Veterans Report — September 2022

I recently returned from the Membership Development Conference in San Antonio, TX. This conference is one of the largest meetings that the IBEW conducts annually. Our theme this year was “Rise Up and Be Counted.” Among the vast numbers of speakers in attendance was our own International President, Lonnie Stephenson, and his counterpart from NECA, David Long, both of whom spoke about growth and market share.

Additionally, International Secretary-Treasurer Kenneth Cooper also enlightened us regarding our responsibility to organize and to ensure we understand that we have the most union-friendly federal government in decades, one that will help advance us if we are support their elections. We need to vote and influence others to vote as well.

In addition to organizer training, there were a handful of workshops to attend. I personally helped host a workshop on V3 (Veterans, Viper Transitions and VEEP) alongside some peer organizers from other local unions. The culminating point of the conference was when President Stephenson took the stage during the Inside Construction brief and spoke directly to two specific items – our responsibility to vote due to a labor-friendly White House, and his passion for the Veteran Electrical Entry Program (VEEP). He stated that all locals should adopt the program to support our nation’s veterans.

As a reminder, our first Cohort of VEEP will begin on October 3 and we are really excited for this program to start. As always, if you know of any veterans that have an interest in our trade, please refer them to me. I am here to assist them.

Mike Kufchak
Director of Veteran Affairs