There is a change in the office procedures that I want to share with the membership. Donna Ochs, our office administrator, is usually the friendly voice that greets you when a call is made to our hall. She does an excellent job of fielding member questions and passing calls to the appropriate agents. As of late, the volume of calls has lead to some calls being sent to our automated phone system.
The office is open 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday. If a call is transferred to the system, please be patient and forward the call to the appropriate voice mail box. We aren’t out playing golf. We are handling business of the Local as efficiently as possible.
For questions about benefits, Mike Smith's voice mail box is 106. For field issues, Rich Mattson’s voice mail box is 105. In case of an emergency, his cell number is 707-363-4661. For Organizing, Stan Nelson’s voice mail box is 104, and his cell number is 707-363-7100. The cell numbers are for emergency calls only.
My voice mail is 109. Donna’s voice mail is 101.
The new Clay Bank Jail is to begin on February 6, 2008. This will be a 500 bed facility next to the existing jail.
The election season is upon us. You are asked to participate, please help to get those elected that will benefit working men and women in our communities.
Dan Broadwater,Business Manager
| Upcoming Events
Holidays |
Inside this issue |
| MEETINGS: REGULAR MEETING 7 P.M. SECOND THURSDAY B-B-Q - 5 P.M. Only on Blood Drives RETIREES MEETING FIRST WEDNESDAY @ 12:30 P.M. E-BOARD MEETING 6 P.M. FOURTH TUESDAY EXAM BOARD MEETING 5 P.M. SECOND TUESDAY HOLIDAYS NOV 12 - INSIDE ONLY NOV 24 & 25 - ALL AGREEMENTS DEC 24 - INSIDE & RES. AGREEMENTS DEC 25 - ALL AGREEMENTS DEC 31 - INSIDE & RES. AGREEMENTS The Union Office will be closed on all the above holidays |
Business
Manager's Report Congratulations Condolence Rush Ranch Open Space WORK PICTURE: FUNDAMENTALS Other News: Hunter's Safety Class
Vallejo Kaiser Steward's ReportOSHA Training Retiree's Corner 2007 CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENTS PRESIDENT’S REPORT THE “PV” MARKET IN NAPA & SOLANO |
| All meetings will be held at: 720 Technology Way Napa CA, 94558 |
New web sites for union members in Napa
& Solano
counties: www.nsworkers.org
& www.napasolanoclc.org
|
Congratulations
Sam & Katina Alvarado on the birth of a daughter, Angelina, on
8-18-2007
Gordon & Debbie Gibson on the birth of a daughter on 9-13-2007
Dewayne & Lateesha Dixon on the birth of a daughter, Hayley, on
9-26-2007
Condolence
Paul Michael Collodel
Paul lost a heroic battle against cancer on Sept 10, 2007, he was 56
years old. Paul joined the IBEW in Local 349 Miami, FL.
Most people
have known Paul since the late 80’s from the Bud plant in Fairfield; he
took his first call in Local 180 in 1986.
RUSH RANCH NATURE CENTER OPENS
SOON!
From http://www.rushranch.org/
Directions to Rush Ranch Open Space, Address: 3521 Grizzly Island Road, Suisun CA 94533
From Highway 12 in Suisun City California, turn south on Grizzly Island Road, opposite McDonald's and the Shell station. Proceed about two miles south. Rush Ranch is on both sides of the road after you go over the Hill Slough Bridge. The entrance gate is on the right at the BIG Rush Ranch sign in about another 3/4 mile. Suisun Hill hikers may park at the sign and cross the road to the trail (watch out for fast traffic). All others must enter the gate, drive down the gravel entry road, and park next to the barn.
Education Center Updates
Demolition of the old house took place in August 2006. In its place has emerged a state of the art facility for the entire community to use and enjoy. Construction, for the most part, is now complete.
For our visitors and guests we now have real indoor toilets, something to celebrate in of itself. Furniture will be purchased by the end of 2007, landscaping of the patio will take place winter/spring 2007/08, and exhibits will go in during the summer of 2008.
We’re currently working on the final touches. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has approved an additional $457,000 grant (NOAA and the Coastal Conservancy each contributed $500,000 for the building’s construction), which includes $194,000 for remaining construction costs. The balance of the grant will be used as follows:
- $210,000 for interpretive exhibits to educate the public about the marsh
- $35,000 for courtyard landscaping
- $17,500 for furnishing the Nature Center and visiting scientist’s quarters
WIRED BY NAPA ELECTRIC AND DONATIONS MADE BY THE BUILDING TRADES
Well, 2007 started with a bang, half-a-million man-hours in the first half, books about cleared, 60% of the work manned with travelers, then poof. Poof, it went to about normal to a tad slow for a typical summer. The days of the big summer school pushes are gone now that the districts have spent most of their bond money. What remains is the bread and butter and the “big jobs” that are all manned.
What does the crystal ball hold for Local 180’s work picture? For one, half of our territory is one of the fastest growing counties in the State. We have State bond money in the pipeline. There is a great partnership with local government and the Solano Economic Development Corp that recruits businesses from all over the world to see “Solano's Got It!”; as their slogan states.
