We meet with the Company on Thursday, May 10, 2012. We answered additional questions that the Company had about our language proposals. We did receive a counter proposal on some of the language that we had offered. The committee will consider the language offered by the Company. We are scheduled to meet again on Tuesday, May 22 and Wednesday, May 23, 2012.
May 112012
Apr 302012
NRG NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE – The Company and the Union meet on Thursday, April 26th. We answered questions the Company had on our language proposal and gave them our economic proposal. We did not meet on Friday as the Company needed time to consider our proposals. We are scheduled to meet on Thursday, May 10th.
Apr 192012
NRG Negotiations – As most of you know, the Company pulled the Travel policy off the bargaining table on Tuesday, April 3rd and the Union pulled the Drug policy offer as well, shortly thereafter.
The B.U. negotiations committee met with the Company’s committee last Thursday evening, April 12th and Friday, April 13th. The Union offered another proposal to change language which was explained and discussed. Included were the following topics:
Purpose – re-write due to the Company no longer having franchise obligations or responsibilities in serving the public. Also the inclusion and update of the Critical Communication covering Labor Management Forums (LMF).
Article 1, Section 5 – Stewards/Representation; re-write roles, rights and responsibilities.
Article 7, Safety – Inclusion/clarification of Critical Communication – intent of “assistance”
Article 8, Holidays – Language for additional Holiday.
Article 11, Call Outs – Inclusion of proposed language on delayed response for 12 hour shift employees.
Article 12, Sections 1,3,4,6,8,9 – Several issues within this Article. Wording in Section 1, Definitions. Wording and time frames in Section 3, Overtime. Wording in Section 4, Meals. Wording in Section 8, Shift Changes. New Section on Schedule Changes. Wording on Section 9, Rest periods. Inclusion of Critical Communications.
Article 13, Time Lost Because of Disability – Change language to include 3 work periods for employees with more than 3 months, but less than 1 year. Incident Policy. Dental surgery, extractions and fillings treated as any other illness.
Article 14, Vacations – Clarification of work on Vacation day. Use of Vacation to cover FMLA.
Article 15, Section 4 – Non-bargaining unit employees performing B.U. work. Policies listed in the Agreement.
Article 16, Grievance/Arbitration – Proposed change to time frames, add failure to move/answer language, and split fees charged by the Fereral Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS).
Article 17, Seniority – Add Main Control Room Operator and Fuel Handling Heavy Equipment Operator classifications. Inclusion or deletion of Critical Communications on Skills enhancement. Inclusion of language from Waszak settlement on moving an individual (not the whole crew) from 1 location to another. Inclusion or deletion of Critical Communications. Inclusion of Long Term Disability (LTD) in the Agreement and clarification of the agreement to hold an employee’s job for the first 2 full years on LTD, with the ability to return to their former job within that 2 years if released to full duty and keep Benefits at employee rates for that same period. Accidental Death & Dismenberment (ADD) inclusion and benefit pays on lost toes/fingers instead of just foot/hand, ect. Supplemental Pay inclusion.
The Company and the Union are scheduled to meet again on Thursday evening, April 26th and Friday, April 27th. We will be discussing the Union’s proposed language changes and again propose Benefit and Monetary changes that include:
HOLIDAY, LONGEVITY, SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL, MEALS, SAFETY FOOTWARE ALLOWANCE, MEDICAL, DENTAL, VISION, 401K, SUNDAY SHIFT PREMIUM, INCLEMENT WEATHER, TRAINING, PER DIEM, RETIREMENT (amount, point system, retiree medical), STOCK OPTIONS and WAGES.
The Union committee members are: Greg Lucero, Business Manager Local 66; Charlie Nelson, Business Representative Local 66; Hugo Kraft III, Mechanic (WAP); Ricky Butler, Mechanic (MS); Kenneth Carroll, Electrician (WAP); Jearl “Donny” Mayo, Mechanic (LMS); Chuck Thomas, Operator (WAP).
