Third District International Vice President Mike Welsh retired on Oct. 1, ending an IBEW career that began just after he graduated from high school and included five years in his final position.

Welsh, 64, said the decision wasn't an easy one, especially after President Biden signed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law late last year, creating jobs for IBEW members and all of American labor.

But in the end, family considerations won out. The Third District includes New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

"These jobs involve a lot of traveling, a lot of time away from home," Welsh said. "I've had a chance to do a few things lately with my grandson [Lucas, 15]. It's a reminder that time has gone by so quickly and I haven't been able to do some things with other people I care about.

"You can't get those years back but you try to make up for lost time. I'm in relatively good health and now is a good time to go, even though it is an exciting time for the IBEW."

International President Lonnie R. Stephenson, who appointed Welsh to the position in 2017, saluted him for the leadership he's shown throughout his career.

"Brother Welsh has been a rock in the Third District since he joined the staff more than 20 years ago under [former Vice President] Don Siegel," Stephenson said. "Mike is not the loudest guy in the room but when he talks, people listen. You're thankful to have him on your side when times get tough."

A native of Philipsburg, Pa., Welsh was 18 when he joined Johnstown Local 459 after being hired to work temporarily at the Conemaugh Generating Station. He was hired full time as a conveyor operator in the plant's coal handling division the following year.

He wasn't planning to be a union activist until a particularly distasteful experience with a supervisor. That convinced him to accept the role of shop steward in 1979. Welsh has joked many times since he should send that boss a note of thanks.

"He didn't have the personality or know-how to be in a management position," he said. "He got after me at the wrong time one day and I tore into him."

Thus began a steady rise at Local 459, where serving the union and fellow members became "a way of life," Welsh said. He was on the executive committee for seven years before being elected president in 1995.

In the process, he earned a bachelor's degree in economics at the University of Pittsburgh in 1989, graduating with honors after attending night school and classes at the university's Johnstown campus.

"In this work, you're always talking to people who have degrees and maybe look down on you sometimes," he said. "I wanted to be on a more level playing field with them."

Welsh was active outside of Local 459, serving as president of the Pennsylvania State Electrical Workers Association. That's where he got to know fellow Pennsylvania native Siegel, a Third District international representative at the time.

In 2002, Siegel convinced then-International President Edwin D. Hill to appoint Welsh to the district staff just after Siegel became vice president. Welsh served as the district's political director for 15 years before being appointed vice president himself in 2017 upon Siegel's retirement. He was re-elected to that position earlier this year at the International Convention in Chicago.

Keeping the Third District's membership numbers strong and fighting back against conservative, increasingly aggressive politicians in Pennsylvania are among the things Welsh is most proud of.

The state legislature, which is gerrymandered to favor Republicans, has been unable to get a right-to-work bill passed into law. The other states in the district are led by pro-labor politicians so most of Welsh's political activity focused on the Keystone State.

"He's a calming influence," said Third District International Representative Dennis Affinati, who is succeeding Welsh as IVP. "I've learned from him how to be that way."

In retirement, Welsh plans to keep his home in McMurray, Pa., near Pittsburgh and spend time with his four children and two grandchildren. He and his wife, Christine, also plan to travel.

Welsh said he is especially thankful to the members and the district staff as he heads into retirement. He also is grateful for the confidence shown in him by Siegel and former Local 459 business managers Joe Sanna and Charlie Meo, whom he considers mentors.

"The IBEW has been everything to me," he said. "For 42 years I've been involved, and it gave back a lot more than I was able to put into it. It provided for my family and put four kids through college. I'm eternally grateful to the IBEW and all the members who gave me an opportunity to serve."

The officers and staff thank Brother Welsh for his service and wish him and his family a happy retirement.

Dennis Affinati has been appointed by International President Lonnie R. Stephenson as international vice president for the IBEW's Third District following Michael Welsh's retirement. The union's International Executive Council unanimously approved Affinati's appointment, which is effective Oct. 1.

A native of Carthage, N.Y., Affinati attended the State University of New York at Morrisville after graduating from Carthage Central High School.

