2017 Code Books are available for $80

at the Apprenticeship

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RETIREES LUNCHEON-(Finally back from summer break)

SEPTEMBER 29TH

A-F bring MEAT

G-L bring VEGETABLE

M-R bring SALAD

S-Z bring DESSERT

ALL RETIRES; WIVES AND WIDOWS ARE WELCOME AND APPRECIATED.

PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN TABLE SERVICE

(PLATES, KNIVES, FORKS, SPOONS AND CUPS).

IT WILL BE A PLEASURE TO SEE YOU!

opeiu #30

afl-cio

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Labor Day 2016

For many of us, spring and summer have been filled with the routine seasonal chores and family commitments.  The challenge is finding the balance between work and all of the other interests that demand our time.  The Local Union has successfully conducted another election and new officers have been provided an opportunity to take on their responsibilities.  Delegates to the 39th IBEW Convention are eager to represent our members in this parliamentary process.

On the local level, we are seeing only a slight decline in hours worked by our members.  While job calls have slowed, we have still been putting travelers to work.  Due to several project start delays, fourth quarter activity is projected to also show a slight decline.  First quarter of 2017 is projected to present resumed hiring activity and a return to target man-hour goals.

While these recent late afternoon showers have made for a cooler late summer temperatures, the hot climate is omnipresent in the political campaigns.  There are political issues raised annually that have the real potential to impact our livelihoods.  Whether it be defeating right to work, supporting the right to collective bargaining or the numerous pieces of proposed legislation that are intended to strip or limit your rights to fair pay and benefits.  The LU alone cannot continue fighting the groups that want to destroy us.  We need each of you as members to join and assist us.  There are phone bank and neighborhood campaigns where we could use a couple hours of your time.  Please contact the LU to find out how you can help.

We ask that you play an active role in your LU commitment to perpetuate the achievements and satisfy the needs of our members and families.  The solutions to our challenges are reliant on your participation.

In honor of our national holiday, remember those that have gone before us, reap the rewards of your own hard work and stand strong on your values and commitments.  Have a great Labor Day weekend and here’s to a safe return.

Posted 9-2-16

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IBEW 68 Initiative and Candidate Endorsements 2016

AMENDMENT U (Referred by the legislature)Beginning in the tax year 2018, Amendment U would eliminate property taxes for individuals or businesses that use government owned property for a private benefit worth $6,000 or less in market value. Neutral

AMENDMENT 69 - State Healthcare System 

Amends the Colorado Constitution to: 1) established ColoradoCare, a statewide system to finance health care services for Colorado residents; 2) create new taxes on most sources of income, redirect existing state and federal health funding to pay for the services and administration of ColoradoCare, exempt ColoradoCare from constitutional limits on revenue and require approval by Colorado residents for future tax increases; 3) establish a board of trustees to oversee the operations. Oppose

AMENDMENT 70 - Increase the Minimum Wage

Increase the minimum wage to $12.00 by 2020. The initiative moves the minimum wage up to $9.00 in January 2017, then increases $0.90 every year to get to $12.00, then adjust to cost of living every year after that.  Tipped minimum wage is based off a percentage of minimum wage. Support

AMENDMENT 71 - Requirements for Constitutional Amendments 

Requires that any petition for a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment be signed by at least 2 percent of the registered electors in each of the 35 state Senate districts.  The percentages of votes to pass any proposed constitutional amendment would be increased from a majority to at least 55 percent of the votes cast, unless the proposed amendment only repeals any provision of the constitution. Oppose

AMENDMENT 72 - 

Would amend Colorado's constitution so that starting in January taxes on a cigarette would increase from 84 cents per to $2.59 per pack. The tax on other tobacco products would increase by 22% of the manufacturers' list price. The language in the measure spells out how specific percentages of tax revenues would be spend. Neutral

PROPOSITION 106 - Medical Aid in Dying

The "aid in dying" measure, which would change state law, is the third citizens' initiative to successfully make the ballot. The initiative permits "mentally capable" Colorado adults who have been diagnosed with an illness and have less than six months live to self=administer a drug that would cause their death. Neutral

PROPOSITION 107 - Presidential Primary and Open Primary 

Restores a presidential primary to be held before the end of March in presidential election years, and allows unaffiliated voters to participate without declaring themselves to be a member of a political party.  Oppose

