From the Business ManagerFrom the Business ManagerFrom the Business Manager———Jack A. BuckhornJack A. BuckhornJack A. Buckhorn Dear Sisters and Brothers, Those of us that have chosen a career in construction all realize that it takes a certain kind of person with a special toughness to be successful in our industry. It’s not for everybody and most would not make it on a construction site for even

a single day. It’s dangerous work filled with daily challenges that test our skills and knowledge of the trade. That’s what most of us like about working as a construction electrician or sound and communication installer. The part of our job that’s the hardest is the unemployment cycles, which are in large part dictated by the economy, and times are hard right now. Many have tapped their vacation fund to supplement unemployment benefits. Requests for hardship loans from members’ defined contribution pension fund, to prevent primary home foreclosures, have been received and approved at an alarming rate. In response, the Executive Board has authorized funds from the Benevolent Fund to assist the unemployed. The heartfelt notes and letters we receive thanking the Local for these small acts of kindness are very moving.

We are taught to plan for these rainy days but this time it’s different. This time the burden is heaver, the pain is deeper, the outlook cloudy and uncertain. What is certain is the need to correct the lax federal regulations that allowed this fiscal meltdown in the first place. When the Wall Street white-collar crooks make their plans to rob and pillage society in the name of the free-market it erodes the confidence of our great nation. Working men and women cannot afford to standby and let corporate greed and corruption go unchallenged. This is especially true for the construction industry because we rely on a healthy and stable banking industry to supply the capital needed to finance construction projects that put us to work. A perfect example of this is the WesternGeo Power Unit 1 power plant at the geysers that is delayed for lack of funding. We have a signed Project Labor Agreement for this work that will eventually

provide much needed jobs for all the building trades affiliates.

The construction industry has always played a major role in leading our country out of recession. It’s the lack of capital for construction projects that’s missing from this recovery. In fact, the Treasury Department reported that new lending plummeted in January at the nine largest banks that received taxpayer bailouts by 35% when compared to December. The time to act is now. We must convince Congress to reform the banking industry because no corporation should ever be allowed to become “too big to fail” for they must have the real expectation that they could lose there job for poor performance.

More importantly, the banks must get back to their core business of safeguarding savings and lending money. They should be prevented from acting like investment brokers, merger and acquisition firms, arbitrage firms or hedge funds. There is legislation moving through Congress but it is under attack by an army of Wall Street lobbyists who are fighting for the status quo. The AFL-CIO and the National Building Trades Council are working hard to gain meaningful reform. I’ll keep you informed on possible actions that we can take to assist in the effort.

The “Great Recession” that we are living through has been very difficult and has tested the patience and pocketbooks of most building trades workers. Reports of local unions across the nation tell the same story of thirty to fifty percent unemployment and many others underemployed working only a few days per week. Here at home we continue to fight hard for each and every employment opportunity. So far this year we have successfully won seventy-six percent ($1,385,000) of the public works projects bid in our jurisdiction compared to the non-union share of twenty-four percent ($435,000). These percentages are consistent with prior years and reflect the ongoing efforts of the local to level the playing field for our contractors through compliance with state prevailing wage laws.

The Local continues to take a proactive approach within our construction market establishing relationships with developers, politicians and awarding agencies. These decision makers appreciate the value, skill and knowledge Continued on Page 2

1st Quarter 2005

2525 Cleveland Ave. Ste. B Santa Rosa, CA 95403 707-542-3505 fax 707-542-9134 ibew551@ibewlocal551.org www.ibewlocal551.org 1st Quarter 2010

ATTEND YOUR LOCAL UNION MEETINGS! General Meeting/2nd Thurs/6pm Eureka Unit Meeting/2nd Thurs/6pm

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INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL UNION 551

We are still working hard to be a major player in the renewable energy market with the strategic partnership with JA Solar. On December 11, 2009 we presented a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) to the Sonoma County Office of Education. On the 14th I received an email from the board and found that 14 schools are interested in this program at this point and hoping for more to follow. This program will see PV installed on schools in Sonoma County at no cost to the schools. These systems will all be installed by IBEW electricians and apprentices. I recently met with a new financing company in Sonoma and was impressed with their program. They are currently offering residential PPA’s and leasing of solar systems. I am teaching “Photovoltaic's Design and Installation” from the Train the Trainer courses I recently took from Solar Energy International in Colorado. This course is very good and will train our electricians to properly calculate and install photovoltaic systems. We have one class graduated & another class that started January 30th. Remember, if you do not attend all classes you will have to start over or arrange with me for make-up. Some people start and don’t complete the courses and this is unacceptable unless you are working. A new class starts April 6th and will be held two evenings a week for 8 weeks. This is a must if you plan to work in this exciting field. Contractors installing PV will be able to call from the list of people who have successfully completed these courses. There are 48 continuing

education credits for this class. I also have some companies to SALT so get hold of me and let’s get cracking here. Some companies getting Public Works projects are going to need help and we need to be on top of these. If I get enough interest I will hold a SALT class very soon. I want the best of the best to SALT as this will set the stage for organizing and working compliance on some of these companies. We have had great success with compliance on Cimino and A-1 Lighting and Electric so let’s work hard at the salting and make this a winning choice.

