the picnic attendees. Most of
the prizes given away were made possible by the generous donation of Jim
Hoffman, Workers Compensation Attorney, who is a very good friend of Local
204 and has helped many of our members make sure that they are treated right
and properly when they have a Workers Compensation injury.
The larger prizes included a 39 inch flat screen TV which was won by Rick Bruce, a 29 inch flat screen TV won by Doug
Kingsbury, a DVD player won by Rachel Snyder, and a Bluetooth portable speaker won by Matt Penner. There was also
an assortment of gift cards given away from stores such as Cabela’s, Home Depot, Target, Hy-Vee, Pizza Hut and
others. See the pictures in this issue of Tailgating for some of the winners and their prizes.
From my observations, everyone seemed to be having a great time meeting Local 204 members from other areas who
work for different companies, meeting retirees that they may have not seen in years, and meeting the family members of
each other’s families. The comradery that permeated the picnic was very evident and made for a memorable and
successful picnic.
This year’s picnic wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for Jeff and Debbie Hamling volunteering to organize it. I
want to thank them once again for their hard work in putting together such a fine meal and shopping for the prizes.
Without members such as the Hamlings volunteering to organize the annual picnic, there wouldn’t be a picnic. Jeff is a
Chief Steward for Local 204 who lives and works in Council Bluffs for Black Hills Energy as an Operations Technician
So, in order to keep the Local 204 Picnic an annual event that everyone can look forward to each year, we need some
members to volunteer to organize and hold the annual picnic in their area, each and every year. Local 204 covers all of
the necessary expense of putting on the annual picnic. All the volunteers need to do is reserve an appropriate location,
purchase and/or organize the food and beverages, purchase the prizes and anything else that they would like to do at
the picnic. No one needs to prepare the meal if they don’t want to, as
Local 204 will pay to have the meal catered. There is money
allocated in Local 204’s annual budget for picnic expenses.
inside...
To assure that there will be an IBEW Local 204 Annual Picnic in 2015,
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we need to have a member, or members, that are willing to volunteer October Calendar
to organize the picnic for next year in their area. The sooner
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someone steps forward, the more time they will have to get everything November Calendar
in order. Many times members have had to reserve locations for the
Message from the E-Board
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picnic at the beginning of the calendar year.
Let’s continue the tradition, if you or a group of members in your area
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would like to organize the Local 204 2015 Picnic, please contact me
as soon as you have made the decision to host the picnic. The first to
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contact me will be granted the right to hold the 2015 Picnic in their
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area. I hope to see an even larger turnout for the 2015 Local 204
Picnic, wherever it may be held.
October 2014
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Area Meeting
Storm Lake
6:30pm
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Area Meeting
Marshalltown
6:30pm
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Area Meeting
Burlington
6:30pm
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Area Meeting
DAEC
3:00pm
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EXECUTIVE
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Halloween
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November
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Election Day
Area Meeting
Spirit Lake
6:30pm
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Veterans Day
Area Meeting
Centerville
6:30pm
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Area Meeting
Iowa Falls
6:30pm
Executive
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Thanksgiving
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Page 3
What's Important to Working Iowans this Election?
By Airian Gregory
In a few short weeks there will be an election with some often ignored but important State races on the ticket. The outcome of
these races will determine policy decisions at the State level and will actually have far more of an impact on the everyday lives of
workers in Iowa than a Presidential election. Because of that it is imperative to get out and vote for Statewide candidates who truly
have the working class's best interests at heart. If you haven't started yet, it is time to start thinking about who you will be voting for.
In doing so, I challenge you to list the 10 most important things for the working class people of this State. Chances are your list will
be similar to most other workers in this State and be something like: decent livable wage, secure long-term jobs, affordable housing,
high-quality public education system, safe neighborhoods and schools for our children, secure retirement, affordable healthcare, safe
and affordable food supply, clean water and air, strong and healthy economy. Each of the items on your list probably touches on
Opportunity, Fairness, & Security, also known as the "American Trifecta" or the American Dream. I was shocked to learn 75% of
adults feel their children will not do better than them. That is not the American Dream; That is a nightmare!
Ask yourself which candidates actually support enacting polices that will truly help accomplish the ‘bread and butter’ workers
issues on your list? Are their goals realistic? Does their voting record show they may be undermining these priorities for working
families? Do they support raising the minimum wage for example? Do they support true healthcare reform or do they seek to
undermine it? Do they see the benefit of offering good compensation to recruit and retain high quality teachers for the difficult and
important work they do; Or does the candidate attack teachers and public sector servants every chance they get?
Many voters are unaware of an organization called ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council). ALEC is a group of
corporate backed lobbyists who meet in secret with State lawmakers to draft and introduce model legislation into each and every
State legislature in the country. A great deal of ALEC's model legislation is anti-worker legislation at the State level that has been
undermining the working class over the past few decades and a reason why the American Dream looks so bleak for future
generations. Please check to see if the candidates you may be planning to vote for are a member of ALEC and who is funding their
political campaign. (www.alecexposed.org)
ALEC’s legislation has contributed to the skewed gap in income equality since the 1980's. (See chart) Remember trickle
down economics? Looks like it didn’t trickle down. In the past few decades the top 1% has seen a rise in income of over 280%;
While average working class have seen a rise in income of only about 25%! How's that for shared prosperity? Which politicians
view this rise in the income inequality gap as a problem that needs to be addressed? Do their polices seek to shrink or grow this gap?
