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Ohio University warned over safety issues 
Italy's 9/11 memorial draws international group Sacramento, Calif., Young members assist Sandy victims North of 49° Au nord du 49° parallèle 2012 Summary Annual Report for the National Electrical Annuity Plan
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Upstate N.Y. Transformer Manufacturer Expands Plant, Global Reach When Bill Woerner was hired by New York's Niagara Transformer 27 years ago, he joined 80 union workers at a family-owned company, expecting a steady job that could continue to deliver pay and benefits even as the area's auto plants and steel mills strained under extremes of boom and bust. "My father was a steelworker who advised me to find the job that would be the most consistent," says Woerner, who began to learn the trade of a coil winder, producing the interior of the transformers by delicately wrapping copper or aluminum wires around a core interspersed with layers of insulation for cooling. Woerner says he was proud to contribute to his employer's success in supplying a niche market for custom-designed transformers that can perform in punishing environments from the North Slope of Alaska to Antarctica. Prospering Together Led by the Darby family, Niagara Transformer and members of Buffalo Local 41 prospered together through many industry challenges such as the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, ostensibly calculated to increase markets for U.S.-manufactured goods, but which intensified competition in the electrical equipment market. Thousands of factories shut down, including many in Upstate New York. The IBEW's manufacturing membership took deep hits, losing jobs to new plants being built just inside the Mexican border, where their products were then exported back to the U.S. But, Niagara Transformer — founded in 1933 — defied the death spiral and was still standing. The company's business shifted to production of larger and more complex utility transformers and a new facility became a necessity. Today, journeyman inside wiremen, who are also members of Local 41, are completing a new climate-controlled, dust-free building with carefully managed ambient temperatures, expanded testing and painting capabilities, high ceilings and huge cranes, all designed to accommodate larger transformers. |
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