Pay Union Dues Online
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CURRENT NEWS
DOT Physicals and Recertifications
/We are offering DOT Physical and recertification at the Union Hall on Saturday, February 10, 2018, beginning at 7:00 a.m. Please check your Medical Examiner’s Certificate for the expiration date. If you would like to schedule an appointment, please call 217-726-8481, extension 223. The cost of the physical is $135 and covered if you have LINECO at the time of the physical. Otherwise, $135 is due February 10.
CALL FOR HELP! Override Rauner's Veto on RTW!!
/SB 1905, sponsored by Rep. Marty Moylan (IBEW 134) will prohibit Right to Work (RTW) zones in the State of Illinois. Rauner vetoed the bill in August. When the Illinois House returns next week, Labor will have one opportunity to override Rauner’s veto on Tuesday, Nov. 7th or Wed, Nov 8th.
In the next eight or nine days, we need to reach out to 12 targeted Republicans. All forms of contact are encouraged: Phone calls, emails, letters, and office visits.
The IL AFL-CIO is beginning phone patch thru calls to union members in targeted districts, allowing them to speak with House members and urging a “yes” vote.
Representative Moylan has agreed to remove the misdemeanor penalties from the legislation in a “trailer bill" that is being initiated in the Senate.
The following 12 key House Republicans are being targeted by Labor to vote “Yes” to support the override motion:
Steven Andersson
steve@staterep65.com
Terri Bryant
2929 Broadway
Suite 3
Mt. Vernon, IL 62864
staterepterribryant@gmail.com
John Cabello
cabello@ilhousegop.org
C.D. Davidsmeyer
325 W. State Street, Suite 102
P.O. Box 160
Jacksonville, IL 62650
davidsmeyer@ilhousegop.org
Mike Fortner
Mike.fortner@sbcglobal.net
Chad Hays
chad@rephays.com
Jerry Long
201 Danny's Drive
Suite 2
Streator, IL 61364
(No email)
Michael McAuliffe
mmcauliffe20@yahoo.com
Tony McCombie
McCombie@ilhousegop.org
Bill Mitchell
5130 Hickory Point Frontage Road
repmitchell@earthlink.net
Robert Pritchard
bob@pritchardstaterep.com
Dave Severin
(No email)
Notes:
When SB 1905 passed the House in June, McCombie (Quad Cities) and Long (Ottawa-LaSalle Peru) voted Yes on the bill in June but then voted “No” on the override motion.
Terri Bryant (Carbondale) & John Cabello (Rockford) voted No in June but then voted Yes on the Override.
Steve Andersson, Mike Fortner, David Harris, Bill Mitchell are not running for re-election to their House seats.
Hurricane Disaster Fund Thank You
/Greetings,
I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to the number of local unions who have recently contributed to the IBEW Unity Fund/Hurricane Disaster Fund, in response to IP Stephenson’s letter of September 8, 2017. And I especially want to thank those of you who made personal contributions.
As you know the IBEW Unity Fund was originally established to assist local unions who were under political attack which threatened the existence of organized labor. As witnessed by our Brothers & Sisters in Wisconsin. Since its origination we have also used the IBEW Unity Fund to assist members effected by the recent rash of natural disasters; Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Irma and now Maria. Our members have also been effected by the wildfires of northern California. In all, we currently have approximately 20,000 members in need of assistance.
I would ask those local unions that have not contributed to the IBEW Unity Fund to consider contributing now. For it is better to give than receive.
I thank you in advance for your consideration.
In Solidarity,
David J. Ruhmkorff
International Vice President
Sixth District IBEW
Vistra Energy to Purchase Dynegy
/Vistra Energy will buy Dynegy Inc. in an all-stock deal worth $1.74 billion, the U.S. power producers said on Monday, the latest in a wave of mergers in the industry.
Debt-laden power producers such as Dynegy have seen their profit margins shrink, as cheap natural gas from shale fields drives electricity prices lower. Many power companies have merged this year as a result.
Dynegy shareholders will receive 0.652 shares of Vistra Energy for each share of Dynegy they own.
That translates to a price of $13.24 per share, representing a 43.8 percent premium to Dynegy's stock price on Tuesday, before the Wall Street Journal reported about merger talks between the two companies.
The deal is valued at $1.74 billion, based on the 131.37 million Dynegy shares outstanding, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The combined company will have a market value of more than $10 billion and will generate $350 million in earnings before income taxes and amortization on an annualized basis, Vistra and Dynegy said.
Houston-based Dynegy operates 27,000 megawatts of power generating facilities throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Texas.
Vistra shareholders will own about 79 percent and Dynegy shareholders will own 21 percent stock of the combined company.
Dynegy shares rose 13 percent to $12.65 in premarket trading
Are your dues current?
/Check your dues ticket! Are you current on your dues? 3rd quarter dues should be paid by now. Pay ASAP to avoid a late fee! We can accept a check by mail or call the Hall to make a debit or credit payment.
Dynegy Supports Illinois Multi-Pollutant Standard Proposal to Lower Allowable Emissions
/Dynegy Inc. (NYSE: DYN) supports the Illinois Multi-Pollutant Standard (MPS) proposal that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has filed with the Illinois Pollution Control Board for its consideration and approval.
