LABOR BULLETIN
By
BUSINESS MANAGER BOB WARD
OCTOBER 2026
OPERATION CHRISTMAS BASKET KICK OFF
It is that time of year, we will be kicking off our Operation Christmas Basket at our October meeting. This tradition started 45 years ago with two members who wanted to help raise money for local charities which help by providing food and toys to Union families needing a little extra help during the holiday season.
We will be raffling off numerous prizes at our December meeting, and our top three prizes are $1,500 cash, a shotgun, and $250 lottery scratchers.
LOCAL 340 TOY & FOOD DRIVE
In addition to donations for raffle tickets, we will also be accepting non-perishable food items and new unwrapped toy donations at our hall. If you find yourself, or may know another Brother or Sister, in need of a little extra help this holiday season please reach out to Reyna at the IBEW hall (916-539-0412 or reyna@ibewlocal340.org). Donations will be accepted through 14th. We appreciate your continued support in this Toy & Food drive.
HEALTH & WELFARE OPEN ENROLLMENT IS NOW!
Open Enrollment will run from November 1st thru December 15th.
Changes to your current medical plan must be made during the Annual Open Enrollment period. If you wish to make any changes, call Teresa Raney in the Trust Office @ 916-923-0666.
PICNIC AT THE ZOO
By the time this newsletter comes out we will have already had our picnic. We would like to thank our members who submitted their RSVPs on time and all our members who attended this event. We had an overwhelming response on our RSVPs; it was the highest one yet. We would also like to thank our sponsors who made this event possible with whether it be raffle prizes or monetary donations. THANK YOU to LMCC, Zenith American Solutions, Operating Engineers Credit Union, VSP Vision, United Administrative Services, ULTRA Estate Planning, Delta Dental, and Kaiser Permanente.
NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION
Our next class is scheduled for October 20th at 5pm here at the Sacramento Hall. If you reside in the Northern Area, you may complete this and your Oath with John Roden. We encourage you to bring your spouse/significant other to this event as we will cover a lot of information that day. Should you happen to miss this class, we will reschedule you for the January 2027 one. Please keep an eye out for notifications.
Our next class is scheduled for October 20th at 5pm here at the Sacramento Hall. If you reside in the Northern Area, you may complete this and your Oath with John Roden. We encourage you to bring your spouse/significant other to this event as we will cover a lot of information that day. Should you happen to miss this class, we will reschedule you for the January 2027 one. Please keep an eye out for notifications.
STEWARD CLASS
Thank you to our members who showed such huge interest in attending this class to help further their knowledge in the electrical field. Stewards are an important part of this local, they are an appointed Union Representative who represents all IBEW Brothers and Sisters on the jobsite. These members are thoroughly educated in the Rolls and Responsibilities that are entailed in being a Union Steward and can effectively work with Management on behalf of the member (or members) should an issue occur on the jobsite.
PIN PRESENATION – DETAILS TO COME
We are planning to bring our Pin Presentation to the spring months. Normally this event is held in November, but we wanted to bring it to the warmer months and hopefully get a bigger turn out. We will be sending notices out at the beginning of 2027. The tentative month will be March, but no set date has been planned. We would love to see our Old Timers come out and celebrate their milestones with IBEW.
NEBF – RETIREE TEMPORARY RETURN TO WORK NOTICE
To help with the Journeyman Inside Wireman and Sound & Communication Installer manpower shortage that all IBEW Locals are experiencing, NEBF has once again changed the working rules for Retirees. If you are currently retired and would like to go back to work for about 3 months or perhaps take some short calls, this temporary Return to Work Amendment changes the suspension rules for certain eligible retirees. Following are the features of the amendment:
- The temporary amendment is effective from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026.
- All normal and early retirees with a pension effective date of December 2025 or earlier will be permitted to return to covered and contributory employment only and will be permitted to work for up to 600 hours during the above period without a loss of NEBF benefits. This amendment applies only to the NEBF Plan. (In order to receive benefits from other funds it will depend on the rules of those funds.)
- Once an individual has worked for 600 hours in covered and contributory employment during the term of the temporary amendment, the individual will no longer be able to take advantage of this amendment and the normal rules (permitting work in the electrical industry for less than forty (40) hours per month without a suspension of benefits) will apply.
- Disability pensioners are not eligible (the existing rules applicable to disabled pensioners remain in effect).
- Only retirees who return to NEBF covered and contributory employment will be able to take advantage of this amendment – this amendment will not apply to persons who work for covered employers where no NEBF contributions are required or to persons who work for non-covered employers in the electrical industry.
OFFICE CLOSURES
Wednesday, November 11th – Veteran’s Day
Thursday & Friday November 26th & 27th – Thanksgiving Holiday
Thursday & Friday December 24th & 25th – Christmas Holiday
Friday, January 1st – New Years Day
MEMBER NEWS
REST IN PEACE
Retired member Roger Westman passed on 7/14/26. He was a 67-year member and 89 years of age.
Active member Connor Haussler passed on 8/6/26. He was an 8-year member and 33 years of age.
Active member Chris Anderson passed on 8/28/26. He was an 18-year member and 50 years of age.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
SACRAMENTO MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS – 1st Wednesdays @ 6PM – 10240 Systems Parkway, Sacramento 95827
NOTE: The Christmas Meeting/Raffle/Dinner in December will begin at 5:00 PM on Wednesday December 2nd
REDDING UNIT MEETING – 1st Wednesdays
Chico Union Hall @ 5:30 (Odd Months)
Redding Union Hall @ 5:30 (Even Months)
For Northern Area business and then join in the Sacramento meeting @ 6PM via webinar
SOUND & COMMUNICATIONS UNIT MEETING – Quarterly on the 4TH Tuesdays of January, April, July & October at the Hall – NEXT QUARTERLY S&C MEETING Tuesday October 27, 2026 @ 5:00PM – Note: Seven (7) members needed to have a quorum.
CIVIL SERVICE UNIT MEETING – Quarterly on the 3RD Thursdays of January, April, July & October at the Hall. NEXT QUARTERLY CIVIL SERVICE MEETING Thursday October 15, 2026 @ 5:00PM – Note: Five (5) members needed to have a quorum.
