IBEW delegates, friends, families, and guests. After more than two years of being apart, today, we are finally back together again.

We've come together in this great union city to chart the course for the next five years of the IBEW.

We've come here to Chicago to write the next chapter in our union's history. To build the future we want to see for working people.

Believe me, we're going to make labor history this week. And there is no better place to make labor history than here. Because Chicago is one of the greatest union towns in the world. Home to some of the greatest union struggles in our movement's history:

Birthplace of International Workers Day, and the movement for the 8-hour day. Home to 300 unions and half a million proud union members.

Chicago really is labor's hometown.

So, to every hard-working member of the Chicagoland labor movement, and to every IBEW member throughout the Windy City, thank you for being such gracious hosts.

I especially want to thank those union members here at McCormick Place and at our hotels for all the work they're doing for us. Let's give them a round of applause.

Again, I want to thank the delegates for their pledge of support for Coop and me. As I said earlier, serving the IBEW and its members has been the greatest honor of my life.

And I promise, as your International President, to always give everything I've got to the job. To always live up to the values of our founders. To always put our members first.

One of the greatest things about being your president is the great people I serve with. First off, my partner, my friend, and a great IBEW leader, our International Secretary-Treasurer Kenneth Cooper.

Coop has been there with me every step of the way as we took on the challenges of the pandemic. Thank you, Coop.

I want to thank my Chief of Staff, Darrin Golden, and Senior Executive Assistant, Sherilyn Wright, for all they do for me and the IBEW each and every day.

I especially want to thank someone very important in my life, someone who's helped me maintain my sanity over the last couple of years, my wife Dawn. I say it all the time, and I will say it again. I could not do what I do without her support.

And I must thank the greatest leadership team in the entire labor movement, our International Vice Presidents and IEC members. I look forward to continuing to work with you as we grow the IBEW to new heights.

Delegates, I'm here to report on the state of the IBEW. And to review the progress we've made since our last convention. And let me say simply and with great pride that the state of this union is strong.

We are a bigger IBEW. We are a stronger IBEW. And we are a more inclusive, diverse, and equitable IBEW than we were in 2016.

When we last met, the IBEW had finally started digging out of the hole left by the 2008 recession. Union-busting on all levels of government kept us under constant siege. Labor was still stuck playing defense, trying to hold on to what we had.

How things have changed.

We're not playing defense anymore. We've gone on offense. We're taking back what's rightfully ours. And we're not going to stop until every worker in the electrical industry enjoys dignity, respect, and a voice at work.

We've faced significant challenges since our last convention. And we will continue to face substantial challenges in the years to come.

But the truth is I'm more optimistic about our future than I've ever been in my entire IBEW career.

First off, more than ever, working people are ready for a change. They're fed up after everything they've gone through with the pandemic.

Fed up with risking their lives for low-wage, no-benefit jobs.

Fed up with managers praising them as essential and then treating them as expendable.

Fed up with an economy where they do all the work, but the profits go to the top 1%.

After years of taking it on the chin, workers from all sectors of the economy are taking action. We saw it in the more than 100,000 workers who went on strike last fall to demand humane working hours and livable benefits.

We see it in the record number of workers demanding better treatment. We've all heard of the Great Resignation. More than 47 million Americans have left their jobs since last year.

Meanwhile, in Canada, a recent survey found that nearly 20% of workers said they expected to quit their current job in the next 12 months. And the main reason they're quitting their jobs is that they want better ones. And who can blame them?

Among workers without a college degree, just one in five have what economists consider to be a secure job that pays a living wage and provides adequate health benefits.

The truth is, as one business reporter put it, we're not seeing a great resignation. We're seeing a great renegotiation.

Working people want to change the rules of the game. They want a new social contract, an economy that rewards work, not just wealth. They want jobs that actually pay the bills. And they want some dignity and respect.

So, it's not surprising that workers are turning to unions in numbers we haven't seen in half a century. Employees at some of the biggest companies in the world, from Amazon to Starbucks, are organizing.

Just last summer, right here in Chicago and up through Wisconsin, workers at the Colectivo Coffee chain voted to join the IBEW, and we couldn't be happier to have them. So, if you get a chance, stop by and say hello.

Public support for labor is at a record high. According to researchers at MIT, 60 million Americans would join a union if given a chance.

And here's the best news: The generation coming into the workforce now are our biggest supporters. Among workers between the ages of 18 and 24, 75% say they'd join a union if they could. I don't have polling from Canada, but I know support for labor is still strong there as well.

Public opinion is on our side. The economy is stronger than ever, giving workers the power to demand change. And as I'll talk about later, we've got friends in high places.

President Biden is the most pro-union president we've had since FDR. And Prime Minister Trudeau has made it clear that he's on our side as well.