PROPOSITION 108 - Open Primary 

Allows unaffiliated voters to participate in primary elections without having to declare being a members of a certain party, as is the current law.  However, Republicans and Democrats could decide to forgo having a primary election and instead choose their general election nominees at the assembly or convention, providing that 75 percent of the party's state central committee agrees.  Oppose

U.S. Congress:

 Congressional District 1 – Diana DeGette

 Congressional District 2 – Jared Polis

 Congressional District 3 – Gail Schwartz

 Congressional District 4 – Bob Seay

 Congressional District 6 – Morgan Carroll

 Congressional District 7 – Ed Perlmutter

 State Senate:

Posted 9-19-16

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Working Families Canvass

September 24th

10:30 am – 1:30 pm,

Meeting at Carmichael Park, 650 E Southern Street, Brighton

Join your Union Brothers and Sisters to help elect local Pro-Working family candidates, who stand with us on issues such as:

Paid Family Leave, Collective Bargaining and will oppose "Right to Work" laws

 Posted 9-13-16

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Working Families Canvass

October 8th

9:30 am – 12:30 pm,

Meeting at Columbine Park, 6710 W 53rd Avenue, Arvada

Join your Union Brothers and Sisters to help elect local Pro-Working family candidates, who stand with us on issues such as:

Paid Family Leave, Collective Bargaining and will oppose "Right to Work" laws

 Posted 9-15-16

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Important Request for Assistance

This election cycle we are working together to build power for unions and working families. We need your help fighting Right to Work, and supporting issues like Collective Bargaining.  Many of the concerns and battles that we face daily could be put in the hands of decision makers that have never and will never look favorably on organized labor.  In Colorado, “down ballot races” as in the past, have the potential to determine the future direction of organized labor and potential impact to you and your families.

IBEW 68 is desperately asking our members to commit to volunteering 2 hours of their time to talk to voters regarding important issues that impact our union and our members.  There are several outreach options including phone banking and neighborhood walks.

Scheduled phone banking dates are:  September 13 & 15, October 4, 6, 25 & 27.  All phone banking will take place at the AFL-CIO office at 140 Sheridan Blvd., Denver.

Scheduled neighborhood walks for the Metro area are:

September 10 – Arapahoe County, 9:30 – 12:30, meeting at Westlands Park, 5701 S. Quebec St. (Quebec & Orchard), BBQ will follow.

September 24 – Brighton/Adams County, 9:30 – 12:30, meeting at Carmichael Park, 650 E. Southern St., Brighton, CO.

October 8 – Jefferson County, Time and Location to be determined.

Please contact Morgan Buchanan at (303) 591-9932 or Jack Cox at (303) 905-1430, for information and details regarding these efforts.

Help us represent you by volunteering! 

Posted 8-31-16

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I.B.E.W. LOCAL 68

W.B.F GOLF SCRAMBLE 2016

All Union Families and Friends Welcome

BROUGHT TO YOU BY: I.B.E.W. Local 68, The Joint Industry Promotional Fund and the Wireman’s Brotherhood Fund.                                                                                   

Date:                             October 8, 2016

Place:                           Coyote Creek                           

                                      222 Clubhouse Drive

                                      Ft. Lupton, CO  80621

                                      (303) 857-6322

Take I-25 to the Dacono/Ft. Lupton Exit (235). Go east on HWY 52 about 9 miles through the town of Ft. Lupton. The course is .5 miles east of town.

Format:                        Four Person Scramble

Time:                            9:00 AM Shotgun Start (be there at 8:00 am)

Cost:                            $85.00 per person – Includes Green Fees, Cart & Prizes & Food.

Entry Deadline:           September 30th 2016 – Tournament is on a first come first serve basis. TOURNAMENT WILL MAX OUT @ 144 GOLFERS!  Payment secures spot.

For more information contact:  Ed Ayala – (303) 810-6988, Frank Crespin – (303) 587-6339, Jeff Roughton (303) 667-6850 or Ted Thomas (303) 321-6934

Posted 8-17-16

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IBEW ENDORSES HILLARY CLINTON FOR PRESIDENT

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers President Lonnie R. Stephenson issued the following statement endorsing Hillary Clinton for President.

