In the past eight decades, the
newspapers of our country periodically
have proclaimed to Mr. and
Mrs. John Q. Public and the world
in general, that various segments
of labor and management were at
odds. Strikes are big news. Years
of good relationship, free from
labor strife, are not. However, to
the parties involved and to the
general public which benefits from
amicable labor relations, the
NECA-IBEW story is good news of
the first order. For over 80 years
employers and employees in the
electrical contracting industry have
been getting along, voluntarily settling
their differences between
themselves and living in peace.
Both have prospered and the public
has benefited from better service
uncomplicated by strikes.
The medium by which labor and
management in the electrical contracting
industry have done this,
has been their Council on Industrial
Relations. Now exactly what is
this Council? It is a panel composed
of six representatives of the
National Electrical Contractors
Association and six members of
the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers. These members
meet quarterly and hear the
cases brought before them. These
Cases consist of matters in dispute,
or interpretation of existing
agreements. Both sides are heard
and a decision is rendered. All decisions,
by rules of the Council,
must be unanimous.
There is another point which we
should like to point out clearly. We
often hear today of various arbitration
boards functioning throughout
the country. The Council on
Industrial Relations in essence, is
a judicial body rather than a mere
arbitration board. The fact that
decisions must be unanimous, and
that there is never a third party
involved in its deliberations, makes
it clear that the Council operates to
effect just decisions, not merely
compromises, that it strives to
seek out errors and correct them.
This is what makes it unique. This
is why our Council on Industrial
Relations is far more valuable to
the NECA and the IBEW and to
the welfare of the whole electrical
industry than any mere arbitration
board could ever be.
Readers will be interested in a
brief history of how the Council
was conceived and developed.
The Council on Industrial Relations
had its beginning in the era immediately
following World War I when
labor strife was rampant. As early
as 1916 a small group of electrical
contractors were in the habit of
meeting regularly for the purpose
of discussing matters pertaining to
the electrical contracting industry.
This group called itself the
Conference Club. It was not a
mere social club. Its members carried
on serious discussions and
presented various papers on matters
of concern to the rapidly expanding
industry. Some of the
questions that came before the
Conference Club were difficulties
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