IBEW L.U. 180

Business Manager's Report

California State Electrical Certification At the May 5, 2006 meeting of the California Apprenticeship Council meeting held in San Diego the following changes and clarifications were made;

· The January 1, 2006 deadline for general electrician and fire safety electrician has not changed.

· The council has extended the deadline for those who submitted and paid prior to December 30, 2005.

· The California Apprenticeship Council has extended the certification deadline for residential electricians to January 1, 2007.

Work picture The work picture for the local has picked up and we have begun to use our traveling brothers and sisters for some of our calls. Our man-hours are picking up and we should have a good great year. Actually, with some fairly large projects beginning to man up with long-term work, we should be fairly well situated for the next several years. To name a few, Kaiser Vallejo, Kaiser Vacaville, Genentech, a new project at Valero scheduled to begin early summer. We also have some work at Solano Community College as well as several other school projects starting as schools close for the summer. The “Downtown Project” in Vallejo should break ground in June and the Waterfront Development should be resolved soon. Both of these projects are mixed use, so our Inside as well as our Residential members will have work... Mare Island will be adding projects as well.

Old Timers On May 6, 2006 this local celebrated 105 years of service to Napa and Solano Counties. With this event, we also recognized over 90 “old-timers”. (Those with 20 or more years of service to the IBEW.) The recipients ranged form 20 years (30) to 70 years (1). The event was a success and everyone had a good time, with a good meal and the ability to renew friendships and catch up with old working partners. We had over 300 in attendance. They were all there to honor our Local, and our “Old-Timers”. Remember without the sacrifices that many of them made we would not have much of what we sometimes take for granted today. When many of those started in the trade we had no, Apprenticeship program, no Health & Welfare, and no Pension. We have much to be proud of and many to thank.

Residential We are still rolling out the Bay to Borders Residential Agreement. Members that have not complete new medical coverage application must do so a month ago so contact the office. At the recent wage allocation meeting the membership voted to put the $1.00 on the check. Due to increases in healthcare, December’s $1.00 allocation will take some discussion. Look for a notice in November and please attend the meeting.

Bruce Gourley,
Business Manager

Upcoming Events Holidays	Inside this issue
MEETINGS: REGULAR MEETING 7 P.M. April 13, 2006 Bar-B-Que - 5 P.M. Second Thursday EXAM BOARD MEETING 5 - 9 P.M. Second Tuesday E-BOARD MEETING 7 P.M. Fourth Tuesday May 3 2006 Retirees Club Meeting First Wednesday @ 12:30 p.m. HOLIDAYS: May 26 - Carpenter’s Off Day* May 29 - Memorial Day July 3 - Carpenter’s Off Day* July 4 - Independence Day -Inside & Residential Agreements Only -Genentech excluded - under PLA	Business Manager's Report Congratulations & Condolences United Workers of Local Government Retirement Other News: A's Game Exam Board Report Retiree's Corner From the Office From the Organizers JATC "Traffic" Report.
All meetings will be held at: 720 Technology Way Napa CA, 94558

It’s 401/VEBA time and we have a bit of info for you. Using the model of married, one income, two kids here are the “estimates” of weekly take home after June 1:

Variable VEBA for those working under the Inside Agreement 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 on health related issues.

Effective with June 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 but will be funded at $1.00/hour starting June 2006.

Do not delay in completing this form - the assignment of the Variable VEBA contribution amount must be done in May effective June just like the 401(a) classification. Mail it to the Union Office – 720-B Technology Way, Napa, CA 94558 – or – fax it to 707-251-8040.

The form on the next page was sent to all employers that we have dispatched members. So this maybe a duplicate… If not, get it filled out and send it to the Union Office.

The Labor Council will be precinct walking Union member households each Saturday until election day at SEIU Local 1280 at 844 Jackson Street, Fairfield beginning at 9:00am. They welcome all Union members to help in this effort. Any questions, please contact Anes Lewis Partridge at (707) 310-5934..

Walking to support J T Miller for American Canyon City Council will walk Saturdays from 5/20 to election day. Any questions, please contact J T Miller at (707) 576-2847 or (707) 975-3361.

We need your help on Measure H, we need to pass this as the “third time is the charm”. We must get ALL the signs out in the next two weeks. If you need more information on Measure H, see the STIA’s web site at: http://www.stia.ca.gov/.

