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From the strains of Dixieland jazz that helped open the show to the closing day, the 1998 Union Industries Show, held April 17-20, 1998, at the Ernest L. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, proved once again that quality union-made products and services cannot be beat. As might be said in the New Orleans’ French Quarter, "aller sans dire"--it goes without saying--that this annual exposition, sponsored by the AFL-CIO Union Label & Service Trades Department, highlights the finest in union-manufactured products.

As has become the custom at the show, the IBEW was front and center in the show. From the hovering lights of the IBEW space craft to the chatting robot, I-bew, visitors were delighted and impressed with the handiwork of the Brotherhood.

This year’s exhibits showed the breadth of quality work performed by IBEW members from railroads to utilities to construction to broadcasting to manufacturing. Among the companies employing IBEW members who participated in the show were Amtrak, General Electric, the Southern Company and Lucent Technologies, to name a few.

IBEW International Secretary-Treasurer Ed Hill and Fifth District International Vice President Mel Horton were among the IBEW officers and representatives present to mark the occasion. At the IBEW exhibit booth, Arlie Heald, Executive Assistant to the International Secretary, held hourly drawings at which various appliances, light fixtures and television sets were given away. Members of numerous IBEW locals, primarily from Louisiana and adjoining states, talked to the throngs of visitors about safe practices around power lines, about how GE’s large, side-by-side refrigerators are made, about careers in the electrical industry, about working on the railroad and about the mechanics of a television newscast. IBEW members also had a hand in presenting a special mock space station in which young visitors could simulate a trip to space.

An interesting note came when Nick Frisco, President of IBEW Local 2000, Orlando, Florida, representing members employed at a high tech chip plant of Lucent Technologies won a set of dishes in a special drawing for presenters sponsored by the Union Labor Life Insurance Company. As noted in the June issue of the Journal (p.5), Brother Frisco suffered severe damage to his home in a tornado that hit central Florida last February, so the prize cam at an opportune time.

One of the highlights of the IBEW’s exhibit area was a special laser light show brought to New Orleans by members of Local 518, Globe, Arizona. The show has been a featured attraction at union and political rallies, county fairs, high school homecomings, pep rallies, dances, basketball games and more, throughout much of Arizona. The show first debuted at the Apache Days Community Festival when Local 518 was invited to participate by the local Chamber of Commerce. When space permits, the show employs a 28-foot by 32 foot suspended truss system, under which there are two 8-foot video screens, graphics lasers and 4,000 watts of amplifiers and speakers, plus an assortment of nearly four dozen other lights. One of the lasers projects the IBEW logo onto the floor or other suitable surface. Business Manager Ron Chesley remarked that the project "has opened doors to us that are unimaginable. It has given young and old alike a very positive look at the labor movement." Fees received for school appearances have been supplemented by the local and returned to the schools to help fund activities that have been reduced because of budgetary constraints.

The spirit of the 1998 Union Industries Show was summed up by Secretary Dennis Kivikko of the Union Label & Services Trades Department, who remarked, "This was one of the best shows we have ever had. The IBEW shows and booths were spectacular. It was great that nearly 11,000 school children from New Orleans and surrounding areas, including the Mississippi Delta, were able to see just what unions are all about."

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