Is organized labor  going to survive in this country or in the State of NH? Will there ever be a middle class in this country or in the State of NH? Will we, as a blue collar workforce, be able to continue to make a decent wage with health and retirement benefits for the remainder of our careers and beyond? Make no mistake about it, these
questions are seriously headed toward one answer, NO!

There can be no arguing the fact that the decline of organized labor over the last thirty years has been in lock step with the decline of the middle class.

As we enter into 2012, we as an organization, are going to have many challenges and I am going to ask all of you for help to meet these challenges head on, it is time that all of us look at what is important to our local union and how each and every one of us can contribute in some way to make us a stronger UNION.

Every Local Union in this country is at a critical turning point never seen before in the history of the IBEW. We
cannot and will not let the agenda of corporate America destroy the very organizations that built the middle class in this country . Our forefathers of the labor movement had serious challenges confronting them when they chose to fight for the rights of the working class, much more than the challenges that we face today, they had to step out of their comfort zones and speak their minds and in many cases give their lives for what they knew was right!

Well the time has come again for all of us to step out of our comfort zone, I seriously hope that the violence of the first labor movement will not be repeated, but you can be assured the challenges are just as great.

 Now let’s ask ourselves what can we do as Union members:

#1.Be Proud: We must all be proud members of our local, as a member of this organization you have the
responsibility to represent your brothers and sisters on and off the job! As electricians and apprentices it is your
responsibility to ALWAYS work as professional tradesmen, treat each other with respect, teach our apprentices the right way. Remember if we are not the superior work force within the construction industry in our jurisdiction then we will be considered just an expensive alternative!

 #2. Get Involved: attending union meetings is your right and responsibility, your opportunity to voice your opinion. The best union members bring their gripes to the union meetings for all to hear discuss and resolve. This has always been the venue for union business. Union negativity on the job-site is for cowards and counterproductive to our
organization! Getting involved also means participating in union affairs. When you are asked to call a legislature or come to a rally I know that this is stepping out of your comfort zones but it is extremely important to our cause or you wouldn’t have been asked.

 #3. Organize: With 90% of all labor within our jurisdiction being non-union there certainly isn’t a lack of people whom need to be educated on the difference between bargaining on your own and bargaining collectively. So many of the problems we all face today as a society could be fixed if all Americans were afforded the opportunity for a good job with fair pay and life sustaining benefits. Organizing doesn’t just mean non-union electricians it means all workers, it means once again stepping out of your comfort zone and fighting for what you believe in.

 The three questions I asked at the beginning of this piece can be answered “YES” and we will be in a position to make the difference in 2012, you are going to be asked to help on many occasions. Will you be willing to step out of your comfort zone?