Lou Antonellis, fire department captain Matthew Battcock, and Rich Antonellis.
Billerica, MA Town resident and Local 103 IBEW business manager Lou Antonellis, and his brother, IBEW business agent Rich Antonellis, were honored by the select board for the electrical worker union’s 20-year support for the town, including the Billerica Holiday Festival and scholarships for local high school students.
“What an honor,” Lou Antonellis said of the town’s proclamation. “Thank you to the select board for recognizing the hard work of our union members, who are dedicated to strengthening the communities in which we live and work.”
The proclamation notes that both brothers were raised in the town and also lauded their father – retired Local 103 member Rich Antonellis Sr. “Billerica has benefitted from this as Local 103 is entering its 20th year as a partner of the Billerica Holiday Festival Committee, adorning our Town Center with lights, flagpoles, and ‘Welcome Home’ Veterans signs.”
Local 103 has a partnership with Shawsheen Valley Technical High School to provide two scholarships per year to the Boston Joint Apprentice Training Center (JATC) Apprenticeship Program. It also provides two additional scholarships to 25 other trade schools throughout the state. The proclamation also cited several additional ways the union has aided the town of Billerica and its residents, including:
The union partners with Habitat for Humanity on the construction of homes, and in the training of students in local trade schools, “preparing them to launch a career in the construction industry through their Building Pathways program.”
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lou Antonellis and Local 103 came to the town to make sure its first responders were fully equipped with lifesaving PPE equipment.
Local 103 employs over 7,500 workers, including 113 Billerica families.
“Many of these members have provided Billerica with their labor and service in projects like the Marshall Middle School theater sound system, lighting and intercom system, as well as the field lighting and maintenance for our Little League fields,” the proclamation states. “They have also partnered with the Billerica Fire Department and Council on Aging to equip our seniors with lifesaving smoke detectors.”
