IBEW 46 members fight for fair contract

Holding strong at Delta Electric Motors/Integrated Power Services

The following is from IBEW Local 46:

In 2023, IBEW Local 46 entered into negotiations with Delta Electric Motors, a subsidiary of Integrated Power Services. In early November of this past year, we came to a negotiated agreement that we went to members with – which was soundly rejected.

We talked with the members to get an idea what we needed to bring back to the employer. The members said they wanted to get more compensation for working out of Shop, and also wanted to get an annual set wage increase, instead of the Production Based increase the employer was offering. We contacted the employer to set up a date to bring workers’ concerns forward, and met again in late November.

At this meeting, we discussed the issues the members had with the proposals they had voted down. We presented the employer with member demands that would need to be met in order to ratify an agreement: an increase in out-of-town pay and a set wage increase each year of the contract. In response, the employer offered a small bump to wages and changed only the first year wage increase to a set increase, instead offering only production based increases the last years of contract. The employer offered no increase for the out of shop work. 

With these small changes, the employer updated their prior proposal, which had been overwhelmingly voted down by the membership, and made it their Last, Best and Final offer.

Once again, IBEW members unanimously rejected the employer’s proposal, and additionally, the workers unanimously voted to seek strike authorization, as this Last, Best and Final employer offer failed to address the two issues – set wage increases annually and increase in out-of-town pay – that caused them to reject the prior proposal in the first place. 

With this strike authorization, we notified the employer of our intent to strike if an offer that met members needs was not made, and they asked to meet. On January 4, the union and employer met, and we were able to get a minimal change in wage, which the membership will soon vote on. 

The workers are clear in their demands, and we are holding strong until members see their concerns reflected in the employer offer. 

For information and updates, visit www.ibew46.org.