Best in Class
Durability Defines Workforce at Pa. Plant

The Front Line:
Politics & Jobs
Dark money, elections
and you;
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• Michigan
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Organizing Innovation
In Tenn., Looking Back
for Inspiration

North of 49°
Saskatchewan Local Fights for Mineworker Rights

Au nord du 49° parallèle
La lutte locale Saskatchewannaise
pour les droits des travailleurs des mines

International Executive Council meeting minutes

Bikes, Not Buicks
Ore. Members Build Portland's New 'Auto-Free' Bridge

Popular songs and advertisements have inspired generations of Americans to get behind the wheel and step on the gas pedal. Returning World War II veterans were the first generation to "see the USA in your Chevrolet." From the Beach Boys' "Little Deuce Coupe" to Sammy Hagar's "I Can't Drive 55," there's a theme song for almost anyone to soundtrack their times on the open road.

But in Portland, Ore., car culture often takes a proverbial back seat to alternate modes of transportation — namely, bikes, buses and Birkenstocks.

Now, city infrastructure is catching up to the trend. And IBEW Local 48 is at the forefront.

More than 50 electricians are helping build the new Tilikum Crossing bridge, which will span the yawning gap of the Willamette River and connect the city's east and west downtown areas.

But don't think about driving your car across it. The 1,720-foot-long multimodal bridge will instead be the largest carless commuting bridge in the nation, reserved exclusively for public transportation and foot and bicycle traffic. Tilikum Crossing is slated to open in late 2015. By making the bridge available to pedestrians and public transit only, city officials hope to cut down both on traffic and pollution.

The bridge's main function will be to connect the city's MAX Light Rail transit line, which runs on electricity — and that means jobs for Local 48 members.

"We've been doing light rail from the beginning," said Business Manager Gary Young, whose membership has worked under project labor agreements to do this and other mass transit jobs in the city. "Because of our experience, as the rail system expands, the city has union contractors do the work."

Hill: Diverse Voices, Common Purpose
Chilia: On Labor Day, Celebrating Our Victories

John R. Clarke;
James Burgham;
Kevin E. Cash;
Don Herzog

NJATC Transitions into the Electrical Training Alliance;
Kansas City Manufacturer Earns Plaudits;
Community Engagement Across IBEW Generations
In Calif., A Solar-Powered Leg Up

The Value of Union;
Business Unionism?;
Union Proud

July 2014

Boston Lineman Flies Spotter Plane for
Wicked Tuna