Information on this site has been approved by the Business Manager and L.U. President
We have a New Year and new challenges. As always, I am confident that the IBEW and
members of Local 180 are up to the task.
Work should be picking up in the near future with Kaiser Vallejo
and
Vacaville to draw manpower by late spring/early summer.
The Valero Refinery will start a project that
will have manpower requirements during the same time period with a
project that
is expected to be on line by March of 2007.
(Low Sulfur Diesel). They have
another project that will run concurrently that is smaller but will
still put
some hands to work. Genentech bid
packages are out and contracts should be let by the time you get this
newsletter. In short, this should be a
good year for the Local with regards to man-hours.
In addition to these projects there are many
others that are slated to start this year.
At the Regular
Membership Meeting on February 9th, I will present a proposal that the
Health
& Welfare Trust will be asked to adopt at the March meeting. This is a proposal that will gradually phase
out the subsidy for retirees' health costs by the Trust.
It will also deal with the use of VEBA
(Voluntary Employer Benefit Account) contributions to allow future
retirees the
ability to preplan for retiree health care.
This is not an easy problem to fix.
By being proactive and planning ahead there should be no
surprises for
our members when they reach retirement age.
On the subject of
VEBA for those working under the Inside Agreement.
This is one of those sections of the IRS code
that allows you to set aside money from your earned income that is
truly
tax-free. Yes TAX FREE.
The money is not taxed when taken out of your
check, nor when you spend it at retirement.
The catch is you must spend it on health related issues. Effective with March hours, you may select an
additional amount to be put into your VEBA.
This will be part of your individual account started about five
years
ago with a $.25/hour contribution and is currently fund at $.90/hour.
The additional
contributions can be in increments of $1, $3 or $5.
This change, like your 401, can be done
yearly in May and becomes effective in June.
However, since this is a new change you have from now until May
to make
a VEBA selection. To get a “jump start”,
this new selection can take effect beginning with any pay period up
until
June. You will receive something in the
mail that you may take to your local employer to begin this process.
Please attend the
February Meeting so that you have the latest information and have your
questions and/or concerns addressed.
This is extremely important for each and every one of us. If you have issues that you feel are
important and may require some research please call or email the office
and let
me know so I can have that information at the meeting so that everyone
can be
informed.
It is
understandable that many may wish to adjust their 401's to fund the
VEBA due to
the tax savings. We will have answers at
the meeting and the possible paperwork to do just that and become
effect before
June.
| Upcoming Events Holidays |
Inside this issue |
| MEETINGS: REGULAR MEETING 7 P.M. January 12, 2005 Bar-B-Que - 5 P.M. Blood Drive - 4:30 P.M. Second Thursday Motorcycle Riders Club Saturday Following the Union Meeting @ 10 A.M. January 11 2005 Retirees Club Meeting First Wednesday @ 12:30 p.m. Expect this month HOLIDAYS: Feb 20 - President’s Day May 26 - Carpenter’s Off Day* May 29 - Memorial Day July 3 - Carpenter’s Off Day* July 4 - Independence Day *-Inside & Residential Agreements Only |
Business
Manager's Report Congratulations Old* Timer's Night Retirement Other News: Retiree's Corner From the Office From the Organizers JATC Agents Report. |
| All meetings will be held at: 720 Technology Way Napa CA, 94558 |
Dennis & Shelly Morris on the birth of a
son, Seth,
on
Dan & Shannon Huss on the birth of a son,
Bailey, on
Tom Conley III on the birth of a daughter, Madgie,
on
Old* Timer's Night
*Please note “OLD” refers to twenty years of
service and
not a certain “age” expect as it relates to IBEW 180 - in which case we
are old
and proud of it!
Other News
Electrician Certification
IBEW LU 180 Motorcycle Club
Please attend if you are interested in becoming a founding
member. Contact Glen Flores at 257-3014 If you are unable
to attend and need information or have questions. The club has a
page on the web site for members to stay informed. NOTE: WINTER MEETs WILL BE HELD ON THE
SATURDAY FOLLOWING THE UNION MEETINGS.
Society
"Do not waste
your time on Social Questions. What is the
matter with the poor is Poverty; what is the matter with the rich is
Uselessness."
George Bernard Shaw
"The trouble
with the rat race is that even if you win,
you're still a rat."
Lily Tomlin
Dwight D. Eisenhower
From the President:
I would like to start off by wishing everyone a Happy and Prosperous
New Year. We are faced with a tremendous amount of work out in front of
us, the same picture as we had seen last year. Frustration levels hit a
high last year with the lack of job referrals to the Genentech project.
