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Assistance with labor relations is certainly NOT the
only service NECA offers members, but it is one of
the most revered. The relationship enjoyed between
NECA and the IBEW developed over many decades. When
NECA was founded at the turn of the century, the
nation was still recuperating from the severe
economic depression of the 1890s. Many contractors
retained memories of those days when anti-union
feeling ran high. Still, for every contractor that
swore at the union, others could be found who would
swear by it. Letters between local contractors
associations in those early days indicated that many
employers, motivated by a desire to keep qualified
electricians from being enticed away to other areas,
were interested in establishing local or regional
labor agreements. Some were even calling for the
development of a national labor agreement “for the
mutual benefit of both groups.” As early as 1916, a
small group of NECA contractors, calling themselves
the “Conference Club,” was meeting regularly to
discuss matters pertinent to electrical
construction. A most active member of this group,
L.K. Comstock, proposed that the club get together
with a committee from the IBEW in order to draft a
national labor agreement. Spurred on by Charles Ford
– who was then the International Secretary of the
Brotherhood – the union hierarchy agreed. Their
efforts resulted in the joint “Declaration of
Principles,” ratified in 1919. This historic
agreement between NECA and the IBEW embraced the
concept that the interests of the public, the
employer and the employee are inseparably bound
together and that all benefit from a peaceful and
harmonious relationship. (Even today, similar
language appears in every local labor agreement
adopted by NECA and the IBEW.) A joint committee of
five NECA contractors and five labor representatives
used the Declaration as a foundation for development
of the Council on Industrial Relations. Ever since
April 1920, the Council has met quarterly to hear
cases and render decisions on areas of disagreement
between management and labor in the electrical
construction industry.
Decisions are reached by a unanimous vote of all six
representatives of NECA and all six representatives
from the IBEW that sit on the Council’s dispute
resolution panels. Although use of the CIR is
entirely voluntary and either member organization
may withdraw from participation upon three month’s
written notice, it continues to endure. A monument
to constructive labor-management relations, the
Council is but one example of the good that has
resulted through the relationship of trust and
respect built up over the years between NECA and the
IBEW. It has also served as an example to other
trades and industries that have widely emulated this
approach to labor-management dispute resolution. It
has won praise from the federal government and
private business. |
The "Supreme Court" for our industry --- CIR Council on Industrial Relations (CIR) for the Electrical Contracting Industry Section 1.01(d) of our Inside Agreement between the Southern Nevada Chapter NECA and IBEW Local No. 357 states: "Unresolved issues or disputes arising out of the failure to negotiate a renewal or modification of this Agreement that remain on the 20th of the month preceding the next regular meeting of the Council on Industrial Relations may be submitted jointly or unilaterally to the Council for adjudication. Such unresolved issues or disputes shall be submitted no later than the next regular meeting of the Council following the expiration date of this Agreement or any subsequent anniversary date. The
Council's decisions shall be final and binding."
Section 1.08 states that: "Should the Labor-Management Committee fail to agree or to adjust any matter, such shall then be referred to the Council on Industrial Relations for the Electrical Contracting Industry for adjudication. The Council's decisions shall be final and binding."
The Council on Industrial Relations for the Electrical Contracting Industry had its beginning in the era immediately following World War I when labor strife was rampant. As early as 1916 a small group of electrical contractors were in the habit of meeting regularly for the purpose of discussing matters pertaining to the electrical contracting industry. This group called itself the Conference Club. It was not a mere social club. Its members carried on serious discussions and presented various papers on matters of concern to the rapidly expanding industry. Some of the questions that came before the Conference Club were difficulties in labor-management relations. A contractor named L.K. Comstock was one of the most interested members of the Conference Club. He proposed that members of the club get together with a committee from the IBEW for the purpose of drafting a "National Labor Agreement" which would be to the mutual benefit of both groups. A joint committee from the IBEW and the Conference Club met in March 1919. Charles Ford, International Secretary of the IBEW, was the person chiefly responsible for bringing about IBEW participation in setting up the plan which was eventually to become the Council on Industrial Relations.
When the joint committee met, they decided that a labor agreement between them was not essentially what was needed. A medium for coming together, carrying on frank discussion and effecting an understanding was the procedure dictated and so a "Joint Declaration of Purpose" to be signed by both parties was substituted for the proposed labor agreement. It was at first intended that the IBEW and Conference Club should be the joint subscribers to the declaration, but the Conference Club membership was limited. Therefore, its members decided to interest the National Association of Electrical Contractors and Dealers in becoming the signatory employer organization. The Declaration of Principles, which paved the way for the Council on Industrial Relations, was approved by NECA at the July 1919 convention and by the IBEW in September 1919 at the New Orleans Convention. The plan for the Council itself as set up by a resolution was ratified by the Executive Council of the IBEW and later by the Brotherhood?s 1921 Convention in St. Louis. NECA took similar action at its Cincinnati Convention in 1922. The Council on Industrial Relations has been a going concern ever since.
For over 80 years, employees and employers in the electrical contracting industry have been getting along, voluntarily settling their differences between themselves and living in peace. Both have prospered and the public has benefited from better service uncomplicated by strikes.
The medium by which labor and management in the electrical contracting industry have done this, has been their Council on Industrial Relations. The Council is an organ composed of six representatives of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and six members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). These members meet quarterly and hear the cases brought before them. These cases consist of matters in dispute, or interpretation of existing agreements. Both sides are heard and a decision is rendered. All decisions, by rules of the Council, must be unanimous, and here is a significant point---never has a decision been violated.
The Council on Industrial Relations in essence, is a judicial body rather than a mere arbitration organ. The fact that decision must be unanimous, and that there is never a third party involved in its deliberations, makes it clear that the Council operates to effect just decisions, not merely compromises, that it strives to seek out errors and correct them. This is what makes it unique. This is why our Council on Industrial Relations is far more valuable to NECA and the IBEW and to the welfare of the whole electrical industry than any mere arbitration board could ever be.
During the first 25 years of the
Council's existence it handled 45 cases. From December 1946 to April 1971, 1,955 cases have been heard and decided. The fact that the Council has rendered thousands of decisions on a myriad of issues is just a small part of the influence which the Council wields. Many cases are settled in advance of the Council hearings because of the fact that the Council stands ready to hear cases. Many thousands of cases have been settled amicably by the employers and the local unions bargaining in good faith, knowing that as a last resort this "Supreme Court of the Electrical Contracting Industry" is open to them. The basic code of policy which has evolved from decisions of the Council rendered through the years, has set a pattern for local contractors and unions to follow, in solving their differences, making appeal to the Council unnecessary. This code recognizes the fundamental rights of the employer and the employee and their mutual obligation to each other, to the industry and to the general public. "It sets forth the policy of the industry on such vital matters as wages, union recognition, peaceful solution of industrial disputes, sacredness of negotiated contracts, worker cooperation with management, and the obligation of both parties to strive for efficiency in production."
All who serve on the Council are thoroughly acquainted with the problems and practices in the industry. They know that real stability can be attained only by rendering decisions which recognize the legitimate claims on the industry made by management, by labor, and by the public it serves. When the members of the Council are in session they do not represent either NECA or the IBEW; but the Electrical Contracting Industry.
Obviously, the decision made by the Council cannot always please both deputing parties, and frequently they please neither. The record shows, however, that while complaints have been few, those registered are almost exactly divided between management and labor, which indicates that a fair, objective job is being done.
The story of the Council on Industrial Relations for the Electrical Industry is one of dignity, strength and accomplishment. Workers and employers got together in good faith, set up a program which has been providing a true benefit to the union, the association and the public at large for
decades. |
