I serve as the president of Ceitronics, a systems integration company in the heart of Silicon Valley. I also sit on the board of the Northern California Labor Management Coordinating Committee, (LMCC) which is composed of signatory contractors and representatives from IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) and NECA (National Electrical Contractors Association). Our committee meets on a regular basis to cooperate on issues of importance to the Sound and Communications Industry.

When I attend industry trade shows outside the Bay Area, or have the opportunity to meet with contractors from around the country, I am often quizzed about the status of the systems integration industry in Silicon Valley. Many contractors tell me that what takes place in Northern California often sets the pace for other parts of the country.

Here in the Valley, we often find ourselves pioneering ways to master the increasing complexity of system contracting as it expands into new technologies. Our innovations extend to how buildings get wired, how systems get designed and how products get integrated into the mix. Since all of our whiz-bang technology is labor driven, many contractors that I speak with from across the U.S. are also curious about labor/management relations and how our labor agreement in Northern California works.

I assure them that our labor relations are in excellent health. Right or wrong, the IBEW/NECA arrangement has become the dominant approach for contractors in Northern California. Our company is one of 199 signatory contractors in the region, sharing 1600 workers divided among seven locals. This mix of management, NECA and IBEW, along with the Valley’s hot economy, is producing outstanding results.

In the last five years, the Sound and Communications market in Northern California has grown by 900%. It’s a market that is valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars (with over 1.9 million hours of union labor logged in 1999). If this growth pattern remains constant, the Sound and Communications market in Northern California will be worth close to $1 billion within a very few years!

Why does the labor management situation work so well here? There are a lot of reasons, including: the quality of union training; the free movement of manpower that is allowed between the various locals; open communication between labor and management that has occurred with the establishment of the LMCC and the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (JATC); job site efficiency that is due to coordination with electricians and other trades; an attractive wage and benefit package that attracts quality workers.

Of all these factors, training is one of the most important. In the brave new world of dynamic systems integration, training of workers is everything. Only a well-trained work force can keep up with the growth and the increase in complexity now taking place around us, whether it’s in Silicon Valley, Silicon Alley, the Digital Coast or the middle of Nebraska. We need to invest our private dollars to compete and deliver. Workers who receive good training in the basics maximize management’s ability to deliver and to retain senior-level technicians who can handle complex projects.

In Northern California, 30 cents per man-hour is distributed to the local JATCs for training our workforce. In 1999, IBEW and the signatory contractors here spent $805,000 in training. Over 500 apprentices are now enrolled in the JATC’s three-year telecommunications curriculum, hosted in six locations throughout the region. Apprentices complete 150 hours of classroom training each year, including BICSi apprentice certifications. California state certification of this program will be implemented this year.

The Sound and Communications Industry is in revolution, and the old rules no longer apply. Our workforce must be skilled, smart, and innovative, able to work on tight time lines, and focused on excellence. This starts with training.

In addition to training, other factors, such as the complete portability of communications workers within the region, assures that signatory contractors have the workforce they need to get the job done. Under the agreement, a worker based at a local in San Francisco can go to a job site in Sacramento or San Jose, and vice versa. This agreement was made in 1987, when a regional collective bargaining agreement was negotiated that insures that workers can move freely within the region.

Open communication also helps. Many of our signatory contractors are active in the local Sound and Communications Training Trust of the JATC, which was formed in 1987. A full time training director for the Trust works with each local to implement the curriculum. To further facilitate that lines of communication remain open, the Northern California LMCC holds monthly meetings with representatives from IBEW, NECA, and signatory contractors.

I realize that the involvement of IBEW in communications work is a very controversial topic in many parts of the country. What I can tell you is that with the right attitude, open communications, and common goals, we have developed a positive and effective situation in Northern California. And keep an eye on the JATC and IBEW programs as the telecommunications marketplace continues to heat up. It’s where the best workers will be.

Aaron Colton is the President of Ceitronics and a member of the Board of the Northern California Labor Management Coordinating Committee.