Social Security
Under Attack
Proposal Threatens Disability Benefits

Mustaches and Dodgeball
Toronto Tourney
Promotes Men's Health

Sweet Success
Portland Members Negotiate Big Raises
at Nabisco

North of 49°
Globetrotting Halifax Members Maintain Royal Navy's Fleet

Au nord du 49° parallèle
Les membres d'Halifax voyagent le monde pour réparer la flotte de la Marine royale

NEBF 2020

IEC Minutes
August 2019

Emma Basmayor

A century ago in Detroit, IBEW Local 58 members were locked in a bitter dispute with employers who wanted to slash workers' pay from $1.25 an hour to $1 an hour.

That's a 20% pay cut, and few would have blamed these IBEW members for authorizing a strike to protest the move. But they didn't strike.

That's because in 1920, the union's relationship with electrical contractors had undergone a dramatic transformation. That was the year the IBEW partnered with electrical contractors to create the Council on Industrial Relations for the Electrical Contracting Industry.

"It makes sense if you've never heard of the CIR," said International President Lonnie R. Stephenson. "Strikes make headlines; good labor-management relationships usually don't. But make no mistake: The Council on Industrial Relations really is one of the most important construction industry organizations out there."

And for the last 100 years, this unique labor-management organization has helped the IBEW's construction and maintenance members in the United States to peacefully avoid strikes by having their cases considered — and arbitrated — by a group of their electrical industry peers.

"The CIR is a good indication of where we've been, and it gives us a good look at where we need to go and what needs to be looked at over time," said National Electrical Contractors Association CEO David Long. "It gives us a very clear indicator of industry issues, especially things that aren't being resolved on a consistent basis."

A Vision for Labor Peace

Labor unions in the U.S. had gained significant power by World War I's end in 1918, often resorting to strikes to fight things like low pay and unsafe working conditions. But not everyone was thrilled with the amount of influence working people wielded, and builders increasingly began to turn to nonunion — and non-striking — electrical workers. This slow shift started driving down wages and prices just as demand for quality electrical work was reaching record heights.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and similar associations, meanwhile, were concocting the "open shop" concept, lobbying lawmakers to allow union members to work side-by-side with workers who weren't paying dues. Their goal was to gut unions' power through gradual financial starvation, a strategy later rebranded as the so-called right-to-work.

Stephenson:
An Organizing Call to Arms
Cooper:
The PRO Act and
Our Future

Ed Mings;
James Foreman;
Victor K. Uno

The Trump Administration Opens Door to Silencing Federal Workers;
NLRB Cracks Down on Union Symbols at Work;
NLRB Threatens Oregon Law Protecting Workers from Union-Bashing Captive Audience Meetings

Local 3 Sculpture Celebrating Workers Selected for Public Art Competition;
Recruitment Records Fall in Right-to-Work Alabama

A Safer Workplace: New Jersey Utility Members Collaborate to Innovate

The Importance of
Pre-Apprenticeships;
Important Safety Advice

January 2020
February 2020

Doing Things
the Hard Way