Union leader Badgley shares her journey with IBEW 569

Jennifer Badgley, 34, is the organizer and political director for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 569 which has 2,500 members in San Diego and Imperial Counties.

Jennifer Badgley has been the organizer and political director for IBEW 569 since 2000. (Courtesy Photo)

She has served in this position since 2000, and her responsibilities include developing and implementing issue-based educational campaigns for members and representing workers who build and maintain renewable energy projects. Badgley graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.A. degree in English and creative writing. She grew up in Peshtigo, Wis. which she describes as a working class community.

Question:  How did you become interested in working in the labor movement?
Answer: I was working in the environmental movement, and when I was growing up I saw the interaction between agriculture, manufacturing and people’s health and the environment. I was most drawn to the environment, and I realized that you have to engage the work force in order to be effective. For example when you talk to the paper mill about taking the bleach out, the workers have to understand why. Financing processes to reduce or eliminate the chlorine used to bleach paper or to cut sulfur dioxide emissions requires much planning. In addition to their livelihoods depending directly upon work processes, workers, especially when they are local residents, have the most at stake in clean air and water. They also have the most intimate knowledge of their industries and production. Therefore, job security and the ability of workers to collectively have a voice in the science that shapes their working lives is critical to be able to create broader social change.

Q: Have you faced obstacles as a woman?
A: Not in this particular union. People have been very welcoming and receptive. More women are becoming organizers and taking leadership positions in the labor movement. I think there are challenges still to come. My work is all consuming. Despite the moniker, women’s experience in the “brotherhood” isn’t conditioned on gender. Although IBEW 569 probably has the highest percentage of women members of any construction union (about 10% are women), things that are typically, and incorrectly, identified as women’s issues– like maternity leave and childcare– are often complicated by the itinerant nature of construction employment. I think as more women take on leadership in the union and as more temporary workers in other industries look to the IBEW 569 organizing model, these issues will get more attention in organizing and bargaining. As advocates for members’ rights in all terms and conditions of their employment, IBEW 569 has a vital role to play in assuring opportunities and fairness for women electrical workers on the jobsite as well as to increase women’s participation in non-traditional careers in the energy sector. As we usher in the green economy, I am fighting to make sure that as more women become electrical workers, that the work is meaningful and economically sustainable. My work is my passion, and I think about balancing all these factors if I have children.
(Badgley is married to Tefere Gebre, who is Secretary-Treasurer of the Orange County Labor Federation.)

Q:  What keeps you up at night?
A: I think a lot about the green energy economy, and how do you harness it and not go backwards in terms of creating jobs with good wages and benefits. These jobs can be the backbone of the middle class. I also think about health care in this country. My youngest sister is uninsured, and my 32-year old sister is disabled, and she can never get all the medicines that she needs. Of course, health care is a major concern for our members. Twenty percent of our health care costs goes toward paying for the uninsured.

Q: What accomplishment are you proud of?
A: Gaylord. We put a lot of resources into organizing the bay front in Chula Vista. It’s one of the last pieces of undeveloped land on the water, and we wanted something that was good for the environment and good for the workers. We worked with the environmental community, the trade show unions, the hotel and restaurant workers, and we tried to make sure that the project would be good for the environment and the workers. In some ways, I’ll take the blame. You have to respect the workers and the environment. We were asked, ‘Isn’t something better than nothing?’ Our feeling is that if we build it right, we can build more.

(Nashville, Tenn.-based Gaylord Entertainment wanted to build a 1,500 room hotel and convention center on the Chula Vista bay front. In 2007, the company pulled out allegedly because it could not reach an agreement with labor unions. It then continued negotiating, and pulled out again a year later because it could not get financing.)

I believe we sent a strong message about the power and commitment of San Diego’s electrical workforce with the Gaylord campaign. We are committed to continue to make sure that whatever is built on the bayfront must create good, green, local careers.

Q: What is your outlook for the San Diego construction industry?
A: About 20 percent of IBEW’s 2,500 members are currently unemployed. Their salaries range from $15 to $36.35 which is the current rate for journey-level electricians per hour depending on years of experience and skill level.) There are several big Imperial Valley renewable energy projects that will employ our members. Our members are doing solar panels on homes, some school work is coming on line, and there are public works projects at Camp Pendleton and San Onofre. But I don’t see the economy getting much better in the next few months. Our members bought houses when the economy was good. Now many are unemployed, they have no home equity, and the credit card companies are raising interest rates so times are hard now. On the whole, we are optimistic about the long-term, and we are committed to organizing and creating good middle class jobs in the green economy.

Tags: SDNN

This entry was posted on Monday, July 6th, 2009 at 3:25 pm and is filed under Business, Health, Politics & Government. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.