Happy Holidays: Looking Back at 2024

Happy Holidays to our entire IBEW 11 family. This is such a special time of year for celebrating all that we have achieved over the past year, and for wishing you all the best from our union family to yours.

To start off, I am pleased to report that at the three allocation meetings – Intelligent Transportation Systems, Inside Wiremen and Sound & Communications – the members in attendance agreed with the recommendations of the respective committees, spreading your allocation across the board, with monies going to wages, health and pension plans.

This is good news for our plans and our membership, let me explain. The monies that were allocated to the health plan will help strengthen and cover the increases that are expected this year. As long as our work hours remain steady (or increase) and we add a little to the plan each allocation, we look to bolster and at some point our intent is to be able to get back some of those benefits that we had to relinquish last year.

I went to each allocation meeting and explained to members the difference between banked and pooled hours, what the monies pay for and how it benefits each of you in the long term. Our health plan is heading in the right direction, we currently have around 3 ½ months of pooled hours where we were almost down to less than a month’s worth last year.

The one thing that the Inside and ITS divisions heard from their committees that they have not in the last 15 years, was a request to allocate money to the DB (Pension). This is monies that you will accumulate and will actually be used with your multiplier when you are ready to retire. Our DB is working its way back to green status and we are currently at 77.4%, with a goal of hitting 80% and higher. With the additional allocated monies going toward the pension plan and as long as our hours and investments stay steady, the projections are that we will be in the “green” status by 2027. Thanks again to all the members who had the foresight to agree with the recommendation of the administration and committee.

Looking Ahead to 2025’s Work Picture

With interest rates dropping, we’re hearing from our contractors and customers that we can expect to see more construction projects starting up. They’re also telling us the supply chain issues should be starting to resolve. Contractors have work on the books, but are just waiting to get the go-ahead from the owners.

Expect to see work on projects like the $4 billion Convention Center remodel, with $100 million for the initial pre-design work. With the Olympics coming to Los Angeles in 2028, other projects will also be starting up.

This past year, we had over 10 million man hours of work on a variety of projects – from residential hi-rises to the Chargers Training facility and Jefferson High School to the LAX People Mover, Intuit Stadium and more. We can also boast that we were instrumental in securing the $500 million EPA grant for electrical vehicle chargers, and the additional $80 million to electrify LA’s busses.

The November election also brought some good news for our members. Measure A, which just passed, will bring jobs building housing for our homeless population and voters just voted for a $9 billion LAUSD bond to upgrade and renovate our vast school system.

Happy Holidays

Those of us who have been in the electrical business for a while, know about the cycles of construction – especially around the holidays and the resulting slowdown in the winter months. Better times will be coming soon, so please be patient and take advantage when the opportunity comes around again.

This time of year can be a difficult time for some of our members, so we hope anyone in need will reach out to our terrific IBEW/NECA Member Assistance Program that offers programs and counseling for mental health and drug and alcohol related issues. So don’t be shy about using these valuable resources we’ve put together for our members. If you need help, please reach out!

We hope you have also been able to take advantage of building community with your union brothers and sisters at your District holiday parties this year. It’s important to network with your neighbors and co-workers and be able to talk directly to your Business Reps. IBEW 11 covers a vast territory in Southern California, and these district parties are a good way to create community like small town neighborhoods where you can get to meet and interact with your colleagues and their families.

Enjoy! And Happy Holidays all!

In Solidarity,
Robert Corona
Business Manager