BUSINESS MANAGER’S REPORT

From Lou Antonellis

Business Manager / Financial Secretary IBEW Local 103

Brothers and Sisters,

I was pleased to see so many of you enjoying a beautiful day at Fenway Park. It feels great to be able to celebrate our favorite summer pastimes with friends and family. Union Night at Fenway Park (page 14) on June 12 was a huge hit, a truly great family day at our beloved ballpark. Later in June, we enjoyed our second annual Drive-In Movie Night (page 17) at Local 103, a silver lining of the pandemic turned into a lasting tradition. It is the perfect metaphor for the adaptability and resiliency of IBEW Local 103!

Despite all the fun we’ve had over the past couple of months, IBEW Local 103 professionalism prevails above all else. We remain hard at work, with a promising outlook for the market and work opportunities. One Congress Street at Bulfinch Crossing celebrated its topping-off ceremony (page 10), but we look forward to the ramp-up of many other projects, including a massive redevelopment in Kenmore Square, Union Square in Somerville and GLX, among others.

In addition to our aggressive and strategic pursuit of responsible community development over the last several years, IBEW Local 103 is focusing on prefabrication. We are proud to have negotiated prefab language in our last round of negotiations with NECA. Prefabrication is nothing new; it’s been around for years, and it creates more jobs for our members and increases efficiency and safety on construction sites. Equally promising is President Biden’s new, Bi-partisan Infrastructure Framework (page 6), which officially passed in the Senate and is expected to be taken up by the House by the end of September. The IBEW fought to get this bill passed, in light of the historic strides it will make toward revitalizing our nation’s roads, bridges, transit and energy systems, and what will likely equate to millions of work hours for our IBEW members over the next two decades. The bill addresses, in part, our nation’s urgent need to transition to clean energy sources, and also calls for higher corporate taxation as means of financing. IBEW Local 103 remains committed to building back better after this pandemic, and a crucial part of that vision is to build a stronger middle class through a more sustainable and equitable economy. We’re proud to take a step in the right direction within our own electrical construction industry, with the announcement of our new Empower DEI program (page 4), designed to support new and emerging minority-owned and women-owned electrical contracting businesses in the Greater Boston area. By working together, we can make this economy work for all of us, and make sure everyone has the opportunities afforded by a rewarding career in the IBEW.

Fraternally, Lou Antonellis