A Message from Business Manager Chris Erikson Jr.
The dog days of summer are upon us, and I hope you all have been able to enjoy some time to rest and relax with family. The Camp Integrity season is over, and the first day of school will be here before we know it. September will be a busy month as well, with the NYC Central Labor Council’s Labor Day rally and march, the 25th Anniversary of 9/11, and the IBEW International Convention.
The upcoming fall season means election time. This year’s midterm elections are critical to the future of our country and the labor movement. As always, we need to elect pro-union and pro-worker candidates, who will not only talk about an agenda for working families, but engage with unions to make it a reality. The NYS AFL-CIO will host its COPE Convention in Albany next week, and you will be represented by a delegation of Local 3 officers and reps, where we will engage and debate endorsements across all unions in races for the U.S. Congress, the New York State Senate, and the Assembly. These State AFL-CIO endorsements will help inform Local 3’s positions for November and the GOTV work needed to elect them. In order to be successful in the general election, Local 3 members will be called upon to step up and do the work necessary, including rallies to support our endorsed candidates, voter registration drives, phone banks, and door-to-door canvasses to speak with other union members about the key races and issues.
Finally, I want to acknowledge the recent services held for Sister Robbie Sparks, President Emerita of the IBEW’s Electrical Workers Minority Caucus (EWMC). President Cleary and I led a delegation of Local 3 officers, reps, and rank-and-file members to Atlanta last weekend to pay our respects to a true leader. Throughout her decades-long career in our union, Sister Sparks literally stood up to leadership at every turn to make sure representation was a priority of the IBEW, that people of color had the same opportunities for positions in the organization as everyone else, and that the leadership of our great union looks like the membership. That has always been a priority for Local 3, but not necessarily across the country in other locals. Her funeral at the Ebenezer Baptist Church was a joyous celebration of her life. Sister Sparks’ devotion to the IBEW and bettering it for all was apparent, and so many times we were reminded how you must lay yourself on the line for changes to happen. Sister Robbie’s favorite line was “Let the work speak for me” and her life in service of others was truly exemplary. Rest in peace, Sister Robbie, and we’ll continue your life’s work to make the IBEW an even better union for all.
