ey expressed
their determination to fight to rebuild our
nations industrial base. They agreed that, in
addition to stopping bad trade deals, one of
the keys to growth is green manufactur-
ingcreating jobs in environmentally-
advanced technologies to help restore the
American Dream to working families.
Green jobs are no dream for members of
Memphis, Tenn., Local 474, where a 55-per-
son work force at Sharp started producing
photovoltaic panels in 2003. One of only a
few unionized solar producers in the United
States, Sharp now employs 190 members
making solar panels. The plant is praised by
environmentalists and studied by academics
who recognize the facilitys progressive labor
relations as one of its keys to success.
The 450-employee Sharp plant, which
produced TVs until production was out-
sourced to Mexico in 2000, also manufactures
microwave ovens and copier toner. Japan-
based Sharp has been in the solar market
since 1963, but its sole U.S. involvement was
a sales division in California until the solar
product line opened in Memphis. The plants
yearly panel output, for residential and com-
mercial customers in the United States and
Europe, creates 64 megawatts of potential
power yearly, enough to supply 14,000 homes.
Sharp supplied panels to North
Americas largest photovoltaic power system,
installed by members of Las Vegas Local 357
outside Nellis Air Force Base. (See IBEW
Helps Air Force Harvest Solar Power,
The Electrical Worker, February, 2008).
George Sterzinger, director of Nevada
Energy Independence Partners, a non-profit
organization, worked with Las Vegas Local
357 on building a solar array at the unions
apprenticeship training center.
We bought Sharp solar panels for Las
Vegas precisely because they were domestic
and unionized, he says, adding that he is hope-
ful that the federal government will support
domestic production and prevailing wages in
renewable energy technologies. The alterna-
tive, he says, is that there will be more negative
examples like the nonunion solar plant in
Nevada operated by a Spain-based firm with all
components made overseas. They are union-
ized in Spain, but not here, says Sterzinger.
At the Sharp plant, workers solder sili-
con solar cells made in Japan into PVC pan-
els installed in frames. The units are then
inspected and moved into an oven for seal-
2
Nebraska local expands its horizons
3
Casino workers win with IBEW
4
North of 49�
Legislative Update
5
Circuits
Organizing Wire
6
Transitions
IBEW on Duty
7
Local Lines
14
Editorials
Letters to the Editor
Who We Are
I n t e r n a t i o n a l B r o t h e r h o o d o f E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r s
Vol. 2
|
No. 6
|
June 2008
Tennessee Members Shine in Solar Panel Plant
I N T H I S I S S U E
Memphis, Tenn.,
Local 474 members
Shirley Kidd, left,
and Adrienne Cole
inspect and overlay
solar cells.
SOLAR PANEL PLANT
continued on page 2 2
T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r
R
June 2008
It took a little bit of getting used to but
now its second nature, Kelly said. These
guys want to be part of the program, so their
commitment really makes it work.
City officials and business leaders, ini-
tially wary of organized labor, also had to be
cultivated. We joined the Chamber of
Commerce, Kelly said. We met with leaders
of all the big groups in town. We had to show
patience and slowly try to gain their respect,
but the reception has been great. In March,
the locals apprenticeship program was fea-
tured in the local newspaper.
Commonwealth has recruited 15 new
employees in recent months and has received
contracts for some big projects, including work
on a new school and an ethanol plant. Kaup
credits the IBEWs emphasis on education and
training for its success. Nobody is offering
what we do, he said. Our schooling is attract-
ing people looking for a career, not just a job.
Bourne sees the work Local 22 has done
as a model for the region. We cant just be
happy stuck in the big cites, because there is
a lot of manufacturing going on in small towns
throughout the Midwest, he said. The skilled
manpower shortage is critical in these rural
areas and the IBEW can show great dividends
in the future if we can capitalize on it.
T
Nebraska Local Branches Out
C
olumbus, Neb., is a small town of
only 20,000 residents, but it has
become a center of manufacturing
in the Midwest in recent years.
This has meant plenty of construction
jobs, but the town90 miles northwest of
Omahanever had much of a labor move-
ment. So when Commonwealth Electric, a
Lincoln-based signatory contractor, bought
Steve Kaups nonunion shop in Columbus in
February, Omaha Local 22 knew it would be
pioneering new ground.
