Brothers and Sisters, I would like to thank everyone that took time to attend a unit meeting this month. There is a lot going on with Oncor Electric Delivery. IBEW Local 69 is supporting the acquisition of Oncor Electric Delivery by Berkshire Hathaway. The parties will await the bankruptcy judge’s decision on how the deal will proceed. Also, Oncor announced a plan to swap assets with Sharyland Utilities in a transaction valued at approximately $400 million. The transaction is subject to approval by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. When approved by regulators, Sharyland will receive approximately 258 miles of 345 kv transmission lines from Oncor, and Oncor will receive all of Sharyland’s distribution network and retail delivery customers, totaling around 54,000 customers. I understand about 130 Sharyland employees will receive offers of employment to join the Oncor team. Let’s hope they are not in management because, we have plenty of chiefs - we need more Linemen.
The happiest people in Texas are the Sharyland customers. The customers at Sharyland moving over to become Oncor customers will realize a significant rate relief, resulting in lower electric bills. Oncor and Sharyland will file a joint change-in-control filing with the PUCT. When approved, the transaction will be complete before the end of the year.
The Company is in the process of offering a contract extension to IBEW Local 69 members. At this time we have not received an offer in writing. At the unit meetings we discussed whether a one year contract extension or a two year extension would be in our best interest. We have one more week of unit meetings at the time this article is written, stay tuned for updates.
Local 69 and WFAA-TV will enter into negotiations on August 1st for wages only. After we have a solid offer from the station we will inform the membership and schedule a ratification vote at the station. You all know how hot it is. Don’t get too hot and drink plenty of water.
There will be a Steward Training Class on Saturday, August 19, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. at Local 20’s Hall. Local 20 is located at: 684 W Tarrant Rd., Grand Prairie, Texas, 75050. IBEW representatives will conduct the Steward Training. If interested please send an email to our local at ibewloc69@aol.com. There will be members from Locals 20, 66, 69 and 220 attending the training.
Until next time may God bless you, your family, and our local union.