A Message from Your Business Manager
Local Union 953 News
1 Cope Report
NOTICE TO ALL UNION 953 I.B.E.W. Members
Nomination Schedule
Annual Meeting Notice

A Message from Your Business Manager

Hello Brothers and Sisters! I hope this newsletter article finds you in good health and that you are enjoying this warm winter weather. Maybe there is something behind Al Gore’s belief on Global Warming. This last fall we added another feature to our web page and this is a photo gallery. There were some very good photos of the Arrowhead Westin Line Construction Project in our photo gallery. We will try to update the photos at a regular basis. Currently, there should be pictures of the Ice Fishing Derby and the Stewards Conference which both occurred the first week and weekend in February. We had many great speakers at the Stewards Conference; Work Comp Attorneys, Labor Law Attorney, 6th District International Vice President, the president of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO and many more. I am a firm believer that we must always continue to train our stewards they are the first line of defense out in the field. This year will be a busy year with many contracts coming due. We will be busy negotiating with two of the larger employers this year; Xcel Energy and Dairyland Power Company. Xcel’s agreement expires December 31, 2007, but because of insurance being a major issue, we are starting negotiating that agreement earlier than normal. Dairyland Power’s Agreement expires January 31, 2008, so we will probably be starting those negotiations in the late fall of 2007. There are also a number of Cooperative and Municipal Agreements due this year so as I mentioned, we will have a busy year. Financially, the Local Union is in the best shape it has ever been and because of that I am looking very hard at a way to lower our working dues. Attend the Annual Meeting in April to find out more on this. With summer around the corner also means that storms will be on their way. Please work safe! Work Smart! & Be Careful! Solidarity forever and God Bless,

John Marincel
Business Manager/Financial Secretary

Local Union 953 News

Local Union News from Assistant Business Manager, Dave Loechler Hello Brothers and Sisters! Hopefully, you are staying warm in this below zero snap we are having. On Saturday, February 10, 2007, Local 953 held its 6th Annual Fishing Derby in Chetek, Wisconsin. The weather was cold, but the attendance was great!

At this time I would like to give special thanks to Paul Woita of the Principal Financial Group for supplying refreshments. As I mentioned earlier the temperature outside was cold, but the hearts and pocket books of the members that attended were warm because we earned for COPE $600.00 on raffling off an underwater camera – great job! The winner of the camera was Steve Engebretson, Congratulations Steve!

Winners of the Fishing Contest are as follows:
Pan Fish Division
1st Place Winner of $75.00 was Dale Goeppinger
2nd Place Winner of $25.00 was Jeff Goss

Game Fish Division
1st Place Winner of $75.00 was Butch Gowin

We are looking forward to next years 953 Fishing Derby and for everyone that attended this year’s event – thank you for coming and try to encourage other members to join us next year! Solidarity Forever, Dave Loechler Asstistant Business Manager 

Solidarity Forever,
Dave Loechler

1 Cope Report

The most important work we can do in the IBEW is two-fold; winning at the bargaining table and organizing all non-union workers. Both efforts help us improve wages, working conditions, and overall terms of employment of our members, but over and over again we see advances that were made at the bargaining table lost due to a single action of congress or state legislature. Our efforts to organize workers have become more difficult and damaging legislation has weakened labor laws virtually every day. Members of congress and state legislatures across the country make decisions that directly affect us. Decisions related to issues such as safety, social security, job security, health care, pensions, and the list is endless. It’s very important that members get involved and stay involved. We must help elect candidates whose views and ideals are sympathetic to the issues affecting working men and women, regardless of the candidate’s political party. The IBEW supports political candidates of both parties and independents, as well. Over the past 2 years we have been recognized by the IBEW for Outstanding Voluntary Contributions to IBEW - COPE. Last year Local 953's contribution to COPE was $11,800.00 and we are currently on the road to exceeding that amount in 2007. I am very proud of what our Local has done these past 2 years. We went from a Local that donated little or no money to a Local that gets recognized by the I.O. for our Outstanding Voluntary Contributions! Good job!

John A. Marincel
Business Manager/Financial Secretary

NOTICE TO ALL LOCAL 953, I.B.E.W. MEMBERS

PROCEDURE FOR ELECTION OF LOCAL UNION OFFICERS

In compliance with the Bylaws of Local Union 953, I.B.E.W., this is to inform you of the nomination and election of Local Union Officers.

