Youngstown, Ohio, Local 64 Business Manager James Burgham, who had served as the Third District representative on the International Executive Council since 2014, retired effective Jan. 1.

Brother Burgham was elected business manager in 1996 and re-elected nine times, serving in other leadership positions in labor and business throughout northeast Ohio during his tenure.

He was a member of the Council on Industrial Relations, which mediates disputes between the IBEW's local unions and signatory contractors, from 2005 to 2010.

"Times are changing and continue to change," Burgham said. "We need to get more of our younger members involved. Sometimes, when a younger member approaches someone about the value of [IBEW membership], people are more receptive. I'm thankful for a good career and now it is time to turn things over to someone else."

Burgham has IBEW roots in his family but his career nearly took him to his father's trade. His uncle, Bill Lyden, is a former Local 64 business manager, but his father — also James — was a member of the Sheet Metal Workers union.

As a young man, Burgham attended college for a year before deciding to pursue a career in the trades. His first job earned him membership in the Sheet Metal Workers for two years while he waited to see if he would be accepted into its apprenticeship or the IBEW's.

"The IBEW called first," Burgham said.

With that, he joined Local 64 in 1981. He was elected to the Executive Board in 1987 and named president in 1992. He was re-elected to that position in 1993 and elected business manager three years later.

Burgham credits the late Jack Manning, Local 64's president early in his career, for encouraging him to get involved in the union. Manning gave him his start in leadership by appointing him to the local's Health and Welfare Committee.

He credits Local 64's members for any success he had as a business manager. They recognized that a jurisdiction hit hard by manufacturing job losses could sometimes be volatile in terms of work, he said.

"They understood the ups and downs of the industry," he said. "I didn't take credit when work was plentiful. They didn't blame me when we had a couple of winters when work was slow. They were very good to deal with."

Local 64 kept good relationships with its key partners, such as Youngstown State University, Mercy Health and Southern Park Mall, he said. Burgham also worked to create an alliance with Youngstown's Chamber of Commerce chapter, a group not often seen as a labor ally.

"Sometimes, when a business is coming to an area and they know the chamber has a good relationship with organized labor, they don't shy away from using it," he said.

Burgham said he was particularly honored when then-International President Edwin D. Hill asked him to join the IEC because Local 64 is a relatively small construction local — it currently has about 380 members — and is overshadowed by larger local unions in nearby Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The nine-member council meets four times per year and is the final authority on the granting of pensions, vested rights and disability payments, among other things.

New Local 64 Business Manager Scott Satterlee said it was obvious how much respect Burgham had within the brotherhood when he attended an IBEW employee benefits conference with him in 2019.

"I was just amazed at how many people he knew," Satterlee said. "When I went down there, I was proud to be part of Youngstown, Ohio. With him as our business manager, we were represented extremely well."

As he intended, Burgham is turning leadership over to a new generation. Satterlee, 29, was Local 64 president when appointed as Burgham's successor and will face re-election next year. He also worked on the local's staff as an organizer.

"He taught me that when you make decisions, make sure you are fair and think about the membership as a whole," Satterlee said. "Everyone is the same and show no favoritism.

"He was always involved in the community, which is a lot of work. He spent a lot of extra hours going to certain events. That made me realize the business manager of a local has to be involved in the whole area as much as you can be."

In retirement, Burgham plans to split his time between Youngstown and Venice, Fla., with Shirley, his wife of 36 years, and spend more time traveling and riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Shirley Burgham is a retired member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. He was replaced on the IEC by Portsmouth, Ohio, Local 575 Business Manager Daniel Shirey.

The officers and staff thank Brother Burgham for his many years of service and wish him a long and happy retirement.

International President Lonnie R. Stephenson has appointed Portsmouth, Ohio, Local 575 Business Manager Daniel Shirey to the International Executive Council representing members in the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

Shirey replaces the Third IEC District's James Burgham, a former Youngstown, Ohio, Local 64 business manager, who retired from the IEC and as business manager effective Jan. 1.

A native of the Portsmouth-area village of Otway, Shirey didn't jump into an electrical career right away, he said.

"After high school, I went to Shawnee State University for a year," he said. "But I realized that college wasn't for me."

So, Shirey decided to follow his father into the IBEW. He was admitted into an apprenticeship with Local 575 in 1996 and was initiated into the IBEW the following year.

The busy local put him to work right away. One of his proudest projects as a wireman, he said, was working on Unit 3 of the East Kentucky Power Cooperative plant just upriver from Portsmouth in Maysville, Ky. "It was a really big job for us," he said. "We had 150 members on it at peak."

Eventually, Shirey grew more active with his local, serving on its Executive Board from 2005 to 2011. He was hired as a Local 575 referral agent in 2007, and in 2011, he was appointed business manager to fill a vacancy. He has since been re-elected three times.

"I can remember when I started as international vice president of the Fourth District in 2011 and meeting a smiling young man eager to help the IBEW," said International Secretary-Treasurer Kenneth Cooper. "I watched Dan grow in his role and knew that his commitment to the IBEW membership would put him in a leadership role. As a business manager, he was always eager to step up any time we asked for his energy and help, and I think he will do a great job while serving on the IEC."

Fourth District Business Development Representative Jon Rosenberger has known Shirey since 2015. "Dan and I just kind of hit it off," he said.

Rosenberger has a lot of good memories working with Shirey, he said. He recalled one time when a variance of the regional agreement was needed from Local 575 for work on a major southern Ohio solar project.

A phone call with Shirey was arranged, with Rosenberger and fellow Fourth District International Representatives David Moran (now retired) and Steve Crum to work out the parameters of the deal.

