March 2004 IBEW Journal

Retired

Douglas A. Fisher  

Douglas A. Fisher will retire March 1, 2004, from the Education and Research Department he directed for four years. A native of Tennessee, Brother Fisher came up through the IBEW ranks, earning the academic credentials of a bachelor’s and then master’s degrees as he advanced.

He finished his apprenticeship in Local 474 in Memphis in 1971 and served the local in a wide variety of capacities, including as business manager from 1984 to 1992, when he was appointed an international representative and assigned to the International Office.

After three years of service in what was then called Research and Education, Brother Fisher was assigned to the Construction and Maintenance Department, where he served on several national bargaining and technical committees, including the Safety Equipment Institute, where he continues to serve.

Effective January 1, 2000, he became director of Education and Research as it finished becoming the largest department in the International Office after consolidation of previous departments of corporate affairs, employee benefits, education and the IBEW library.

His bachelor’s degree is in labor studies from Antioch University via the George Meany Center for Labor Studies and his master’s is in labor and policy studies from Empire State University. Previously, he had attended Shelby State College, the State University in Nashville and the University of Arkansas in Little Rock.

At both the local and international level, Brother Fisher’s work has been marked by development of new technology to better serve IBEW members. Automating Local 474’s office system played a role in the 44 percent growth of the local, which went from one-third unemployed to almost full employment under his guidance. Similarly, his IO tenure has been marked by the introduction of such time - and cost-saving innovations as making information available in PDF format on CD-ROM rather than on paper, new computer software for costing a collective bargaining agreement and new interactive jurisdictional maps.

He is justifiably proud of “Just the Facts,” the national economic chart he developed with the Political/Legislative Department. It shows how the nation has fared since 1968 under seven different presidents in employment, federal deficits and imbalance in trade. The IBEW has distributed more than a million copies of the chart, which has been updated six times and is now being widely reprinted by other like-minded organizations.

Doug and his wife, Gloria, plan to retire in Crossville, Tennessee. They are the parents of a daughter Catherine Louise and four sons, all IBEW members. They are William Thomas of Local 12, Christopher George and Robert Douglas of Local 474 and Glenn Patrick, an apprentice in Local 270.

The IBEW extends best wishes to Gloria and Doug for a rewarding retirement, including plenty of what Doug plans: “fishing, golfing and doing whatever I want to do.”

Appointed

James C. Voye

IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill has appointed James C. Voye as director of the Department of Education and Research, effective March 1, 2004. He succeeds Douglas A. Fisher, who retired.

A third-generation member and a native of Buffalo, New York, Brother Voye was initiated into Local 41 in Buffalo in March 1991 and was appointed an International Representative by International President J.J. Barry in 1997. He came to the International Office as a research analyst in the then Research Department. He also worked in the areas of industrial organizing and corporate affairs before his appointment to the Education and Research Department.

His bachelor’s degree is in political science/economics from the University of Buffalo, and his master’s degree is in industrial relations. He has augmented those degrees with further courses in employee benefits at George Washington University and in organizing at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies.

Brother Voye has represented the IBEW on a wide variety of public boards and commissions, serving on the Council of Institutional Investors, the U.S. Competitiveness Policy Council and the Department of Labor Research Advisory Committee in addition to service to the labor movement on the Building Trades Worker Owner Council and the Center for Working Capital.

Corporate Affairs, where Brother Voye worked in both research and activist roles, is one of the I.O. departments consolidated into Education and Research in recent years.

The IBEW congratulates and wishes Brother Voye much success in his new position.

Appointed

Martha J. Pultar

IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill appointed Martha J. Pultar as director of the Telecommunications Department at the International Office effective February 15, 2004. She succeeds Joseph J. Penna, who has been reassigned to the Third District to work on special projects.

Sister Pultar was initiated into Local 2321, North Andover, Massachusetts, in 1981 when she began working for New England Telephone, which is now part of Verizon. A native of Lowell, Massachusetts, she was vice president of the local from 1997 to 2000, and had served on the bargaining and bylaws committees. Previously, she was assistant business manager for the local from 1988 until her appointment as an International Representative, and was elected as a delegate to the 1991 and 1996 International Conventions. Sister Pultar also served as Traffic chairperson for IBEW System Council T-6, which includes ten locals representing Verizon Operator Services in New England and was a delegate to the Greater Lowell and Lawrence Central Labor Councils.

President Hill appointed Sister Pultar as an International Representative in April 2001, and she was assigned to the Telecommunications Department. In that capacity, she has worked with telecommunications locals, assisted in negotiations and participated in the strategic development of campaigns to organize cable, wireless and broadband workers. In 2002, she led the successful organizing drive at an AT&T relay center in Baltimore, Maryland.

The IBEW congratulates Sister Pultar and wishes her every success as she assumes her new responsibilities as director.

Transitions

Retired

Douglas A. Fisher

Appointed

James C. Voye

Martha J. Pultar

Deceased (page 2)

T. E. "Jack" Bobbitt

Maurice E. Conway