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Columbus
Area Asplundh October 22, 2002 Nearly 70 tree trimming and line clearance workers have joined IBEW Local 71 during two recent National Labor Relations Board elections at Asplundh Tree Expert Company. Last Thursday, in an overwhelming 36-6 vote, a 56-worker unit of tree trimmers voted for IBEW, said Local 71 Business Manager Wally Sickles. He credited organizer and Local 71 President Patrick Griece with helping secure the victory in an industry where turnover is high and workers do not always respond to traditional organizing practices like house calls. "Im very proud of the team we have organizing here," Sickles said. A first contract for up to 12 line clearance workers in Hamilton, Ohio was ratified in late September, Sickles said. That agreement netted workers improvements to wages and grievance procedures. But Sickles said those victories only represent a fraction of the organizing work that members of Local 71 are performing every day. "The fact that were out there every day talking to our competition, in our employers faces, changing their method of work, is success to me," he said. Every week, Local 71 picks up more members by stripping from job sites. "Theres a lot of bumps along the way but its not supposed to be easy," Sickles said.
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