1986-01 January IBEW Journal.pdf - International Brotherhood Of ...

Malor, asslstant business manager of
Local Il l, and by Bill Noyes, busines
manager of Local 2Joo. Wi thout
this type of combined cooperation,
it would be impossible to conduct a
con1erence or this n::ttllrr .
At the IDEW caucus held on the
morning of the first day, the del e­
gates were welcomed to Florida by
Filth Distnct Jnternallonal VIce
Pre ideot Dan Waters. The caucus
was attended by all participating lBEW
delegates and was chaired by Bob
Macdonald, Director of the Utility
Department. Many issues were discus
cd dudng this meeting, and the
delegates were given a bdel outline
of the history of the Cas Conlerence.
he general sesSIon of the Conlcrence
was held On Tuesday afternoon
and Friday morning and was chaired
by International Representative Bob
Bieritz of the mEW Utility Department,
who has been active in this
Conlercnce smce 1965. As he welcomed
the delegates from aU of the
participating unions, he reminded
them of the cooperation necessary
on the part of al l affiliated UJuons in
sponsoring the Cas Conference. The
Conlerence's coordinators from the
participating mtcrnanoaal and aational
unions were mtroduced by
Brother Rieri t7., who . crve., with them
as IBEW coordmator to the Conlerence.
The coordinators are re pon­
Sible for developing the programs
necessary to achieve the Conference's
goals.
International Vice President Dan
Waters delivered the keynote address
on which he reminded the delegate
that labor was still very much alive,
even though we have utiered through
some very penlous times since Reaan
and his adminostratlon took the
Delegates from Local 1245. local 2199. and System Council U·18 are shown dunng the ISEW
caucus.
reins of the Executive Branch of the
federal government. He cited the destructive
forces at work against labor's
objectives but insisted that if
we all work together we can, and
WIll, be stronger as a result of haVing
overcome the taCtics employed by
those who seek to weaken and de­
Stroy us.
One of the most meaningful IS ues
with which labor is faced today- tax
reform and the apparent move to tax
fnnge benefits-was addressed by Joe
'-avan.gh, Director nf mEW Legislative
Activities. In his remarks,
Brother Cavanagh inlormed the delegates
that the current term of "lile
support benefits" is being employed
\0 place of fringe benefits because it
IS a more descriptive form of terminology.
He expressed great concern
over the position Or lack of pOSition
on benefit taxation that is taken by
our congressmen, even some of those
whom labor helped elect. In concluding
his remarks, Brother Cavanagh
stated that out of 10,000 lobbyists
working Capitol Hill, only )00
lobby on behalf of labor unIons and
the workmgpeople in tlus country.
lIe is very proud to be a part of this
small but effective force that is known
as the " People's Lobby. "
lotematlonal RepresentatIve Jim
Dushaw of the IDEW UtilllY Department
appeared before the deleganon
to discuss the "Control of Alcohol
and Drug Usc in the UtilIty Industry"
and the problems faced by unions
10 prntecting the righ .. and pnvacy
of their members. Taking an enlightened
approach, he suggested that 10-
eal union Involve themselves \0 negotiating
meaningful Employee
Assistance Programs to combat these
problems. Brother Dushaw suggested
that the union should attempt to
negotiate over the drug and alcohol
work rules, even those involVUlg drug
testing, in order to soften the regressive
approach sometimes taken by
management of some uti lities. To
Piclured are lBEW delegates during Chelr caucus on Tuesday morning Those In the Ironl row Include representa!lllos of Locals 420, 300, 457, 1268.
and 1902,
6 I IBEW JOURNAL! JANUARY 1986