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Conn. Powerhouse Explosion Kills 5

Fire marshals on Monday were preparing to start their investigation into a massive explosion that rocked an under-construction power plant where gas lines were being tested, killing at least five people.

A dozen or more others were hurt in Sunday’s blast, which was so powerful it alarmed residents who heard the boom and felt tremors in their homes miles away from the Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown, about 20 miles south of Hartford.

The explosion left huge pieces of metal that once encased the plant peeling off its sides. A large swath of the structure was blackened and surrounded by debris, but the building, its roof and its two smokestacks were still standing at the site, which is near Wesleyan University on a wooded and hilly 137-acre parcel of land overlooking the Connecticut River.

The Kleen Energy plant is seen in this aerial photo after an explosion in Middletown, Conn., Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

The nearly completed 620-megawatt plant is being built to produce energy primarily using natural gas, which accounts for about a fifth of the nation’s electricity. Workers for the construction company, O&G Industries, were purging a gas line, clearing it of air, when the explosion occurred around 11:15 a.m. Sunday, Santostefano said.

About 50 to 60 people were in the area at the time, he said.

Kleen Energy Systems LLC began construction on the plant in February 2008. It had signed a deal with Connecticut Light and Power for the electricity produced by the plant, which was scheduled to be completed by mid-2010 and would be one of the biggest built in New England in the last few years.

The Truth About Union Electricians in IBEW Local 58.

Is This The Future of the IBEW?

Tradesmen International, founded in 1992, is recognized nationally as the construction industry’s premier source for high-caliber, skilled craftsmen with thousands of employees in all trades across America. We hire our employees on a permanent basis with the goal of providing you job stability, a good income and full benefits.

As a Construction Labor Support company, we provide the industry’s top constructor and industrial clients proven labor management solutions – Total Labor Support Services – that enable them maximize productivity for every dollar spent on skilled labor.

What does this mean to you, a skilled craftsman? These services have positioned Tradesmen as a contractor’s “first choice” which means, unlike temporary agencies, we’re able to keep you gainfully employed, pay you what you deserve, and provide you an exceptional benefits package (see below). We have nearly 100 locations nationwide and work on projects ranging from national monuments and commercial structures to museums, retail facilities, even professional sports stadiums.

Job Overview

Company: Tradesmen International Location: US-MD-Baltimore Base Pay: $14.00 – $22.00 /Hour Other Pay: Job Commission Employee Type: Full-Time Employee Industry: Construction Electronics Homebuilding Manages Others: No Job Type: Construction Manufacturing Skilled Labor – Trades Required Education: High School Required Experience: At least 3 year(s) Required Travel: Negligible Relocation Covered: Not Specified Contact: Don Miller Phone: 1-800-636-9640 Email: Send Email Now Fax: Not Available Reference ID: 100606

Job Description Journeymen Electricians and Apprentice Electricians needed in Reading PA. Tradesmen International, founded in 1992, is recognized nationally as a leading source for reliable, skilled craftsmen with thousands of employees across America. With thousands of contractor clients and craftsmen employees serving their on-going needs, we’re one of America’s premier construction employers. Fact is, we’re constantly seeking the finest Electricans in the business to join our team. We’re committed to hiring only those Electricians who pride themselves on setting quality standards for the commercial and industrial industries. All our employees must display professionalism, Reliability and Punctuality / Good Appearance and Attitudes Highly Productive Work Ethics / Emphasis on Safety In addition to steady work, safer working conditions and good wages, we provide a benefits package that is among the best in the industry. Our comprehensive benefits encourage our employees and their families to build a life long relationship with us. Benefits include: Dental plan Vision plan Health insurance Prescription drug plan Life insurance Short-term disability 401(k) profit-sharing savings plan Incentive programs If you match these characteristics, please call us at 877-818-1885. We provide steady work, competitive wages, safer working conditions and good opportunities. www.tradesmeninternational.com New Orleans Needs Good: Carpenters, Drywall,Sheet Metal, HVAC, Plumbers, Welders…. Job Requirements Journey / Apprentice level Commercial Electricians Needed ! $14 – $22 per hour. Be perpared to complete a job application and a sit down interview. Verifiable references-addresses,phone numbers and contact names must be provided Must have Driver License, Transportation and all the required tools to perform your job. Solid work ethic-Safe worker,punctual,reliable and must be very conscientious of the quality of work.

IBEW Sees Future in Alternative Energy Jobs

MINNEAPOLIS - Darryl Thayer, a member of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 292 in Minneapolis, hardly received a visionary’s welcome when he addressed the Minnesota legislature in 1968 about the need to develop solar energy and wean the state from fossil fuel-based sources. Worse yet, says Thayer, many of his fellow workers “thought I was nuts.” How climates have changed.

Forty-one years later, the legislature has a green energy task force. And Thayer, a 53-year member who teaches solar classes at Local 292’s apprenticeship training center is a hero to folks like Ray Zeran, one of 600 unemployed members who are looking to benefit from billions of dollars of state funds and federal stimulus money focused on renewable energy projects.