A very good article that discusses in detail this can be found at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2013/03/19/the-retirementcrisis-is-here-for-millions-income-inequality-now-set-to-wreak-its-ugly-revenge/
It has been stated in previous elections....and this one is no different; "This IS the most important election of our lifetime!"
You may not be aware, as most Iowans aren't, but this past legislative session Iowa was just one State Senate vote away from having
a lot of anti-worker legislation being passed. Without that one vote margin in the State Senate, Iowa would have been a repeat of
what happened in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan in 2011 where worker friendly politicians did not have control of those
Statehouses and a barrage of anti-worker legislation got passed into law. We as working class folks need to be sure this does not
happen in Iowa by sending candidates to Des Moines who will carry out the top ten priorities of working Iowa families, not those
who will carry out the top ten priorities of billionaires, ALEC, and their corporate campaign donors.
Page 4
Apprentice Ratio’s
By John VanZante E-Board Area 7
As it is again my turn to write an article for tailgate I figured this would be a good time to discuss
apprentice/journeyman ratio’s. Over the last couple of months I have received a number of calls from our
members across the Alliant territory in regards to how many apprentices can a journeyman work with or better
said “Be responsible for?” You will find the answer to this question on page 38 of your contract book under
bullet #13 and it reads as follows:
13. The ratios of apprentices to journeyman in each classification within the district may be one apprentice
for the first three or less journeyman; two apprentices for more than three but less than nine journeyman;
three apprentices for more than eight but less than fourteen journeyman, etc. The ratio of apprentices to
journeyman in the Cedar Rapids service department may be one apprentice for each journeyman. However,
journeyman will be employed when available until the established ratio for apprentices to journeyman is
reached. The ratio of helpers to journeyman may be one helper to each journeyman where helpers are
scheduled in any specific classification in this agreement.
If you also look on page 95 section 19 letters B and C under policies of JATC it will read as follows:
B. The ratio of apprentices to journey workers (where applicable) shall be established according to the CBA in
each jurisdictional contract.
C. Should the ratio of apprentices to journey worker exceed that in the Bargaining Agreement, every effort
shall be made to correct the imbalance without unduly disrupting the training of apprentices.
I have been told of situations where a Journey worker has been on jobs with three apprentices. I find
this very difficult to comprehend on how a company that is so safety minded and safety conscious can allow
this to happen over and over again. What I have recommended to the members that have called and asked me
about this is to first visit with your Supervisor or Foreman, be respectful and explain to them that you do not
find this to be safe behavior and that you will have to note this on the tailgate form. Obviously you will not be
able to get as much work done, you will be limited on just what you can do as you have to focus even more of
your attention towards the apprentices thus making it hard for you to keep eyes and mind on task. This can be
extremely frustrating for the journeyman trying to do his/her work while also making sure someone let a lone
three people do not get themselves into something they shouldn’t. This is the time that you should ’Self
Trigger” as our company’s Safestart program tells us.
The most important part of this language is that it is for safety as well as properly training our
apprentices and assuring that they are getting the instruction they need as well as keeping our journeyman
safe! This language is in no way an excuse to get out of work! In a lot of instances we are just as guilty of
letting this happen as management is. We tend to take the path of least resistance or we don’t want to have to
wait on qualified help to come from a neighboring facility, I myself am guilty of this. It all comes back to what
the company keeps preaching to us, “ If it’s not safe don’t do it, make it safe then do it.”
This has been an ongoing problem for quite some time and with all the people retiring it is going to
keep being a problem, especially if we do not speak up. As I mentioned earlier a respectful conversation with
your Supervisor or Foreman and also noting on the tailgate form that the apprentice to journey worker ratio is
not safe is a great first step to alleviating this problem. As always work safe and look out for each other!
Page 5
2014 LOCAL 204 PICNIC
Jeff Hamling, setting up for the prize drawings.
Rachel Snyder won the DVD player.
Doug Kingsbury, won the 29 inch TV.
Matt Penner, won the Bluetooth Speaker.
Rick Bruce, won the 39 inch TV.
Page 6
Thanks Jeff for hosting again this year and
congratulations to all those who won a prize
at this years picnic.
2014 DUBUQUE LABOR DAY PARADE
Page 7
NONPROFIT ORG
US POSTAGE PAID
CEDAR RAPIDS IA
PERMIT NO. 1280
IBEW, Local 204
4837 1st Ave SE, Ste 203
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-3226
Changes at Local 204
Wanda Gordon, longtime Office Manager of Local 204 has resigned after almost 20 years of loyal service to
our members. We all want to thank Wanda for her service, and wish her the best in the future. Due to her
leaving, you may notice some changes if you call our office. We plan on only having one person in the office,
the capable Robin Kruger. Your call may be answered by our phone system. Please listen to the prompts, and
enter the correct extension number of the person you are calling for. We are probably still in the office, but if
we are busy you will need to leave a voicemail for us. As always you can contact us on our cellphones.
Dave George 563-590-8069
Matt Fischer 319-350-1330
Matt Schuler 319-759-6780