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IBEW Local 21 Archived News Stories
November 2006
IBEW Local 21 Is Proud To Announce Technical Courses Starting In December at 10 South Canal in Chicago, IL
The Digital Technology Skills with Basic Electricity and Basic Electronics courses will help you prepare for the Common Technical Knowledge Test (CTKT) and are available to eligible AT&T employees and IBEW members at no cost through the AT&T Tuition Assistance Career and Personal Development Plan (CPDP). The deadline to enroll is November 27, 2006.
AT&T - IBEW Technical Skills Course Details Enrollment/Interest Form
Oakbrook Center Closing Update
One new item regarding the Oakbrook Consumer center closing. Originally, AT&T announced that all members would have to move to the Arlington Heights Center. Local 21 believed members involved should be offered the choice to Chicago North or Arlington Heights. We can announce officially that after successful discussions with AT&T, all affected members can now get their first choice of either Chicago North or Arlington Heights.
SBC Datacomm News
On November 9-10, 2006, an arbitration hearing was convened in Hoffman Estates, Illinois to hear the grievance on the company’s layoff of 34 Datacomm employees, members of Local 21, this past summer.
Before the hearing was called to order, extensive settlement negotiations were held between IBEW Local 21 and the Company. These talks unfortunately were fruitless and the hearing was then held with Local 21 presenting our case first. The hearing was not complete by the close of business last Friday, so the parties will reconvene on December 7, 2006 to finish the case of the Company. Both sides will then submit post-hearing briefs and the arbitrator will begin his deliberations early in 2007. We expect his decision by the end of the first quarter.
Meanwhile, both sides meet next week with the federal magistrate for administrative purposes on our Evolving Technologies lawsuit, which is on track for a trial next summer. We'll keep you posted on the news as it develops.
Midterm Vote Seen as 'Mandate for a Union Agenda'
Organized labor, dismissed by many in recent years as a fading if not irrelevant institution, was a key force in the sweeping Democratic election win last Tuesday.
Unions got their members to the polls last week, surveys showed, and their votes were overwhelmingly cast for Democratic House and Senate candidates. Members also turned out for door-to-door campaigning on behalf of Democrats. [Full Story – redirect to STLtoday.com]