November 2024
November Issue
Just about everyone who's toured Baltimore Local 24's training facility walks away impressed. As with any IBEW local, it's a site for excellence. But not everyone in the community knows that — at least not yet.
IBEW expertise covers just about every aspect of the electrical industry, and sharing some of that knowledge is one way members give back to their communities. For firefighters and other first responders in Illinois, it's the safety training from Chicago Local 134's Robert Hattier that they keep asking for.
They gathered in the lowland forests bordering Seattle, arriving by wagon or horseback for secret meetings under the shroud of towering evergreens. It was too dangerous for the young president of Local 77 and his band of brothers to discuss their plans anywhere else.
Job descriptions for a telecom worker and a teacher don't have much in common, but both have a right to be heard at work.
An arduous five-year campaign to achieve IBEW representation is successful at last for the more than 160 men and women who work at a Conagra cooking spray manufacturing plant in eastern Illinois, after they ratified a collective bargaining agreement between Danville Local 538 and the North American food conglomerate.
Glynnis Landfair has firsthand experience with how military members feel when their active duty ends.
From city halls and state legislatures to Congress and the White House, IBEW activists are making a final push this week to urge their brothers and sisters to vote for candidates who will always put workers first — and to do it now.
October 2024
October Issue
Specialized apprenticeships across the IBEW are on the way for members who work in the battery and advanced manufacturing industries, thanks to recent efforts from local leaders throughout California and in the union’s Ninth District office.
Specialized apprenticeships across the IBEW are on the way for members who work in the battery and advanced manufacturing industries, thanks to recent efforts from local leaders throughout California and in the union’s Ninth District office.
Ten members of Halifax Local 1928 employed by Nova Scotia Power will receive the IBEW's Lifesaving Award after they saved the life of a retired member who was working as a supervisor in a power plant when he suffered a heart attack.
A majority of workers in San Diego Gas and Electric’s call center recently voted to join the IBEW, and San Diego Local 465 Business Manager Nate Fairman says Cece Marquez deserves recognition for a historic win.
San Diego Local 569 is celebrating its largest electrical contractor signing since the local was chartered in 1920.
Paul Terek has made a career of clearing hurdles, the literal and figurative kinds.
From the raucous, jam-packed floor of the Democratic National Convention, Greg Hansen flashed back 19 years to a Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party dinner where he and his dad happened to sit down next to "two very cool teachers from Mankato."
By the time Californians elected Kamala Harris as attorney general in 2010, the subprime mortgage crisis had hit their state harder than any other, with 2.2 million homeowners underwater.
The distance between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is only about two miles, but the delivery trucks that cross the Detroit River carry roughly one-third of all the trade between the U.S. and Canada.
When Jackie Norman was hired as an organizer with Louisville, Ky., Local 369 last September, she was asked by Business Manager Ed Devine why she thought more women didn't join the skilled trades. She shared her opinions, but she also had a plan.
September 2024
September Issue
More than 1,500 IBEW members who work for San Diego Gas and Electric are claiming victory — and breathing a little easier — after the San Diego City Council unanimously voted in June to squash a citizens’ initiative to force the municipal government to take over operation of the utility’s operations within the city’s limits.
The Biden-Harris administration’s bold legislative plan to expand broadband internet access to every part of the U.S. is bringing a wealth of work and organizing opportunities for IBEW locals throughout the country. Rockford, Ill., Local 196 is one example of this.
Job descriptions for a telecom worker and a teacher don't have much in common, but both have a right to be heard at work.
Several years ago, members of Kitchener, Ontario, Local 804 started taking notice of a nonunion contractor doing business in the local’s jurisdiction, and they had a hunch.
When the developers of the first fully electric tugboat in the United States were looking to plug it in somewhere in the Port of San Diego, they turned to the charging station experts with San Diego Local 569 to build the first of what’s hoped will be many such shoreside stations.
In a U.S. presidential election year, it can be easy to get caught up in partisan fighting and forget who your true friends are. Fortunately, the IBEW’s policy agenda, from new nuclear jobs to apprenticeship standards and speedy permitting, cuts across party lines.
It was decades in the making, but the call center workers at utility company Southern California Edison finally have a voice on the job, thanks to the efforts of a dedicated volunteer organizing committee and Diamond Bar, Calif., Local 47.
