ST. LOUIS — In an era of seemingly endless divisiveness, a St. Louis labor-management organization for the electrical industry is being honored for cultivating better relationships between business, civic and labor organizations. Construction Forum St. Louis has honored the Electrical Connection with a “Building Tomorrow Award” for energizing strong relationships for builders in Missouri. Construction Forum is a leading St. Louis construction industry organization with a mission of engaging industry-wide discussion on ways to strengthen the St. Louis construction industry. The Electrical Connection is a partnership of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1 and the St. Louis Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association.

The Electrical Connection was honored with the Working Relationships Award at a luncheon on Oct. 21, 2016 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Downtown St. Louis. The other honorees at the award luncheon include:

• James (Jim) Frey, recently retired from Alberici, honored with the Board of Advisors Award;
• Jeff Aboussie, who will conclude his service as executive secretary-treasurer of the St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council at the end of this year, honored with the Diversity Award;
• John Nations, president and CEO of Bi-State honored with the Regional Unity Award; and
• Beth Barton, Tarlton superintendent, honored with the Workforce Development Award.

While IBEW and NECA have teamed on projects for more than 100 years, both strengthened their bond in 1993 with the creation of the Electrical Connection. Since then, the Electrical Connection IBEW/NECA partnership has grown economic opportunity, advanced pacesetting skills and safety to meet the demands of the construction consumer and donated countless hours and resources to strengthen the communities it serves. The awards ceremony included a video detailing the Electrical Connection vision.

The Electrical Connection has dedicated Executive Vice President Jim Curran to providing the electrical industry’s perspective and expertise though active board service to a number of organizations. Curran gives the electrical industry a voice in a number of Missouri civic/ business organizations, including:

• Hawthorn Foundation (board secretary)
• Missouri Energy Initiative (vice chair)
• U.S. Green Building Council-Missouri Chapter (USGBC)
• Univerdant Sustainability Network, LLC
• Missouri Partnership
• Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) — Gateway Chapter
• Construction Forum Education Foundation STEM Committee
• St. Louis Regional Chamber Energy and Environmental Committee
• The Economic Development Center of St. Charles County incubator advisory board.

These pioneering relationship have also given labor first-ever leadership roles the Hawthorn Foundation and the Missouri Energy Initiative. This includes IBEW, Sheet Metal Workers Local 36 and Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 562.

By connecting its electrical expertise with business/civic organizations, the IBEW/NECA partnership fortifies its mission of providing pacesetting training to meet critical needs. Most recently, this includes:

• A planned Oct. 28, 2016 industrywide unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) informational program at the IBEW/NECA Electrical Industry Training Center to comply with FAA standards
• A cell tower safety and rescue program initiated at the training center in 2015 to safely deliver upgrades to cellular connectivity. The program was developed in response to an alarming number of catastrophic falls from cell towers that were being upgraded.
• A first-ever electric vehicle infrastructure training program created in 2012 to support the electric vehicle industry.

Meanwhile, IBEW Local 1 Business Manager Frank Jacobs serves on the board of the Emergency Communications Commission (ECC), which administers St. Louis County’s emergency communications system and is on the advisory board for the Saint Louis Science Center. Both Jacobs and St. Louis NECA Chapter CEO Doug Martin serve on the board of the Saint Louis Construction Cooperative.

In addition, the Electrical Connection provides guidance and expertise to guide workforce development statewide. This includes STEM education partnerships with the FIRST Robotics, St. Louis Cardinals, Saint Louis Science Center, Partners for Progress of Greater St. Charles, Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club, and numerous school districts. For more than seven years, the Electrical Connection has engaged more than 9,000 students in how STEM subjects translate into electrical careers.

And IBEW/NECA are making significant strides in diversity. In the last eight apprenticeship classes at the Electrical Industry Training Center, the minority participation has been between 25 and 37 percent.

The Electrical Connection also has an enduring legacy of building healthier communities that includes:

• Rebuilding Together St. Louis — Over the past 13 years, the Electrical Connection has donated more than $800,000 in labor and materials to improve more than 450 homes for low-income, disabled and elderly St. Louisans.
• Habitat for Humanity — Since 2004, the Electrical Connection has donated services to safely wire more than 233 new homes, a value of more than $1.5 million.
• St. Francois County “Shop with a Cop” — Since 1993, the Electrical Connection has donated more than $54,000 to support a trust-building program where police take disadvantaged children holiday shopping for gifts.
• National Night Out — The Electrical Connection has made neighborhoods more safe and secure by donating more than $450,000 in materials and services to install security lighting in more than 850 homes in 30-plus St. Louis neighborhoods.
• The Electrical Connection has donated services to install new scoreboards for several schools.

The Electrical Connection’s commitment to civic causes is further highlighted by its sponsorship of the Saint Louis Science Center’s James S. McDonnell Planetarium lighting. It also supported the inaugural “Light up St. Louis” architectural lighting event in February 2016. In 2015, the Electrical Connection sponsored the return of outdoor professional soccer to St. Louis and is a major sponsor of Saint St. Louis FC this year. The Electrical Connection also sponsors St. Louis Cardinals baseball and St. Louis Blues hockey.

Construction Forum St. Louis is a nonprofit with a mission of fostering productive dialogue to address the “big issues” facing the St. Louis construction industry. It brings all elements of the construction community together to network, discuss ideas, and share information to improve the local building industry. Engagement is expanded with a weekly e-newsletter that reaches 12,000 people, events which draw an average attendance more than 400 people, its web site, and a robust community on LinkedIn. For more information, visit www.constructforstl.org.