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International Secretary Emeritus Ralph A. Leigon

October/November 2001 IBEW Journal

Thank you very much, International President Ed Hill, International Secretary-Treasurer Jerry O'Connor, all other duly-elected International Officers, invited guests and, more importantly of all, sister and brother delegates to this 36th Convention of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

I want to thank you, President Hill, for your very cordial invitation for me to attend and participate in this grand convention and also for your very kind introduction. And I thank each of you for the very warm and fraternal welcome that you just gave me. I will cherish that greeting with a feeling of pride and with deep humility.

I'd like to take this opportunity to extend my personal congratulations and best wishes to our outstanding leadership team of Ed Hill and Jerry O'Connor.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Jack Barry, President Emeritus, for his outstanding vision and leadership that has meant so much to the success of our Brotherhood.

While I have this opportunity, I'd also like to add my own personal congratulations and best wishes to each of the duly elected vice presidents and Executive Council members that were installed yesterday.

You know, it is a real pleasure for me to be here in this historic city of San Francisco, the City by the Bay, and to share in the excitement of this great convention. I'm thankful for the opportunity to once again visit with those of you I've had the pleasure of working with over the years, and also for the opportunity to become acquainted with those of you I have not had the privilege of meeting before.

As President Hill mentioned, today this convention is the 13th consecutive IBEW Convention that I've had the honor and privilege to attend. The first was the 24th Convention held in October, 1950, in Miami, Florida.

For those of you who have no proof that there was even such a year as 1950, let me assure you that there really was. But it was back in a previous century, back even before Brother Ed Hill and Jerry O'Connor -- even before they had begun their apprenticeships.

But for all of those conventions, for all of those years, I've been deeply impressed by how many first-time delegates were attending and, oh, how deeply indebted we are to you who are attending your first convention or otherwise beginning your IBEW careers. Without you there would not be an ongoing, high-achieving Brotherhood to foster the memories, to stir the hopes, and to brighten the future for all of us.

Since our last convention in Philadelphia, relatively good economic times have reminded us that we must never, ever underestimate the strength of Canada and the United States, two of the greatest nations in the history of our planet. Just let me reiterate right now that our brothers and sisters from Canada are full-time, equal-opportunity members of this great Brotherhood.

I have a little pin here that has both flags. Vice President Rose gave that to me the first time I went to Canada as the International Secretary. And he says, "Ralph, you speak funny and the delegates may not understand everything that you're saying, but as long as you have that little pin with Canada and the United States together, you'll be okay." And I've worn it ever since.

More important, never underestimate the strength of the working people of these two nations when they band together, and particularly when they're banded together in the name of the IBEW, the greatest union on earth. But let me give you just one example of that potential strength.

Almost all of the IBEW conventions that I've attended were during the Cold War. Nuclear weapons threaten the world, and it had a big impact on our lives. But that ended a decade ago when the Soviet system collapsed and its great symbol, the Berlin Wall, came tumbling down. That great advance in world history was started a decade earlier by a democratic process of a group of working people in Poland, a group of delegates sent by their members to represent them much as you were chosen to come here.

They were doing the work of their union, the work of Solidarity, and they had the courage to stand up and say "No" to injustice, and they changed the world.

And that's the whole point. Workers can change the world. And the work you do here, the principles you cling to, and the seeds you sow for the future, displays what is best for working people. You will not forget the work that you do here. Each convention, every convention that I've been to -- each convention establishes its own identity. You're different than any other we've ever had, and you're different than any other we will have in the future.

After you return home and have the time to reflect on this week in San Francisco, you too will have accumulated fond memories that will last a lifetime. Enjoy them. And allow me to add just one word of caution. Don't neglect to involve retirees. Last year, we ran --

Thank you, especially since I'm one of them.

Last year, we ran the most effective political campaign in our history. Union voters were registered, and a record number turned out to vote. The unity of the IBEW displayed in that effort was nothing short of astounding.

But what a waste it would be in following up on that effort if we didn't involve our IBEW retirees. And what a waste it would be of good, solid trade unionists for them to drop out of the process at retirement, exactly when they best understand the necessity of union involvement in public affairs, exactly when they have more discretionary time than ever before in their lives. We need active retirees to help when the government says abolish project labor agreements. We need active retirees to help when Congress considers giving a blank check called Fast Track with which to destroy our jobs in the name of foreign trade. We need active retirees to help when a regulatory agency says, "Let the free market rule and workers don't need protections in the processes of deregulation."

But each time you stand up against injustices like those and each time you activate your members to help, you are making your mark on the future. You're protecting future generations of IBEW members. And at the end of the day when our work is done and we lay down our tools -- and that is ultimately why we are here, is to give the voice to the hopes and voice to the aspirations and to the best instincts of working people -- that voice will be heard for as long as this vibrant and enduring Brotherhood stands up against injustices in the world.

And I'm very proud to have been a part of this great organization over the past 56 years, and I thank you so much for having given me the opportunity to work with you and to work for you. God bless the United States, and God bless Canada. Have a successful convention, and I wish you Godspeed. Thank you very much.