When Janus Miller was apprenticing some 30 years ago, there were hardly any women on jobsites. Now, those numbers are up and the new generation isn't just learning the trade, they're leading the way.
Tim Walz, a veteran, union member and football coach, and Minnesota's two-term governor, brings a record of radically improving the lives of working families to Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' ticket.
She cast the deciding vote to save union members’ pensions. She broke a Senate tie to make historic job-creating investments in U.S. energy production and high-tech manufacturing. She’s visited IBEW training centers nationwide to promote union apprenticeships. She even headed an unprecedented White House task force on organizing and worker empowerment.
There are a lot of kinds of clubs at IBEW locals, but Sacramento, Calif., Local 340 may be the only one with a Brazilian jiu-jitsu club.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order Sept. 6 that enshrines across the federal government the labor standards included in his signature infrastructure and manufacturing laws.
August 2024
August Issue
A huge new state-of-the-art training facility now sits behind the union hall of Huntington, W.Va., Local 317, making good on the local’s ambitious promise to greatly expand its apprenticeship and bring training closer to where many members live.
Several hard-fought wins — including a remarkable 34.1% compounded salary increase over seven years — are among a host of benefits negotiated into the IBEW’s recently ratified agreement covering more than 1,200 electrical workers at Amtrak.
July 2024
July Issue
The 2024 IBEW Hour Power Apprentice of the Year Award doesn't typically go to a second-year apprentice. But Kayla Cordaro, a York, Pa., Local 229 member, already has proven herself to be a top-tier student, and now she has the chance to bring a new tradition to next year's winner.
It was just a few months after being appointed to the Sheboygan, Wis., County Board in 2017, and Curt Brauer wasn't feeling well. He was sluggish and tired.
Honolulu Local 1260 members, in partnership with employer Hawaiian Electric, are going above and beyond when it comes to supporting their communities.
Hundreds of IBEW members in Wisconsin stand to benefit from an agreement with the state’s four largest investor-owned electrical utilities that prioritizes hiring union workers on renewable energy projects.
Milwaukee Local 2150 member Brian Williams always thought of himself as a problem solver, even before starting his career in customer service at We Energies (then known as Wisconsin Energy) in 1997.
Working people can rest easier when it comes to getting the best advice on retirement savings, thanks to a new rule from the Biden-Harris administration.
CKUA has achieved iconic status in Alberta during nearly a century on the air. Founded in 1927, the Edmonton-based radio station has supplied listeners across the province with music and information difficult to find elsewhere.
For the first time in U.S. history, a nuclear power plant is going back online.
June 2024
June Issue
Boston Local 1228 members working in sports television have successfully negotiated for the National Electrical Benefit Fund and the National Electrical Annuity Plan to be included in a new collective bargaining agreement, making them the first broadcast members in the country to have these sought-after benefits.
Apprentices in Manitoba will soon have a safer experience on the jobsite, thanks to New Democratic Party Premier Wab Kinew making good on a campaign promise to return to a 1:1 ratio of apprentices to journeypeople.
New data shows, once again, that union membership is a great bet for increasing household wealth — and more and more people are coming together to get that opportunity.
With summer approaching and sweltering weather the norm in much of the country, IBEW members are reminded to follow all safety regulations on the job, especially considering some disturbing trends nationally.
Renewable energy construction isn't new for members of Kennewick, Wash., Local 112. Its jurisdiction is east of the Cascade Mountains, away from major metro areas like Seattle and Portland, and runs through many smaller communities in eastern Washington and Oregon. The area is ideal for wind energy.
Thousands of railroad members will soon have the training they need to work safer thanks to two new rules from the Federal Railroad Administration developed with input from the IBEW.
May 2024
May Issue
The leaders of Greensboro, N.C., Local 342 are suiting up for what could be 10-fold membership growth in the coming years, now that Toyota has announced a plan to nearly quadruple its battery manufacturing footprint in the state’s Piedmont Triad area.
For more than a decade, Los Angeles Local 18 has provided area residents with a much-needed path to civil service jobs with the city's Department of Water and Power, and a ticket to the middle class.
Boston Local 1228 members employed by Rhode Island broadcast outlets are receiving back pay after the local became aware of a state law regarding overtime wages.
