1984-02 February IBEW Journal.pdf - International Brotherhood of ...

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acted IJ co·chalrman repre~nullJ all unions co ...·
ered by the r.evadlllg wage. Business Manage.
Bresnahan uw the need for thc coahuon after the
Boud of Educauon attempted to deal with each
unLOO scJWatdy. BustnCSl Man.qer Br~nah.an knew
that a100e no one union would be sucuuful and
only through a commument to SIand together
could the Strike be succusful.
Thb wu the first time In the bbo. hIstory of
Chicago that 38,000 Board of Educanon unIon
employee, bdODpnS 10 20 ddferenl Inul Unions
flood shoulder In shoulder nn the pickel hne wllh
a common bond of solidarity,
All of our members It the Bo.ard 01 Educauon
m.imalOed the picket hnes. Our membe.s vol·
w)teered thelT ""'teCS to handle emersenelU) lLDd
Tim Ree~ , stewa.d 10' the Bo.,d of Educallon,
rrul1nLl.ned the hOI·hne setup tn slllke headquu·
lers. ActLnS 15 stnke coordmltor wu Busmen
Reprcsenlluvc M.kc Bruton.
The highh&ht 01 the Strike clme on October II
when over 4,000 worke.s I"thered at McKlOley
Park, Rrl! to hea. from thell le,de" and then to
demonstrate in Irom of the Board of Educallon
olRect.
All membe.s of local 134 are proud of the work
of our members It the Board of Educat.on, Stew.rd
T,m Rene, BUSlOUS Repre ~nutlve Mike Bruton,
.nd Buslnes. Man"e, Ttmothy Brcsnahln.
CHARLES DuNNl, B.R.lP.S.
TOM SINCI.AIR, B R.lP.S.
IRS Ruling Unfair To
Construction Workers
LU. 136 (l,o,u8;.cm), BIRMI NGIIAM, ALA..-I .e·
«nlly read a leucr 10 the eduor of the "Shelby
CounIY Reporter" thai I feel .HeclS every one of
us. I would hke for elch of UI to eooslder the
CODtenlJ of thIS leller Ind lake the Ippropnlle
ICllon
"Tbe Internal Re ... enue Service b unlill 10 con·
strUction wOlkeR tn the ,lIowaoce 01 reasooable
aDd oeens.ry tuvd expenscs. It become. oecu·
N.ry at urnes in a con$uucuon worker's hfe to
travel to locallons outSide his locil "ea 01 tm'
ploymeol. This person may have lived In a gl ... eo
communLly lor yea". He has a home therc, hIS
chIldren atlend school there, he VOles there and
pays IUtl thele. H.s w.fe probably has • lob In
the ume community.
All consuucllon work IS temporary In nllure.1f
a contlruCIlOn worker taktl a lob I long dntance
from hIS homt, he mUSt eithel move hIS homc and
famIly to that job or iocur suhstantial additional
upensu, eLlher by tuvehng sevelal m.les each
day or by leOIlOl temporary lodsms nur the job.
I! is Io(lmellmcs Impossible 01 contrary to sODd
hUlmen ludgment 10 move ncar the lob beuuse
of housmg shortages, or the high cost of such
housms. More Importantly, construction work is
lOheremly uncertlln. Workers ~n be la.d off with
jUst tWO hours' nOllce. Furthermore, the worker
in th •• SIIUlllon Intends 10 work dOHr to h"
tradilional work area as soon as a lob II IVIII.ble.
The wo.ker has only IWO chOiceI' rema.o unem'
ployed, or Incur travel expeoses.n Old" to pracuce
Ills trade. The IRS uscs the so-called "one'ycar
rule"j60-1891 to dlullow Ifanl upenscs, alon,
With Revenue Ruin 76-453 ;JJ\d 8J-8J. Thesc
rulon,s do not take Into cons.derauon.ll pertmenl
b.CIO .. In dealing wllh each CISC. The re~uh IS
harassmenl, loss of lOCO me, ILDd necdlus WOlry
for many dcscIVlns workers. Convess hu In Ihe
palt diullowcd implementation of 50me of these
R"'enuc Rulings 176-453}. Why should construe·
tion worker. nOI be .ble to cl.im the $amc out·of·
town expenses thl! attorneys, CPA 's, In ~u raoce
salesmen and maoy olhers C;JJ\ cIlLm thl! rdare
to buslOus aDd milease expeoses! Even CODVess·
meD and Knators arc conSldeled temporarily em·
ployed and arc allowed expenses. There are CUI'
rently five bIlls in Consress that "'ill alleviatc this
problem. These arc S·1352, S·1353, S·1119, H.R.
