Electrical workers help rebuild after 9/11.

As Richard Dressel watched the World Trade Center tragedy unfold on the television screen, he knew the actions he and his colleagues from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 164 took over the next hours, weeks and months would have a profound effect on the future of the entire nation. As business manager, Dressel knew Local 164 would be at the forefront of assisting some of the country's most powerful financial enterprises in re-establishing their business operations as quickly as possible.

Within days, he and the more than 3,400 members of IBEW Local 164 mobilized to wire up temporary office space in Jersey City, Weehawken, Hoboken and Newark with highly advanced computer and telecommunications systems to accommodate major corporate entities, such as Merrill Lynch, Cantor Fitzgerald, Paine Webber and Deutsche Bank, as well as smaller businesses displaced by the tragedy.

"We, in Local 164, have learned firsthand how critical it is to preserve the electrical and telecommunications systems in the buildings in our jurisdiction," explained Dressel. "The 'Black Monday' crash of the stock market in 1987, and more recently, the first World Trade Center explosion in 1993, served to point out how vital it is for our financial firms to conduct their business. They handle billions of dollars each day in keeping our national economy going. Of course, immediately after the tragic event of Sept. 11, we knew we were facing our greatest challenge this time around."

Based in Paramus, New Jersey, Local 164 provides specially trained telecommunications workers throughout the entire state and electricians for construction projects throughout Bergen, Hudson and Essex counties -- areas that rapidly attracted the interest of displaced companies due to the availability of desirable office and commercial space, access to commuter ferry service, and the state-of-the-art infrastructure. In addition, many of the former World Trade Center tenants maintained back-office and disaster recovery operations in these locations and utilized the space temporarily.

Local 164 also worked closely with members of IBEW Local 3, which covers the New York City area. Ironically when tragedy struck, many of IBEW's business leaders from both Locals 164 and 3 were in San Francisco at an international conference.

"I was with the business manager from Local 3 when he got word that 16 of his people were lost," said Dressel. "I told him, 'Anything you need, you just ask.'"