The rights of unionized employees to have present a union representative during investigatory interviews were announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1975 case (NLRB vs. Weingarten, Inc. 420 U.S. 251, 88 LRRM 2689). These rights have become known as the Weingarten rights.
Hope everyone had a great and safety 4th of July weekend, here are some food safety tips.
Concord, NH – During this busy summer season of trips to the beach, vacations, and cookouts, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Bureau of Food Protection wants to remind everyone to follow some important food safety practices to avoid food borne illnesses, such as Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli, and Campylobacter.
There are an estimated 76 million cases of food borne disease, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths each year in the United States. “Food is an important part of vacation and holiday gatherings but it needs to be handled safely, especially during the warmer weather,” said Dr. Jose Montero, Director of Public Health at DHHS. “The basic rule is keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.”
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The above DHHS video on summer grilling food safety is now available on YouTube. There are some simple precautions everyone should always take to reduce the possibility of becoming sick when preparing food, which include:
Separate: Use a separate cutting board for cooked foods and raw foods (especially meat) and always wash them after use. Avoid cross contamination. Wash any utensil after preparing one food item before going on to the next item.
Clean: Always wash hands before touching any food. Wash hands and surfaces often during food preparation and afterward.
Cook: Make sure all meats are thoroughly cooked by using a meat thermometer: turkey, stuffing, and casseroles to 165ºF; veal, beef, and lamb roasts to 145ºF; and ham, pork, ground beef, and egg dishes to 160ºF. When reheating, leftovers should be thoroughly heated to 165ºF.
Chill: Refrigerate or freeze leftovers within two hours. One hour if it is a hot day over 90ºF. The refrigerator should be maintained at 40ºF or lower and the freezer should be at 0ºF or lower. Keep hot foods hot, 140ºF or hotter, and cold foods cold, 40ºF or below. Never defrost food at room temperature. Thaw food in the refrigerator, in a cold-water bath, or in the microwave. When using a microwave, meat must be cooked immediately after. Marinate foods in the refrigerator.
Report: Report suspected food borne illnesses to the NH Department of Health and Human Services by calling 603-271-4496. Often calls from concerned citizens are how outbreaks are first detected. If a public health official calls you to talk about an outbreak, your cooperation is important, even if you are not ill.
As many members are aware, the Network NH NOW Coalition has been awarded $44 million dollars to expand broadband in NH. It is the hope that these tax payer provided funds are utilized in an intelligent and common sense manner to expand broadband to those areas in the State that have little or no broadband. It is the hope that these taxpayer provided funds are not squandered by the NNHN Coalition to build a redundant network to compete with private local businesses. It is the hope that these taxpayer provided funds will be used to support and add jobs to the existing NH based workforce and not to reward any out-of-State, fly-by night, gypsy workforce. It is our hope that these taxpayer provided funds are used for the maximum benefit of the residents, taxpayers, workers and voters of NH. These are our hopes. It is our determination and our mission to ensure that these hopes are known and taken into account by the NNHN Coalition. These taxpayers and voters that have provided these funds expect and deserve nothing less.
Bankruptcy Update
The Vermont Public Service Board has rejected Fairpoint’s bankruptcy plan as submitted to the bankruptcy court. The Vermont PSB wants Fairpoint to quantify its’ projections in regard to revenue stream/expenses/and cash flow. It’s a true shame that the Vermont Public Service Board didn’t show this much interest to detail during the initial sale from Verizon to Fairpoint. One comforting thought …… Vermont listens to nobody when there are decisions to be made and, fortunately, nobody listens to Vermont. There will surely be more to come on this issue.
On behalf of IBEW, Local 2320, the Officers and Staff would like to wish everybody a happy and safe Holiday. Please don’t drink and drive. There will be multiple sobriety checkpoints in place over the next 3 to 4 days. Protect your license and your job!
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Network New Hampshire Now, an initiative led by the University of New Hampshire, received $44.5 million to expand broadband services thorough the state.
The funding is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The announcement was hailed in a joint statement by U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Reps. Paul Hodes and Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire.
"We need to make affordable, high speed Internet available in every community across New Hampshire so that businesses can grow and create jobs," the statement read. "Network New Hampshire Now will create new opportunities for distance learning, health care delivery, and economic development, while connecting many homes and business to high speed Internet for the first time. This is a great day for our state."