I personally want to thank each of these committee members for their hard work and dedication to the membership! I know that each has given above and beyond and have sacrificed much to perform the work required to participate in this endevor.
ARBITRATIONS
The Union has won 4 of the last 5 Arbitrations that we have held. The Company paid the monetary payments due under those decisions, as of March 30th. The Company, in turn, elininated the position of Vice President of Human Resources, thereby, Steve Hines. The Company has had Maryjean Chatron filling in for Hines and informed us last Friday that they hired a replacement.
The Company also terminated their law firm, Baker & Botts and have hired the firm of Littler Mendelson. The Company postponed arbitrations through April to allow the new firm to receive the grievance files from Baker Botts and prepare. We have 2 arbitrations scheduled in May, 3 in June and 17 scheduled between May and the end of October.
Below is an interesting article I came upon while researching Labor Unions. It makes for a good read and sounds strangely familiar to what is currently occurring in our country. We should take note and learn from mistakes made in our and other countries histories. Don’t let this happen again.
Regards,
Rick Childers
When Hitler came to power in January 1933, he saw trade unions as
exercising more power over the workers than he could. Therefore, trade unions
were seen as a challenge to be dispensed with. Hitler knew that he needed the
workers to be on his side but he could not allow trade unions to exert the
potential power they had. Therefore, trade unions were banned in Nazi Germany and the state took over the role of looking after
the working class.
Just months after Hitler was appointed Chancellor, he took the decision to end trade unions in Nazi Germany. On May 2nd, 1933, police units occupied all trade unions headquarters and union officials and leaders were arrested. The funds that belonged to the trade unions – effectively this was workers money – were confiscated. However, Hitler had to be careful. He had only been in power for a few months and there were many members of the working class he had to deal with. If the working class movement in Germany organised itself, it would have presented the new Chancellor with a lot of major issues that would have to be dealt with. Removing trade union leaders helped this but it did not fully guarantee that the working class would ‘behave’ itself. Hitler had to offer the workers something more. Hitler announced that the German Labour Force, headed by Robert Ley, would replace all trade unions and would look after the working class. The title was chosen carefully. The new organisation was deliberately cloaked in patriotism, as it was now a German entity as was seen in its title. The working class was now a ‘labour force’. The Nazi Party did all that it could to ensure the workers felt that they were better off under the guidance of the Nazi Party via the German Labour Front.
They had to be brought onto the side of the Nazis as Hitler had major plans for the workers. There were simply too many of them to brutalise into submission, so the workers were offered the ‘Strength Through Joy’ movement (Kraft durch Freude’) which offered them subsidised holidays, cheap theatre trips etc.
Hitler offered the working class an improved leisure life in one hand and took away their traditional rights in the other. Strikes – the traditional way for the working class to vent their anger over an issue – were banned. Strikes had been a thorn in the side of Weimar Germany in its final years. In 1928, the equivalent of 20,339,000 days had been lost as a result of strikes. In 1930, 4,029,000 days had been lost. In 1933, it was just 96,000 days and from 1934 to 1939 there were none. New laws had been brought in after the burning down of the Reichstag and one covered ‘un-German activities’ and strikes were classed as un-German. In January 1934, the Law Regulating National Labour (the ‘Charter of Labour’) banned strikes at statute level.
Trade unions had looked after the rights of the working class. The German Labour Front now did this. However, Hitler was still fearful of large group of unemployed men existing in the fledgling Nazi state. In January 1933, he inherited an unemployment rate of 26.3%. This had the potential for long-term trouble.Therefore, job creation schemes were introduced. An individual had no choice about a job placement as anyone labelled ‘work shy’ was sent to prison. But such an approach brought down unemployment figures. By 1936, it had dropped to 8.3% – an 18% fall. Between 1936 and 1939, this 8.3% would be mopped up by conscription. Also women were no longer included in employment/unemployment figures, so the figure had to tumble.
