District 5 Report — April 2021

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

As we are entering summer and the COVID  vaccine is more prevalent, we seem to be getting closer to some normalcy. Work has picked up at the Defense Plants. The new Lockheed hanger is ramping up with CSI Electric and there is talk about going to two shifts. We continue to have members working with several other contractors throughout the plants at Boeing, Lockheed and Northrop.

With all the new work at Antelope Valley College, we are hoping to see Taft Electric build up their crews. We have several contractors working on and off at the college with more work on the horizon. Rosendin Electric is winding up at the ANX 3a and 3b jobs. They received the next solar project which should start soon. We also have Ferreira Construction which was awarded the 25 MW solar job at Lockheed and which is scheduled to start in May. CSI Electric is continuing work at the new Battery Storage project in West Lancaster.

We have several contractors continuing work at the Palmdale Medical Center and throughout the Kaiser facilities around Antelope Valley. Upcoming projects include the Green Hydrogen project, the Lancaster Health District Master Plan project which will be millions of dollars worth of work in and around Antelope Valley Hospital, high speed rail, more battery storage projects and electric vehicle charging stations which are all under Community Workforce Agreements. We are striving to get a Community Workforce Agreement at the Antelope Valley Union High School District and Lancaster School District which will produce many jobs for our members.

On another note, many thanks and good luck to Brother Luis Martinez on his recent retirement. He served for several years as an officer of District 5 and helped us in all our endeavors. Also, good luck to Brother John Grice for his recent retirement. Brother John has served several years in the IBEW and has helped District 5 in many political ventures.

Please do not forget to renew your State Certification. You can send in your paperwork to renew a year in advance or renew your license online. If you need your 32 hours of ongoing education, please call the ETI for further information.

Thank you to our officers, stewards and members for all your help, hard work and participation in making District 5 and Local 11 stronger.

God Bless and Stay Safe,
Mitch Klein