While Minnesota may appear to be an improbable generator of sun power, Nimlos says that the 45th parallel is primed for harnessing solar energy. Residing on a latitude similar to Germany’s, where solar power is well-developed, Minnesota’s lower temperatures keep panels operating at maximum efficiency. And the state’s clear skies make it competitive with Jacksonville, Fla., San Francisco and Houston.

IBEW participates in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar America Cities project which targets 25 metropolitan areas for sun power development. Thayer— who earned a B.A. in physics over 13 years working as a journeyman electrician and has nearly completed his master’s in engineering—has written a curriculum for the project. Fully half of all Minnesota solar installers who have achieved National Association of Certified Energy Practitioners qualifications are Local 292 members.

Minneapolis Local 292′s JATC has a waiting list for members to train in solar installation. Veteran member Darryl Thayer, kneeling, instructs Bradley Kanis, left, Claude Clavette. Instructor Kelley Benyo stands at right. A large solar panel is mounted outside the training center (below). Photos courtesy of The Electrical Worker

Wind power has been expanding rapidly in the southwest quadrant of Minnesota. Local 343, in the southeast, is aiming to be the labor supply of choice on wind projects. The local is completing a 60-foot climbing tower for practicing high-voltage safety, climbing and rescue procedures on turbines in conjunction with an NJATC wind power curriculum. Toft, who sets a priority on making IBEW-organized contractors more competitive in wind projects, expects to see 1,700 towers erected over the next few years.

The IBEW Minnesota State Council’s efforts to promote new training and encourage grassroots political activism to set high standards for renewable energy workers are returning results that could reach far into the future.

IBEW is supporting state legislation to include more money to cover the labor costs of relocating existing power lines to make way for new highway and rail projects that will be financed by the federal stimulus. The local is gearing up to provide labor from new needs. A state bill supported by environmentalists provides that one-half of all new parking facilities include outlets to charge electric vehicles.

In a state that mandates the licensing of electricians, IBEW is challenging the perception that solar and wind energy require entirely new careers. Local 292 Business Representative Dan McConnell meets with community college educators who are setting up renewable energy training. “I ask them what will happen to students who are only trained in renewable energy installations if the bubble bursts in any specific sector,” says McConnell.

McConnell proposes to educators and legislators that the demand for solar workers be filled by journeymen and apprentice electricians who receive supplementary training in how to properly design and angle panels and calculate their efficiency. “Solar panels are live when they come out of the box,” says McConnell. Safety should not be taken for granted. And better-trained workers, he says, “are far more recession-proof than workers trained exclusively on renewable installations.”

My Future Plane Gulfstream V

While I’m Dreaming

What Can a Union Do For You?

• Employees bargain with strength for wages, benefits and rights when they join together. That’s why it’s important to unionize.
• Under the employment at will doctrine, the cornerstone of American employment law, in general terms, unless you belong to a protected group, your employer has the right to discipline or terminate, with impunity, you for any reason — even a bad one — or for no reason at all. That’s why it is sometimes called the fire at will doctrine.
• However, with a collective bargaining agreement, you have rights. Management must have just cause for any disciplinary action taken against a union employee. You bargain over wages, health benefits, working conditions and a retirement plan for your future. But, you bargain collectively with the strength that comes from a collective voice.
• ITS ALWAYS wise to take full advantage of YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS.
• WITH A UNION, the employer must bargain and pay the wages negotiated.
• WITH A UNION, your rights on the job are spelled out and must be respected.
• WITH A UNION, you can stop abuses on the job. The union can prevent unjust and unfair treatment by giving you representation on the job and the right to file grievances if you are treated unfairly.
• WITH A UNION, you can negotiate for better holiday pay, vacations, health and welfare benefits, and job conditions.
• WITH A UNION, you have greater security on your job. Company management cannot fire you without good reason and they must respect your length of service if there are layoffs.

Congress Played Large Part in Excessive AIG Bonus Mess

If President Barack Obama wants to find a scapegoat for the mess at American International Group, he needs only to look east from the White House to the halls of Congress.

That’s where the legislation was enacted that laid the groundwork for AIG’s collapse, its subsequent multibillion-dollar bailout and even the millions of dollars in bonuses being paid to AIG executives that have so outraged Obama, members of Congress and taxpayers.

Call it the law of unintended consequences.

The controversy boiled over Monday when Obama took aim at the bonuses going to executives who oversaw the risky bets that sank the giant insurer.

AIG has taken out $170 billion in federal funds, and federal officials overseeing the company say it is not out of the woods yet. The backlash intensified over the weekend when the company, now 80 percent owned by U.S. taxpayers, said it was locked into paying $165 million in bonuses to key executives.

“We’ve asked the car dealers to restructure their organization, including workers restructuring their union contracts in order to save the auto industry,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. “We ought to be asking the leadership at AIG to make the same kind of concessions to save AIG and the taxpayers’ dollars.”