700, .nd B .R. 98. Thue bills, if pused, will settle
rhe issue .nd COffeCl the Injuuice the IRS has pUI
on tbe COMtIUctioo worker. I fed this . ltuatlon
hal bct;n around lon, enough, aod workers of all
(onslructton cultS should hand together and sup'
port the cunent leglslauon that 's before Consress.
TIme 15 velY short. Write or call your congressman
and SCDatOIS It once."
Alter readlns thiS arucle se ... eral .... «b 19o, I
checked with my conyusman to sce when thIS
leSI.I,uOn would be brou&ht 10 I vote. It IppelR
we hive unul around March 1984 to 1"10 support.
Th,s lepllation IS desperately n«ded. I urse you
to SCt your lerresentatlvCS behond this lepslauon
today.
At-nu BU1tNS P .S.
Cards Issued
To Use at Retailers
LU. u6 Iia,"I, DECATUR, ILL.-The DeUlur
Buildms Tradu ale havins cards pILnted 10 be
given tOil" rClllleu. The cards will let the retailer
know Ihat he has been patronlzcd by a unIon
employ«. The purpose behind this prOICCt i, to
show area norcsand shopl the ImOuot of bUSIness
they receive from us. Hopefully they Will rec.p·
roc~te .n kmd.
This is an excellent idca and it's something we
can all take part in, bUI hke other Similar plans
thiS one won 't work unless Wt usc the ca.ds. If I
retaIler shows some InlereSt, take some lime and
explam to him wh.t we arc all about.
One 01 the sreatcst th.eats to the surv.val 01
uoions .s pubhe opinion At thiS lime, public
opmion s«ms to be mov;n, asaLOl t us. Some of
thIS tS due 10 bl, bUSIness prOpas.nda portflylOS
U! U overplld and nonploductl ... e. But It 1111", 10
part due 10 unloo members nOl speak,"s up 10
defend unions When the day comcs when you are
emhanuscd to talk about your work or you. unIOn,
thIS is dellnltdy the bepnning of the end
Loc.al 146 It In ... olved In scnIlI PUlIettS 10
Improve public relnions In our area. E.ch yea. we
doolle thouunds of dollars In cash dooatlons and
man·hours to local chant.es and CIVIC p'OICClS. We
also have a publoc Iciallons comm.ttee responsible
for advCIlLsLnS union plDlCCU paSt and prescot
throu&hout the lunsdlcllon Thesc thmp arc 1m·
po,tant, but our bluest pubhc relanODI tool Ihould
be OUT members bolh on Ind off the ]Db.
The work situalLon Temuns prctty much the
same "'lIh the Chnton PoweThouse pID,eC t plov.d·
Ins the matonty of our wo.k
CHRrlTOP1'U ,. PJLOPfl, it.S.
Employment Picture
Improves
LU. ISO (i,em,rlSaspa), WAUKEGAN, l.t.L-For
the sccond month.n. row Business Manaser Rose.
Ankley ondICated that the employment p.cture h.d
Improved. II'S oot good eoough 10 quit your job
and come runDlns Ln, hut the hst IS qu.te I bit
shorter than laSt year. And, as we are ID the Wtnler
months ilnd the hst IS ,eflLllJ shorter we can expect
a reasonable spnns. Also thele are mlny larse
offke bu.ld.ns, IU" comln, out of the ,round
arouod the county that will be c.llLng fo r men
about tbe lime you read th ••• rticle
AI the besmmns of December, after I Slll'month
Will, the local recclved 144 officlallBEW hats. As
thesc were a popular lIem, there may be some left
by the time thIS article comes OUt. On a sad nOle,
OU r coodolencu to the fflends and family of Pete
Scrvi, who puscd away dUIIOl No ... ember. Also,
Io(lITJ to hear .hat Bud MIliCI lell off I ladde., and
will be Illd up lot Io(lme lime
P,ctured thIS month are Ihe men from twO
dilfer"otl0bs. Fllst is the QUIll ]Db on l.ncolnshire.