The list of offices to be filled is as follows:

President
Vice President
Recording Secretary
Treasurer
Business Manager/Financial Secretary
Five Executive Board Members (two from group 1,one from each group 2, 3, & 4)

1. Xcel Energy Utility Units
2. Electric Distribution Cooperative Units
3. Dairyland Power Cooperative Units
4. At Large (all other electrical workers not aforementioned)

THE PROCEDURE FOR NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF LOCAL UNION OFFICERS, AS OUTLINED IN ARTICLE III OF THE BYLAWS, IS AS FOLLOWS:

Nominations for Local Union Officers shall be held at the regular meeting of each Unit in APRIL 2007, and elections shall be held in JUNE 2007. Notice shall be mailed to all members at least twenty (20) days prior to the meeting for nominations in election year with all information regarding nominations, list of offices to be filled, date, time, and place of election, and the date, time, and place of run-off election, if required.

Every candidate shall have the right, once, within 30 days prior to the election to inspect a list containing the names and last known addresses of all members of the Local Union. Such list of members shall be maintained and kept by the Local Union. The membership list shall not be copied for the use of any candidate.

No member shall be eligible for office unless he/she has been a member of Local Union 953 in continuous good standing for at least 2 years immediately prior to nominations.

Members of one Unit may nominate members of another Unit for Local Union Office. It is not necessary that such nominees be confined to a particular Unit. A member placing the name of another member in nomination for office when the nominated member is not present, shall at the time the nomination is made, give to the Unit Recorder evidence in writing signed by the nominee, that the nominee agrees to be a candidate for a specific Local Union Office. However, any member being nominated in this manner cannot signify his/her intentions to be a candidate for more than one (1) specific Local Union Office.

Immediately after nominations the Unit Recorder shall forward a list of the names of the candidates, signed by the Unit Recorder and the Unit Chairman, to the Recording Secretary of the Local Union.

After nominations have closed, the President shall appoint an Election Judge and as many Tellers as are required who shall serve as an Election Board to conduct the election. No candidate for office shall be eligible to serve on the board. After nominations have been made and those nominated are found to be qualified, the Election Board shall have ballots prepared, listing in alphabetical order, the names of all candidates for each respective office, beginning with President and continuing in the order named in the IBEW Constitution. Such ballots shall not contain any identifying numbers or marks.

ALL VOTING SHALL BE MAIL BALLOT

The Financial Secretary shall furnish to the Election Judge not less than twenty-one (21) days before the election, an alphabetical list of all members eligible to vote. All members in good standing and qualified shall be entitled to vote.

The Executive Board shall decide the last day on which ballots shall be received, and the date, time, and place when the ballots will be counted. This date shall be in the month of June and this information shall be enclosed with the ballot sent to each member eligible to vote. If a member has not received a ballot or misplaced their ballot, please contact the Local Union Office to obtain another ballot.

The Election Judge shall mail or cause to be mailed to all eligible voters, an official ballot and two (2) envelopes. One envelope shall be smaller than the other and shall have the words “OFFICIAL BALLOT” stamped or printed on it. The larger envelope shall be pre-addressed to the Election Board and shall contain a space in the upper left hand corner where the member shall place his/her name and address.

Upon receiving his/her ballot, the member shall mark same and enclose it in the smaller envelope marked “OFFICIAL BALLOT”. This envelope shall be placed in the larger pre-addressed envelope and mailed to the Election Board.

The Election Board shall select a depository to which the envelopes containing the ballot shall be mailed. This shall not be the Local Union Post Office Box or the Local Union Headquarters. (Cost of such depository shall be paid by the Local Union.) This Board shall advise the Local Union of such depository in sufficient time to prepare the pre-addressed envelopes.

The Election Board shall open the envelopes, remove the smaller envelope marked “OFFICIAL BALLOT”, and deposit same in the ballot box with the other ballots. No envelope received later than the time and date as determined and announced by the Executive Board shall be opened by the Election Board.

The Election Board shall count the ballots and certify the results in writing to the Executive Board immediately after the ballots have been counted.

All election records including ballots shall be preserved for one (1) year from the date of election, after which same shall be destroyed unless a question has arisen in connection therewith.

Any candidate for office may be present or have an IBEW member as an observer present at the counting of the ballots.

Write-in votes shall not be permitted.

The election shall be decided for the candidate receiving the most votes for a specific office.

ALL NOMINATIONS WILL BE MADE AT THE REGULAR MEETINGS OF THE LOCAL UNION IN APRIL 2007. VOTING WILL BE IN JUNE AND WILL BE BY MAIL BALLOT. INFORMATION AS TO THE LAST DAY BALLOTS WILL BE RECEIVED, THE DATE, TIME, AND PLACE THE BALLOTS WILL BE COUNTED WILL BE ENCLOSED WITH THE BALLOT SENT TO EACH MEMBER ELIGIBLE TO VOTE. THIS LETTER IS IMPORTANT, SO PLEASE KEEP IT FOR REFERENCE DURING NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF LOCAL UNION OFFICERS.