He’s climbed the light towers at Wheeling Island Stadium.
(Wait. What?)
He’s learned how not to get shocked while tempting electricity.
(“Shocked” is a nice synonym for electrocuted, by the way.)
And his usual smile leaves his face when fighting for local men and women and their justice.
(Let’s just say you don’t want to be on his bad side, OK?)
Doug Giffin, a native of Martins Ferry and a former volunteer firefighter, is the newly re-elected president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 141 in Wheeling, and that means his efforts to organize non-union electricians in the Upper Ohio Valley will continue for at least three more years. He’s good at it, too, and that’s because he believes every word he utters when it comes to the benefits of labor. Not only do apprentices not incur student loan debt that cripples so many, but they earn a living wage and are able to remain here at home instead of migrating elsewhere for opportunity.
That’s why, to Giffin, joining a local trade makes all the sense in the world to those who lack dedicated interest in higher education. Far too often during the last 20 years have high school graduates flowed into college only to collect debt without collecting some sort of degree, and that is why Giffin is a staunch believer that it just makes sense.
Maybe, just maybe, that’s why he ran unopposed.
Now that you have been re-elected as the president of IBEW Local 141, what duties will you perform during the next three years?
I hope to lead IBEW LOCAL 141 in a positive direction. My duties are to run our monthly meetings, sit as a trustee to our pension fund, and sit as a trustee of our apprenticeship committee. I will also sit on our social committee and help lead events such as our annual picnic, parades, and Christmas parties. I will also help in the political areas to secure the best representatives for the working people, and our members.
My working job, for local 141 is as membership coordinator. We will always try to organize the unorganized worker. Part of my daily job is to track the projects and the workers that are not under a union agreement, and to educate and bring them into our local. The number one priority of the IBEW is organizing.
Please explain what a member of the IBEW does when they go to work each day.
First of all, every day for our members is different. We have workers in service vans, workers in construction of buildings, and workers that work long-term service contracts on the industrial side of work. We also represent members of South Central Power, Warwood Armature, and Tristate Machine.
We do switch jobs and places with the educational background that is given through our apprenticeships. Our average members have an early start to their day. Most start with tools in hand at 7 a.m. That means they are up and moving at 5 a.m. to drive to their job sites, check in, sit and grab a coffee or a snack. They can be put in any aspect of electrical work, from ditches to heights or as simple as changing devices or lighting fixtures.
At 9:30 a.m. a coffee break is taken and return to work site at 9:45. They may be subject to chemicals or hazardous work environments including heat, or extreme cold, ice, rain, hypothermia, or even heat exposure. At noon, they take lunch and 3:30 is the end of the workday. Some may be asked to work over to finish a job, or to get to a certain point of the project so other crafts are not held up.
Often our members are asked to work six and seven days a week. A lot of times there is not time to get to a bank or a doctor’s appointment. A lot of times you must pack a lunch when you get home for the next day. You must also check the weather to set some clothes out to prepare for whatever the next day will bring.
Why did you choose to join the IBEW Local 141 instead of searching for a different job.
At the time I had two choices: continue to pay for college or join the IBEW, which was free education with a long-term job attached. At this point in life looking back, it was hard work but the best decision I ever made.
Do you believe organized labor will become very popular once again in the Upper Ohio Valley? If so, why? If not, why not?
I believe that people are realizing they need benefits and a union that has their back. People are struggling with a lot and deserve better. One of the only ways to get a better working environment is to be in a union. A group of people that come together for a better work environment and life.
There is a big perception problem to overcome. People get their opinions from other media outlets that mislead and distract them from the truth about Unions.
What is the one thing that many believe about the trades that simply is not true?
That we are just a bunch of dumb construction workers. I have had these things come up in conversations. When the trades have specific training to do their jobs, to be very highly skilled and productive. Some of the smartest people I know, I have met in the trades. We have to have the ability to see and overcome any obstacles placed in our way to complete the projects in a neat and workmen-like manner.
I have watched men and women do complex math and geometry problems on scratch paper and on the fly. I have watched tradesmen step into projects with very stringent timelines and budget constraints and complete them on time and under budget. We have been put into fire-scorched steel mills after huge fires, and we’ve made them run like new again.
The men and women in the trades train and learn to meet the needs of the construction industry. With all this said, the “dumb construction worker” is a huge misconception. All I have ever seen is very hard-working, smart people, and I am humbled to have been trained by the best.
With this opportunity, I would like to thank all who have taught me.