This is an unprecedented moment for the IBEW. A once-in-a-generation chance to grow this union in ways we haven't seen in decades. The power to light a new path to the middle class for millions of working families.

The opportunities are endless. But it's on us to seize them.

And believe me, I know you can, because for the last five years, on every level of the IBEW, you've been out there building this union back better and stronger than before.

Our officers, staff, leaders and activists have shown they've got the will. But as I know from my days on a construction site, you need more than will to finish a job. You need a plan.

And that's just what we'll be doing this week, drawing a blueprint for building IBEW power.

Over the next few days, we're going to debate and vote on many resolutions. They might seem like just words. But let me tell you, these resolutions aren't just for show. They're a call to action. They're our battle plan to unleash IBEW power.

Let's look at what we voted for back in St. Louis [at the 39th International Convention in 2016], and see what we did with them. First, let's start with Resolution No. 2: rededication to organizing.

We unanimously pledged that "organizing continues to be the highest priority of IBEW international officers, local union officers and the entire membership."

From the I.O. down to the local level, every one of you took those words to heart. Because just look at our numbers: In 2016, we had around 362,000 "A" members. Today it's well over 402,000.

I know that organizing "BA" members is a tougher go. But even still, we're holding even when it comes to "BA" membership. And this means our total membership continues to grow.

Despite the challenges of COVID-19, hostile politicians, and our low-road competition, the IBEW is growing at a faster rate than it has in decades.

Just look at some of our victories since 2016: Baltimore Gas and Electric. Atlanta Gas Light. JCR Construction, one of the largest nonunion outside line contractors in the Northeast. Hundreds of new energy workers in Puerto Rico.

And I know we're not going to stop until Berg Electric is 100% IBEW.

You're all working hard. But you're not just working harder, you're working smarter. You're embracing new tools and technologies. You're using our resources in a coordinated fashion to maximize success.

We've beefed up our Membership Development staff, including hiring a director of outside line construction organizing and an international representative focused on workforce development.

We developed new online tools like "We Power America," a national website that connects us to nonunion electricians. And Action Builder, which streamlines data gathering for organizing campaigns so you can spend more time talking and listening and less time doing paperwork.

COVID-19, in particular, forced us to get creative about reaching out to workers online.

Take virtual job fairs, for example. Pre-COVID job fairs were labor- and money-intensive. Now we can interview workers and connect them with NECA contractors all online.

Face-to-face meetings remain critical, but we're finding that online tools have made it easier to communicate with potential members, and we're going to keep using them.

We've embraced the digital membership application in Professional and Industrial organizing. Instead of chasing down paper cards, organizers are now collecting authorization cards digitally.

But we can't just focus on recruiting new members. We also must expand the pool of available workers.

As we all know, we face a historic shortage of skilled energy workers. If we can't recruit more workers into the electrical industry and the IBEW, the shortages we already see in many areas will only get worse. And if we don't have the workers, we don't get the work. Period.

This issue is of critical importance to our contractor partners and us, so we've formed a workforce recruitment taskforce with NECA.

But rebuilding IBEW power isn't just about adding more members. It's about growing a bigger market share. That's why business development continues to be a priority.

If we wait for the ground to break, it's too late. We need to be talking to the customer now about what we have to offer. We must double down on our support for business development.

Brothers and sisters, by recommitting to organizing this week and taking that commitment back to our locals, we can and we will top 700,000 active members by the end of this year.

So, I ask you to join me in continuing to ensure that organizing remains our top priority as a union.

But organizing isn't just about building a bigger IBEW. It's about building a stronger one as well.

That's why in 2016 we pledged to make diversity and inclusion a top priority. We pledged to make our culture inclusive for people of color, women, and LGTBQ workers.

We still have a long way to go regarding diversity, inclusion and equity. We still have a lot of work to do before we can say that we genuinely represent the full diversity of the workforce at large.

But I couldn't be prouder of the real progress we've made in just the last five years. We've put that commitment to diversity into action through the IBEW Strong program.

IBEW Strong is a proven plan for building a more diverse, more inclusive, and more united union. That's because it's based on actual success stories from locals that have managed to not only recruit but retain workers from underrepresented communities.

Like Local 993 in Kamloops, British Columbia. They've made outreach to women and indigenous communities a priority. They didn't wait for those workers to come to them. They reached out first, one conversation at a time.

The results speak for themselves. In Canada, about 5% of tradespeople are women. But more than 20% of Local 993's apprentices are women.

They are also the third-largest sponsor of indigenous apprenticeships in the province, with 18% of all apprentices coming from native communities. Last summer, the British Columbia government even recognized their work tackling racism and exclusion.