JOHN LLOYD—MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT REPRESENTATIVE

From the Business Manager continued from Page 1

Brian Peterson passed on 12/30/09 Age 53 - Initiated 1978

Richard Clarey passed on 01/19/10 Age 78 - Initiated 1957 Father of Brothers Dave & Mitch Clarey. Grandfather of Trevor Clarey

Jerry Horn passed on 01/20/10 Age 65 - Initiated 1971

Daniel Parker, passed on 03/22/10 Age 57 - Initiated 1999

Dale Cooper passed on 3/26/10 Age 30 - Initiated 2001 Son of Brother Tom Cooper

CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILIES We will be voting on the $2.00 per hour wage allocation for the Inside Construction Agreement at the next General Meeting which will be held: Thursday, April 8, 2010 6:00 pm 2525 Cleveland Ave Santa Rosa, CA (upstairs in meeting room). The meetings will be available on streaming live video at the union hall in Eureka The wage allocation will take effect on June 1, 2010.

IBEW workers bring to their projects and our willingness to work along side them for project approval at every level of the public process. This methodology has paid big dividends with current job opportunities for our local construction workforce at the Humboldt Bay Power Plant, College of Marin, and many smaller projects where we have given our contractors a level playing field on which to successfully bid.

In the future, we can anticipate jobs from signed agreements on: the Sonoma Mountain Village project in Rohnert Park, a long-term maintenance contract with PG&E at the Humboldt Bay Generating Station and the WesternGeo Power Geothermal Power Plant Unit 1 out of Healdsburg. We are currently in various stages of

discussions or negotiations with developers on the Railroad Square SMART project, several wind turbine farms and solar array installations just to mention a few. We are doing everything possible to optimize the employment opportunities for you.

Everything in my heart, soul, mind and body tells me that organized labor is the key to long-term prosperity for America and especially for working families. Don’t lose hope; believe in the collective strength of labor and participate in your Local Union.

Together, we will weather the storm and with hard work and God’s grace we’ll be prepared for better days ahead. Work smart, work safe and may God bless you all.

INSIDE WAGE ALLOCATION

First Graduating Photovoltaic Design & Installation. Class Top two students Hannah Dolan & Jim McQuaid received a new pair of work boots from Red Wing Shoes.

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INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL UNION 551

We have had the good fortune to put quite a few brothers and one sister to work at our Humboldt Power Plant. We now have over 50 members working presently at the plant. We’ve also had a few other calls come in as well besides the plant, so please call the job line. Also note, if you are an Inside Journeyman Wireman and out of work you can take a Residential call at the Residential rate. So if you are interested you can also sign this book and take a call. Phone banks are installed!! Thanks Trevor, Jeff and Anthony! Now we can gear up and get our labor friendly candidates elected. So please, if you have time, like Anthony Erigero giving 3 days to get this phone bank installed, we could use you here at the local union hall to get on the phones. Excerpt from S&C Agreement: Article VI Section 6:01: It is the Employer’s responsibility to ensure the safety of its employees and their compliance with safety rules and standards.

I would like to clear up some issues that have come up with resign. To see what jobs are available you must look at the website www.ibewlocal551.org or telephone 707-527-6386 the dispatch line every night after 5 pm to see if there are job calls. If there are job calls that you are interested in call in the morning 707-527-6386 between 7am & 8am and talk to the dispatcher to let them know you are interested. The dispatcher will then call back after 8 am in the order that you are on the books until the job is filled. If you don’t call in and a call gets past you, you will get a strike. Three strikes and you are off the books. If you have checked numerous counties and your number on the books is #50 it does not mean that you are #50 for each county. It means that you are #50 on the books overall. You also have to make resign in a timely manner to remain on the out of work books. It is a good idea to call in monthly to see what number you are on the books at that time. The dispatch procedure is available on the website or in the hall. If you email your resign you will receive a return email confirmation.

DENISE SOZA—DISPATCH/BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVE

The nominations for officers of Local Union 551 will be held on May 13, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm at the local union meeting hall located at 2525 Cleveland Ave., Santa Rosa, CA . Anyone desiring to be nominated must be present during the nominations or provide a written and signed statement that they will accept the nomination. No member may be a candidate for more than one office. Anyone nominated to more than one office must choose the office for which they will be a candidate.

