CD Highlights Union Advantage

Union electricians know they outperform their non-union counterparts in the key areas of quality, productivity and safety. Question is, do prospective clients?

They will understand once they view a new CD issued by the Labor Management Cooperation Committee (LMCC) – the labor management partnership of ECA Chicago and IBEW Local 134. The CD, available this Fall, not only showcases the skills of Chicago-area union workers, but helps workers further hone those skills with learning modules dedicated to worker safety, code compliance and the like.

"The initial objective was to market union expertise to clients, electricians and contractors – to remind them that there is so much more to electrical work than lighting and general power distribution," says LMCC Chairman Steven Witz. "We also wanted to emphasize that we're more productive, more experienced and better able to perform fast-track and mission-critical assignments, as well as straightforward electrical services." As planning progressed, LMCC recognized the CD could perform the dual function of educating as well as providing fuel for marketing. The resulting CD is part tutorial and part virtual tour, with the latter highlighting the construction process and the electrical worker's role in it. "You can spend five minutes with it or hours. It builds our brand and makes the case for going the union route during tough and uncertain times," says Witz. "The CD arrives at a critical time for electrical workers, who have weathered the worst of the "Great Recession," but have yet to see construction fully recover from declines in activity. There are so many more choices in the marketplace these days, so we wanted to provide a point of interest that would get people thinking and talking."

The CD is a great tool and provides a wealth of information. "I'd wager there's nothing else like it in the Chicago area," says Witz. "For that matter, there's probably nothing else like it in the country."