Now, we don't control recruitment in P&I like we do in construction. But our commitment to diversity has inspired many of our employers to partner with the IBEW in engaging underrepresented communities.

Like in Detroit. There, Local 17 is working with the utility DTE, local nonprofit Focus Hope and city officials to open pathways for area residents to connect with union careers.

The Tree Trimming Academy is a six-week training program meant to equip residents — many of whom are people of color — with the skills they need to move into Local 17's apprenticeship program.

It's not only diversifying the workforce. It's providing a steady stream of talent to an industry short on skilled labor.

So, diversity, equity and inclusion aren't just the right thing to do morally. They're the right thing to do economically as well. Because North America is facing a major blue-collar skills shortage, especially in the energy industry. And there is no way we're going to fix it without recruiting women and people of color into our industries.

Some loudmouths out there like to turn diversity into a political shouting point. So, let's be clear.

IBEW Strong isn't about wokeness. It's about solidarity. It's about building IBEW power the only way we can: By bringing together workers from all backgrounds to stand together for a better life.

Diverse locals are strong locals. And believe me, while the program may be new, the idea isn't. Back in the 1950s and 60s, one of the IBEW's most visionary leaders, Local 3's Harry Van Arsdale Jr., understood the importance of inclusion.

As a union leader in one of the most diverse cities in the nation, he knew that a primarily white local in a city as diverse as New York was a recipe for disaster.

Not only did Local 3 support the Civil Rights movement and striking Black and Latino hospital workers, Harry opened up Local 3's ranks to workers of color, working with the NAACP, the Urban League and other civil rights groups to recruit new apprentices.

So, what we're doing isn't all that new. We're just carrying out the legacy of one of our greatest leaders.

And this week, we're going to make it clear: Carrying out this legacy isn't just the I.O.'s job. Or the EWMC's. Or the Women's Caucus. It's all our jobs.

Every one of us must make promoting diversity, equity and inclusion a top priority. It's no longer just a good idea. It's imperative.

IBEW Strong is working. Let us commit to keep putting it into action.

Now there is another section of the workforce we also need to reach out to — folks who know something about working with their hands. And their heads.

I'm talking about our veterans.

And one of the best programs for getting vets into the IBEW is VEEP. That stands for Veterans Electrical Entry Program. It allows service members to complete a pre-apprenticeship program in their last six months of service.

This is not only a good tool for recruiting new members, it's a great way to thank our vets for their service. So please make VEEP part of your growth efforts.

This brings me to another critical tool for building IBEW power. I'm talking about the Code of Excellence.

Back in 2016, delegates unanimously recommitted the IBEW to the Code. And that's because it works. It turns confrontation into cooperation. It results in safer, more productive workplaces. It shows the value of union labor in practice.

Like at Entergy's Arkansas Nuclear One station. Just a few years back, labor-management relations were in the basement. Private auditors ranked it as one of the worst-run nuclear plants in the nation.

Safety violations were a particular problem, which is the last thing you want to hear in a nuclear plant. Local 647 members knew they needed to get things back on track.

So, they turned to the Code. And Entergy sent in new managers willing to listen. The message was straightforward: Everyone must do their best to get this place back on track.

The Code of Excellence helped labor and management realize they wanted the same things: Safety. Professionalism. Accountability. Relationships. Quality.

And that turned things around.

A couple of years back, the same auditors that ranked the plant at the bottom of the list released results from the plant's most recent inspection. And Arkansas Nuclear One was now one of the top-performing facilities in the nation.

The Code of Excellence worked there, and it's worked in every branch we've implemented it.

It's helped attract some of the biggest construction customers in North America to the IBEW. It's gotten our foot in the door on projects, and at companies, we might never have had a chance of getting. It cuts down on accidents and boosts morale.

Most of all, the Code tells the world who we are: power professionals committed to our craft and to doing the job right the first time.

That's what the IBEW has been about since 1891, and we're never going to retreat from our commitment to excellence.

The Code of Excellence is fundamental to who we are as the IBEW and will remain so well into the future. This week, we will ask you to recommit the IBEW to the Code. I ask you to join me in giving it your unanimous support.

Five years ago, we also pledged to recommit ourselves to grassroots political action, to ensuring that our members in both the United States and Canada were fully engaged in the political process.

Not to support any single party. Not to support any single candidate. But to ensure that labor's voice is heard at all levels of government.

Because when it comes to our jobs, our rights, and our union, politics matter. Just look at the last two years if you need proof of that.

Joe Biden promised to be the most pro-worker, pro-union president in recent history. And that's just what he's done. He's made clear in deeds, not just words, that he's on our side.

He proposed an updated federal Davis-Bacon regulation to protect good wages in the construction industry.