"Dan said, 'If it's going to provide work opportunities for IBEW members, then of course we'll do it,'" Rosenberger said.

"Dan and his wife were on vacation at the time," Rosenberger said. "He's just always willing to step outside the box to get those projects."

Fourth District International Vice President Gina Cooper said that Shirey has always stepped up when asked. "Whether he is testifying at Ohio Power Siting board hearings, rallying political allies, serving his brothers and sisters at the Ohio State Conference or in his community," she said, "he is a great leader who goes above and beyond for his membership and is always trying to secure more work and better wages and benefits for all workers."

Shirey has served as chairman of the Southeastern Ohio Business Managers Association as well as two terms as vice president of the Shawnee Labor Council, which covers the labor unions of the greater Portsmouth area. He is president of the Ohio State Conference of the IBEW and also is a volunteer firefighter.

"I have been the city of Portsmouth's electrical inspector for the last 10 years, too," he said. "That's been a very good organizing tool."

Shirey has been married to his wife, Amy, for 29 years. They have three grown children; the oldest, Daniel, is a construction wireman on one of Local 575's several solar farm projects, and he has applied for an apprenticeship with the local. The couple also have two grandchildren, whom Shirey calls "the lights of our life."

"When I was just a young journeyman, I never envisioned running for office. It just kind of happened," Shirey said. "It's always been my goal to serve the membership. Somebody's got to step up."

Shirey counts traveling with his wife and family as one of his top hobbies. "It's kind of our thing," he said, "although with COVID-19, it's been kind of hard." He also enjoys making his way up to Lake Erie for walleye fishing.

"Dan's always optimistic. I couldn't think of a better person to take Jim's place on the IEC," Rosenberger said. "I know he will work hard for the members."

Please join the entire membership in wishing Brother Shirey much success in his new role.

Former First District International Representative Larry Schell, a leader in construction organizing in Canada for nearly three decades, died on Jan. 9 after a bout with pneumonia. He was 71.

Brother Schell was a close friend and colleague of First District International Vice President Thomas Reid. The two worked together for many years when Schell was the construction organizing coordinator for western Canada while Reid served in the same role for eastern Canada.

"Larry was such a genuinely beautiful person," Reid said. "He liked everyone. He was friendly to everyone. He was very giving. He would help anyone at any time."

Victoria, British Columbia, Local 230 Business Manager Phil Venoit, a friend for more than 20 years, said Schell "really did smile at everything."

"My mother used to say, 'Don't worry about the small crackers,' and Larry had that same attitude and a smile that went along with it," said Venoit, who also serves as Canada's representative on the International Executive Council. "He was always a gentleman and had a very logical mind. You could almost see his mind working in his facial expressions as he solved a problem. He was a great shoulder to lean on and always looking to help."

Brother Schell's career began in his hometown, when he joined Kitchener, Ontario, Local 804 after being hired at Electrohome, a consumer electronics firm, in 1969. Working in the company's engineering department, Schell was part of a group that used lathes and milling machines to make prototypes of new products.

Schell overcame a cancer diagnosis early in his career to become a full-time business agent for Local 804 in 1973. Five years later, he accepted an offer to become the first full-time organizer for Edmonton, Alberta, Local 424 and headed west. He remained in Alberta the rest of his life, joining the First District staff in 1993 as an international representative.

His influence went beyond construction. Venoit represents a local whose members come from several branches. To work with an international representative like Schell, who had experience in both manufacturing and construction, was invaluable, he said.

"That's where he really found gold in our local, because of our diversity in terms of the work itself," Venoit said. "He found comfort in a lot of the conversations and problems we had because it took him back into his old role of manufacturing."

Reid said Schell and his wife Jan always made sure to send his three children Christmas presents while they were growing up. They viewed them as surrogate nieces and nephews, he said.

One year, while Schell was in Ottawa for a First District progress meeting, the couple rented a car and made a more than three-hour drive to the wedding of one of Reid's daughters.

That was indicative of the way Schell lived his life, Reid said.

"Family meant everything to Larry," he said. "That was his mantra back in the day when I was hired. Family first, IBEW second. Those were his two priorities."

Jan Schell remembers a moment in the late 1990s when her husband's devotion to the brotherhood really showed through. An electrician with a baby at home was out of work so Larry decided to loan him one of the Schell family cars.

Well, loan isn't quite accurate. Turns out the Schells actually gave the electrician and his young family the car, Jan said.

"My car went," she said. "We got a second-hand one for me. I look back and shake my head at all the events we went through. He loved everyone and I can't even begin to explain all the good things he did for people."

Venoit said anyone in the IBEW who was a friend of Schell was a friend of Jan's.

"I don't think there was a time in the last two decades without me hugging them both when I saw them," he said. "She was there with a very similar smile as Larry's. If they liked you, you knew they really liked you. There was no holding back. There's almost a salt of the earth type feeling when people approach you with obvious goodwill and good intentions like that."

Schell served on the Alberta Labour Relations Board, an independent council that worked to resolve disputes between the province's trade unions and management, from 1984 to 2011. He also was an active volunteer for the Special Olympics and Ride for Sight, a motorcycle-based charity that raised money for the Foundation Fighting Blindness.

He retired in December 2017 but continued to conduct classes on organizing education.

"He was a very successful organizer, very dedicated and had a huge impact on the IBEW in Canada," Reid said.

Schell's father, Lorne, who also was an Electrohome employee and a World War II veteran, passed away on Jan. 25 at the age of 97.

Larry Schell is survived by Jan, who he was married to for 51 years; children Jason and Katrina; and four grandchildren. Jason Schell is a Local 424 member.

The officers and staff extend their deepest sympathies to Brother Schell's family and many friends.