IBEW Votes to Ratify Contract Agreement with AT&T

the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers has voted to ratify a three-year agreement with AT&T. Employees covered under the contract are spread across the country, but the majority — about 8,650 out of about 8,900 — are part of IBEW Local 21 in Illinois and northwestern Indiana.

Roughly half of the 120,000 employees covered under AT&T’s core wireline contracts now have ratified or tentative agreements. In addition to the IBEW agreement, agreements between AT&T and the Communications Workers of America have been ratified in the Midwest and West regions, and a tentative agreement with the CWA is pending ratification by Legacy AT&T Corp. employees.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Earns 97% Satisfaction Rating

In an annual National Park Service survey, 97 percent of the visitors coming to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore this summer were satisfied with the park’s services, facilities and recreational opportunities.

“The National Park Service works hard to assure that visitors have a good experience in their national parks and this rating is a tribute to the excellent employees and volunteers of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore,” said superintendent Costa Dillon.

As part of the Government Performance and Results Act, the National Park Service conducts a survey of visitors at each national park every year. The survey questions are the same for all national parks and the surveys are distributed to a random sample of park visitors using criteria established by social scientists. The surveys are handed out at various times and locations so to ensure a representative sample. The selected visitors fill out the survey and mail them to the National Park Service’s Washington Office where they are tallied and the resulting report is sent to the park.

Highlights of the survey were that 94 percent were satisfied with the assistance they received from park employees; 93 percent were satisfied with the walkways, trails and roads found in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and while 96 percent were satisfied with their experience at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Visitor Center. The entire report can be found on the National Lakeshore’s web site here (.pdf).

Notes: Area Dairy Farms Hurt by Global Milk Surplus

Plummeting global milk prices are hitting area dairy farms hard.

The Indiana Court of Appeals has tossed a lawsuit attempting to stop Porter Health from building a new hospital at the junction of routes 6 and 49.

Not everyone is a fan of the idea of bringing the 2016 Olympics to Chicago.

The next in a series of ongoing conversations sponsored by Ivy Tech under the “One Region/One Vision” banner will be held October 9 at St. Joseph’s College in Jasper County.

A new income tax in St. Joseph County kicks in today.