Young IBEW Members Speak Out at AFL-CIO Forums

http://www.ibew.org/articles/10daily/1004/100421_YoungIBEWMembersSpeakOut.htm

April 21, 2010 Young Workers Rally
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Three weeks after being laid off from his job, Rafael Arredondo, 31, is sitting in a conference room in a Southern California office park, hoping to hear good news about his own future and that of the union movement. He’s one of more than a dozen 20-and 30-something union members gathered around the table, sharing ideas about where organized labor stands right now, and where it’s headed.



“People like us bring new ideas into the union,” says Arredondo, a third-year IBEW apprentice from San Diego Local 569. “We can respect the old traditions, but offer a different way to do things.”

Sitting in a corner chair, between two young union activists, Liz Shuler, the AFL-CIO’s Secretary-Treasurer and highest ranking woman in the labor movement, listens intently to the conversation and scribbles notes on a pad. A few chairs away, Lorena Gonzalez, the youngest person ever elected Secretary-Treasurer of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, is also tuned in to an increasingly animated conversation.

“A lot of people are scared to even talk to me about the union“, says one member of the group who works at a nearby college campus. “We’ve got to change that.”

“We need to challenge the system!” says another boldly.

Elected in 2009, Shuler is charged with bringing more people under 35 into the union fold. She and her Washington-based staff have quickly learned that the youngest members of the union movement have ideas. And they want to be heard.

“We’re here to listen,” she says, on the first day of a multi-city set of meetings to gather ideas from younger workers and labor activists. As she develops a plan for the union movement to reach out to a new generation, Shuler is drawing on the experiences of young union activists to find out the best ways to make an impact on their peers.

FULL story at link.

CWA and the IBEW?

I worked in NYC for quite a few years as someone who recommending hiring contractors, and it was interesting to see the differences between the two unions. For the low voltage side, there was a lot territorial issues between the two unions.

This was an easy one to post. Marta was CWA for 18 years. As a directory assistance operator, she didn't get in on the raiding parties. The CWA here has taken a real hit. State law is the problem.

Anyway I was passed this article and posted it. Our forum just doesn't get the traffic it should. Thanks for the comment. :-)

OS