---

IBEW Local # 1 Electricians and Union Electrical Contractors Donating $60,000

ST. LOUIS - The Electrical Connection is mobilizing an army of union electricians and electrical contractors this summer to wire 20 Habitat for Humanity homes in the St. Louis suburb of Hillsdale, Mo. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local #1 electricians and union electrical contractors with the Electrical Connection are donating $60,000 in material and services as part of the "Hillsdale 2005" house blitz project for the needy. More than 25 union electricians and several union electrical contractors began work on the first six homes on Saturday, June 18 in the 2000 block of Edmund Ave. When its work is done later this summer, The Electrical Connection will have installed 15 miles of wiring and helped create a new community for disadvantaged homebuyers.

"This is a great opportunity to help a neighborhood and to provide safely constructed new homes to those who otherwise could not afford them," said Matt Lampe, business representative for IBEW Local #1, which partners with St. Louis Chapter, National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) to form The Electrical Connection.

"Our partnership with IBEW Local #1 has been awesome," said Kyle Hunsberger, Habitat for Humanity construction manager. "It is not only a huge financial savings, but gives us the most reliable source for safe electrical installations as we work to eliminate substandard housing."

The Electrical Connection will return to the neighborhood in July, August and September to work on the remaining homes. The entire project will be completed in September, with the first set of homes ready for occupancy in late August.

Union electrical contractors participating in "Hillsdale 2005" include: Branson Electric Co., Dickherber Electric, Inc., Grasser Electric, J. Bathe Electric, Lindsey Electric Inc., M.R. Bathe Electric, Northwest Electric Co., and Schaeffer Electric Co.

In addition to its work with Habitat for Humanity, The Electrical Connection has donated services to Rebuilding Together to improve homes owned by low-income, elderly persons in the area. Also, for 10 consecutive years, members of the group have supported St. Louis City's "National Night Out" anti-crime program by donating skills and material to make homes safer.

Jack Welch, an IBEW Local #1 electrician with J. Bathe Electric mounts a meter socket to a new home built by Habitat for Humanityin Hillsdale, Mo.

Matt Lampe (front center) instructs a group of IBEW Local #1 electricians before the group, members of the Electrical Connection, started wiring homes in Hillsdale, Mo. as part of Habitat for Humanity's "Hillsdale 2005" housing blitz.