District 3 Report – May 2022

Well, here we are in May and although the books have slowed some, there is a lot of work slated for this year. Here in District 3, we have O’Bryant at the Apple project in Culver City. Taft Electric is also starting a couple of MTA jobs. They will be working the Steam Tunnel on the Purple Line 3 as well as the LAX APM – LAX/Crenshaw Line Connector.

District 3 Organizer Carlos Rodarte and I were out at the airport last week visiting as many jobs as possible and passing out our new negotiation stickers. We still have plenty of projects out at the airport, and I was able to meet with the three stewards we have out there to stock them up with stickers. Shout out to Hector Navarro with Morrow Meadows at Delta Airlines Terminal 3, Ray Juarez with Morrow Meadows at American Airlines Terminal 5, and Matt Brown with Rosendin at the APM/MSF train maintenance yard. I’d also like to mention Brother Michael Hawkins who is the steward for Morrow Meadows at the LAX ConRAC project. He recently had a knee replacement and is at home resting comfortably.

As agents, we don’t know where all the jobs are. So if you would like us to visit and bring out some negotiation stickers, call the agent of the district you’re working.

In other news, a small contingency of staff members from local 11 recently returned from Washington D.C. for the North American Building Trades Union (NABTU) conference. It was quite an event with a few high-ranking politicians speaking at the conference that included Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and even the president himself, Joe Biden. In fact, President Biden mentioned the IBEW three times while looking directly at our International President Lonnie Stephenson. The speeches had one common thread – the Infrastructure Bill, and how it’s going to create thousands of good-paying union jobs. Renewables, battery storage and electric vehicle charging stations were the jobs mentioned with regards to the electrical trade.

We had a free morning one day, and I took advantage of it to visit the grave site of our illustrious founder, Henry Miller. Since I’m a third generation IBEW member, standing next to Miller’s grave marker created a rush of history and overwhelming pride. I can’t overstate how proud I am to be a member of the IBEW, and of Local 11 particularly. As always, it is an honor and a pleasure to serve my brothers and sisters of the great local, and it is a job I don’t take lightly.

Fraternally,
Mike Costigan
District 3 Business Rep