The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Construction Council of Ontario is pleased to announce that Frank Harris will be stepping into the role of vice president of the IBEW Electrical Power Council of Ontario (EPCO). He will be working closely with Steven Martin of Local 353, who is serving as president.
James Barry, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the IBEW CCO said, “I knew Frank would be ideal because he’s both a qualified powerline technician as well as construction and maintenance electrician. He will bring a valuable perspective to the table and I’m looking forward to working with him.”
“I’m nervous, but eager to get going so we can move forward with the things we need to get done,” said Harris, who was also elected Business Manager of IBEW Local 530 in Sarnia in July.
Part of the Family
Harris joined the IBEW in 1980, right after he graduated from high school. For him, being a member of the IBEW is very much a family affair. Harris’ father was a member for 62 years, and he has two brothers who are members as well. One of his four children is now a journeyman electrician.
“When I first started my shop stewards’ class, and they asked how long I’d been with the union I said, ‘since the year I was born,’ because of my Dad.” commented Harris.
On the Tools
When he was “on the tools” (an electrician working in the field), Harris was part of the team that wired the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia. He did a lot of commercial work, and helped wire almost half of the stores in the Lambton Mall. At the TransAlta Regional Cogeneration Plant, he helped coordinate generator outages for Christopher Electric.
As a powerline technician, he was called on to help with the recovery efforts during the epic ice storm of 1998. For TransAlta, he worked on 230,000 volt power lines, along with maintaining 13.8 kV and 5 kV stations, and 600 volt substations. He also worked on underground power systems for subdivisions in Lambton County.
Leadership in His Local
Harris has a history of leadership roles in his local. He has served as a shop steward and supervisor on work sites. He was elected vice president of Local 530 for two terms (six years), and served as president for three years before his election as business manager. For the last ten years, he has also served on the Sarnia Apprenticeship Council.