The St Louis Business Journals parent company - American City Business Journals, subscribes to a corporate mission statement that reads in part:

"In this pursuit, our efforts must focus upon quality journalism, innovative marketing, exemplary customer service and an unquestioned commitment to the highest standards of professional and corporate ethics."

As might be expected, the SLBJ had this to say on the St Louis IBEW/UBC dispute:

"It’s not business that’s in the way. It’s not environmentalists. It’s not the media.This is a problem caused by labor. It must be solved by labor."

(Labors Business, June 25, 2010)

And in a recent editorial in the St Louis/Southern Illinois Labor Tribune publisher Ed Finskelstein shares his own personal struggles regarding the paper he has devoted most of his adult life to sustaining:

“What’s the right thing to do here?” Continue looking at the easier path of anguished, quiet hope, or the more challenging one of speaking out because to remain silent is to let harm survive. The “right thing to do” became obvious when the Carpenters leadership here made several decisions that changed the entire playing field:"

(Fulfilling an obligation to be a voice against what threatens us all, VOL. 73 No 48)

Yet Finkelstein managed to write a fair unbiased editorial reporting the facts and calling for resolution!

St Louis vs. Illinois

St Louis and Illinois both have business journals, but the comparison stops there. The Illinois Business Journal was formed in October of 2000 by Kerry Smith, a former reporter for the Houston Chronicle who relocated to Alton, Illinois to be closer to family and friends. Ms. Smith invited Alan Ortbals to join her as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 2003. One notable difference between the St Louis and Illinois papers is the strong position Ortbals has taken regarding the St Louis labor dispute by consistently providing a public platform for Terry Nelson to sell his agenda. In a recent article published in the CUTTING EDGE, a trade magazine published by the St Louis carpenters union, Ortbals quotes IBEW International President Ed Hill as justification for recent statements made in the IBJ by Terry Nelson regarding productivity. Ortbals admits Nelsons public statements are more than 5 years behind the progressive movements of IBEW President Hill. What he fails to highlight however is the fact that President Hills message was originally directed privately at 10% of union members within the IBEW. There is a vast difference between a labor leader that calls upon his membership and one that publicly lambasts them. Local 57 Facts still has no valid proof that Terry Nelson ever gave his members a chance to respond before calling them out in the Illinois Business Journal with unsupported accusations regarding productivity. Also absent from his editorial is Ortbals history within the St Louis and Illinois business community and how this history influences his personal decision to be so outspoken regarding the St Louis dispute. No one can know what motivates a publisher of a privately owned business publication to choose sides in a local labor dispute or how this decision may affect his advertising revenue from the broader business community (who certainly want no part in this battle), but what is more perplexing is the relative silence of the papers founder Kerry Smith. Does she endorse her Vice-Presidents decision to leverage her papers standards to support a St Louis UBC leader who has moved his group of electrical contractors into her region to undercut the wage standards of the IBEW? Will her paper continue to garner unbiased respect in the larger business community? Does Ortbals outspoken support of Terry Nelson help or hurt the Illinois business community, or does it fan the flames of segregation and mistrust?  You decide!    

Here Ms. Smith credits SCORE and Richard Rook for her papers continued success.

Misleading statements printed under the Ortbals byline

Local 57 Facts offers the following statements in support of information published above. The following statements come from Sheila Sperla of the Independent Electrical Contractors and were printed in the August 2008 IBJ.

"Many of our students have learned that you can go to the hall (IBEW Local 1) and you're not accepted for one reason or another, but there really is never a clear explanation as to why they are not accepted,"Sperla said. "We do not discriminate, race, color, etc. doesn't matter to us. We accept them. As long as they can meet the requirements, they're in. We will accept them at any age and I don't believe that is the case on the union side."

First, it should be stated that Ms. Sperla suggestion that the IBEW apprenticeship discriminates for any reason - age or otherwise - is a complete and (we believe) intentional misrepresentation of the facts. Also later in the same article Ms Sperla promotes facts that contradict the statements above:

"According to Sperla, there are currently 225 students among the 80 members of the IECSTL and it takes in about 60 new students each year."

So then what Sperla is saying is that the IEC only has 60 applicants each year? If you meet the requirements and "you're in" then apparently only 60 students apply each year!?

The following is a quote from IBEW Local 1 Director of Apprenticeship Training Dennis Gralike:

"Our program is extremely competitive. It is not uncommon for us to have over 1000 applicants for a new apprenticeship class, many with four year college degrees. We have a Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee that consists of representatives from our signatory contractors and the IBEW. The screening process consists of rigorous aptitude testing, oral interviews, and evaluations based on an individuals employment history. Class size is determined by the joint committee based on the needs of the industry, the number of retirees, deaths, and so on. We simply cannot take everyone who applies, but we do detail deficient areas for each rejected applicant should they wish to reapply to our program in the future. We also promote our program at various employment fairs in our area. Our program is certified under the American Council on Education and the training our apprentices receive during their schooling is transferable to most four year universities where apprentices who successfully complete our program are awarded 44 college credit hours towards a four year degree."

We hope that clears a few things up for our readers!!

In the following statement Sperla again makes unsubstantiated claims:

"That's the stronghold that the IBEW guys have over the inspectors and boards and such."

What inspectors? What boards? If union members made generalized statements like this to Ortbals they would never appear in his publication. Why is it that Sperla can toss out an "off the cuff" generalization like this without substantial proof of any kind? This statement is completely false!

This is just a few statements from a business paper that has become the sounding board for all those against what the IBEW in particular, and union labor in general, have worked for years to establish; namely - a respectable wage for the working men and women of America!

Here are more facts to consider:

• IF the IECSTL has an established approved apprenticeship program, why did Nelson feel the need to start another one that failed to meet government standards in various areas? To compete with the IEC?
• If the IECSTL has 80 member contractors in St Louis, why does Nelsons 57 (non-AFL-CIO non-BCT) group only have 14 even with the sweetheart contract? 
• Birkel Electric has promoted his association with the St Louis carpenters union as a positive - does he still think this after paying substantial fines to the labor board? Do the benefits outweigh the fines?