A Message from Business Manager Chris Erikson
IBEW President Kenny Cooper often mentions that the most important ticket he ever got was his IBEW union dues ticket because it was a ticket to the middle class. He’s so right. We have much to be thankful for, and I urge you to think about it especially this week as we celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. Harry, whose birthday we commemorate this week, knew that a union contract was a ticket to the middle class as well. He and his associates made life better for the members of Local 3 as he raised their wages and improved their benefits. He added innovative educational benefits and secured improved pensions and retirement benefits contract after contract. Tom Van Arsdale, my predecessor, and I continued the progress despite different challenges and different times. Through it all the leadership has had the support of the membership and retirees who know the value of a union job in good times and challenging times. That’s why Eternal Vigilance is the price we must pay to keep our union strong.
I was humbled and proud this week when I become aware of a member who was considering suicide due to some challenging situations in his life and changed his mind after reading a "Rank and File" that brought attention to it, leading him to seek help. I received a call from a spouse whose husband was in a dark place, getting evicted, not able to hold a job, with problems with alcohol whose life was turned around with the Union's help. And another call from a member who was in serious trouble on Workers Comp not getting the help he needed, addicted to opioids, and distraught until the Union addressed his case, and he is thankfully now on the right path. All thankful for the support that literally saved a life and kept families together. We are more than just wages and benefits, we are a family. Eternal Vigilance, and Happy Thanksgiving to all.