Since the departure of Fluor Constructors, DPR has been hired as the
construction management firm to complete CCP 2. The end date is what it
is, November of 2007. The large packages have been awarded with Redwood
City, Red Top Electric and Cupertino coming out with contracts. This
project is under a Building Trades PLA and the Code of Excellence is in
force on this site.
From
the Organizers:
Recently, we attended an Organizers conference in San Diego. We
had the chance to meet and share ideas and issues with almost eighty
other Organizers from the 9th District. These Organizers came
from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California.
The first two days of the conference consisted of learning skills
needed to talk and listen when “House calling” non-union
electricians. After the training was complete, we were able to
put our new skills to work, going out and knocking on the doors of
non-union electricians in the San Diego area.
In some circumstances, these electricians were fearful of
speaking with us or wouldn't even answer the door. The
electricians that were open to discussion were a wealth of information
and a pleasure to speak with. Many of these electricians had no
idea how superior our health care, wages, pension and other benefits
were to what they receive now. Their concerns were steady
employment, fear of paying Union dues, mistrust or misunderstanding of
what Union representation is, and who their employers would be.
The main thing we learned was that these non-union electricians
suffered from a fear of the unknown. Two Organizers can spread a
fair amount of information, an active, local membership willing to talk
to these “non-represented” electricians can erase their fears and
motivate them to become part of our Union Brotherhood. Helping us
organize these people will help us convince their employers the benefit
of Union affiliation, increasing job opportunities for all of us and
increasing our market share.
Rich Mattson & Skip Lucier
Organizers
JATC
GENERAL ELECTRICIAN CERTIFICATION CLASS
Canceled due to lack of interest.
California State Certification will take effect on January 1, 2006 with
no extension. It is important that all electricians have their
application processed NOW or there won’t be enough time to chose a test
date before the deadline.
Well STIA does not stand for that, it stands
for Solano
Transportation Improvement Authority.
STIA will once again attempt a half-cent sales tax to repair our
roads
and improve the 80/680/12 interchange.
There are several legal steps in bringing a transportation sales
tax
measure to the voters. The key document
is the proposed sales tax ordinance, which is the document that the
citizens
vote upon in establishing a local transportation sales tax.
You can find the
latest information on the Transportation Sales Tax Ordinance in STIA
Board
Agenda Packets. The final ordinance
language will be posted once the STIA approves the ordinance on
Additionally, you
will find our environmental friends working to shove it items that
killed the
last two attempts. If you want to get
So how do you size it? Let us take my 1850 sq. ft. home
with a large section of roof facing south, southwest. Good
exposure, no shade and plenty of space. I pay my bill on line so
I get the historical data via the PGE.COM web site. Otherwise, I
would use my bills. 2005 had a total consumption of 10,087 KWH
for a total electricity cost of $1,370.68. Simple math and we are
at 13.6 cents per KWH.
If the goal was to zero out the electric bill, 5300 watts are
required (5300 W X 1900 Hours = 10,070 KWH). The other goal would
be to reduce the “peak” use that triggers the higher tier rates in the
summer. In this case, about 2500 watts are needed. Cost for
the panels and inverter run about $4 per watt, after California
rebates, through the IBEW sponsored California Solar Project. In
both cases, the payback is about 15 years and the life expectance of
the system is 30. Other tax credits can be found via the web site
www.cpuc.ca.gov/static/energy/051214_solarincentive.htm.
Now if you are thinking of going solar you should reduce your
consumption. In the case of a simple 190 gallon hot tub running a
4kw heater set to heat for no more than two hours per day…that is 2,920
KWH per year. You need just over 1500 watts of solar to offset
the spa - that is $5,000 in capital cost to reduce a load that adds
about $400 a year to your PG&E bill.
Mike Smith
UNION BUILT MEANS BETTER BUILT
You want a “ no-worry” electrical system installed in
your home Safe, reliable and guaranteed. Then you need an
electrical system installed by a union electrical contractor.
That’s right– UNION! A competent union electrical contractor who
employs qualified IBEW union electricians.
Each IBEW journeyman learns the trade through a 3 to 5 year Apprenticeship program. This extensive training combines on–the-job practical experience with classroom theory and testing. And the training doesn’t stop there. Continuing education constantly up-dates the union electrician’s skills through programs sponsored by the IBEW and NECA the IBEW & NECA were instrument in establishing mandatory state Licensing in California. Why? Because we believe that our work is superior & we stand behind it! PROTECT YOURSELVES
Bruce Gourley, Business Manager
|
Information on this site has been approved by the Business Manager and L.U. President |
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