IBEW Local 280 raising funds for injured member

This important request to help a badly injured union brother comes to us by way of the Northwest Labor Press:

Bill Mize, a journeyman electrician and member of IBEW Local 280,

has summited most of the major West Coast mountains. But in the pre-dawn

light on the slope of North Sister July 6, he was unlucky.

Aug 16, 2024
ByDon McIntosh

Bill Mize was just 150 feet from the summit of North Sister mountain in the Central Cascades when a watermelon-sized rock came off the lip of a ledge right above him and hit him in the head, knocking him down a steep incline 60 feet. Regaining consciousness after what he thinks was half an hour, he realized his left leg was badly injured. Then another rock fell and struck him on the right shoulder, sending him down another 40 feet.

Mize, a 28-year-old union electrician in Prineville, is an experienced mountaineer and had summited North Sister three times before. He had left the Pole Creek Trailhead solo around midnight July 6 in order to reach the peak by sunrise. Now he was alone on the side of the mountain without the use of his legs. He tried to use his cell phone to call 911 but couldn’t get reception. So he crawled — he thinks about 40 feet — to the other side of a ridge, and was able to get a signal.

Not long after, a rescue helicopter landed a Lane County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue team on a glacier below, and after hours of effort, they were able to get him off the steep slope where he landed, onto a stretcher, and into the helicopter. At St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, he learned the extent of the damage: a kneecap broken, and all the ligaments in his left knee torn. Six surgeries — and some surgical complications — later, he still doesn’t know whether he’ll be able to use the leg again.

“I never took my legs for granted,” Mize says. “I was always very appreciative of them.”

Mize joined IBEW Local 280 in 2018, and completed his apprenticeship last September. At the time of the accident, he was working for Aspen Ridge Electric at a remodel project at Redmond High School.

Reached by phone a month after the accident, he relates what happened that day without a trace of self-pity. Mountaineering is inherently dangerous, and looking back Mize doesn’t think anything he did or didn’t do made the rock decide to tumble when it did.

“I pride myself on being safe,” Mize said.

He also declined a suggestion by friends that a GoFundMe page be created to help him.

“Things are tight, but I had a savings account for a reason. I wanted to be prepared.”

Mize’s union brothers and sisters at Local 280 are raising funds anyway, to help him with lost income. The union is raffling off a Blackstone 36-inch propane-fueled outdoor griddle. Tickets are $10; Taunia Blakely, 541-220-3570, is coordinating sales.

Mize doesn’t know what the future holds, but has no regrets. “I really like the trade, and I really like the guys in the trade,” Mize said. “It’s been a great experience.”

Baltimore County Public Library workers win the legal right to organize (and a comment)

 From the AFL-CIO:

Top Cut:
The Machinists (IAM) union, which represents Baltimore County Public Library (BCPL) workers, is celebrating the passage of the Library Workers Empowerment Act, a milestone piece of legislation initiated by the IAM last year that will grant library staff across Maryland the right to organize.

Why It Matters:
The legislation, cross-filed as H.B. 609 and S.B. 591, received bipartisan support in the Maryland General Assembly. Once the bill is signed by Gov. Wes Moore, it will empower public library workers to be able to form unions and collectively bargain for the wages, benefits and working conditions they deserve. Currently, library staff in only four counties and Baltimore City can organize, but this bill extends this critical right to libraries throughout the state.

“The IAM and its members extend their deepest gratitude to the legislators who supported this piece of legislation and to the library employees who have tirelessly advocated for their rights,” said IAM Baltimore County Public Library (BCPL) Local 4538 President and Library Service Assistant Anita Bass. “This achievement is a testament to the power of solidarity and the importance of standing together for the betterment of all workers.”

Comment: Baltimore is on the other side of the country so readers of this blog may wonder what this post is doing here. We want to celebrate labor wins wherever and whenever they occur, but we also want to help people think through what it takes to organize a union. Not all workers have the legal right to organize, but all workers can organize. Where people do not have legal protections to organize it may make sense to start with winning changes in law and then, when the changes are won, fight for a strong union contract. But a union of one kind or another can be built under almost any conditions, and the earlier workers learn about building and exercising their power the better. Do you know any situations where workers want to organize but hit systemic barriers? There are many organizations that can help. Hit out blog and let's talk. Hats off to the IAM for this great win! 

Senate Committee Passes Bill to Fully Fund Wildland Firefighter Pay

 

From the AFL-CIO:

Top Cut:
The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), affiliated with the Machinists (IAM), is celebrating a major win as the Senate Committee on Appropriations passed the fiscal year 2024 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which protects current funding for federal wildland firefighter pay.

Why It Matters:
The bill helps support the critical wildland firefighting workforce by funding wildfire preparedness and suppression efforts, protecting agency staffing levels so they can be prepared for the upcoming wildfire season, maintaining pay increases for federal firefighters and investing in the U.S. Forest Service.

“This is a significant development for NFFE members and all federal wildland firefighters,” said NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “For months, these selfless men and women have had to live with the possibility of their pay being cut in half overnight. Many NFFE members have traveled to Washington, DC, contacted their representatives, and done everything they can to advocate for the compensation they deserve by protecting the country on the front lines of the wildfire crisis. Today, their efforts have been recognized and Congress has delivered on their obligations for this year’s fire season.”