[Back to List View] As seen in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch July 29, 2007 IBEW & NECA Working together, they deliver their finest hour By Jim LaMantia Executive Director, PRIDE of St. Louis, Inc. The history of labor relations is rife with stories of epic conflicts pitting skilled workers in search of higher living standards against cost-conscious owners hell-bent on controlling costs. Over the decades, the St. Louis construction industry has contributed to this lore. Even while labor and management recognize that one can’t live without the other, come contract time, age-old antagonisms invariably re-surface. It was against this backdrop that the toughest negotiations in years recently took place between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local #1 and the St. Louis Chapter, National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). Together, they delivered labor-management’s finest hour. Their success – hard-fought as it was – once again distinguished St. Louis as a region that is reshaping labor-management relations at a time when fractious elements nationally are dividing the unionized construction industry. The St. Louis area is a union construction island in a non-union sea. Whereas only 12 percent of construction is performed by union labor nationwide, virtually all of the projects in our region are union-built. Ever-advancing technology – and the training to go with it – has made IBEW #1 electricians among the most highly skilled in construction and, not surprisingly, among the highest paid. And in a market that demands every competitive cost advantage, that puts a big bulls-eye on the backs of union electricians. Yet in the latest negotiations, IBEW-NECA demonstrated, once again, that it all comes down to the customer. Just as it did in 2004, IBEW-NECA entered contract negotiations this year keenly aware of the economic pressures on the building industry. Skill and safety – reflected in the $2.5 million invested annually in apprenticeship and journey-level training – have always been a forte of the union electrical contracting industry. But equally important is IBEW-NECA’s mutual commitment to work together on maximizing productivity for buyers of their services. Hence, while the contract limits wage and benefit increases to an average of 3.1 percent annually, it also creatively boosts productivity, expands competitiveness and enhances value to customers. Among the contract’s key points: Fostering entrepreneurship among minority enterprises by allowing one-person firms and by offering mentors to develop more proficient job site supervisors. Giving parity to IBEW union contractors with non-union firms on public projects that are complying with the state’s prevailing wage law. Eliminating restrictions on purchasing preassembled and custom materials. Extending the span for wage increases as apprentices advance to journeyman status. Broadening work scope for residential wiremen to help contractors offer union construction quality at a lower cost on lofts, hotels, dormitories and other residential projects. Creating more-flexible work schedules to accommodate the impact of Interstate 64 (Highway 40) construction in getting to and from job sites. Giving contractors greater opportunities to recruit and train apprentices to reduce crew costs. Lowering health and welfare premium rates by 20 percent for entry level workers for the first 2,000 hours of work. Funding incentives to accelerate the completion of OSHA 30-hour certification by the entire workforce, a safety bonus. No other industry invests as much money and energy as union electrical construction to keep pace with new technology driving the immensely complex projects members build. But as IBEW-NECA clearly demonstrate, our industry has a duty to recognize that even highly skilled workers can have job security snatched away when overall economic pressures are ignored. Productivity is as great a priority on our projects as safety and quality. That’s the stewardship of the union construction industry that we are advancing in St. Louis and must advance nationally.