Officers The following officers shall be elected in

accordance with Article XVI of the IBEW Constitution and Article III of the Local 551 Bylaws: President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Business Manager-Financial Secretary, Executive Board (4 members), Examining Board (3 members). Additionally, nominations will be held for delegates to the International Convention which will be held in Vancouver, Canada September 19-23, 2011.

Qualifications To qualify as a candidate for Local Union office, a

member must have at least two years’ continuous good standing in the Local Union immediately prior to May 1, 2010. No apprentice shall be eligible to hold office.

Nominations Nominations of officers shall be made under “New Business” at the general meeting on May 13, 2010.

Voting To be eligible to vote, you must have paid your dues for March 2010 on or before May 31, 2010. The election schedule will be as follows:

Nominations May 13,2010 Election June 4, 2010 Run off Election June 25, 2010 Swearing in of officers July 8, 2010 Thursday, 6:00 pm

Complete information on nominations, elections, duties, and qualifications of officers are found in the Local Union Bylaws and the International Union Constitution. If you do not have copies of these documents, they may be obtained from the union office.

OFFICIAL NOTICE—NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to Inside Journeyman Trevor Clarey, Jeff Swift and Apprentice Anthony Erigero for installing our phone bank equipment in the meeting room. The phone bank will be used to put out the word to vote for labor candidates in the elections. We could use volunteers to help us phone bank beginning April 27. We will be banking during the day, evenings and on the weekends. Great way to meet others.

THANKS TO VOLUNTEERS!! Our next union meeting, to

be held on April 8th, will be available to our members at the Eureka Labor Temple via Live Streaming Video. We hope to be able to work out any glitches and have it available to all members for the May 2010 general meeting through the secure side of our website.

STREAMING LIVE VIDEO

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INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL UNION 551

I would like to acknowledge our 2010 graduating students from the Redwood Empire JATC. Each of these individuals has worked very hard the last three and five years to achieve this goal. These new Journeymen and Installers have set a standard that Apprentices in the years to come should aspire to meet or beat. It has been a pleasure to work with each of you as students, and as electricians or installers. I want to thank Tom Ritch and Gary Giuliani for their dedication to our Program. Congratulations REJATC Class of 2010

5A Soren Andersen, Mike Bauer, Mike Calvert, Ben Cole, Mike Descagnia, Hannah Dolan, Matt Etimos, Omero Gonzalez, Dan Grace, Dan Howes, and Tim Purugganan. 5B Micah Ashley, Kyle Buckhorn, Nick Gronroos, Erick Johnson, Kevin Messier, Ryan Nettro, Luis Ortega, Mike Robertson, Mike Stone, Adam Tarlton, Matt Tuttle, Nate Weiner, and Kris Whitney. S&C Ron Cromwell, Corey Eaton, Tito Gonzalez, Ovanel Lozano, Ben Mack, and Keith McCoy.

YOU WILL NOT BE DISPATCHED IF YOU ARE NOT STATE CERTIFIED

“All that serves labor serves the nation. All that harms is treason. If a man tells you he trusts America, yet fears labor, he is a fool. There is no America without labor, and to fleece the one is to rob the other.” Abraham Lincoln

DAVID BORGESON—BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVE Greetings from the North I am very happy to report that members interested in participating in the Local’s business conducted at the monthly meetings in Santa Rosa while working in the Northern Counties can now attend via live webcasting here in Eureka. The Eureka Unit will now be meeting the second Thursday of the month, 6:00pm at the Labor Temple. There has been a longstanding disconnect for the members living and working up here for no other reason than the large geographic jurisdiction of Local 551. This new connectivity addresses that and I would expect increased

member participation to result in a better union. I also am encouraged by recent examples of the members attention to the terms and conditions within the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Most day to day conflicts can be resolved, if not avoided entirely, by the members in the field by simply knowing and honoring the Agreement. Remember that those terms and conditions are the result of years of good-faith-bargaining with our signatory contractors, and they expect and deserve the best trained and most productive workforce in return. That partnership and mutual respect is the UNION DIFFERENCE. As always, work smart and work safe.

5A Standing Tom Ritch, Mike Calvert, Omero Gonzalez, Matt Etimos, Tim Purugganan, Dan Howes, Hannah Dolan, Mike Descagnia, Ben Cole, Micah Ashley, Soren Anderson, Dan Grace, Gary Giuliani. Kneeling Steve Stobel and Mike Bauer

STEVE STOBEL—JATC TRAINING DIRECTOR

5B Tom Ritch, Ryan Nettro, Adam Tarlton, Luis Ortega, Mike Stone, Mike Robertson, Steve Stobel, Kyle Buckhorn, Matt Tuttle, Nate Weiner, Kris Whitney, Erick Johnson, Nick Gronroos and Gary Giuliani. (Not pictured Kevin Messier)