"When I went to college, I wanted to be an electrical engineer," Affinati said. But while he was at Morrisville, he helped his brother-in-law wire his house, an experience that reshaped Affinati's priorities.

"I thought working with my hands would be better than sitting at a desk doing calculations," Affinati said, which is why he changed course and applied for an apprenticeship with Watertown, N.Y., Local 910. "I knew what unions would provide," he said. "My siblings and parents said: 'If you're going into the trades, you definitely want to be in a union.'"

Affinati refers to himself as a "first-generation" IBEW member. "I didn't have anyone at the local. I just decided to go for it," he explained.

In 1985, Affinati was initiated into the IBEW as a residential trainee, where "I capitalized on what I learned in college," he said. He also got deeply involved with his local, and not long after topping out as a journeyman wireman in 1990 he volunteered to be a salt. "When I started in the trade, we used to do nearly all the work early, including small businesses and residential," Affinati recalled. "That began to change in the late '80s, and when our local put on a full-time organizer, I wanted to help get our work back, and our organizer was looking for members to salt jobs."

Affinati was eventually was elected to Local 910's examining board, serving there until his 1995 appointment as the local's treasurer. It was during this five-year stint that Affinati became good friends with then-recording secretary John O'Driscoll, who is now the local's business manager. "Our birthdays are three months apart; we figured out that we'd actually played baseball against each other in high school," O'Driscoll said.

"Dennis is very intelligent, very thorough," he said. "He doesn't say a lot, but when he does, he's well spoken."

Affinati also served on his local's Political Action and Brotherhood committees. "Then, around 2000, my business manager — at that time, George Intschert — asked if I wanted to be the local's organizer," he said.

"I'm proud of my time as an organizer," said Affinati, who also became an assistant business manager. "I think we did pretty well. The local has good market share, and we have always worked hard to keep it that way."

One atypical organizing campaign Affinati worked on was at a credit union that had "terrible management and a lot of issues," he recalled. "My business manager was in doing his banking when employees asked him, 'What's it take to have union representation?'"

This campaign naturally stands out in Affinati's memory because he eventually married and raised three children with Beverly Sterling, the campaign's internal organizer. "We brought in 40 to 45 new members," Affinati said. "It was different from a construction campaign; it was a good learning experience."

In 2004, Affinati was appointed business manager and financial secretary of the roughly 500-member Local 910, which covers six counties across New York's North Country. Because of the local's geography, O'Driscoll noted, it maintains an office and apprenticeship school both in Watertown and in Plattsburgh, about a 3½-hour drive away. This was a challenge that Affinati met head-on, O'Driscoll said. "He always found time to improve the local's buildings when funds allowed it," he said.

"Dennis has always been there for the members," said Third District International Representative Ernie Hartman, who knew then-Business Manager Affinati when Hartman was his counterpart at Elmira, N.Y., Local 139. "Dennis worked very hard to secure work at Fort Drum and to give veterans coming out of there a conduit into an apprenticeship," Hartman said. "He lives by the IBEW Constitution and our collective bargaining agreements. He's always up for a fight."

O'Driscoll agreed. "Dennis made a lot of connections in the community, and got on a lot of different boards, at civic organizations, schools and colleges," he said.

Affinati also served on the IBEW-NECA Council on Industrial Relations and was financial secretary for the Syracuse and Northern New York Building Trades Council. Additionally, he served for several years as Local 910's training director and was a trustee on the pension, health and welfare funds.

In 2014, then-International President Edwin D. Hill appointed Affinati as an International Representative for the Third District, where he shared desk rep duties in the district's Pittsburgh-area office with fellow Third District International Representative Kris Anderson. Affinati also represented the union before New York's Central Trades of Jefferson-St. Lawrence Counties and the Central/Northern New York Building Trades Council.

Affinati is excited about his new job as international vice president. "From my humble beginning, I never would have imagined this," he said. "This is a great time to have this opportunity. We're in the process of re-electrifying the U.S.

