INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF
ELECTRICAL WORKERS
LOCAL UNION NO. 756
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Vol. 14 No. 4 |
July 2007 |
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THE SIDE-CUTTER |
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THE OBJECTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL
WORKERS
TO ORGANIZE ALL WORKERS
IN THE ENTIRE ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, INCLUDING
ALL THOSE IN PUBLIC UTILITIES AND ELECTRICAL MANUFACTURING INTO LOCAL UNIONS,
TO PROMOTE REASONABLE METHODS OF WORK, TO CULTIVATE FEELINGS OF FRIENDSHIP
AMONG THOSE OF OUR INDUSTRY, TO SETTLE ALL DISPUTES BETWEEN EMPLOYERS AND
EMPLOYEES BY ARBITRATION (IF POSSIBLE), TO ASSIST EACH OTHER IN SICKNESS OR
DISTRESS, TO SECURE EMPLOYMENT, TO REDUCE THE HOURS OF DAILY LABOR, TO SECURE
ADEQUATE PAY FOR OUR WORK, TO SEEK A HIGHER AND HIGHER STANDARD OF LIVING, TO
SEEK SECURITY FOR THE INDIVIDUAL, AND BY LEGAL AND PROPER MEANS TO ELEVATE THE
MORAL, INTELLECTUAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF OUR MEMBERS, THEIR FAMILIES AND
DEPENDENTS, IN THE INTEREST OF A HIGHER STANDARD OF CITIZENSHIP. The Side Cutter
is a publication of I.B.E.W. Local Union #756 - Daytona Beach, Florida.
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The More Things Change the More They
Remain the Same
Well 2007 is more than half
over and time marches on. As cliché as
it may sound, the more things change the more they remain the same. Many involved in the labor movement can attest
to the fact that rejuvenation of our ideals is a continuous fact in order to
promulgate our message to our rank and file and the working population in
general. The following quotes are over
100 years old and are just as applicable today as they were at the time they
were uttered.
Samuel Gompers
was the President of the American Federation of Labor from 1886 until his death
in 1924. He was a true visionary as evidenced by his many comments throughout
his tenure as the nation’s leading trade unionist. These quotes by him are from the late 1800s:
“I believe that the trade unions
will bring about both the improvement of conditions and the ultimate
emancipation of workers….I think that the emancipation of the working classes
has to be achieved by the workers themselves.
Trade unions are the pure, unadulterated organizations of the working
classes.”
**********
“We want more school houses
and less jails; more books and less arsenals; more learning and less vice; more
constant work and less crime; more leisure and less greed; more justice and less
revenge; in fact, more of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures, to
make manhood more noble, womanhood more beautiful and childhood more happy and
bright. These in brief are the primary
demands made by the Trade Unions in the name of labor. These are the demands made by labor upon
modern society and in their consideration is involved the fate of
civilization.”
*********
“Any one may say that the
organizations of labor invade or deny liberty to the workmen. But go to the men who worked in the
bituminous coal mines twelve, fourteen, sixteen hours a day, for a dollar or a
dollar and twenty five cents, and who now work eight hours a day and whose
wages have increased 70 per cent in the past seven years – go tell those men
that they have lost their liberty and they will laugh at you.”
*********
“Do I believe in
arbitration” I do. But
not in arbitration between the lion and the lamb, in which the lamb is in the
morning found inside the lion. I
believe in arbitration between two lions or two lambs. When a man puts a pistol
to my head and tells me to deliver, there is no arbitration. There can be arbitration only between
equals. Let us organize: then we will
stand on an equal footing with the employers.”
*********
You are our employers not
our masters. Under the system of
government we have in the United States, we are your equals, and we contribute
as much, if not more, to the success of industry than do the employers.”
INDEED, THE MORE THINGS
CHANGE THE MORE THEY REMAIN THE SAME!!!
Steve Williams
Business Manager
Iraqi
Labor Leaders Visit
Reprinted from
the “Union Reporter”
July 2007 – IBEW Local Union 47 – Diamond Bar, CA
It’s
remarkable that there is a labor movement of any kind in
They were also
strongly opposed to a President Bush initiative that would put into Iraqi law,
a provision that foreign oil companies would have the primary responsibility
for developing Iraqi oil – another Presidential gift to his friends in Big Oil.
Local #47
Assistant Business Manager, Stan Stosel, visited with
the Iraqi labor leaders at the
They had
pictures of labor rallies and demonstrations that would be easily recognizable
to any American Trade unionist – banners, bullhorns, clenched fists, marchers
in the streets.
Said Stosel, “I was humbled to be with these courageous people.
They reminded me of the struggles the founders of the American labor movement
went through. Whatever difficulties we
face today – pale to the difficulties they face in
Our former Vice President
and Assistant Business Manager, Bill Sweeney has announced his retirement
effective August 1st. Bill has
worked in the office as Assistant B.M./Organizer since June 1998. Bill has had
many contributions to Local Union 756 during his years in the office. He has brought our membership numbers up from
the 300’s to approximately the 500’s at one point, he has been in charge of all
of our advertising and t-shirt ordering, he has been instrumental in organizing
the van pools with Votran, he has cooked delicious
barbeque and smoked turkeys for the Christmas parties, not to mention several
delicious special occasion lunches for the office staff. Besides Bill’s articles that he has written
for the Sidecutter, one of his most memorable
contributions was when we lost our beloved mascot, Bubba the cat. Bill wrote a touching tribute worth
repeating:
“Bubba”, the
Union Cat,
He made his living chasing rats,
When he first
came to the Union hall,
Bubba the cat
was very small.
