Delegates to the 41st IBEW International Convention on Sept. 23 approved the slates of international vice presidents and International Executive Council representatives elected by district caucuses earlier in the week.
The 11 vice presidential candidates were officially nominated for office, and each spoke briefly to the convention assembly. Then the eight winning candidates for the IEC were nominated and also spoke to the convention. International Secretary-Treasurer Paul Noble cast the single vote for each slate, and convention delegates approved the appointments.
All 19 were then sworn in by retired Fourth District International Vice President Gina Cooper.
“There will be disagreements. There will be difficult decisions. There will be moments of frustration and anger. What matters is that we remember who we work for and why we’re here,” Cooper said. “The members come first. The union comes first. And solidarity has to mean something beyond a word we put on a banner.”
International Vice President Districts
Mark Cherney, Business Manager of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Local 303, nominated Matt Wayland, the newly elected First District international vice president.
“Canada is entering period of real change. There is uncertainty, but there is also tremendous opportunity: new infrastructure, new industries, more training and thousands of good union jobs,” Wayland said.
Kevin Holland, Boston Local 2222 business manager, nominated Second District International Vice President Michael Monahan.
“When it comes to solidarity, there is no inside or outside, no utility or manufacturing. There is only the Brotherhood,” Monahan said. “When New England finally builds, and it will, the transmission, the generation, the storage, the data centers, the grid of the future, the most skilled, safest, best-trained workforce in the world will already be standing there.”
Paul Nylin, assistant business manager and president of Albany, N.Y., Local Union 236, nominated Third District International Vice President Frank Muia.
“When people ask, ‘What jobs are IBEW members involved in?’ My answer is simple: look around,” Muia said. “Our opportunity is here. Our opportunity is now, and together we will make the most of it and grow even stronger.”
Joe Dillow, business manager of Portsmouth, Ohio, Local 575, nominated Austin Keyser for Fourth District international vice president.
“We have to recognize the moment we’re in, the power we have. We built the power plants; we operate the power plants,” Keyser said. “We built the transmission lines and substations and distribution system. We install the end-use systems; we operate the facilities that use it. We network it with our telecommunications systems. We manufacture the components that go into all that. … We are the center of the world’s economy.”
William Upchurch, business manager of Shreveport, La., Local 194, nominated Glenn Brannen for Fifth District international vice president.
“When I joined the IBEW 44 years ago, I had no idea where that yellow ticket would take me, and I’m proud of every step of that journey. But that’s in my past. What I’m really excited about is what’s in our future,” Brannen said.
Andy Rico, business manager of Joliet, Ill., Local 176, nominated Michael Clemmons for Sixth District international vice president.
“At 19 years old, I was working a couple dead-end jobs and had a little baby at home,” Clemmons said. “When Local 176 opened that door, it changed my life. It changed my family’s future. And it changed what I believed was possible. That’s why organizing and the IBEW will always be personal to me.”
Ed Allen, business manager of Houston Local 66, nominated Chris Wagner for Seventh District international vice president.
“We have seen incredible growth in the Seventh District. And not only do I not take credit for all of it, I also don’t take credit for any of it,” Wagner said. “From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the Seventh District delegates to this convention for nominating me.”
Steve Woodman, business manager of Salt Lake City Local 354, nominated Jerry Bellah for Eight District international vice president.
“I want to recognize our Eighth District local union leadership and the members who are working in their tools every day proving that the IBEW has the best union craftsmen in the world,” Bellah said. “
Bob Dean, business manager of Vacaville, Calif., Local 1245, nominated David Reaves for Ninth District international vice president.
“I work for all 60 local unions and members of the Ninth District. Whether your local has 50 members or 30,000 — you matter. Your members matter. Your voice matters. My door will be open. My phone will be answered. And I will listen,” Reaves said.
David Williams, business manager of Chattanooga, Tenn., Local 721, nominated Curtis Sharpe for Tenth District international vice president.