"I've been around for a while; the work opportunities we have now are far and above anything I dreamed of, and we've got the tools to succeed. There's really no excuse not to go after every opportunity," he said. "Additional tools like IBEW Strong are going to allow us to look a lot more like the communities we represent, and to offer an IBEW lifestyle to more people.

"Our leadership in the IBEW has always been the best in the labor movement," he said. "I am humbled and proud to have this opportunity."

"Dennis will do a great job," said his predecessor Welsh. "His background as a business manager coming out of construction will be very valuable during the next several years with all the issues around renewables coming on board. He's a great choice."

Outside of his IBEW responsibilities, Affinati is active in his local chapters of the Rotary and Italian-American clubs, and he enjoys hunting and riding his motorcycle.

"He's always been a leader and will continue to be one," Hartman said. "I'm going to be proud to call him my boss but even prouder to keep calling him a union brother and friend. The district is in good hands."

"He looks out for members really well," O'Driscoll said. "I'm really happy for him."

Please join International President Stephenson and the entire IBEW membership in wishing Brother Affinati the best of luck as he takes on his new role.

Retired Sixth District International Representative Bill Norvell died Aug. 8. He was 81.

Brother Norvell was born in the Mississippi River town of Quincy, Ill., and, in 1962, joined Springfield, Ill., Local 51, as an outside lineman after three years as a radio repairman in the U.S. Army.

He switched his card in 1969 to Springfield Local 193 and became chief steward of the City Water, Light and Power unit in the city. He also served as the JATC secretary, on the negotiating and safety committees and as assistant business manager.

In 1980, Norvell became business manager of Local 193, a position he held for 10 years before his appointment in 1990 to be a Sixth District international representative. He retired in 2003.

His sons Chris, Craig and Steve all followed their father into Local 193.

"Bill was one of my mentors and taught me a lot about the IBEW and life in general," said International President Lonnie R. Stephenson. "He is the reason I am in this chair today."

When Stephenson was a new business manager, Norvell was his service rep.

"When I needed coaching — correction really — he always did it respectfully. He'd pull you back," Stephenson said.

In 2001, on behalf of then-Sixth District International Vice President Larry Curley, he approached Stephenson to see if he was interested in joining the Sixth District staff. Stephenson was skeptical.

"I didn't see myself living out of a suitcase for the rest of my life," he said with a smile. "Bill assured me that it was possible to be a service rep and be at home. I appreciated how he listened to me, took my concerns seriously, and helped make the job work."

It was typical of Norvell, Stephenson said.

"He was very good at solving situations where people are dug in," he said. "Whether in negotiations or in Council on Industrial Relations disputes between locals and signatory contractors, he could get people to see what was essential, and usually get to a resolution that everyone could live with."

Retired Sixth District International Representative Greg Shafranski met Norvell at a training around 1989, just before either had come on staff at the district. They struck up a conversation and quickly found their shared passion for hunting and fishing and a lifelong friendship was born.

"Bill was good at whatever he did: being a rep, golf, woodworking. A year after we met, he decided he wanted to enter a fishing contest with me here in Minnesota and we finished sixth out of at least 100. That was Bill," he said.

Shafranski said he won a reputation for handling the most difficult situations.

"Former Vice President (later International Secretary-Treasurer) [Jerry] O'Connor had lots of special assignments for Bill because he knew he could handle them," Shafranski said. "Whether it was a contract dispute or merging locals — those are always difficult — his attitude was, 'I have a job to do and, in the end, this will make things better.'"

Retired Sixth District International Vice President David Ruhmkorff said Norvell character really came out during a GTE organizing drive they worked together. Norvell was always paired with the most inexperienced door knockers from the corps of local union and GTE volunteers.

"What made him good at door knocking was what made him good at training other people. He had a great respect for people that shone through. It got them in the door and then he knew when to back away and let the raw recruit speak their piece," he said.

But he never disappeared into the background, Ruhmkorff said, even when he made space for other people to take the spotlight.

"He was laid back but never quiet," he said.

