(MAYVILLE, NEW YORK) - Jamestown AFL-CIO Central Labor Council President and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 106 Business Manager David Wilkinson has been named to the Chautauqua County Regional Solutions Commission Board.

Wilkinson (pictured below/WNYLaborToday.com File Photo) will serve as Organized Labor’s only Representative on the Commission, which the Southern Tier Labor Leader tells WNYLaborToday.com will look at consolidation of services across the county.

“This affects Workers and county services – and I’m ‘concerned’ about jobs,” Wilkinson told Your On-Line Labor Newspaper via a telephone interview on Tuesday (March 15th).  “And I’m also ‘concerned’ about upcoming infrastructure funding bills and who’s going to do that work.”

Wilkinson says he will bring “a different perspective” to the board. 

“I don’t think those who are on the board are ‘opposed’ to Organized Labor.  I just think they ‘don’t understand’ what Organized Labor is ‘all about.” he said.  “I’m excited about it.  It’s a ‘prestigious’ group.  And the conversations that will occur (about consolidation of county services) needs to happen ‘out in the open’ because they will involve a ton of jobs.  We’ve already lost several hundred Union-represented jobs (across the county) over the past couple of years.”

According to Wilkinson, there are as many as 8,000 to 10,000 Union-represented Workers in Chautauqua County, including a combined several thousand represented by the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) and the Southwestern New York Building & Construction Trades Council.

The first meeting of the Regional Solutions Committee, which was established Republican Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan, is scheduled for Thursday, March 24th.

Besides Wilkinson, Members of the Commission include: Richard Alexander, a member of the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation Local Economic Development Committee; Town of Westfield Supervisor Martha Bills; Town of North Harmony Supervisor Sally Carlson, who also serves as a member of the Mayors and Supervisors Association; City of Jamestown Director of Development Vince DeJoy; Rick Johnson, a retired Certified Public Accountant; and Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Todd Tranum.

Wilkinson has been a Member of IBEW Local 106 for 32 years and has served as its Business Manager for the past nine years.  The Southwestern New York Building Trades affiliated Member Union represents 190 Workers. 

Wilkinson has been extremely involved in the Jamestown/Chautauqua County Community over the years, holding seats on several boards, including: The Chautauqua County Workforce Investment Board; Cattaraugus County Workforce Investment Board; The Southwestern New York Building & Construction Trades Council, where he serves as its Vice President; The Jamestown Area Labor Coalition as a delegate; The Dunkirk Area Labor Coalition as a delegate; The Chautauqua County Labor Coalition as chairman; The United Way of Southern Chautauqua County Board of Directors; and Chautauqua County Workers' Memorial Committee.

Wilkinson has also been the recipient of several awards over the years, including the prestigious George Ritzer Memorial Labor Award and the We Are One Award by the Western New York AFL-CIO Area Labor Federation (WNYALF) for his efforts in assisting and mobilizing on behalf of the workers and residents of the Chautauqua County Home, as well as the entire Chautauqua Community.  

On yet another front, Wilkinson - who was heavily involved in the fight to repower the Dunkirk NRG Facilities, was recognized and honored for his dedication and hard work by county officials.