IBEW

            Many of you are wondering what the IBEW can do for you. Well I can tell you first hand what the IBEW has done for me and my family. My wife stays home now and can raise our children, which is very important in this day and age.  I was a field tech with Cox Communications for over six years. I started out as a video tech like most of you making 10.42 an hour in March of ’99. After 4 months of learning my craft I was asked to train someone that was making 10.73 an hour. When I approached the senior team about this I was told that it is what it is, if you don’t like it then we can find someone else to do it. The IBEW would never allow this to happen, in our current contract with Verizon I would have moved up to the higher rate along with getting training pay. This would not be the last time this would happen to me.

I only wanted a level playing field; the IBEW can do that for you. Have you ever wanted to stand up and just ask a question about raises and job security, how about rising healthcare, or lack of benefit choices?  I have and did, and I was made an example of. The IBEW will stand up for you no matter what; you have a brother to the left of you and to the right. They will help you stand up for what is right! I can tell you all about what I get now versus what I did not receive while at Cox. How about better wages, I make more in one week then I did working 2 weeks at Cox. Oh and I have only worked at Verizon for 1 year now not 6. Have you ever been written up for going over your allotted sick time by say 2 hours? No, this can happen if you work 10 hour days and take more than 4 days of sick time in a year. If you work 8 hour days then you have 6 days of sick time.  Here's an idea everyone works 7:30am till 3:30pm, Monday through Friday. Sound good to you?  No sick time you get FMLA.  I have 5 choices in healthcare including United Healthcare, Blue Cross, Aetna, and two others. I do not pay for this benefit. Also my co-pay is a mere 10 dollars. There are no deductibles to meet before my out of pocket maximum is reached. Prescriptions are pennies on the dollar, usually around 5-10 dollars. How about a pension, mine is clear as day 72.34 per month for every year of service which equals 2170.20 a month for 30 years of service. That’s just the pension, not including their 401k which tramples Cox’s. No guessing it’s printed very clearly in article G13.01 of our contract. Safety, this is a big one. How many times have you felt unsafe whether it is driving conditions, lack of safety equipment, or just improper training techniques? Well thanks to the IBEW I actually have an 188a high-voltage tester to see if poles are hot or drop ceiling grids are hot. I never had one of these until I went to maintenance. That department is not without its own faults. I was forced to go into a manhole without a gas detector and without a police detail, nor did my immediate supervisor inform Verizon we would be popping a lid. This is a gross negligence on their part; I could have seriously hurt someone had they been in another hole, because the airflow could have pulled fatal gases into their work area. When the work was complete I then used a blow torch to seal the heat shrink around the connector to prevent water damage. Not a good idea when working underground, my lead tech never even said anything to me, I am lucky to have survived that ordeal. So you see my fellow brothers, it is the IBEW who will look out for you, through means of negotiation you too can have a contract that protects you the worker.

Yours Truly

Coax Monkey