“The choice America faces this November is now clear. As senator, Hillary Clinton has stood with us and the labor movement more than 90 percent of time, from opposing right-to-work laws to supporting federal project labor agreements. Secretary Clinton has vowed to invest in our industrial and energy infrastructure and push for stronger enforcement of labor law, including cracking down on wage theft that is all too common in the construction industry.

“Most importantly, considering the vacancy on the Supreme Court, she will appoint a justice who respects the right to collectively bargain.

“I want to thank Sen. Bernie Sanders for his numerous contributions to the campaign. He raised issues of major importance to working families and stood with our members when times were tough. I look forward to working with him in the years to come in the fight for fairness for the middle class. 

“The majority of primary voters have spoken and now is the time for us to come together behind one candidate. “

“As a president of the largest union in the electrical industry, I want someone in the White House who will make it easier, not harder, for working families to come together and speak up for themselves. A president who is committed to raising wages, boosting retirement security and making it easier for working parents to raise their families – and has the legislative record to back it up. And I want a president who is committed to appointing justices who will not overturn our hard-fought for rights on the job.

“That is why the IBEW is endorsing Hillary Clinton for president. Every IBEW member will have to make their own decision on Nov. 8, but I encourage them to study both candidates’ records – both in words and deeds – and give Secretary Clinton their support as well. The stakes are too high.”

 Posted 6-10-16

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ELECTION RESULTS 

PRESIDENT

Morgan J. Buchanan-238

Tom Rutherford-189

VICE PRESIDENT

Ben McNew-361

RECORDING SECRETARY

Kyle Weber-358

TREASURER

John Wolf-354

BUSINESS MANAGER/FINANCIAL SECRETARY/CONVENTION DELEGATE

Jim Mantele-317

“Cowboy” Michael Humphreys-112

EXECUTIVE BOARD-Vote for seven (7)

Robert Delgado-328

Tony Pastore-310

Casey Curtin-308

David Trujillo-302

Debora (Burdick) Tikka-284

Ben Cobos-249

Gregory “Hoss” Milligan-236

Lee DeBoer-218

Troy Ingalls-215

EXAMINING BOARD

Ron “Rondo” Trace-329

BUILDING ASSOCIATION 

DELEGATE TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION-Vote for six (6)

Edward Ayala-319

Morgan J. Buchanan-318

Dan Cathey-312

Tom Rutherford-298

Jeremy Ross-265

Debora (Burdick) Tikka-248

Ben McNew-228

Jeff C. Glodt-157

 Posted 6-4-16

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ATTENTION!!!

IBEW Local 68's website was hit with a virus that caused users to be redirected when searching for our site in a search engine (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc). If you followed the link and were directed to a porn site of some sort, there is a good chance you may have been infected as well. We have discovered that the source of the attack on our website also controls the websites you were directed to.

We suggest you to run some scans for possible infections. The below programs are free and have been reliable in removing the infections. Please install both programs below and run full scans of your pc.

Microsoft Security Essentials : https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5201

Malwarebytes : https://www.malwarebytes.org/dl-confirm/

Only after you have ran the scans, we would suggest that you update your password on any password protected sites that were accessed since this last Sunday, April 25th.

 Posted 4-27-16

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WWII Veteran and IBEW Local Union 68  celebrates 100th birthday

 World War II Army veteran Emerald Nelson celebrated his 100th birthday with friends and family on Saturday.

 (Photo: Jonathan Gonzalez, 9NEWS)

As if 99 years of milestones weren't enough, World War II Army veteran Emerald Nelson thought he'd mark one more—his 100th birthday.

Emerald was honored at the IBEW Local 68 union hall in Denver on Saturday, where more than a hundred of his friends and family celebrated a life that the 100-year-old said was very fulfilling.

"It's been a good life. I'll tell you that," he said.  Emerald still lives on his own, though his son, Ted Nelson, checks on him regularly.

"Well, it's a number that I won't ever see probably," Ted said. "He's pretty durable. We call him the energizer bunny."

Emerald spent his time in the Army stationed in India as an electrician in the Railroad Battalion, serving from 1943 until 1946.

He's also been a member of IBEW Local 68 for 77 years, retiring as a journeyman electrician in 1978.

"You can't stop him, even if you want to. He's very stubborn. His father lived to be 97, so there's definitely longevity in his family," said Rianna Reigelman, his granddaugther.

