The 2010 Broadcasting, Manufacturing and Telecommunications Conference was held from April 26th to the 30th in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, which is located just outside of Albuquerque. This conference consisted of representatives from all three divisions from around the United States and Canada. The theme of the conference was “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work”. Robert Prunn, Eric Jones, Danny Alfonso, and I represented Local 824.
On Monday, the 26th, we attended the TCC-2 meeting from 9am to around 4pm. The TCC-2 is comprised of all of the Locals from around the country whose members are employed by Verizon. During the meeting, new officers were nominated. I am proud to report that our very own Robert Prunn is the new Vice-Chairman of the TCC-2. This is exciting news and it ensures that Local 824 will have a strong voice on the Council. We also heard reports, from all of the Locals that were in attendance, on the current events in their respective areas. As you can imagine, much of the talk revolved around Frontier’s acquisition of various Verizon areas, and the fact that many of these Locals would soon be members of the TCC-4. The TCC-4 is the council that represents Frontier Locals. A lot of good information and ideas were exchanged and I learned quite a bit from our fellow brothers and sisters who were there.
On Wednesday, the 28th, the general session took place. This session is where all of the members attending the BMT meet together. President Hill spoke to the group about the overall political landscape. We then heard from International Secretary/Treasurer Lee regarding changing technologies and the futures of the industries. Next, we listened to an economist Dr. Richard Levins. He presented his ideas about how stronger and larger Unions are the real key to the nation’s economic recovery. Lastly, a gentleman named Chief Red Hawk addressed the conference on teamwork and leadership principles. After the general session we attended a workshop given by Chief Red Hawk. He went into great detail and gave us different strategies for building strong teams.
Thursday, the 29th, brought the Telecommunications General Session. Martha Pultar, the Director of the IBEW Telecommunications Department, spoke about the IBEW’s Telecommunications Code of Excellence video. The video itself is a great way to engage and revitalize the membership. It reminds us to be proud to be a Union member as well as to give our utmost effort everyday to show our employers, as well as our customers, that Union labor and craftsmanship is second to none. We also heard about a program that two International organizers have developed. It is called STAND and it is designed to engage and organize satellite TV installers. Martha then spoke about different strategies to market the IBEW and to get our good name out into the public. Robert mentioned our Local’s membership training classes, as well as our Solidarity Committee. Everyone agreed that these were both great ways to educate our membership and promote the IBEW. We then attended an afternoon workshop entitled “Navigating the Political Process”. During this we discussed national political issues as well as state-by-state political races.
Friday, the 30th, was the conclusion of the Telecommunications General Session. President Hill addressed those gathered and emphasized to us that line loss has a great deal to do with the overall decline in our membership numbers. He also stated that the IBEW needed to place a bigger emphasis on organizing those workers in the cable TV and wireless industries. It was a very informative and frank discussion followed by a question and answer session. My eyes were really opened when hearing of all the issues facing our membership.
I can assure you all that I came away from the conference a better-informed and more motivated member of the IBEW.
In Solidarity,
Josh Saladino
