Attention IBEW 569 Members – With our Inside Contract expiring in May, we have put a new Negotiation Committee together and are getting to work on a new contract quickly. We need your input, so please complete our survey online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/21IBEW569 by February 1st!
Below is an update from Business Manager Jeremy Abrams.
January 19, 2020
Dear IBEW 569 Brothers and Sisters,
Happy New Year! As we kick off our new Inside Contract negotiations, I wanted to share some highlights from 2020 and talk about where we’re going in 2021.
Throughout much of 2020, we unfortunately couldn’t hold many regularly scheduled general membership meetings due to COVID. We advocated early on to ensure construction was an essential industry, and championed increased safety precautions to protect our members that continued to work. As a Local, we closed the year with over 4.5 million man hours and broke a membership record. IBEW 569 now has 3,510 members!
We adapted to the online zoom lifestyle, and successfully negotiated several PLAs that will put our members to work – including battery storage projects in Valley Center and Fallbrook, and solar projects in San Diego and Imperial Valley. Also, our new Riverwalk agreement will put members to work on 1 million sq ft of office space, 150,000 sq ft of retail and 4,300 units of residential units. We also added a labor compliance position to the 569 team and now monitor and protect our scope of work and jurisdiction within the building and construction trades.
Last year, we had to cancel some of our premium events like our Petco Padre Day and Union Picnic and improvise on others. We were able to host members at the hall for the first ever Drive Thru Winter Wonderland holiday experience in San Diego and Imperial Valley. It was great to see members and their families as they drove through. We gave out candy, IBEW swag and presents for the kids. We were also able to host a drive thru pin night to celebrate and give members recognition for their 20-75 years of service in our Union. We hope to return to having our premier IBEW 569 events in the second half of 2021.
In 2020, we negotiated our Inside Agreement. Your committee met with NECA nearly 20 times before we were at an impasse and headed to CIR. Council decided on a 1 year deal and an increase of $2.65 per an hour without giving anything up – included our valuable and important sick days.
With the contract expiring in May, we have put a new Negotiation Committee together and are getting to work on a new contract quickly. We need your input, so please complete our survey online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/21IBEW569 by February 1st!
Our 2021 is going to be a busy year! We have several large projects starting – including the new SDSU Stadium, Kaiser medical facilities, Pure Water, and the San Diego Airport expansion. We need you and your input to keep our union strong. Again, please complete the survey as soon as possible, and let’s work together to secure a strong contract!
In Solidarity,
Jeremy Abrams
Business Manager, IBEW 569 | Card # A129528
