We have been very fortunate throughout the year of 2009. In many months of 2009, we had close to record-breaking amounts of work. Most of this was due to work at Goodyear in Gadsden and the ongoing environmental projects for Alabama Power. Some of these projects are winding down and cutting back on manpower.

We have been very fortunate to have had this amount of work in this economic turndown the past two years. Other Locals and IBEW Brothers & Sisters all across the Country have not been as fortunate. The good news is that the economy is showing signs of returning, and we see more projects in the planning stages.

Because of this, the staff has been working hard in the past year trying to diversify ourselves, so that we can get back in the commercial market. I have been meeting with as many contractors as possible to look at what can be done for them to be more competitive when they submit their bids.

We are proud to announce that Miller Electric is going after hospital and health care work. We met with them to make sure they know we are going to stand behind them as they try to break into this highly saturated market. They have managed to take the maintenance from one open shop on a hospital already, so we will be looking to help them move forward in their endeavors.

We are having Organizing classes at the hall to educate our members to become very knowledgeable in this area. These classes are to educate members on how we go about organizing, and how we can target certain projects as opportunities for employment. All these projects are under the direction of the Organizing office. Any help and information on these projects and others will be greatly appreciated.

As many of you have already found, we have a new Website that is replacing the old one. This site can be reached at www.ibewlocal136.org. The site has been completely rebuilt and is hopefully more informative that the old one. It was built in house so it can be changed and updated daily. I think you will also find the site entertaining as well as current. The site is for our current and retired members to check information such as Death Benefits, upcoming events, history of the IBEW and our local, and many other features. We would also ask for input from you as to what you might want to see included on our website.

We are also working on combining referral procedure records and membership records to have complete local work histories. That way, if a member needed a work history printout for background checks or Nuclear Power clearances, you would be able to obtain that at the click of a button.

Please bear with us as we make progressive changes, moving forward to keep up with the ever changing times that we live in today.