Brothers and Sisters the members at WFAA-TV voted to accept the three year deal negotiated between the Union and Station. The members will receive a 1.5% wage increase effective August 21, 2016, with a .50% merit component to be distributed at the stations discretion. The three year contract has wage openers for 2017 and 2018.
President, Ross McAuley and I recently returned from attending the 39th IBEW International Convention, held in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 19th through September 23rd. At the convention the delegates from around the United States and Canada passed laws and resolutions that will govern and guide the brotherhood into the future. The delegates re-elected International President Lonnie R. Stephenson and International Secretary-Treasurer Salvatore “Sam” Chilia. The IBEW began in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1891. Therefore, it was the appropriate place to convene the convention while celebrating our 125th anniversary. The IBEW has served their members and communities proudly for over a century and will continue to do so as long as we have good working men and women like you. At the convention the delegates approved a modest increase to “A” member contributions, starting with a $2 per month additional on January 1, 2017, and another $1 per month on January 1, 2019.
A total of 1,938 delegates from 678 local unions were registered and present for the 39th International Convention. Those unions represent a total membership of 632,015 as reported to the convention by International Executive Council Chairman Christopher Erikson. Ross and I were able to make contact with Florida Power & Light employees and their Business Manager. We were able to talk shop and discuss the work place possibilities once NextEra buys Oncor. The employees at FP&L stated the relationship between Management and the Union has never been better. Monday, September 19th the bankruptcy court in Delaware gave its blessing for EFH and NextEra to go forward with the sale. The next step will be the approval of the sale at the Texas Public Utility Commission. IBEW Local 69 will be involved in that process at the TPUC. I would like to relay the information regarding how the crews are set up at FP&L and other working conditions however; we can discuss this at our unit meetings scheduled for October. The meeting schedules are as follows:
Tuesday – October 4– Waco – 5 pm – Hampton Inn – 4259 N Hwy I-35
Wednesday – October 5 – Salado – 5 pm – Holiday Inn – 1991 N Stagecoach Rd.
Thursday – October 6 – Jacksonville – 5 pm - Best Western – 1659 S Jackson St
Tuesday – October 11 – Brownwood – 5 pm – Holiday Inn Express – 504 W Commerce
Wednesday – October 12 – Snyder – 5 pm – Holiday Inn – 1305 Coliseum Dr.
Thursday – October 13 – Odessa – 6:30 – Elegante Hotel – 5200 E University
Tuesday – October 18 – Wichita Falls – 5 pm – Oyster Bar – 4214 Kell Blvd.
Wednesday – October 19 – Bonham – 5 pm – VFW Hall #4852
Thursday – October 20 – Lewisville – 5 pm – Select Inn – 200 N Stemmons Frwy.
Tuesday – October 25 – Dallas – 5 pm – 1408 N Washington
Thursday – October 27 – Ft. Worth – 5 pm – Oyster Bar – 4750 Bryant Irvin Rd.
I look forward to seeing everyone that can attend a meeting in your area.
Until next time may God bless you, your family, our Local Union.