The IBEW's 39th International Convention played host to a number of employers who addressed delegates simply to say 'Thank you.'

Executives from the National Electrical Contractors Association, Alabama Power, Rockwell Collins and Frontier Communications each praised the superior training, professionalism and productivity of their IBEW employees while highlighting the partnerships formed between management and the union.

"It's easy for those of us in the labor movement to stand up and applaud the quality of our members," said International President Lonnie R. Stephenson, "but it's especially heartening to have the people who sign our paychecks voluntarily travel all the way to St. Louis to say the same thing. We're proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with employers who recognize the value that an investment in quality IBEW working men and women provides."

National Electrical Contractors Association President David Hardt addressed delegates on Sept. 21, praising the nearly century-old partnership between the two organizations and offering high hopes for the future.

"We are just as proud as you are of the [National Electrical Benefit Fund], the Electrical Training Alliance apprenticeship programs, and the CIR dispute resolution procedure," he said. "Together, we have forged the framework of this industry and the accomplishments that we have achieved throughout our history. But more important than celebrating what we have done is looking forward to what we can do."

Most important, he said, was the need for growth on both the union and contractor sides. "To grow — to really grow — beyond replacing workers we lose to retirement … to grow in a meaningful way that increases our market share, we must change how we do business, how we man jobs, and how we train new workers.

"Our goal is the same as your goal," he said. "We believe that every electrical contractor in the United States should employ IBEW electrical workers and should be a member of NECA."

Alabama Power CEO Mark Crosswhite said his company is the most trusted utility in the U.S. and that its relationship with the IBEW is a big reason why.

"Us versus them? Well that's a terrible way to run a business," Crosswhite said. "With a foundation of trust, we can work through any issue."

Alabama Power employs about 2,800 IBEW brothers and sisters across the southern two-thirds of Alabama, where it powers nearly 1.5 million homes and businesses.

"We depend on you to help us serve our customers," Crosswhite told convention delegates. "Without your hard work and dedication, we wouldn't be successful, so thank you. We appreciate what you do."

IBEW members, he said, are the real face of Alabama Power in the communities the company serves. But the relationship between labor and management wasn't always what it is today. Crosswhite said the two sides came together following a tragic accident in the wake of Hurricane Ivan in 2004. A lineman was killed when his bucket truck malfunctioned, and the company and the union found common ground in committing to a culture of safety.

"Working together on safety built trust," Crosswhite said. "And that allowed us to find other ways to work together, for instance, in contract negotiations." The relationship has been built upon that trust ever since, he said.

The IBEW and Alabama Power have since worked together to improve customer service and to lobby at the state level, where the two recently collaborated to push through a statewide "Move Over" law to protect utility workers operating near roadways.

"My goal," Crosswhite said, "is for us to have the same type of strong relationship with all of organized labor that we have with the IBEW."

Senior Vice President of Operations Bruce King of Rockwell Collins addressed delegates on Sept. 22, celebrating the nearly 75-year partnership between the aviation electronics company and the IBEW.

The company, one of the largest single manufacturing employers of IBEW brothers and sisters, has two plants in the U.S., represented by Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Local 1362 and Coralville, Iowa, Local 1634.

"This partnership has created success in the past, and it positions us well for the future," he said. Working together to face challenges, he said, is what will keep Rockwell Collins competitive and a quality leader for the next 75 years.

The IBEW's Code of Excellence, in particular, has been embraced by both company leaders and IBEW manufacturing employees, tying employees' pride in their work with Rockwell Collins' pride in its superior product. "We see it demonstrated by our workers every day," he said. "[The Code] is something that continues to drive and shape the future of our company as well as the future of our workforce."

On the Convention's last day, Frontier Communications CEO Dan McCarthy thanked the company's more than 7,000 IBEW members.

Frontier is one of the largest wireline companies in the United States, with workers in 29 states. McCarthy commended his IBEW members for their expertise in copper, in fiber, in wireline and in all aspects of the company's technology.

"The secret sauce of our product will always be the technicians who will make it a great experience for new customers," he said.

Labor relations in the telecommunications industry have been highly contentious recently. Nearly 10,000 IBEW members struck Verizon earlier this year, in part, because the company was not investing as much money in its unionized wireline business and fighting efforts to organize the wireless side of the company.

McCarthy, in contrast, was brightly optimistic about the future of the wireline business and the importance of good labor-management relations.

"I feel sorry for companies whose management holds fast to a mentality of 'us vs. them,'" he said. "That type of thinking doesn't work in a highly competitive marketplace, and it's not how smart folks come to the table."