While Emerald admits there's no secret to his milestone, he said he's always lived by one simple, but important motto.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," he said. "That's my motto, and I pretty well stuck to it all my life."

Posted 2/1/16

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 Important Mandatory Change for filing 2015 Federal Tax Returns

 In January 2016, you will receive an Internal Revenue Service Form 1095-B ("Form 1095-B") from the Eighth District Electrical Benefit Fund ("Plan").  You will need this Form 1095-B to complete your 2015 federal tax return.  The purpose of the letter is to provide you information about the Form 1095-B and explain why it is important for you to save the Form 1095-B that you receive from the Plan.  

The Affordable Care Act ("ACA") requires health plans to submit information to plan participants and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) regarding health coverage provided to plan participants during the prior calendar year.  This information is submitted on the Form 1095-B and is used by the IRS to enforce the ACA’s “individual mandate,” which requires most individuals to either have qualifying health coverage or pay a penalty.   

In January 2016, the Plan will send you a copy of the Form 1095-B that it will submit to the IRS. The Form 1095-B will indicate the months in which you and your dependent(s) had coverage from the Plan. You will need this Form 1095-B to complete your 2015 federal tax return, which will ask whether or not you and your dependent(s) had qualifying health coverage during the 2015 calendar year.  Therefore, it is important for you to keep the Form 1095-B with your tax documents and provide it to your tax preparer.  It is also important for you to review the Form 1095-B to ensure that the information is correct. If you find a discrepancy, please contact the Fund Office. 

The ACA also requires certain employers to submit information to participants and the IRS regarding health coverage provided to employees during the prior calendar year. The employers subject to these ACA reporting requirements are referred to as Applicable Large Employers (“ALEs”). Generally, an employer is an ALE if it had an average of at least 50 full-time employees (including both union and non-union employees) in the prior calendar year.  This means that if you worked for an ALE during the 2015 calendar year, you will receive a form from that employer called an IRS Form 1095-C (“Form 1095-C”). If you receive a Form 1095-C, you should keep it with your tax documents in case your tax preparer asks to review the information while (s)he is preparing your federal tax return.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Plan’s Fund Office at (800)628-6562. 

Additional information can also be found on the Fund’s website at www.8thdist.org.   

Posted 12/30/15

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Important ERTS Information

The Trustees of the IBEW Pacific Coast Pension Fund have decided to terminate participation in the Electrical Industry Pension Reciprocal Agreement.  This becomes effective for contributions paid on behalf of a participant on and after January 1, 2016.  As a result of this decision, the following changes will take effect for employment performed on and after the effective date:

1)  No contributions for work performed in the jurisdiction of the IBEW Pacific Coast Pension Fund will be transferred to another electrical industry plan; and

2)  No contributions for work performed in another electrical industry plan’s jurisdiction will be transferred to the IBEW Pacific Coast Pension Fund.

The IBEW Pacific Coast Pension Fund Office indicates that inside members working out of Local Union 76 in Tacoma, Washington, will be affected by this change.  However, there are other agreements along the Pacific Coast through Oregon and California (possibly LU’s 6, 46 and 48) that also participate in this plan, but the “Inside Wireman” classifications may not be affected. 

It is strongly suggested that Local Unions inform their members working in these areas, or planning on traveling to these areas, that any pension contributions made on their behalf will not be reciprocated to their Home Fund.  It is quite likely they will lose the benefit of any defined benefit contributions unless they manage to stay employed until vested in this plan which remains in critical status.

Therefore, be advised if you are presently working or plan to work in these jurisdictions, you should verify the reciprocity status with the specific Local Union.

Posted 12/30/15

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 Important Pension Notice

Pursuant to action taken by the Eighth District Pension Fund, Plan Participants may have your pension contribution reciprocated to your home local.  There are specific qualifications and a cautionary notification that should be carefully considered prior to redirecting the reciprocation of your funds.

Briefly, an established participant who is working in a jurisdiction that only provides a defined contribution plan (annuity), may elect to reciprocate the amount of the defined benefit (pension) consistent with the current home local Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Should a participant contemplate the reciprocal action, be reminded, the Plan must receive a minimum of 500 hours of contributions in a Plan Year to receive a partial credit.  Once funds are deposited on your behalf, they cannot be retrieved.

Should there be any questions, please contact Sandy Brown at the Fund Office at (303) 745-1539 or the Local Union.