Volume 27, Issue 1 - IBEW Local 46

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Market Recovery,Residential and RESBy: Local 46 Vice-President and Alternative Energy Director,Sean L. BagsbyWork RECOVERY UPDATEWhen you drive around the City of Seattleand the surrounding areas, take a look into the sky.You will see many tower cranes in the air, and mostof the buildings they support have yet to come outof the ground. During the past two years, many ofyou have listened to me give monthly updates at theGeneral and Unit Meetings regarding the work picture,and the effects of our Market Recovery Program(MRP). Those of you who call the Job line ona regular basis, and check the Local website underDispatch, have heard these ‘under scale calls’ forJourneyman Wireman for various projects. Thesetwo phenomenon are eternally linked. YES, it is truethat we have begun to turn the corner within KingCounty in regards to various areas of the electricalconstruction industry. The primary GROWTHsector within our jurisdiction is the multi-family,mixed use building sector.There are many factors which contributed tothis sector expanding so rapidly, and the data wehave seen show this trend to continue. Let me beclear; this doesn’t mean that full employment is justaround the corner. However, the next ‘boom’ inour jurisdiction will be centered around these typesof projects. These statements are not made withoutthe countless hours reviewing data and conductingresearch. We spend a large amount of resourcesmaking sure our projections are accurate in orderthe drive the market and secure as much work aspossible. To accomplish this, we must be aware ofthese projects and market changes BEFORE theyare apparent, so we can adapt accordingly. I am arealist, and not in the business of false promises,and inflated hope. This sector is the bread and butterof our strongest competition: the medium andlarge non-Union contractors. These battles are noteasy, but we have the tools and ability to carry theday, and we have!During the past year, we have secured more than10 large multiple building, mixed-use projects fromour strongest competition! Please keep in mindthat our adversaries read this publication as wellas our own members, so many details cannot bementioned in this medium. Also, someprojects are privately negotiated, so wecannot undermine those activities. Withthat being said, many projects are publicknowledge, and you have seen calls forsome recently. Most of these projectsare privately funded, and therefore havea reduced scale for Journeyman Wiremen,Journey Technicians, and Apprentices.We have many tools in the WRPtool box, and templates to match anytype of project. This ‘moving target’ iskey to our success and has led to theprojects we have secured. YES, we canCONSISTENTLY beat Robs’ Electric,Berg Electric, and anybody else headto-headon these project, thanks to twoprimary factors: 1) The approval and willingnessof the Membership to allow us to do whatit takes to get this work; 2) The aggressivenessof some contractors to pursue these projects.This market sector is extremely competitiveand contains too much potentialrisk for some contractors. So we appreciatethe contractors who have rolledup their sleeves, and jumped into theshark-infested waters to bid this work.Some members do not believe we shouldhave reduced-scale (unfunded) projectsthrough the Market Recovery Program.The facts and data speak for themselves:• The vast majority of these projectsare privately-funded; therefore PrevailingWage does not apply;• Most market share and projectdevelopment reports state that theneed for inner-city, ultra-urban singlefamily dwelling units will remainsteady within the core of Seattle,Ballard, SE Lake Union, Bellevue,and Kirkland areas;• Projected population growth andurban community density withinthese cities and surrounding areaswill NOT decrease;• If we did not pursue these projects,our competition would be ina strong growth period while weLOSE market share;Page 16 • SPARKS • vol 27, iss 1 • JAN 2013
• If we did not aggressively pursuethese projects two years ago, todaywe would have many more contractorsstruggling to survive, andHUNDREDS more members onthe out of work books;• The shift of society towards urbanliving, smaller pedestrian-friendlycommunities is projected to increaseas the economy recovers.The moral of the story is this: Theseprojects represent hundreds of thousandsof staff hours that either YOUcan perform, or our competition. Wewant ALL members to make as much aspossible, but would you rather work fora reduced wage for a limited time on aproject, or remain unemployed? Manyof you have taken these calls, and asa result been able to keep your homes,medical care for your children, and earntowards your pension and annuity. Youhave also helped the Local GAIN marketshare in this sector, and I thank you onbehalf of the entire Staff!A special THANK YOU goes tothose of you who have worked on someof the larger underscale Market Recoveryprojects: 717 and 901 Dexter buildings,the North lot Stadium condo project,the Martin Building, Starbucks Tazobuilding, 3rd and Cedar Building, 101Taylor building, the Westin Hotel remodels,Rainier Vista housing project,and the Victoria Building to name afew. From these projects alone, wehave employed over 150 Inside Wiremen,Residential Wiremen, Sound andCommunications Technicians, Apprentices,Installers, and Stockmen,which have worked over 150,000hours (and many of these projects arestill underway!!)These projects have been difficult,to say the least, but as always,we improvise, overcome and adapt tosurvive. These projects, and the manythat will follow, will position IBEWLocal 46 to recapture this work forthe long-term, and cripple our competition.RESIDENTIAL ELECTRICAL SERVICES(RES):Local 46 held an RES dinner workshop for ourparticipating contractors, members, and other interestedparties on Thursday, November 15th. Evenwith the poor weather and traffic, the event waswell attended. Several of our long-time RES contractorsmade it, along with a few new ones! Wediscussed the status of the program, tossed aroundnew ideas, reviewed the many events coming up in2013, and shared projections of work to come. Theprogram has survived the difficult downturn in theResidential sectors (both new home building andgeneral service), and we are positioning ourselvesfor strong growth in 2013. Many of you have heardthe radios ads, and have seen the online presenceand print mediums. This advertising effort shallincrease in 2013, to help drive market awareness.I would like to thank all the contractors whoprovided input and the Staff who helped to ensurethe events’ success. A special ‘Thank You’ goesto the heart and soul of the RES Program, JessieNewland. She is the ‘voice’ when a customer orcontractor calls, and she worked extremely hard tobring this event together! So, keep your eyes andears open, and when you encounter a homeownerwith electrical or plumbing problems, remind them:‘there is no need to stress, just call RES 1-888-RES-4239!!’ELECTRICAL & PLUMBINGJAN 2013 • vol 27, iss 1 • SPARKS • Page 17
Page 1 and 2: Volume 27, Issue 1JAN 2013Business
Page 4: due to misunderstandings and we are
Page 7 and 8: Paine Field Proposed Commercial Air
Page 9: slope that we need to recover fromq
Page 12 and 13: $35$30AVERAGE ELECTRICIAN WAGE$25$2
Page 14 and 15: SAMPLE OF JOBS WON BY IBEW LOCAL 46
Page 18 and 19: Recreational Marijuana inWashington
Page 20 and 21: goods just prior to Thanksgiving! I
Page 22 and 23: Name Initiation Date OfDatePassingD
Page 24: LOCAL CONTACT INFORMATIONJOB LINE 2

Volume 27, Issue 1 - IBEW Local 46

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