“We face tremendous challenges, including attacks on organized labor from the highest offices of our government, and these attacks bring a greater responsibility to strengthen our resolve and advance organized labor. I will stand with you to secure what others in our movement fought for,” Sharpe said. “Power to each and every one of you. Power to organized labor. And power to the IBEW!”
Bob Wolf, business manager of Minot, N.D., Local 714, nominated Mark Hager for Eleventh District international vice president.
“The Eleventh District is growing just as the IBEW overall is growing. We are on the move, and we are ready to embrace the opportunities and overcome any challenges that come along with that growth,” Hager said.
International Executive Council Districts
Following the voice vote for the slate of vice presidents, the winning candidates for the IEC were nominated and spoke.
Andy Helsel, business agent, organizer and executive board chairman of Folsom, N.J., Local 351, nominated Daniel Cosner as the First District International Executive Council representative.
Cosner is business manager of Local 351.
“When President Cooper asked if I would serve … I have to tell you, that moment got to me. The IBEW is all I’ve ever known, and I never imagined that someday I would have the opportunity to serve at this level,” Cosner said. “Every time I thought I had reached a place in the IBEW that I never imagined I’d reach, I was given another opportunity to serve. But no matter what position I’ve held or what title I’ve had, I’m still just one of the guys.”
Boston Local 103 Assistant Business Manager Rich Antonellis nominated Lou Antonellis for Second District International Executive Council representative.
Antonellis is business manager of Local 103.
“We may come from different locals. We may represent different branches. And we may face different challenges. But we see clearly through to the Brotherhood that unites us,” Antonellis said. “The direction for this Brotherhood won’t be determined by any one of us. It must be determined by all of us.”
Lance Bradbury, business representative from Indianapolis, Ind., Local 481, nominated Jeff Wheeler for Third District International Executive Council representative.
Wheeler is business manager of Local 481.
“If there’s one thing this Brotherhood has taught me, it’s that none of us gets anywhere by ourselves,” Wheeler said. “Whatever I have accomplished has been because people believed in me, gave me an opportunity, challenged me, supported me and trusted me. I intend to repay that trust with hard work and service.”
Justin McIntosh, president of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Local 728, nominated Zachary Cassidy for Fourth District International Executive Council representative.
Cassidy is business manager/financial secretary of Local 728.
“Two years ago this week, I was appointed to represent the IEC’s Fourth District when our brother Bill Riley passed away. Rest in peace Bill. I hope I am making you proud,” Cassidy said.
Bill Niesman, business manager of Chicago Local 9, nominated Donald Finn for Fifth District International Executive Council representative.
Finn is business manager of Chicago Local 134.
“Regardless of the challenges before [the IEC], we came together, did the job we were assigned to do,” he said. “To those who were recently elected, my door will always be open. … I look forward to working with each and every one of you brothers.”
Price Warwick III, business manager/financial secretary of Dallas-Fort Worth Local 20, nominated Mark Cunningham for Sixth District International Executive Council representative.
Cunningham is business manager of Phoenix Local 769.
“I am so grateful for the opportunities the IBEW has given to me. I work every day to make the IBEW better than when I started,” Cunningham said.
Nate Fairman, business manager of San Diego Local 465, nominated Travis Eri for Seventh District International Executive Council representative.
Eri is business manager of Portland Local 125.
“We organize, we represent, we fight like hell, but we also have to keep our members safe. Please remember to do your best to fight for your members’ safety, too, because their families depend on it,” Eri said.
Finally, Christie Armstrong, assistant business manager of Toronto Local 636, nominated Domenic Murdaca for Eighth District International Executive Council representative.
Murdaca is business manager/financial secretary of Local 636.
“We can be good neighbors with our American Sisters and Brothers while still making sure the Canadian voice is heard. I will listen. I will ask questions. I will work with our international leadership. And when an issue affects Canadian members, I will make sure the Canadian perspective is clearly understood at the IEC table,” Murdaca said.
