Liz Shuler is First Woman, IBEW Member to
Lead AFL-CIO

Building Back Better
Energy Secretary Pledges IBEW Jobs

North of 49°
CCO Secures
$4.5M Funding Grant to Strengthen NCS Training

Au nord du 49° parallèle
La subvention du gouvernement de l'Ontario permettra d'améliorer la formation

Tory Gorka

IEC Minutes
May 2021

Fee Payers Plan for 2022

Preserving the
IBEW's Past

Solidarity through Safety
Getting 'Back to Normal,'
Vaccines Protect Everyone on the Job

The COVID-19 vaccine is a modern medical miracle, the result of a decade of American-led research into mRNA vaccines and a half decade of research into SARS and coronaviruses. Its rollout was a bipartisan triumph, developed under a Republican president, distributed under a Democrat, and nearly every dose used in the United States was developed and produced in a facility built and maintained by the IBEW.

At the beginning of September, nearly 180 million Americans had received full doses of the vaccine, and the evidence is clear that they work far better than even the most optimistic of epidemiologists had predicted. In August, the FDA gave full approval to the Pfizer vaccine for people over the age of 16 and was expected to follow course with the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines in short order.

Side effects have been mild and rare and breakthrough infections even rarer. And when a vaccinated person is infected, the course of the disease is far less severe than when it is allowed to run its natural course.

"These vaccines are one of the greatest scientific triumphs since America landed the Apollo missions on the moon," said International President Lonnie R. Stephenson. "I could not be prouder of the IBEW's involvement in bringing them to the world."

To interrupt the spread of the virus, 80-85% of the population must be vaccinated. As of late summer, that number had stalled at only about 50%. For many reasons, some more scientifically grounded than others, a significant portion of the population hasn't been vaccinated, including some of our IBEW members. According to a Carnegie Mellon study published in August, construction workers had the lowest vaccination rate of all occupations.

That has to change.

"I have been telling people — and this is a charged deal, I know — if you don't have a real health or religious reason by the end of this year, if you don't have the vaccine, you will not have any place to work," said Orlando, Fla., Local 606 Business Manager Clay McNeely.

Stephenson:
In Good Hands
Cooper:
Looking Out for
One Another

Peter Lombardozzi;
Glenn E. Nunn;
Michael J. Power

2021 Elections: Pro-Worker State Leaders, Lawmakers on Va., N.J. Ballots;
Biden Appoints Pro-Worker Officials to Federal
Labor Board

Charlotte Pre-Apprenticeship Shows Youth the Power of the Trades;
Kansas City Local's Spirit
of Giving Lights Up Historic Mo. Train Station;
New England Locals
Get New Contract with Consolidated Communications;
Cincinnati Local Puts Emphasis on Creating Opportunities for Women

August 2021

Missouri Local Graduates First Woman Journeyman Tree Trimmer