My Name is Dave.
My name is David Orman and I am a Field Representative in the Labor Relations Department of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). I serve the Chapters of the snowbelt states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. It is a unique job and a hard one to describe. I like to say it is equal parts facilitator, mediator, researcher, fixer, job coach, and bartender (think therapist versus drinker mixer).
What is the purpose of NECA and their associated Chapters? They represent the interests of union electrical contractors in their collective bargaining with Locals of the International Brotherhood of the Electrical Workers (IBEW). In addition to bargaining, they also work IBEW to settle grievances, recruit workers, and grow the union electrical contracting industry.
An interesting path to a weird job.
I have been many things: actor, artist, graphic designer, entrepreneur, liquor store owner, truck driver, and a route manager for a facility services company. Each of these jobs taught me to:
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Embrace Change: Life is not static. It is in a constant state of change. Why fight it?
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Don’t be afraid to Step on that Rake: Learn by doing. Sometimes you step on a rake and catch the handle right between the eyes. Once the stars clear, take another step but avoid the next rake.
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Work Hard: Whatever you are doing, do it at 100%.
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Be Kind: People deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.
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Be Honest: Don’t lie and live up to your promises.
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Be Grateful: Appreciate what you have and where life has taken you.
A few things about me:
I come from a loving family that lived in a great little neighborhood in Duluth, Minnesota. I spent my formative years pounding around the woods with the Boy Scouts. Scouting taught me self-sufficiency, how to be a leader, and provided me with foundational principles by which I continue to live: To be Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent. And, let’s be honest, as a teenage boy I struggled with the last two.
I started my first company in 1997 with a $10,000.00 loan from my Grandpa Jim, a traveling motor manuals salesman. At the time, I was a graphic designer at a screen print shop and suffering through college. I was not happy, and Grandpa Jim noticed. Over a couple of giant sandwiches, he offered to lend me money to start a business. The graphic design company I started was called Raven & Associates, Inc. and, it soon pivoted to importing custom embroidered patches for Boy Scout Councils and camps across the United States. Over the next seventeen (17) years, it grew from one guy, operating out of a small apartment, to a staff of eleven (11), operating out of a renovated theater lobby. The success of Raven allowed me to build a house, support a young family, and expand into other types of businesses (like property development and buying a liquor store). Everything was going great… until it didn’t.
I say that Raven & Associates, Inc. had fifteen (15) great years and two (2) really bad ones. When I made the decision to roll up the company, it was scary, heartbreaking, and incredibly crushing. I felt like all the blood, sweat, and tears had amounted to nothing. I was a failure who let down his family, his employees, his customers, and even his Uncle Jim. My life felt like it was over (so dramatic). But it wasn’t. It turns out, my family still loved me and was proud of me. My employees found other jobs and were successful. My customers, though sad to see us go, found other suppliers. Uncle Jim pointed out the fifteen (15) great years counted more than the two bad ones. And, most amazingly, it turns out that the rest of the world didn’t care. I quickly found success working for companies that valued everything I had learned as a business owner.
One of those places was the Twin Ports Arrowhead Chapter of NECA. The Board of Directors at the Chapter recruited me to replace the outgoing Executive, who was retiring after forty (40) years on the job. He was a great mentor and I spent a year-and-a-half learning from before taking over. Honestly, even that amount of time did not prepare me for the job. Running a Chapter is a lot. Everyday was a new challenge, a new problem to solve. There is an old joke to the effect of “I am not sure what I got done to today, but I know it took me at least eight (8) hours to do it". During my time at the Chapter I led three contract negotiations, administered two apprenticeship programs, served as a trustee on two Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trusts, a Health & Welfare Trust, a Pension Fund, and worked with the IBEW to grow the industry. In 2021, my work with the Chapter was recognized by the National organization and I was offered the opportunity to become a Regional Field Representative.
Why go back to college?
I’ve returned to college after 25 years because I want to get better at my job. There are so many facets of working in the multi-employer collective bargaining world that I want to have a better understanding of. In a lot of cases, I know the answer to a question or what recommended action should be taken in any given situation, but I don’t always understand the history that guided us to that answer or, in some cases, the legal underpinnings