Organizing News

Organizing 4^th Quarter 2011

  As of the last writing we had three contractors signed on to the Recovery Agreement. As of this writing we have six signed on working over 148 men doing commercial work. It has not been easy getting the contractors to use this agreement but they are slowly coming around. Canterbury has been able to capture several jobs including the Dollar General Distribution Center. We have visited several of their jobs including some of their condo and small bank projects. These are jobs that we were not able to capture before this agreement. Vulcan Electric has signed the agreement and since has picked up some of the St. Vincent’s Hospital in Pell City along with several other small jobs in Gadsden and in Anniston. Double D has also picked up its first Recovery job and is doing a supply house in Tuscaloosa. This is hopefully just the beginning of a lot of commercial work being done by our Union Contractors. We have visited several of these jobs to make sure that everything is running smoothly and we have the right ratios of JW/App/ CW-CE on the job. Everyone keep up the good work!!

  We have two Organizing campaigns going at this time. One with Bright Future that has stretched into a multi-jurisdictional campaign and one with Southern Electric in Sylacauga. Anyone interested in helping out with organizing and Salting please call the Hall. Salting is still one of the number one ways to organize and recapture the market!!

  It’s the Fall so this means that the Apprenticeship School is in full speed. As of now we have almost all of the CW/CE’s in school and are doing what is required of them. The Local has put on several classes including a Code of Excellence class and a Membership development Class to teach all new members and existing members what is expected of them on the job and in the classroom.

  The Local has also moved into a new direction and trying to organize some manufacturing plants. This is being headed up by Raymond Bodine and Pedro and PeeWee assist him in anyway. The International Office has assigned IO Lead Organizer Joe Skinner to help Raymond also. Since then we have handed out flyers at two different plants and looking for more. We are also looking into internal campaigns at our current plants we represent.

  The last newsletter we wrote about the IO starting up the new OARS System. We are involved in this every day and has become a valuable tool. We are going thru our current list of over 600 nonunion contractors and seeing who is still in business and who are not. We have had meetings or made contact with over 50 contractors. There are several that we have been able to get follow up meetings with. It is very hard to get into the door of a nonunion shop but we will continue to do whatever it takes to get OUR WORK BACK!!!!

Pedro & PeeWee