Since IBEW Local Union 180 is a key member of the United Workers of Local Government it is vitally important that the membership show up and support the candidates that support us and that we stand in support with over 28,000 Union members of this coalition.

United Workers of Local Government: ATU Local 192, Boilermakers Local 549, CSEA Local 199, UBC Local 180, Cement Masons Local 400, Laborers Local 326, IBEW Local 2376, IBEW Local 180, OE Local 3, SEIU Local 1280, SEIU UHW – West, Sheetmetal Workers Local 104, Teamsters Local 490, UA Local 343, UFCW Local 373R, Vallejo Education Assoc., Firefighters Local 1186, Vallejo Police Officers Assoc., and the Napa~Solano Building Trades in addition to those listed above.

Giants Game
2nd Annual “Road Trip”
Take the bus and see the Giants play the A’s on Sunday June 25th. The bus will pick up at the Union Hall and the Ferry Terminal Building on the way to the 1:05 P.M. game. Deli sandwich and chips for lunch, plenty of drinks available (beer and sodas). Games and raffle on the bus. Come have a great time. The cost is $40.00 per person and tickets will go fast. For more information or to reserve your seat - call Dean Lloyd at (707) 252-3996.

We would like to thank the following for taking time out and helping with Old Timers:
Shauna Reed, Donna Ochs, Kim & Robert George, Gary McCoy, Dean Lloyd, Betty Gourley and Terry Broadwater.

LOANS & EMPLOYMENT
The office receives many calls from lenders to verify employment. IBEW L.U. 180 is not your employer - we refer you to employment. We cannot give out your information, we can only confirm you are a member and the wage rate (public records for prevailing wage). Some lenders understand the nature of construction work and will accept your listing of IBEW L.U. 180 - however, many other will not.

Please save your self time and missed opportunity for your loan by providing your employment information to the lender. What we can provide you is a report of every job this Local has referred you to. The report will list dates of employment, wages and the employer’s address. We cannot report on referrals outside of this Local.

NEW MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY
Be it a marriage, birth, adoptions or some other method of adding to your family, you need to add them to your medical coverage. The proof is a certification of the event (marriage, birth, adoption). It is also important to remember the beneficiary role this/these new family member(s) play in your estate/insurances.

Please keep in mind departing member(s) affect the above and you must remove they from coverage/beneficiary - unless you are obligated to retain them.
Please call us if you need more information on the above or other matters relating to your “benefits of being an IBEW” member.

With a choice of Two ways to get there, 1. Round trip Air November 1-8, 2006 2. Air on Outbound November 1-8, 2006 Amtrak on return.
A Deposit $300. Due at time of sign up. Final Payment Due - July3, 2006.
Mail To: Ken Breckenridge, 220 Scenic Drive, Vallejo, Ca 94591
Make Checks Payable To: Talbot Tours Trust Account
Call Ken Breckenridge for more info or attend a meeting. (707) 643-4139

In the last month, Bruce and I have attended several conferences. Both had workshops that addressed Health Care. Although we curse the fact that Health and Welfare costs are like a runaway train, measures to curb this are being attempted. On the home front, our members have taken an active role in reducing our per member cost by utilizing Kaiser’s facilities more efficiently. This is directly tied to our experience rating which Kaiser uses to justify rate increases. Visits to the Emergency room for non-emergencies drastically affect our experience rating and trigger rate increases. As most of you have read in the recent IBEW Journal, the International has taken an active role in developing a National Health and Welfare program. This is a Blue Cross PPO plan which is based out of

Georgia

. The Local will follow up on this plan and request information to be studied by the Trustees and our Actuaries. We were informed that they have not established the plan on the west coast. We were also told that they could tailor the plan to come close to what we currently have. I am optimistic that something could develop.

On the work front, I want to commend all of those that have braved the elements over this winter to man the work in our jurisdiction. It seems as though it has been raining non-stop since Thanksgiving. Once the ground starts to dry out, work should proceed on the college campus in Vallejo, and school work in Fairfield. Steel is starting to go up at the Vacaville Kaiser. Redwood City is starting to call for manpower at the Genentech facility. It looks as though the slow period is finally over.

	Do nothing	$6 in 401	$5 in VEBA	$11 in 401 & VEBA
	$1,071.90	$892.95	$924.55	$734.95
Tax Savings	$0	$61.05	$52.65	$103.05	Not paid to the IRS
Deferred Comp	$0	$178.95	$147.35	$336.95	Placed in account