Those brought into the Labour Front to participate in job creation schemes were regimented almost as much as if they were in the military. A song sung by members of the GFL went as follows:
“We demand from ourselves service to the end, even when no eyes are upon us. We know
that we should love our Fatherland more than our own life. We vow that no one shall outdo us in loyalty, That our life shall be one great labour service for Germany. So in this solemn hour we pray for blessing on the oath we take, We thank thee, Fuhrer, that we have now seen thee, Do thou behold us as thine own creation? May our hearts ever beat with thy heart’s pulses, Our lives find inspiration in thy love, Behold us here! Thy Germany are we.”
Their conditions of work and pay were controlled and determined by the German Labour Front and the GLF represented the workers when disputes arose between management and workers. Between 1933 and 1939, the wages paid out to those in the GLF actually dropped a little. The cost of living rose during the same time by 25%. However, Hitler’s grip on the working class by 1939 was so great that they had no choice but to continue in this way.
Mar 072012
Our Lawyers have some very important information for our membership or anyone who may have been exposed to PCB’s. Please read the following letter.
PCB’s and the Non-Hodgkin’s
Lymphoma Connection for Electrical Workers
Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are a group of man-made chemicals
which were banned in the 1970’s. PCBs are virtually indestructible and can take
several decades to break down once they are released into the environment. Because they are so persistent, PCBs are
still found in our environment, our foods, and our bodies more than 30 years
after they were banned.
PCBs
were used as:
•
Coolants in electrical transformers and capacitors
• Sealants and adhesives
•
Plasticizers for paints and cement
•
Stabilizers for paints and finishes
•
Additives in PVC, hydraulic fluid, and lubricating oil
•
Other industrial and manufacturing uses
PCBs are
a known danger to the environment. Scientific research has long shown that
polychlorinated biphenyls are toxic to both animals and humans. Since the
1930s, PCBs have been linked to severe skin and liver damage. By the 1970s,
PCBs were also linked with cancer and birth defects in animals.
Several
peer-reviewed scientific studies now show that high PCB blood levels can cause non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma (NHL), a blood cancer diagnosed in over 65,000 Americans each year.
NHL is the seventh most common cancer in the country, and the numbers are growing.
Because this research is relatively new, many people with non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma, and even their doctors, may not be aware of the connection with
PCBs. As an electrician, you most likely
worked around PCBs.
Williams
Kherkher recently partnered with the Allen Stewart law firm in Dallas to pursue these cases. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, we would like to speak with you.
Please
call us at 713-230-2200 or 800-220-9341 today to speak to an attorney about you
or your loved one’s potential case. You
can also visit us on line at nhlattorney.com to read more about this terrible
disease and its connection to PCBs.
Regards
Rick Childers
IBEW Local 66 Federal Credit Union
Special new car and truck loan rates
Credit score of 600+ Interest rate 3%
2012/2013 new car and trucks only
Come in for pre-approval-limited time offer
Use convenient Pay Roll deduction into your Savings Account
IBEW LU 66 Federal Credit Union
713-946-6513 office
713-946-1939 fax
Call today this is a limited time offer
IBEW 66 Scholarship Fund
2012 Golf Tournament
IBEW Local 66 invites you to our annual tournament
benefiting
IBEW 66 Scholarship Fund.
May 14, 2012
River
Terrace Golf Course
16777 Wallisville Rd. Between Beltway 8 and Sheldon
Rd.
Florida
Scramble
1 pm
Shotgun Start
$100 /
Player
$100
Hole Sponsor
Please
come out and enjoy the fellowship – benefiting a worthy cause.
For more
information call 713-943-0716 or 281-794-2663.
