The largest electric cooperative in Tennessee — and one of the biggest in the U.S. — is embracing the IBEW’s Code of Excellence.

For decades, Chattanooga, Tenn., Local 175 has represented workers at Middle Tennessee Electric, which serves nearly 750,000 residents in 11 counties across 2,200 square miles.

“We’ve always had a good relationship with them,” said Toby Shelton, business manager of the 3,800-member Local 175.

Tenth District International Vice President Brent Hall said it made sense for the IBEW to offer the Code of Excellence for MTE President and CEO Chris Jones’s consideration.

“He’s been a very progressive leader and strong supporter of the IBEW,” said Hall, whose district’s jurisdiction covers Tennessee.

Introduced in 2008 by International President Edwin D. Hill, the IBEW’s Code of Excellence program was designed to ensure the highest standards of excellence in every IBEW workplace, with members and leaders alike committing to demonstrating the union’s SPARQ values: safety, professionalism, accountability, relationships and quality.

Local 175 Assistant Business Manager Grant Rains added that Jones’ values align with those contained in the Code. “He’s always had an open-door policy, and for a large company that’s saying a lot,” Rains said.

MTE also is one of the largest customers of the federally owned Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s biggest public power provider, serving millions of customers across seven states.

While the IBEW conducted some initial Code of Excellence training with MTE in 2017, Shelton said, the co-op grew even more interested in the program after the TVA formally adopted it in 2018.

After MTE acquired the municipal electrical department of Murfreesboro, Tenn. — and dramatically increased the co-op’s customer base — Jones asked the IBEW to train all newly acquired workers and give a refresher to those who previously had it, Rains said. 

Training picked back up over the past year, said Rebecca Axford, an international representative with the IBEW’s Education Department.

“We partnered with them to train every employee — over 300 men and women — and also the leadership team, which really speaks to their commitment,” Axford said. “It was a powerful example of labor and management, and the collaboration between the IBEW and the company was outstanding.”

Local 175’s leaders were able to coordinate with MTE’s dispatchers to schedule workers for waves of on-the-clock Code training at the co-op’s headquarters in Murfreesboro.

“I would come out and work with them for three days in a row, and I would just do back-to-back-to-back training,” Axford said. “It was a really big lift to get all their employees trained, but it was one I was happy to do.”

Shelton said the Code’s focus on SPARQ values and strengthening partnerships has helped level the playing field between workers and managers. “Hearing those messages come from us was very important,” he said.

Another benefit of Code of Excellence implementation, Rains said, is that it can help reduce reliance on discipline or grievance-filing. “With the Code, we can take issues directly to each other and talk about them first,” he said.

MTE has further embraced the program by allowing workers to place Code of Excellence decals on their trucks and hardhats, and the co-op includes a Code flyer in its company orientation materials.

Moving forward, Axford said, the IBEW will regularly conduct Code training classes for groups of MTE new hires. The union also has started a Code of Excellence ambassadors program at the co-op, relying on stewards, managers and others in the organization to help reinforce the program’s core precepts.

“We had a day together where we worked on understanding our role and management’s role,” Axford said. “We want this to be a living program where we would meet regularly.”

Hall said other organizations would benefit from following MTE’s lead. “Employers can utilize the Code of Excellence to train workers on new concepts and to reinforce what they already believe in,” he said.