We will see slow downs in some sectors due to the home lending crisis, however, some see this as opportunity in other areas. While many will have to bail on their homes due to raising interest rates, and become renters; investment professionals see this as “freeing up” spending money when people take on more manageable payments. Consumer spending spurs growth…
See the work picture page on our web site for details of upcoming work as it becomes available. Valero, State Fund and Genentech in Dixon could have something for us by year-end or early 2008.
Our historical man-hour data is below.
HUNTER’S SAFETY CLASS
The training center will host a hunter’s safety class on Oct 15, 16, 17
& 18 for three hours each night. There are no age limitations
– you just have to be able to comprehend the materials and test
questions. The instructor can read the test to the little ones so
as young as 9 or 10 is acceptable. The cost is $15 and you need
to confirm with Tom (Doc) Satery so he can order and get you the
materials in advance. Call Doc at 510-799-6372
FROM THE JATC: OSHA 10 TRAINING CERTIFICATION
CLASS - SOLD OUT
Mondays: Oct 8, 15 & 22 5-9 pm
Counts towards State Cert continuing Education
Class size is limited to first 30 students
Sign-up and purchase books before Oct 1
Book cost is $45 and non refundable
Cash, Check, Visa or MasterCard
Please call the JATC 251-0315—not the Union Hall
MARE ISLAND
MUSEUM
Housed in Building #46, built in 1885, at 50,000 sq. ft. it is open
the first and third weekends of each month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Current exhibits include Women at Mare Island
USE YOUR VISA OR MASTERCARD FOR DUES!
YES, CREDIT OR DEBIT CARDS WITH THE MASTERCARD OR VISA LOGO, IN PERSON
OR OVER THE PHONE FOR DUES, SORRY NOT FOR T-SHIRTS
IF YOU HAVE MOVED
Please notify the office so we can keep your information up to
date. However, if we do not have a good address - then you should
not be getting this newsletter… Please remind your co-worker.
VALLEJO KAISER STEWARD’S REPORT
At present time there are about 40 hands on the job.
Management has said they have worked out some issues with the general
contractor. They will be setting up another crew of seven to ten
hands towards the end of the October.
The meetings for the Retirees’ Club are held on the first Wednesday of the month at the Training Center / Union Hall at 12:30 P.M.
The next meeting will be Nov 7. All retirees and spouses are welcome. Widows of retired members are encouraged to get involved and welcome our newest members.
Annual Christmas Luncheon at the Napa Elks Club on Dec 5, 2007 at 12:30 P.M. Your choice: steak sandwich, chicken breast and shrimp Louie for $20.00 - PLEASE RSVP by Oct 31 to Ken!
FUTURE TRIPS:
Queen of the West, September 14—21, 2008: Roundtrip Transportation to
Portland included {We are considering roundtrip Amtrak or flying}, 7
Nights aboard the Queen of the West, All Meals and Entertainment on
board. More Info.
Please contact Ken Breckenridge more information on these trips at (707) 643-4139
| Benicia Mayor City Council School Board |
Bill Whitney Mike Ioakimedes & Scott Strawbridge Andre Stewart |
| Fairfield City Council School Board |
Chuck Tim Patricia Shamansky & Helen Tilley |
| Vacaville School Board |
Steven
Baker, Michael Kitzes, Larry Mazzuca & Mary Kay Sogge |
| Vallejo Mayor City Council School Board |
Pamela Pitts Erin Hannagan & Mike Wilson Raymond “Victor” Mommsen |
| Solano
Board of Education |
Raoul
Gomez Rozzana Verder-Aliga |
On another note, elections are right around the corner for our local political leaders. We are looking for volunteers to help out 2-3 hours for one night before elections on the CLC sponsored phone banks. For information call me or Mike at the hall.
Please remember to VOTE!
Respectfully,
Stan Nelson
HOW BIG IS THE “PV”
MARKET IN NAPA & SOLANO COUNTIES?
Looking at PV in the ten Bay Area Counties, one would wonder how Napa & Solano fits into this market. Using data from NorCal Solar Energy Association’s web site, www.norcalsolar.org, here is the picture of the three-quarters of a billion dollars installed in the Bay Area. The following facts are for 2006, covering 473 PV projects in Napa & Solano Counties.
For cities under 10,000 population, Saint Helena is #1 in watts per capita, #3 in total watts installed and #8 in total projects. Calistoga is #9 in watts per capita, #5 in total watts installed and tied for #10 for total projects.
For cities over 10,000 and under 50,000, Healdsburg is #1 in watts per capita, #2 in total watts installed and #8 in total projects.
For cities over 50,000, Napa is #1 in per capita, #5 in most watts installed, with Vacaville following at #7 in watts per capita and #9 in most watts installed.
The question from the membership is “What does this mean for us?”. To workers it is about 275,000 hours of work, or about 140 full-time jobs right here in Napa & Solano Counties. How does this relate to employers? How many have a 140 full-time person labor force and $101.7-mil market share? No local contractor has the labor force or the sales volume to equal the PV markets of Napa & Solano Counties. The IBEW has the necessary labor force. We demonstrated this during the 2007 boom of the Kaiser Data Center, Genentech, Valero and both Kaiser hospitals. In fact, we manned 563,000 hours in the first six months of this year without a problem! What this means is there is vast room for new contractors to come in and TAKE this work—the existing contractors are too busy. Can you see the light?
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.
Dan Broadwater, Business Manager
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Information on this site has been approved by the Business Manager |
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