a:26:{s:9:"weblog_id";s:1:"4";s:8:"entry_id";s:4:"1264";s:6:"sticky";s:1:"n";s:14:"allow_comments";s:1:"n";s:16:"allow_trackbacks";s:1:"n";s:10:"entry_date";s:19:"2011-06-07 04:25 PM";s:15:"expiration_date";s:0:"";s:23:"comment_expiration_date";s:0:"";s:8:"category";a:1:{i:0;s:1:"4";}s:9:"author_id";s:1:"4";s:10:"new_weblog";s:1:"4";s:6:"status";s:4:"open";s:14:"trackback_urls";s:0:"";s:18:"versioning_enabled";s:1:"y";s:5:"title";s:31:"IBEW Local 1 Changes Leadership";s:9:"url_title";s:31:"ibew_local_1_changes_leadership";s:6:"submit";s:6:"Update";s:11:"field_id_26";s:30:"IBEW Local 1 Changes Leadershi";s:11:"field_ft_26";s:4:"none";s:11:"field_id_31";s:0:"";s:11:"field_id_44";s:249:"Members of IBEW Local 1 voted by a margin of 2:1 on June 4 to change their leadership. They elected a slate led by presidential candidate Greg Booth. Booth had served as a business agent in the St. Charles area under three previous union presidents.";s:11:"field_ft_44";s:4:"none";s:11:"field_id_28";s:13:"Licari, Booth";s:11:"field_ft_28";s:4:"none";s:11:"field_id_29";s:2054:"<p>Members of IBEW Local 1 voted by a margin of 2:1 on June 4 to change their leadership. They elected a slate led by presidential candidate Greg Booth. Booth had served as a business agent in the St. Charles area under three previous union presidents.</p>
<p>Steve Licari, the handpicked successor to Steve Schoemehl, the immediate past president, was ousted in the election. Schoemehl stepped down from office in January and asked that the union\'s board appoint Licari. Schoemehl\'s  given reason at the time was to give Licari a chance to solidify his position before the election.</p>
<p>Booth stated that the time of Licari\'s appointment that he wasn\'t willing to accept the decision, and stepped down from his union office while he ran for president. A website called<a href=\"http://unityclub.net/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=1&amp;Itemid=2\"> Unity Club</a> outlines Booth\'s background and reasons for running, as well as bios of the other candidates.&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"></span></p>
<p>Licari declined to discuss the politics of the election. \"It\'s union business. I want to kept it there,\" he said. \"I really think it\'s the economy and lack of work. Membership was looking for some change.\"</p>
<p>Doug Martin, executive director of the St. Louis Chapter, National Electrical Contractors Association affirmed Licari\'s assessment: \"Any time you\'ve got people making half of what they did you\'ve got a reason for people to vote to change it,\" Martin said.</p>
<p>Martin and Licari recently worked together on two very tense situations simultaneously. The first was correcting repercussions from miscommunication with BJC Healthcare over the use of the commercial wireman classification on BJC jobs.  At the same time the pair were negotiating the terms of the union\'s wage package through 2013.</p>
<p>Martin said that even with increases of slightly under three percent in the next two years, electricians will be making 4.5 percent less in 2013 than they were in 2009.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>";s:10:"category_0";s:1:"4";}