Its always been a nonunion town, and
some folks there wanted to keep it that way,
said Eleventh District International
Representative John Bourne.
The sale was encouraged by the local,
which saw opportunities for growth. Kaup
now branch manager for Commonwealth
and his 21 electricians became the first
IBEW members in the citys modern history.
There was definitely some concern at
first, Kaup said. None of my guys had dealt
with unions before.
One of the first challenges Local 22
Business Manager Gary Kelly faced was
integrating the new members. Columbus is
approximately two hours away from Omaha,
making traveling to local meetings time con-
suming and increasingly expensive due to
rising gas prices.
Business representatives Brad Doyle and
Brett Johnson started making weekly trips to
meet with the members to help them feel con-
nected. We started by meeting wherever we
could, in coffee shops and hotels, Kelly said. If
we were going to make this work, we needed to
prove that we were in it for the long haul.
The local eventually purchased a store-
front office in a central downtown location,
cementing its commitment to the town while
increasing the IBEWs visibility.
Apprenticeship training presented
another challenge. The new shop had 10
apprentices and Kaup was planning to recruit
more. Expecting apprentices to commute to
Omaha two nights a week for classes was out
of the question, so Kelly and the Omaha Joint
Apprenticeship Training Committee set up
video conferencing equipment at the new
office. Apprentices follow along with the
classes in Omaha through three 60-inch flat
screen TVs. Students can ask questions and
participate in classroom discussion with two-
way microphones.
Members of Omaha, Neb.,
Local 22 show off the locals
new office in Columbus.
ing. Its very high-tech, and we are excited
because the market is looking good, says
Kenneth Ingram, Local 474s assistant busi-
ness manager, who formerly worked as a
chief steward at Sharp.
We havent arbitrated a grievance in
over twelve years, says Local 474 Business
Manager Paul Shaffer. The plants grievance
procedure is patterned after the Committee on
Industrial Relations in the electrical construc-
tion industry. The local, encompassing inside
and outside construction trades, municipal
employees and workers at rural electric coop-
eratives, sits on a grievance review board com-
posed of three Sharp managers and three
bargaining unit representatives. The board,
which began hearing cases in 2002, makes
final and binding decisions on all grievances.
On a scale of one to 10, our relationship
with Local 474 is nine and a half, says Sharp
Vice President of Human Resources T.C.
Jones, who expects the company to expand
production in the solar energy division to
meet growing needs.
In February, a tornado ripped through
Sharps four-building complex, rendering the
microwave facility inoperable. Plant workers
were fearful that rumorswhich had sur-
faced for years that the plant would be shut
downwould now be realized. But the corpo-
rations executives in Japan demanded that
T
190 members of Local 474
T
Plant capacity: Panels which will
generate 91 megawatts of power.
T
2007 production: 64 megawatts
(enough to supply 14,000 homes
with electricity)
T
Milestones:
1963Sharp enters the solar panel
market.
2003Start-up of solar production in
Memphis; 55 bargaining unit members.
2008Sharp produces the 1 millionth
solar module at the Memphis plant.
Sharp Solar Panel
Production Plant
Memphis, Tennessee
Tennessee Members Shine
in Solar Panel Plant
continued from page 1
the plantthe only domestic microwave pro-
duction facilitybe put back online as soon
as possible. Due to the amazing efforts of
managers and bargaining unit employees, the
line was back up and running in a little over
a week, says Shaffer.
T w w w . i b e w . o r g
T h e E l e c t r i c a l W o r k e r
R
June 2008
3
Indiana Local Organizes New Slots Workers
A
partnership between Indianapolis
Local 481 and Indianas two horse
racing tracks could translate into
more than 600 new members for the
IBEW in the states growing gaming industry.
The deal will increase membership in the
local by twenty percent, said Business
Manager Tom ODonnell. Were looking for-
ward to welcoming these new members.
The Hoosier Park and Indiana Downs
racing tracks, both located in central Indiana
outside Indianapolis, were facing declining
revenues due to a shrinking customer base.
The owners were pushing the Indiana
General Assembly for legislation to allow
them to install slot machines at their facili-
ties, creating a combination race track and
casino known as a racino. But management
needed help with the grassroots lobbying
effort, so they turned to Local 481 and the
Central Indiana Building Tradeswhose
president is ODonnellfor assistance.
The l