Entries
can be mailed to 4345 Allen Genoa, Pasadena, TX 77504,
fax to
713-943-0162, email to mosteit66@aol.com
Please
submit names for your team:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Hole
Sponsorship (Name to appear on sign):
Fraternally,
Michael
N. Mosteit
Feb 032012
Senator Patrick J. Leahy Senator Charles E. Grassley
Chairman Ranking Member
Senate Judiciary Committee Senate Judiciary Committee
224 Dirksen Building 224 Dirksen Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Congressman Lamar Smith Congressman John Conyers, Jr.
Chairman Ranking Member
House Judiciary Committee House Judiciary Committee
2138 Rayburn Building 2138 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairmen and Ranking Members:
On behalf of the approximately 725,000 members of the International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers
(IBEW), I write to express the IBEW’s support of S. 968, the
PROTECT IP Act of 2011 and H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act. Both of these
Acts would retain and create jobs for IBEW members.
The illegal sale or display of counterfeit goods or copyrighted materials costs the
United States numerous jobs and billions of dollars a year. Individuals working in
many industries feel the effects of these illegal actions – from the television and music
industries to the manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries, the problem is
widespread.
The websites used to perpetrate these crimes are located outside of the United
States and are designed to convince consumers they are purchasing brand-name goods
or legitimate items. Because the websites are located outside of the United States,
they are beyond the reach of the United States law enforcement.
The Senate and
House Acts will give the United States government a tool with which it can protect
American workers by cracking down on these foreign websites.
The IBEW commends you for introducing and supporting S. 968 and H.R. 3261
which protect American jobs.
Sincerely yours,
Edwin D. Hill
International President
EDH:lgd
Copy to all Members of the United States Congress
January 21, 2012
VIA EMAIL
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
Intellectual property (IP) theft by foreign websites and the sale or dissemination
of counterfeit or pirated products by these websites costs the United States economy
approximately $250 billion and 750,000 jobs each year.
In addition to these economic concerns, the safety of foreign counterfeit products
is troublesome. Items such as counterfeit toothpaste from South Africa containing
antifreeze or counterfeit Square D circuit breakers from China which fail to trip when
overloaded are documented to have created dangerous situations in the United States.
IBEW members in the manufacturing and construction branches are directly hurt by the
widespread foreign sale and dissemination of counterfeit property. Square D,
headquartered in the United States, is a leading manufacturer of electrical distribution,
industrial control, and automation products, systems and services. Square D employs 847
IBEW members. China has been counterfeiting Square D products for years. Electrical
contractors and individuals in the United States are unknowingly purchasing the
counterfeit goods from China. The sale of these counterfeit products endangers
consumers and electricians alike. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP
Act of 2011 (PIPA) both aim to make the sale of foreign counterfeit goods, like the
counterfeit Square D circuit breakers, more difficult.
The IBEW members in the manufacturing and construction branches would not
be alone in benefiting from the Acts pending before Congress. While exact amounts vary,
it is safe to say the broadcasting industry loses billions of dollars a year to piracy. Less
money in the broadcasting industry results in fewer media projects retained and created.
A decrease in media projects means fewer jobs for IBEW members in the broadcasting
branch. SOPA and PIPA both aim to make piracy of media by foreign sources more
difficult.
SOPA and PIPA would require a United States website to take reasonable actions
that would make the foreign websites like those discussed above less accessible via its
United States website. A United States website such as Google, Wikipedia, or Facebook
would take action after the foreign website is brought to its attention by the Attorney
General.
Copyright infringement is already illegal under the 1998 Millennium Copyright
Act. However, the Millennium Copyright Act does not provide any tools with which to
curb foreign sites from pirating or selling counterfeit property. It is important for those
IBEW members located outside of the United States to understand these Acts are not
intended to affect foreign websites that are operating legally. SOPA and PIPA would not
remove foreign websites from the internet. Foreign sites that are engaged in the sale or
dissemination of counterfeit or pirated property would simply become difficult to find for
persons accessing the internet from the United States. SOPA and PIPA would not make
accessing the foreign websites illegal. SOPA and PIPA would do nothing to existing laws
VIA EMAIL
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
Intellectual property (IP) theft by foreign websites and the sale or dissemination
of counterfeit or pirated products by these websites costs the United States economy
approximately $250 billion and 750,000 jobs each year.
