Denver Local 111 and Eighth District staff knew Asplundh management would push back against their organizing efforts in Colorado.

And they were ready. Despite management interference, Asplundh tree-trimmers throughout the state overwhelmingly voted to seek IBEW representation earlier this year.

That, in turn, spurred successful organizing drives at smaller tree-trimming operations around the state, including municipal tree trimmers in the cities of Loveland and Cortez.

All that activity is expected to add about 150 members to Local 111 once first contracts are signed. Negotiations with Asplundh began in late July.

"It was a really big win for us," Business Manager Nate Gutierrez said. "We had tree trimmers back in the 1980s for quite a few years. It's nice to get a win after several attempts."

Indeed, they seem to be a natural fit. Local 111 is primarily a utility construction local and tree trimmers often work alongside utility workers. The local has jurisdiction throughout Colorado.

Yet, previous attempts ran into roadblocks. About two years ago, an Asplundh employee inquired through the IBEW's website about starting an organizing effort, said Eight District International Representative Sean McCarville, a former Local 111 business manager.

About six months later, that employee was transferred to the West Coast, where he now works in a unionized area and is a member of Vacaville, Calif., Local 1245. No one else stepped up to fill his role, McCarville said.

But in the approximately 18 months since, little changed around Asplundh, so word got out that some workers were still open to an organizing drive.

"The company continued to mess with employees," McCarville said. "It was really in the traditional areas, starting with their annual pay not keeping up with the cost of living. Health care, traditional hours and working conditions, all those areas had taken a hit."

Just a few months after taking the job, Local 111 Membership Development Director Austin Maier traveled to a working area "deep in the mountains" about 30 miles west of Denver to meet with Asplundh employees as they left their job for the day, he said. Asplundh employees are IBEW members in a handful of jurisdictions around the country, but the company usually doesn't voluntarily recognize a union.

"What's happened in previous campaigns is that a lot of the employees fear they're going to get shipped off to another state [if management learns they are involved in an organizing drive] and lose their jobs in Colorado," Maier said.

"The main advantage of this campaign was talking to that group right at the beginning," he added. "We were able to set up a volunteer organizing committee at the get-go. We had five guys spread around the state that said they were ready for change and were able to overcome their fear of being shipped out of state."

When staffers at one of the tree-trimming company's locations were forced to sit in on captive audience meetings with Asplundh management, a team member shared it with Maier and others involved in the campaign.

With knowledge of Asplundh's plans, they shared it with other team members, who pushed back against baseless claims during those meetings, including one that falsely alleged Local 111 would require each person to pay $2,000 in union fees each month.

That number is plainly ridiculous to most IBEW members. But in an organizing campaign, where many workers are dealing with unions for the first time, stamping out such mischaracterizations quickly is vital.

"We used it our advantage," Maier said. "When they were giving out that propaganda, we already knew what they were doing and were ready to set the record straight."

Like many private companies that work with public utilities, Asplundh sometimes sends workers across the country during times of emergency or to address manpower shortages in other areas. Sometimes, they work alongside unionized counterparts.

McCarville said that can help in organizing efforts, too.

"With the worker shortage, they've been obligated to send some of these groups that aren't organized into organized areas," McCarville said. "Once employees get a taste of that, they see it's something good and they want it for themselves."

McCarville and Gutierrez both welcomed the Asplundh employees to the IBEW and saluted Maier, 28, who led a big organizing win early in his career.

"The optics across the board were just great," Gutierrez said. "I think [the Asplundh employees] really related to a young guy like Austin and what he had to say. It kind of sends a message of change to the traditional way of doing things."