Bubba the cat
attended all meetings,
He was always
there with a friendly greeting.
His food we
would buy, the kind he preferred,
But Bubba
would catch a nice tasty bird.
It was noticed
one morning that Bubba was late,
After thirteen
years he had met his fate.
Now when you
come to the hall to sign the list,
You won’t see
Bubba; he’ll surely be missed.
Bill mentioned recently at a
small retirement dinner for him that the IBEW is not only a labor union but
that it is truly a “family”. We have
worked together with Bill every day for many years and it is certainly true
that we have become a family. Bill will
surely be missed by all of us, especially those of us that have worked with
Bill in the office. We want to wish him
and his wife Kathleen the best of luck in the future and hope that his
retirement is everything that he has hoped for.
Thanks for everything Bill! Happy
Retirement!
Tory and Sierra Tunison
Are the proud parents of a son
Mason Allen Tunison –
Joseph and Kristin Smallwood
Are the proud parents of a son
Konner Joseph Smallwood – May 23, 2007
David and Micki
Mansfield
Are the proud parents of a son
Donovan Manfield –
May 27, 2007
John and Kim Boettner
Are the proud parents of a son
Todd Stark Boettner –
MEMBERS’ CORNER
If anyone is interested in volunteering for labor walks or phone banks,
please contact John Barrington at the union hall.
Dates to Remember:
The Retirees’ Meeting/Luncheon will
resume on Thursday, September 13, 2007.
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We have regrettably lost
three brothers since the last issue of the Sidecutter:
Patrick J. Carlson
Thomas A. Adams
We extend our deepest
sympathy to their families.
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Please make sure that your beneficiary cards are up to date. Due to marriages, divorces and unfortunately deaths, the beneficiary cards need to be updated from time to time. We will be glad to assist you. Please also make sure we have your current address and phone number so that we can keep our records up to date.
Apprenticeship Report
I cannot begin
to stress enough, or again how important it is for the Journeymen to fill out
the monthly work reports correctly and honestly. Your apprentice needs to know,
along with the contractor employing the apprentice of the progress or regress
of the apprentices performance each month. If a report
is honest and true, the contractor that looks at the reports along with the
JATC office can follow the progress of each apprentice more accurately. As
apprentices are getting laid off or fired, the JATC will pull the past work
reports to compare their progress and see what led up to him/her getting fired
or laid off. We have had a problem in the past that we will get an apprentice
in here that has been fired and his last 6 months of work reports were all
excellent and the apprentice claims he/she doesn’t understand why they were let
go. It is very important to monitor these apprentices in the field with an
honest opinion without regards of worrying about hurting the feelings of an
individual or being the one that has to fill out the bad report. If we can
monitor an apprentice that is beginning to decline, then I can make
arrangements to meet with the journeyman and/or contractor to discuss the
issue(s) with them and the apprentice before it gets to the apprentice being
dropped from the program.
Remember, it
is the responsibility of every journeyman to properly train your apprentices to
be the best journeyman wireman they can be. If you, the journeymen do not train
your apprentices and their work reports reflect that they are a #1 apprentice,
we can only hope that that apprentice knows everything he/she needs to know
before they turn out. We have found out in the past that there are apprentices
that turn out that do not know what they need to know to survive in the
Electricians world today and then they become “unemployable”. Journeymen,
please remember that these apprentices are our future and only you can teach
them what it takes to be the best they cay be on the jobsite. Please fill out
the monthly work reports Honestly and discuss how your apprentice is progressing. We
need to know early in their apprenticeship if they are going to be top notch
electricians, not wait until they turn out to find out they aren’t. Work
reports are due on the first of the month. The grace period is until the 5th
of every month. Thank you in advance Journeymen for making a difference!
Classes will
begin on August 23rd. I have curriculum schedules for any Journeymen
that are interested in sitting in on a few classes this year.
We have 2005
soft bound Code Books and Ugly’s books available at
the JATC office. The cost of the code book is $75.00 (with tabs) and the Ugly’s book is $15.00.
Any questions
or comments ? Please feel free to contact me here at
the office.
Please contact the JATC office if you have any questions.
386-322-6236 office C. Scott Jarvis
386-322-6238 fax Training Director
386-527-2088 cell (scottdbjatc@aol.com)
A Note From
Our Retirees
The Retiree’s
Meeting/Luncheons will resume on Thursday, September 13, 2007. Listed below are the dates of the upcoming
meetings and the menu. Bringing a
covered dish or dessert would be greatly appreciated.
Everyone is welcome to
attend. If you have any questions, please call the union hall.
.
· Tips, topics,
suggestions, and criticisms are welcome. Send your responses to:
The Side Cutter c/o IBEW L.U. 756,
Names will remain confidential upon request.
Continuing Education Courses available:
C. Scott Jarvis, Training Director (386) 322-6236
ORGANIZING:
Call Bill Sweeney (386) 756-2756
IBEW #756 Home Page | What We Believe
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INTERNATIONAL
BROTHERHOOD OF
ELECTRICAL WORKERS
LOCAL UNION NO.
5901 S. Williamson Blvd.
386-756-2756
FAX 386-756-2785
info@ibew756.com
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