In addition to these economic concerns, the safety of foreign counterfeit products
is troublesome. Items such as counterfeit toothpaste from South Africa containing
antifreeze or counterfeit Square D circuit breakers from China which fail to trip when
overloaded are documented to have created dangerous situations in the United States.
IBEW members in the manufacturing and construction branches are directly hurt by the
widespread foreign sale and dissemination of counterfeit property. Square D,
headquartered in the United States, is a leading manufacturer of electrical distribution,
industrial control, and automation products, systems and services. Square D employs 847
IBEW members. China has been counterfeiting Square D products for years. Electrical
contractors and individuals in the United States are unknowingly purchasing the
counterfeit goods from China. The sale of these counterfeit products endangers
consumers and electricians alike. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP
Act of 2011 (PIPA) both aim to make the sale of foreign counterfeit goods, like the
counterfeit Square D circuit breakers, more difficult.
The IBEW members in the manufacturing and construction branches would not
be alone in benefiting from the Acts pending before Congress. While exact amounts vary,
it is safe to say the broadcasting industry loses billions of dollars a year to piracy. Less
money in the broadcasting industry results in fewer media projects retained and created.
A decrease in media projects means fewer jobs for IBEW members in the broadcasting
branch. SOPA and PIPA both aim to make piracy of media by foreign sources more
difficult.
SOPA and PIPA would require a United States website to take reasonable actions
that would make the foreign websites like those discussed above less accessible via its
United States website. A United States website such as Google, Wikipedia, or Facebook
would take action after the foreign website is brought to its attention by the Attorney
General.
Copyright infringement is already illegal under the 1998 Millennium Copyright
Act. However, the Millennium Copyright Act does not provide any tools with which to
curb foreign sites from pirating or selling counterfeit property. It is important for those
IBEW members located outside of the United States to understand these Acts are not
intended to affect foreign websites that are operating legally. SOPA and PIPA would not
remove foreign websites from the internet. Foreign sites that are engaged in the sale or
dissemination of counterfeit or pirated property would simply become difficult to find for
persons accessing the internet from the United States. SOPA and PIPA would not make
accessing the foreign websites illegal. SOPA and PIPA would do nothing to existing laws
which make the download of pirated materials illegal- the Millennium Copyright Act would
be unchanged.
Within the Labor Movement the I.B.E.W. is not alone in its support of SOPA and PIPA.
SOPA and PIPA are vigorously supported by the Department of Professional
Employees at the AFL-CIO. Unfortunatly, internet sites like Google and Wikipedia
to name a few have engaged in a campain that falsely claims SOPA and PIPA will
stifle innovation and shut down
the internet. This is simply not true. Instead, SOPA and PIPA will protect the legitimate
interest of those who copyright their intellectual property, protect American jobs, and provide
a way for the United States to curb the foreign sale and foreign dissemination of
counterfeit and piratede property.
Therefore, the I.B.E.W. stands in support of SOPA and PIPA on behalf of its members
in the manufacturing, construction, and broadcasting branches who have the most to lose if foreign
websites continue the widespread sale and dessemination of counterfeit and pirated property.
With best wishes, I am,
Fraternally yours,
Edwin D. Hill
International President
The 2012 Journeyman Electrician code update classes will be held at the Local 716 Union hall located at 1475 North Loop West, 77008 on the following dates.
January 14
January 28
February 25
March 24
April 21
May 12
June 16
If you want to maintain your electrician license you must attend a code update class, any fees for these update classes have not been determined at this time. All starting times will be at 8:00am and run till noon. You cannot enter the class late or leave early. You must provide proof of I.B.E.W. membership to attend these classes, either a reciept or a letter from Local 66 will do. The above are the only dates available at Local 716 this year.
Sincerely,
Rick Childers
