I am writing to you to see if you will put this picture of these two old retired IBEW members in the Electrical Worker.

I'm the taller of the two in this picture. The other man is my cousin, Curtis Brown. The picture was made November 30th, 2017, at his 100th birthday party. Curtis served in WWII. He went ashore at Omaha Beach and fought across France, Belguim, and Germany.

After he got out of the Army in 1945, he went to work for Arkansas Power and Light Co. in El Dorado, Ark., as an apprentice lineman. In early 1946, he joined Local 436, which was a construction local. Later, the power company formed their union, Local 1703. After several years as a lineman, he moved to Magnolia, Ark., and worked as a serviceman until he retired.

Curtis has been a union member for 71 years. He and his wife live in Magnolia. She turned 95 years old January 20th.

I worked as an electrician at International Paper Co. in Pine Bluff, Ark., for 40 years, where I was a member of Local 2033. I served as treasurer of my local for over 25 years and retired in 1999. I have been a union member for over 57 years.

I am a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in Germany from 1957 to 1959 during the Cold War.

Elton A. Garris, Local 2033 retiree
Pine Bluff, Ark.

It is common knowledge that union workers are the most productive, safe, informed and intelligent in the United States.

We should be picking the cream of the crop and encouraging them to be more active in public life.

Support them. Get them elected to local, state and federal office.

Who better to represent working America?

Ron Schocal, Local 53 retiree
Kansas City, Mo.

IBEW brothers and sisters, vote for your job security, vote for your wages, vote for keeping your benefits, vote for keeping our work honest. Most of all, vote for your well-being and bettering you and your family.

Samuel Hall, Local 71 apprentice
Columbus, Ohio

[Responding to the OSHA inspectors story of this issue]

For our own protection, we need to be our own inspectors. Like it or not, IBEW members have the most education and safety training of all the crafts. We need to bring violations to the attention of management and we need the backing of the halls to ensure those individuals who whistleblow are not retaliated against. This will become even more important as the NLRB loses its teeth and places anti-labor individuals on the board. Just as we have the ability to be our own stewards, we must also have the courage and competence to be our own safety stewards.

Lori Valdez, Local 415 member
Cheyenne, Wyo.