At Universal Studios, The Work Is Building A Better Life For Local 40 Members

IBEW 40 members are transforming a dirt patch on a hillside along the road up to the Universal Studios parking structures into a gleaming new office building – 11 stories of glass, steel, and concrete set to open by mid 2024 that will house executive suites for the studio heads.

Just behind it sits a second, three-story building shaped like a flattened sphere also near completion. It will house a state-of-the-art theater and other amenities, including an employee cafeteria. Both projects broke ground about two years ago and employ over 100 Local 40 members.

“I started here in December 2022, and we should be near completion in March 2024,” said Josh Geller, project steward and Local 40 executive board member.

The work Local 40 members are conducting at these buildings have presented some unique challenges, such as installing individual thermostats in every office to keep energy consumption low and meet building efficiency standards set by California’s Title 24’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards.

“It’s a little bit higher end than the other office buildings I have worked on in the past,” Geller said.

Geller is one of only two Local 40 executive board members working under the Inside Agreement.

“When I’m here I try and get a general consensus of how everyone’s feeling about how things are going on the job and with the Local in general, and I go and express that to the rest of the board,” Geller said.

Just behind it sits a second, three-story building shaped like a flattened sphere, also near completion. It will house a state-of-the-art theater and other amenities, including an employee cafeteria. Both projects broke ground about two years ago and employ over 100 Local 40 members. 

“I started here in December 2022, and we should be near completion in March 2024,” said Josh Geller, project steward and Local 40 executive board member.

“It’s a little bit higher end than the other office buildings I have worked on in the past,” Geller said.

Geller is one of only two Local 40 executive board members working under the Inside Agreement.

“When I’m here, I try and get a general consensus of how everyone’s feeling about how things are going on the job and with the Local in general, and I go and express that to the rest of the board,” Geller said.

Building Bridges From Classroom to Job Site

Inside Wireman Mike Reodica is busy outside installing street-lighting fixtures for the Universal office campus driveway. Reodica, who recently became a first-year instructor for Local 40, says his position means, “I’m their introduction to the union – all things union: the culture, the camaraderie, the brotherhood.”

Reodica sees his role as helping the apprentices transition what they learn in the classroom to the job site. Reodica stressed he tries to show first-year apprentices that he is not just their instructor but also a fellow union brother.

“If there’s an organic human connection between us, then they learn better, and I’m able to get them to digest more information,” Reodica said.

Diana Reyes is a first-year apprentice who changed careers from education to the trades less than a year ago.

“It’s very different from what I used to do, but everyone’s been very helpful,” Reyes said.

Part of that difference, Reyes said, was transitioning from a female-dominated industry to a male-dominated one, which has presented definite challenges.

“In the beginning there were a lot of people telling you that you’re going to quit,” Reyes said. “I tell women that if this is something you want to do, you need to stick to it and keep pushing. Eventually, people will see what you’re capable of. They’ll see more of the potential that you have, and they’ll be willing to trust you and let you do more.” 

Reyes said those challenges are far outweighed by the multitude of opportunities and benefits IBEW membership has provided her and her family.

“I’m able to take care of my family and have the benefits to take care of myself,” she said.

That refrain of shared union brotherhood and sisterhood is one heard time and again among Local 40 members.

“We had an old business manager who would say, ‘The only opposition to organized greed is organized labor,’ and that is the way that I look at the union,” Geller said. “Everything the union fights for – wages, retirement, healthcare – 2 percent of your wages is a very small sum to pay to get all those extra benefits.” 

By Oren Peleg