By IEC Staff Make your company a place where someone wants to spend their time, expend their energy, and do good work. That might sum up the recruitment and retention strategy of Mid-America Electric, Inc., in Imperial, MO.  Phil Burmeister is second generation shareholder at the company his dad, Larry Burmeister, formed in 1999 with another family member Jeremy Bass who still is involved in daily operations. Justin Garnett, who feels like family, has grown with the company and is also a shareholder at the company he joined right out of high school in 2001.  “My dad demonstrates what ..read more

BY PHILLIP B. RUSSELL, OGLETREE DEAKINS NASH SMOAK & STEWART PC  To lawfully remain merit-shop and union-free, IEC contractors should understand the new “ambush election” rules of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that just went into effect. The new rule compresses the time between the time a labor union files a representation petition and the actual election. The impact of the rule is to make it more difficult for employers to educate employees about unions and unionization before a vote.  The new final “Representation-Case Procedures” rule, rescinds the remaining aspect ..read more

By IEC Staff  “When I first came to IEC Central Ohio more than 20 years ago, it was to an office not much larger than a closet,” says Barbara Tipton, IEC Central Ohio executive director. “I was the first executive director of this chapter, and we were doing our training all off-site at a couple of different locations.”  Barb says chapter members always have been amazing. In the early years — IEC Central Ohio has been around since 1998 — member contractors would open their facilities for classes and labs and maybe even teach. There were about 30 contractor members and 60 to 80 apprent ..read more

Part Two of a Six-Part Series   BY DAVE GILSON, TERA-BYTE TECHNOLOGIES  In the telecommunications industry, structured cabling refers to standardized cabling infrastructure with its associated hardware including fiber optics. You have likely seen structured cabling systems before — think data centers or those extremely organized overhead cabling systems that look like cable superhighways. These systems transmit data, voice, alarm, video, and many other systems throughout a network.  When a structured cabling system is properly designed and installed, it delivers predictable perf ..read more

By IEC Staff Numerous parent / child teams work together in the electrical contracting industry within family businesses. But when’s the last time you’ve come across a father and son going through the IEC Apprenticeship Program together? Dad Dean and Son Tyler Schrage are both fourth year students in the IEC of Greater St. Louis program.  They’re tops in their class says Kelly Hewitt, chapter executive director. Tyler and Dean are on track to graduate spring of 2024 and both have overall A averages.  Dean is no novice to electrical, however. Dean was raised on a farm and grew up buil ..read more

By IEC Staff As the nation celebrates Women in Construction week in March, Insights thought it appropriate to check in on some of our celebrated women who run companies and chapters, share knowledge, lean on one another, and, above all, invite other women to join the industry and shine!  A well-attended Women in Power session at SPARK 2023 in Dallas found panelists and attendees alike in awe of IEC women, seeking to better understand their challenges, and aware that there is much that can be done within our community to support women within a male-dominated field.  Candy Branham, IE ..read more

Pictured, left to right, at SPARK 2023 in Dallas: Jenn Dozier, IEC Foundation; Denise Sims, IEC Foundation; Mike Danielson and Santa Paws; Sylee Gibson, Guardian Angels; LaNa Al-Amin, IEC Foundation; Lucy Barnes, Guardian Angels.  By IEC Staff  IEC Nation – you did it again!  With the leadership of the IEC Foundation, your participation and generosity in the IEC Partner Community Service Project resulted in the purchase of a yet-to-be-born service dog for a United States veteran. IEC supporters donated $35,360 and have named their dog, Sparky. Sparky will be trained by the Guard ..read more

By Thayer Long, Executive Director, IEC National  IEC 2023 President Cecil Leedy closed each of his six 2023 messages in Insights by saying, “it’s not how you start; it’s how you finish,” a quote attributed to author Jim George.  How did you finish 2023? Strong? Steady? A bit short? Wherever you landed on your anticipated bottom line, what did you learn in 2023 that can help you to achieve more of your goals in 2024? How can you take that finish and make it the beginning of something new and better? How strong is your growth mindset?  That’s what we are doing here at IEC Nationa ..read more

By IEC Staff  Aey Electric is a family-owned merit shop electrical contracting business started in 1956 by Richard C. Aey out of his home. Today Richard’s sons Bob and Rick are at the helm of the Youngstown business. Bob’s wife Gloria and their sons Rod and Jake are among the valued 40 employees of the firm.    Recruitment  Believe in what you offer to hardworking men and women searching for a career.  That’s the thought behind the efforts of the workforce development team at Aey Electric, Inc. — Bob, Rod, and Scott Byer. They don’t feel the need to put on any airs or ..read more

By IEC Staff  IEC is a powerful organization fueled by the magic that happens at each of its 52 chapters. That magic is the result of hardworking teams of professionals in the office, in the field, and in not yet known places as each chapter attracts the next generation of electrical apprentices.  The Northern New Mexico IEC (NNMIEC) has been around for about 40 years, says Garrett Hennessy, NNMIEC executive director. Like most chapters, its roots were a few motivated local electrical contractors looking for quality training who also had a commitment to strengthening the merit shop e ..read more