He cleaned house at the National Labor Relations Board, clearing out the union-busters and bringing in folks who believe in a worker's right to collectively bargain.

He passed the biggest infrastructure bill in history. This means hundreds of thousands of good union jobs in nearly every IBEW branch, doing everything from modernizing the electrical grid to building out a network of electric vehicle charging stations.

And as President Biden has said many times, IBEW members will be the ones to do it.

Look, politicians can't do our job for us. But it makes our jobs a hell of a lot easier when politicians want to work with us, not against us.

Our members in Canada can also testify to that.

Since first coming to office, Prime Minister Trudeau has ensured that the IBEW has had a place at the table, especially regarding energy legislation. He listens to what we have to say, and that's been critical to protecting our jobs.

Of course, politics isn't just about the big offices. Lawmakers on the local level are just as critical to our future.

So, please, educate your members. Make sure they know the issues. Make sure they know the candidates. Make sure they know who's on our side.

And make sure they vote. Because when IBEW members vote, IBEW members win.

In conclusion, I want to take this moment and thank you.

These last two years have been tough. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted every part of our lives — our jobs, our families and our communities.

For many, it meant missing out on seeing friends and family. For front-line workers, it meant long shifts risking their health to keep the economy running.

For others, it meant losing loved ones. The IBEW alone has lost 854 of our members to COVID that we know of.

If there was a time in history that called on us as IBEW members to come together, take the lead and show North America just what this union could do, it's been these last two years.

And I couldn't be prouder to say that the IBEW rose to the challenge.

We saw IBEW members committed to keeping our economy moving and the lights on. We saw IBEW members committed to revamping factories to produce vaccines and powering up new hospitals to treat the sick.

But I'm not just proud of the work you did. I'm proud of what you did for your fellow members and communities.

I'm proud of the locals that organized food drives and donated face masks and hand sanitizer. And I'm proud of all the times IBEW members stepped up to help their fellow brothers, sisters and siblings in need.

Any one of us can fall on hard times. Illness. Unforeseen financial trouble. Or unexpected tragedy.

During trying times like those, it's nice to know you've got folks you can lean on. We do this for each other in the IBEW. We don't turn away from a member who needs a helping hand.

That principle is something we in the labor movement call solidarity.

Sometimes when we talk about solidarity, we think strikes and picket lines. But for the IBEW, solidarity means something more profound.

It means we're a family. It means we recognize each other as brothers, sisters, siblings. And we work for the common good of all of us.

One brother I'm proud to call a member of my family is John Harriel out of Local 11 in Los Angeles.

He's known as Big John to his friends. And if you meet John, you'll know why.

Now, John didn't grow up with much of a family. He was born in a tough neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles. His father left him when he was seven. His mother was addicted to drugs.

At a very early age, he was on his own. He sold cocaine on the street to survive. And carried a 357-magnum pistol in his pants. Eventually, he landed up in prison.

For many kids like John, the only family they had were gangs. John was still only in his twenties, and his future looked to be either a life sentence or a violent death.

But John got lucky. An IBEW electrician who mentored prisoners took him under his wing. And soon, John had a new family. A 775,000-member strong family: the IBEW.

For John, the IBEW didn't just mean a paycheck. It meant respect.

It didn't just mean a job. It meant a calling.

It didn't just mean a contract. It meant solidarity.

Today he's a successful electrician who became a committed dad and homeowner with a secure spot in the middle class. As John said, "The IBEW grew me as a man. A family took me in and treated me as one of their own."

Now he's working to make sure folks in his community enjoy the same opportunities he did. Through a community program called Second Call, John is helping at-risk residents of some of L.A.'s toughest neighborhoods prepare for careers in the trades.

As he said at a recent congressional hearing on the challenges faced by ex-offenders: "I've been able to get thousands of young men and women to pick up tape measurers instead of guns."

John's growing our IBEW family every day. And that's what I'm asking you to do when you get home. Grow our family.

As I said earlier, the hunger is out there. Working people across this continent want what we have.

Not just the higher wages or better benefits, as important as those are. They want to get out from behind their screens and join a real flesh-and-blood community.

They want to be part of something meaningful and inspiring, something bigger than themselves. They're looking to join a family in a world characterized by increasing fragmentation and alienation.

Some folks in the media and politics are good at dividing people against each other. Well, the IBEW is good at bringing them together.

Assembled delegates, look around this hall. Everyone here is your brother, your sister, your sibling.

We are one family. We are one union. We are the IBEW. And we're growing bigger, stronger, and more inclusive every day.

And soon, every hard-working American and Canadian will look to the IBEW and say, "They're my family too."

Thank you all. God bless you, and God bless the IBEW.