Oct 05

Labor Relations General Session: Making the Most of CW/CE

One important annual feature of the NECA convention is the Labor Relations General Session, which brings together NECA and IBEW leadership to discuss the workforce and management issues facing NECA contractors.

This year’s session focusing on the Construction Wireman/Construction Electrician worker classification agreements. IBEW International President Ed Hill joined NECA CEO John M. Grau, NECA President Rex Ferry and NECA Vice President for Labor Relations Geary Higgins to answer questions about how and why certain actions had been taken in creating and rolling out CW/CE in terms of market-recovery initiatives.

“I’ve said several times this past year that Ed Hill gets it,” Ferry said. “What’s different about areas where CW/CE is working are two things: trust and integrity between management and labor. That’s what really makes change like this possible.”

“The agreements do not take the place of existing agreements,” Hill said. “They’re designed to help us go after work we not currently doing. Now is the time for contractors to discuss with their IBEW counterparts what are our best chances to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Four NECA contractors then offered their perspectives and insight about how CW/CE agreements were successfully implemented in their areas: Doug Palmer, Tri-City Electric, Davenport, IA; Chris Odell, Gill Simpson Inc., Baltimore; Joe Cavanaugh, Cavanaugh Electric, Wilkesbury, PA; and Martin West, Twin City Electrict, Monroe, LA.

“CW/CE’s strengths are that it works really well on the right project,” Palmer said. “The downside is our hands are tied on the type of work CWs can perform. And this concerns our workers who wonder how they’re going to get ahead.”

“One of the best aspects of the CW/CE program is the training commitments,” Odell said. “It formalizes both an education and mentoring relationship for employees and employers. There are particular types of work CW/CEs excel at – prefab and production/installer work. It’s not a silver bullet, but it’s a fighting chance.”

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