The rule change, which targets only the Company’s eight MPS-affected coal-fueled generating facilities in downstate Illinois, would replace two sets of annual emission rate limits with a single set of specific annual tonnage limits. The amount of annual emissions allowed would be lower than under the current rule, including a 20% reduction in sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from the fleet. All other federal and state air quality regulations, including health-based standards, will remain unchanged and in place.
“Even though this proposal places new fixed limits on allowable emissions from our plants, we support it because it will provide regulatory clarity, consistency and create a single MPS operating group,” said Dean Ellis, Dynegy’s Executive Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. “This will help us in the future to better meet changing electricity demand and preserve jobs, while maintaining very low levels of emissions.
“These plants have already been retrofitted with approximately $2 billion in emission control technology that reduced sulfur dioxide emissions by 90% since 1998, with significant reductions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other emissions as well,” Ellis added. “The MPS proposal will cap annual emissions at levels lower than envisioned by the original MPS rule.”
The MPS proposal provides additional environmental and compliance-related benefits, including:
- Allowing for the operation of the eight plants as a single MPS group with simplified annual compliance metrics that are consistent with existing federal programs;
- Imposing new requirements to ensure the continuous operation of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) control systems during the ozone season, and for SCR-controlled units to meet a seasonal limit of 0.10 pounds NOx per million British thermal units (mmBtu); and
- Setting an additional, site-specific annual SO2 limit for the Joppa Power Station.
Labor Support
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 51, (IBEW 51) also voiced its support of the proposed rule. “This new standard will help ensure that power generating facilities are available 24/7 to meet customer demand while providing additional environmental protections,” said John Johnson, IBEW 51 President. “These facilities provide good-paying union jobs for over 700 full-time employees, including 524 IBEW workers, and hundreds of part-time union and building trades jobs.”
About Dynegy
At Dynegy, we generate more than just power for our customers. We are committed to being a leader in the electricity sector. Throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Texas, Dynegy operates power generating facilities capable of producing 28,000 megawatts of electricity—or enough energy to power more than 22 million American homes. We’re proud of what we do, but it’s about much more than just output. We’re always striving to generate power safely and responsibly for our wholesale and retail electricity customers who depend on that energy to grow and thrive.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains statements reflecting assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions or beliefs about future events that are intended as “forward-looking statements,” particularly those statements concerning Dynegy’s expectations and beliefs regarding the Illinois MPS proposal; future electricity demand; job preservation and emissions levels. These statements are based on the current expectations of Dynegy’s management discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations of Dynegy is contained in Dynegy’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Specifically, Dynegy makes reference to, and incorporates herein by reference, the section entitled “Risk Factors” in its 2016 Form 10-K and subsequent Form 10-Qs. Any or all of Dynegy’s forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond Dynegy’s control.
Finally a Little Good News for Our Coal Plant Members
/The head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday that he will sign a new rule overriding the Clean Power Plan, an Obama-era effort to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants.
“The war on coal is over,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt declared in the coal mining state of Kentucky.
For Pruitt, getting rid of the Clean Power Plan will mark the culmination of a long fight he began as the elected attorney general of Oklahoma. Pruitt was among about two-dozen attorney generals who sued to stop President Barack Obama’s push to limit carbon emissions.
Closely tied to the oil and gas industry in his home state, Pruitt rejects the consensus of scientists that man-man emissions from burning fossil fuels are the primary driver of global climate change. President Donald Trump, who appointed Pruitt and shares his skepticism of established climate science, promised to kill the Clean Power Plan during the 2016 campaign as part of his broader pledge to revive the nation’s struggling coal mines.
In his order Tuesday, Pruitt is expected to declare that the Obama-era rule exceeded federal law by setting emissions standards that power plants could not reasonably meet.
Appearing at an event with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Pruitt said, “The EPA and no federal agency should ever use its authority to say to you we are going to declare war on any sector of our economy.”
Obama’s plan was designed to cut U.S. carbon dioxide emissions to 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The rule dictated specific emission targets for states based on power-plant emissions and gave officials broad latitude to decide how to achieve reductions.
The Supreme Court put the plan on hold last year following legal challenges by industry and coal-friendly states.
Even so, the plan helped drive a recent wave of retirements of coal-fired plants, which also are being squeezed by lower costs for natural gas and renewable power, as well as state mandates promoting energy conservation.
The withdrawal of the Clean Power Plan is the latest in a series of moves by Trump and Pruitt to dismantle Obama’s legacy on fighting climate change, including the delay or roll back of rules limiting levels of toxic pollution in smokestack emissions and wastewater discharges from coal-burning power plants.
The president announced earlier this year that he will pull the United States out of the landmark Paris climate agreement. Nearly 200 countries have committed to combat global warming by reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
Healthy Moms / Healthy Babies $250 gift card
/Lineco provides a prenatal program for its participants called Healthy Moms = Healthy Babies. This program provides resources and support for maternity patients, and helps ensure timely assistance for women during pregnancy. Upon completion of the program, participants receive a $250 gift card. Visit the Lineco website for more information.