The goal of the project is to build a high-speed network called the New Hampshire Fiber Network that would connect schools, hospitals, police stations, homes, and businesses throughout the state.
This project is part of the ARRA's $7.2 billion funding for broadband infrastructure.
The project would also develop a "Microwave Wireless Network," to improve communication between first responders and public safety officials.
The project has already faced opposition from at least one privately-owned telecommunications company.
"The major concern is that this is taxpayer dollars funding a public entity to compete with private business," FairPoint Communications Inc. spokesman Jill Healey Wurm said in a May interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader. "A good amount of (UNH's) application is what's called middle mile, which still doesn't deliver service to end users, and there is already significant capacity in the middle mile network that FairPoint built, that we call VantagePoint."
Wurm said VantagePoint offers high-speed Internet, or a three-way bundle including Internet, phone and DirecTV service, to 34,000 homes and businesses in 22 communities across New Hampshire.
Last Updated on Friday, 02 July 2010 11:09
Manchester/Nashua Unit Meeeting Changes
Written by IBEW 2320
Friday, 18 June 2010 19:20
This notice is a reminder that June 8th will be the last meeting at the Elks lodge in Hooksett. The Unit has secured the Alpine club at 175 Putnam Street in Manchester as a temporary location to hold our meetings upto and including September.
The cost will be $50 a month. The Alpine's capacity is 250 persons. It has ample parking and is handicap accessible. The Unit has coordinated with the Hall to schedule our meetings on the second Wednesday of the month. The dates will be as follows: July 14th, August 11th and September 8th.
The unit will hold a vote at the August meeting to decide on a permanent location. At this time, the Alpine club seems to ideally suit the Unit's needs. It is available beyond September, and may become our permanent meeting place. However, members are welcome to submit any potential locations at the July meeting forconsideration; to be voted upon in August.
Members are asked to present their schedule to the Chairman or Unit Recorder before the start of the meeting. Members may also submit their suggestions in advance, directly to Paula Maynard or Rich Iacomini (call the hall or email the webmaster for their contact information).
All submissions will have to include the following information about any potential locations:
Contact information (name, address, phone number)
Cost
Capacity/parking
Handicap accessibility
Available Days
Potential locations must have handicap accessibility and capacity of at least 200 persons to meet the Unit's needs. We would like to keep the cost around $50. Members may call the hall to check the meeting schedule of all all units for available days. Any questions or concerned can be sent to Paula Maynard or Richard Iacomini.
Temporary meeting location information:
The Alpine club
175 Putnam Street
Manchester, NH
(603) 623-8202
Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 June 2010 20:16
Safety Reminder - Electrical Hazards
Written by John Murphy
Thursday, 17 June 2010 02:29
This is another safety reminder as we finish up this most recent storm. All techs working in the field must complete initial and ongoing voltage detector testing for any electrical potential hazard during the job. Have all Personal Protective Equipment in place according to our safety procedures. This is even more important during storm and storm recovery conditions.
Also, be aware of the safety practices of those companies with whom we are working side-by-side. Be aware of the potential for conflicting safety practices and always adhere to the practices we utilize. Regardless of the company, be it power, cable TV or tree maintenance; be especially conscious of your safety requirements.
If you have any safety concerns ask the question and do not hesitate to call the safety coaches Dave Coates (603) 703-9007 or John Murphy (603) 493-5393.Please share this message with people that do not have ready access to email.
Feed Entries 
As many members are aware, the Network NH NOW Coalition has been awarded $44 million dollars to expand broadband in NH. It is the hope that these tax payer provided funds are utilized in an intelligent and common sense manner to expand broadband to those areas in the State that have little or no broadband. It is the hope that these taxpayer provided funds are not squandered by the NNHN Coalition to build a redundant network to compete with private local businesses. It is the hope that these taxpayer provided funds will be used to support and add jobs to the existing NH based workforce and not to reward any out-of-State, fly-by night, gypsy workforce. It is our hope that these taxpayer provided funds are used for the maximum benefit of the residents, taxpayers, workers and voters of NH. These are our hopes. It is our determination and our mission to ensure that these hopes are known and taken into account by the NNHN Coalition. These taxpayers and voters that have provided these funds expect and deserve nothing less.