Here IS .. company Ihat sraned ,n onc mao's
lu.sement t .... enty ycars ago, Ind now 15 I mIllion·
dollar mill oldel busmcss. The men arc WOlklOS
on I warchouse Iddlllon, but soon expect 10 be
workons on a new olflce bUlldins acroSS the streCl.
Second is the SI. Therese Hospital job. This is the
last of a luge Crew that Is WUppLDg up a multimilloon
dollar addition .nd reOOV.lLon. W.th this
add"'on St Thelcse is nOW called a med,c.l park,
futunns I doctors profeSSIonal buildLD&" 650'car
underground pallnns area, a new cnucal Care and
recovery ward, a new emersency /acIIIlY, a chapel,
a reSIdence for unwed mothen, • hospice ward, I
convent, 1 nursery, and a nuclear medicine de·
partment. ln (}(:tnberl WilS a pallentlhere fOI thr«
days Ind found the care CJlcellent. Fm.ally COD'
I'ltullllon5 to 'ames Tobey and Bob Wanalt, who i
graduated In toumeymen Ln Novemhcl.
STtVtN l . SnITCH, P.S.
Stewards
Shown II a Local 165, Chic.so, III., "ewlld.
information mcetins ltC, left 10 riSht, Bnb Koo l)­
cek, Jim Wasner, .nd Cbarl.,. Run.
~'h." .. ,~;;·.~.~.~cnd iD& arc, lell 10 n,bt, Mllrl
Foslel, Beny ~wi" anG Sal Gal .... n.
Officer Conducts
Steward Meetings
LU. 165 (tl, CHICAGO, ILL.-All tnal, rel.IIDS
10 thc reccol sUlk~ 01 Loc.al16S .pmst Ihe Illinol'
Bell Telephone Company have bttn completed,
reports Executive Board ChlLrman Robert Tigge>
I .... All putics charscd have been nmified 0/ their
mal resuits.
La5t Decemhcr, Pruldent-Busincss Mana,er .;
Robert Dahlke .e"'lewed the lateSt COntraCI wllh
,II thc local !tewards, in order to explain and
Inswe r '1UCStiOM they may have. These meelLng!
took place al varioul locatioos throughout the
CIlY, ID order to accommodate all tbe stewards.
Brothcl Dahlke cxpllLoed the new griev.nce lonns
aod arbitUlion procedurcs 101 the ATIlS and BOC
compan.es, whICh come into effect on January I ,
1984, with the d.vestiture of.the company. ....
UWlIENcr f . BIUlL, P.S
Scribe Urges Members
To Become Involved
LU. 17S (i,o,em,camt), CHATTANOOGA,
TENN.-No hie is full unless It i, hnked to some·
thIng that son on aller we arc dead. If we bave '=
nothlDS morc to hve fOI than lUSt 10,CI ;ahead in
a compoclillve syslem, then democracy Will go
down before other ph.losophies. I hope you belLeve
thiS becau5C no truer statement could be made. If
you do nOI owe Ihe IBEW mOle than 11 bit pvcn
10 you, sometblOl is wlOnS. U .... e do nOI ha ... e ,
commHment down deep w"hlD to leave thi' broth·
erhood better than we found 11, we have I f.lse
ImpreSSIOn 01 wh.t II is .nd why we arc Involved ,.
IDLI
How can we do thls1lnvolvement, partlCrpallOn,
education, VOlin&. Ind PVlOS tvolumartly cOOlnh·
uunS to COPEI for $tarters. COPE (Commill« on
Politiul Education) effectively keeps us (labotl in
the mllo,ueam of the American political Ind
lesi5lallve .. en • . Withoul it, you, labor, and .11
who earn thcil livlDS by laboring would be. down .
the tube •. Th,s yea. mOre than ever, we need you
to involve yourself and you. family in every efiort