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IBEW Powers
the Winter Games

December 2001 IBEW Journal

The whole world will be watching Salt Lake City in February when the IBEW helps shine the spotlight on the 2002 Winter Games.

From the moment the torch signals the commencement of the games on February 8 until the last competitor pulls out of the gate 16 days later, the IBEW will play an integral behind-the-scenes part in ensuring the mega sporting event goes as planned.

Since the 1995 selection of Salt Lake City as the site of the games, the IBEW and Salt Lake City utility Utah Power have been planning big for the worldwide games that draw thousands of athletes, tens of thousands of spectators and millions of viewers worldwide.

"It has been a real opportunity to see something of this magnitude take shape," said Local 57s Jeff Stevens, a line working foreman who has been wiring the Olympic Park in Park City where the bobsleigh, ski-jumping, luge and other Nordic events will take place. "Its been a lot of work for us, but seeing something as big and impressive as that competition site come out of the ground on the side of a mountain has been amazing."

Preparing for and powering the Olympic gamesthe equivalent of producing 10 professional football games a dayare not everyday work for a local and utility whose responsibility up to now has been delivering steady power to residential and business customers. With people from every corner of the globe focused on the games, the importance of reliability has risen to a whole new level of concern.

"It is not business as usual because this is one of the biggest events in the world," said Blaine Newman, Local 57, Salt Lake City business manager, whose members will be responsible for generating, transmitting and distributing power for the 12 large event sites at the games. "It takes a massive amount of work to prepare for it."

Local 57 members will also help power temporary distribution facilities at the Olympic venues, or competition sites, to boost capacity to accommodate large crowds of spectators, media crews, lights and computer systems. Those workers are employed by Cache Valley Electric, the company responsible for wiring the sites where the cross country skiing, biathalon and ice hockey events will take place. During the games, IBEW crews will also be on standby for any power-related contingencies.

But if the scope and scale are grander than ever, the actual work is no different than the work Utah Power and its employees normally perform. Much of the electrical work at this stage involves checking, double-checking and working closely with the managers of the event sites around Salt Lake City, Utah Power spokesman Kimball Hansen said.

The successful delivery of power requires specialization in many key areas, from producing power in the plant to maintaining and monitoring the systems that deliver power to the competition sites, plus all the systems that keep the network functioning on a daily basis. But the approximately 1,600 Local 57 members employed by Utah Power are not the only ones involved in the Olympic action. Many members of Local 57 and Local 354, Salt Lake City, are employed by contractors working on the new construction in preparation for the Olympics, from the building of the Olympic Park to the expansion of the interstate to accommodate the expected traffic increases.

"These things come along literally once in your career and everybody is very excited about being a part of it," Hansen said.

Six members of the IBEW have also been selected as torch-bearers at points along the 46-state journey of the torch. See sidebar.

And planning for one unique Olympic project is getting underway now. Local 57 President Paul Newman said Salt Lake Organizing Committee organizers finally overcame the objections of neighbors to proceed with construction of the symbolic trademark of the Olympic games, the five intertwined rings, on a foothill overlooking Salt Lake City. The display will require 10,000 light bulbs and Local 57 will be instrumental in its construction, he said.

The spirit of cooperation between the IBEW and Utah Power is reflected in an advertising campaign that features the partnership between the IBEW and PacifiCorp, Utah Powers parent company. Four billboards along Interstate 15 in the Salt Lake City Area titled "The Power Behind the Games," displays logos of the 2002 Winter Games, IBEW and Utah Power. The theme will also be revisited on four buses transporting spectators and athletes around the event sites. The vehicles will features a large light bulb and the words "Do the Bright Thing," along with the emblems of the IBEW, PacifiCorp and the 2002 Winter Games snowflake. The IBEWs official supplier designation allows the 2002 Games promotional tie-in.

"We want to let people know that the IBEW is a labor organization that supports our utility company and the Olympics," said IBEW 8^th District Vice President Jon Walters. A brochure highlighting the partnership of the IBEW and PacifiCorp will also be included in the media materials that will be distributed to each of the 8.000 members of the press covering the Olympics, he said.

But IBEW members who are not in Salt Lake City will still have an opportunity to be involved. The IBEW encourages every local in the United States and Canada to contribute one dollar for every medal the locals respective country wins in the winter games. The "Go For the Gold" campaign will benefit Olympic Aid, a non-profit humanitarian organization that helps disadvantaged children. Details on participation in the program have been sent to each local.

"We are the union of hearts and minds and we are stepping up to the plate," Vice President Walters said.

IBEW Urges Members To Go For Gold

IBEW Local 354

2002 Olympics Web site

PacifiCorp