Sadly, Brother Norvell's wife of 43 years died five years after he retired. Shafranski and Norvell continued to travel together for the better part of a decade, spending half the year as snowbirds in Florida.

At the annual officers' meeting in Florida, Stephenson said he always made time to visit with Brother Norvell, Shafranski and O'Connor, no matter how busy and hectic his schedule was.

"He was just a good guy," Stephenson said. "You could count on him."

On behalf of the members, officers and staff, the IBEW sends its condolences to Brother Norvell's three sons, daughter Kathy, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

William "Joe" Pledger, a gregarious union activist from his early years at Alabama Power to three decades as an international representative in the Deep South, died July 22 after a brief illness. He was 75.

Pledger worked until he was 70 years old, devoted to the Fifth District locals he serviced and to the labor community in his hometown of Mobile, Ala., where he led Local 345 in the 1980s.

Inherently happy, spirited and loud — "everyone said he never needed a microphone," his youngest son Daniel joked — he is remembered for bringing nonstop energy and joy to everything he did.

"My dad probably should have retired earlier, but he really, really loved his job," said Daniel Pledger, treasurer of Local 345 — the same elected office his father first held. "He was the most amazing and strongest man I ever met in my life."

Joe Pledger last saw his extended IBEW family in May when he attended the 40th International Convention in Chicago, where his son was a first-time delegate.

"He was ecstatic," Daniel Pledger said. "We went to every one of the functions and he introduced me to lots of people. It's something I'll never forget. It turned out to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience with him."

The senior Pledger followed his father and grandfather into Alabama Power in 1965. When he was drafted soon after, he joined the Air Force and piloted Huey rescue helicopters in Vietnam.

In 1970, he returned to the James M. Barry steam plant north of Mobile, the same worksite that today employs two of his three sons, Daniel and John. He rose to be a plant control operator, overseeing coal units and inspiring his young crew.

"A lot of times on night shift, things are quiet and you'd get to talk a lot," said Keith Coleman, now business manager and president of Local 345. "Joe had a lot of military stories to tell about recon work to get to wounded soldiers and get them out. A lot of us hired on at ages 18 or 19, and to hear him talk about those experiences was really great."

Noting Pledger's work ethic, he said that "he could be very demanding as far as people doing their jobs." But he was also a fierce steward who did his best for Coleman after some mischief-making at the plant.

"He was dedicated to standing up for workers who couldn't quite stand up for themselves, to make sure they were treated fairly," he said. "In the end, he couldn't get me out of it — I was guilty as sin. But I made a friend for life."

Pledger served as treasurer and chair of the executive board before becoming business manager of Local 345 in 1983. He also chaired the U-19 System Council for Alabama Power and the Utility Coordinating Council 1 at the Southern Company.

Hired as an international representative in 1987, he spent the next 30 years servicing southern locals in every classification except construction.

"I got so much satisfaction out of getting a great agreement that the membership supported, and I worked hard to forge good relationships not just with the locals, but with the companies as well," he said in his 2017 retirement story. "It was rare that we had to bring in mediators, and I'm proud of that."

Beyond the IBEW, Pledger was passionate about promoting unions in his right-to-work state and had a major hand in Labor Day events.

"He helped put on huge Labor Day parades in Mobile, and there was always a big celebration out at the fairgrounds," Daniel Pledger said. "Labor Day was a big deal for him."

In 2013, Joe Pledger was named Alabama's Labor Person of the Year and inducted into the state's organized labor hall of fame.

Among many other roles, he was a longtime church deacon, an avid hunter and fisherman, and enthusiastic traveler who twice visited Jerusalem during his retirement.

But family always came first. "There was not a day that went by that he didn't call every single one of his kids and see his grandkids, in person or by FaceTime," Daniel Pledger said. "He was the person who held our family together so tight. I miss him so much."

Pledger is survived by his wife of 57 years, Judy; sons John, Ron and Daniel; eight grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews and in-laws.

The IBEW sends heartfelt condolences to Brother Pledger's family, with gratitude for his loyal service.