One Foot in the Future, One in the Present: Fighting for Jobs Across Energy Sectors
Plus: Convention Center update!
Jobs for our members is always priority number one. That’s why we spend so much time here at Local 11 seeking out opportunities for more jobs and exploring new technologies. Clean energy is at the forefront of a new frontier for the IBEW.
Recently I spoke at the Offshore Wind Conference in Long Beach, along with other leaders in the Building Trades community about a technology that can help create hundreds of jobs for our members for many years building and maintaining wind turbines and platforms that will sit in the ocean in federal waters 20 miles or more off the coast of Long Beach.
The CA Energy Commission hosted the meeting in collaboration with the Port of Long Beach to explore the pivotal role that ports can play in this growing offshore wind sector.
We testified about the port upgrades needed to help us achieve Gov. Newsom’s offshore wind, climate and green environmental goals, as well as developing new offshore wind workforce communities. We were joined by a diverse group of labor, business and environmental partners to discuss how to move the project forward and explore alternative green energy projects, worth billions of dollars of potential work for our members.
The challenge we face is that President Trump, on his first day in office, issued a temporary withdrawal on all leasing and permitting for all wind energy projects on federal land. But California officials are undeterred and told us at the hearing that they will continue going full speed ahead on all offshore wind projects.
While we have one foot in the future, we still have one foot firmly planted in the present. Many of our members work in the refineries, doing skilled and trained work. While we may be phasing out fossil fuels and moving toward renewable energy, there are many thousands of work hours between now and that transition.
That is why we speak to state legislators, investors, and offshore wind entrepreneurs to discuss projects and technologies that will benefit our members. Construction is a long-term project that we have to continually invest in.
As the IBEW works to electrify the future, we face challenges from the current administration in Washington, DC. We continue to advocate for EVITP — electrical charging stations — and capturing that work for our members. However, California is at loggerheads with the Trump administration on that front as well. The administration is trying to dismantle our EVITP charging programs and other green programs and trying to turn back the clock.
Jobs was the topic of conversation when Business Managers in the West met in Las Vegas last month to trade ideas and collaborate. It was also a major topic at the recent IBEW Construction and Maintenance conference in Washington, D.C. It’s why we went as a delegation to Sacramento last month to talk to legislators about protecting and growing our work, and why we meet with City Council members about major construction in our own backyard.
You can read more about our legislative priorities in this edition of News@11. Be on the lookout for ways you can help us advocate for some of this legislation. We all must work together in our local communities to educate our elected officials and businesses that we are trained and skilled and ready to get to work.
Convention Center Update
Sometimes, all that hard work pays off. The Convention Center expansion and renovation has been on our radar for several years, and now we have some good news to report.
Earlier this month, the City Council voted 14-1 to allocate an additional $27 million toward design and technical work for the facility built in the 1970s. IBEW 11 was there, turning out at Council meetings and meeting behind the scenes to urge lawmakers to update the aging facility. The last major renovation was on the West Hall in 1991 — when I was just an apprentice.
We’re losing conventions and other events to competing cities. The IBEW is having its International Convention next year in San Diego. They chose that venue over our city because of the facility. L.A. should have the best. That’s why we’re behind upgrading our convention center.
The original goal was to have the center completed by the 2028 Olympics. However, the January firestorms temporarily dampened the project due to concerns about funding and other infrastructure needs. Now, officials have agreed initially to a phased approach that would have construction begin later this year and finish by 2029, while temporarily stopping construction for several weeks during the actual 2028 Olympics.
We will continue to keep you posted on the status of the Convention Center project, as well as our many other efforts to capture and protect our work. Remember, IBEW is well-positioned for the future, as we electrify the nation.
In Solidarity,
Robert Corona
Business Manager/Financial Secretary
