Safety and Training...
too important
to leave in management’s hands
Worker safety has been one of the primary concerns of the IBEW since it was formed a century ago. It remains a primary concern for the International and for this local as well.
The DWP record on safety and training has been mixed. At times they show initiative and commitment; at other times, especially when they are feeling a budget crunch, these important programs are put on hold.
We believe that safety and training are too important to be whipsawed by the whim of the week, as they have been for the past 20 years. We advocate the creation of a safety and training trust, supported by an employee contribution based on wages and jointly administered by labor and management.
Issues of health care, safety and training should not be compromised under any circumstances. The weaknesses of programs haphazardly administered by an administration with only intermittent interest should be corrected. We believe that establishing a Safety and Training Trust would significantly improve the Department’s performance in these vital areas.
DAVIS DOES THE RIGHT THING
California Governor Gray Davis did the right thing, living up to his campaign promises and restoring the hard-earned eight-hour day, when he signed a bill to restore overtime pay for California workers.
Neither the virulent anti-labor bill passed late in the Wilson administration nor the just-passed reversal affect our members, because our MOUs supersede the minimum state requirements, but for 8 million nonunion and low-end workers in the state, the reversal means a blow against exploitation and for the dignity of the worker.
We applaud Gov. Davis for doing the right thing.
PUC APPOINTMENT
We also applaud the appointment of Carl W. Wood to the Public Utilities Commission. A former nuclear maintenance technician, Wood is a national representative of the Utility Workers and Business Agent of Local 246. He will work for middle and low-income consumers and for safe, reliable and affordable utility services for all.
RETIREMENT BOARD LAW SUIT
Depositions are being taken as the wheels of justice slowly grind on. We are seeking a new election for the board to replace last fall’s flawed elections.
CIGNA, TEMPORARY DISPATCH
We had hearings last month on our two Unfair Labor Practices claims. Both concern agreements the Union reached with the Department that were summarily and—we claim—illegally overturned by LADWP Board of Commissioners President Rick Caruso. The first agreement was to attend the participation of the worst health care provider, CIGNA, which adds nothing and seriously undercuts the Department’s health plan; the second agreement would empower the Union to dispatch temporary workers throughout the system.
MEXICO UNION FIGHTS PRIVATIZATION
We support the Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas in their struggle to prevent the privatization of the Mexican electricity sector. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund have been pressuring Third World and developing nations to privatize key sectors in order to expand opportunities for investment, often at the expense of the poor and working class. Union electrical workers in Mexico have taken the lead in opposing this insidious trend.
In Unity,
BRIAN D’ARCY, Business Manager