When Dariyn Choates found out about the Lineworker Scholarship Program run by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and Vacaville, Calif., Local 1245, he knew it was a chance to get closer to his goal of becoming a lineworker.
Utility locals in California supercharged a Day of Action at the state Capitol in March, giving lawmakers and the public a look at the skills, equipment and demands of their essential, high-risk jobs.
With a near unprecedented amount of work on the horizon, Los Angeles Local 11 is leaving no stone unturned in expanding its efforts to recruit and retain more women members.
A strong partnership has helped sustain the working relationship between Saint John, New Brunswick, Local 1524 and the city’s power company, Saint John Energy, for almost 80 years. And if the successful recent contract negotiations are any indication, that connection remains rock-solid.
The members of two IBEW locals were honored on March 4 for their tireless efforts to fend off potentially job-killing government takeovers of the utilities where they work.
April 2024
April Issue
The number of U.S. workers who suffered fatal injuries on the job inched up for a second straight year, according to the most recent data, as a long era of budget cuts and dangerous state policies combined to imperil the ability of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to protect America’s workers.
When a company used legal loopholes and technical trickery to prevent the IBEW from bidding on a project to rebuild a troubled New Brunswick wind turbine farm, the leaders of Moncton Local 1555 fought back.
President Joe Biden has nominated Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Christopher Hanson, who has been an advocate for IBEW members working in the industry, for another five-year term. Now, it’s up to the Senate to confirm him.
Across the country, IBEW locals are lighting up their halls, posting on social media and engaging members in other activities to recognize members of their unions and communities who have autism.
San Diego is now the first major city in the U.S. to pass a blanket project labor agreement for nearly all city-funded construction, the culmination of roughly a decade of hard work and perseverance by Local 569 and the Building Trades Council to reshape the political landscape.
New York Local 3 member Mitchell Siegel doesn't look at scrap metal on jobsites the same way most wiremen do. For him, that discarded material is inspiration.
The IBEW and fellow unions in New Hampshire maintained their decades-long winning streak against right-to-work during the 2024 legislative session, with both the GOP-led House and Senate voting down the latest versions of the anti-worker bill.
Ukrainian electrician Dmytro Hrikh and his family had tried to remain in their home country for as long as they could after Russian troops invaded in February 2022. But late last year, when it finally became almost impossible for them to stay, the members of Charlotte Local 379 helped the family settle into a new home in North Carolina.
March 2024
March Issue
Applications for the IBEW’s Founders’ Scholarship, which is awarded on a competitive basis to members continuing their studies, are now being accepted. Rules and a list of required entry materials are available at ibew.org/foundersscholarship. The deadline is May 1.
Inside the U.S. House chamber, gazing down at the president and hundreds of the nation’s most powerful people while surrounded by fascinating guests in the gallery for the State of the Union address, Teila Allmond thought about the words of a colleague.
IBEW locals across the U.S. are benefiting from the historic labor-friendly provisions in the Biden administration’s three major infrastructure and manufacturing laws, which incentivize contractors and developers to use union workers.
Data center construction and maintenance jobs have become mainstays for thousands of IBEW members across North America over the last several years. In Maryland, Baltimore Local 24 Business Manager Michael McHale is working hard to keep bringing as much of that work as possible into his state.
Until he attended his first labor council meeting in February, Pittsburgh Local 29 lineman Jordan Layhew didn’t know about the long strike against his city’s newspaper or how badly its workers were hurting.
In January, the Biden administration announced an additional $623 million in federal funding to build electric vehicle charging stations across the country. This was on top of the more than $7 billion invested as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed into law in 2021.
Ford Motor Co.’s Blue Oval City project in western Tennessee is one of the biggest expansions of U.S. automaking in decades. It’s also turning into a golden opportunity for Memphis Local 474 to welcome hundreds of new men and women into the IBEW.
The IBEW is urging the renomination and Senate confirmation of Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Christopher Hanson following the departure of another commissioner who was a friend of working families and communities that depend on the industry.
For 50 years, the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus has been, in the words of President Emeritus Robbie Sparks, the conscience of the IBEW.
A stretch of road in downtown Detroit can now wirelessly charge electric vehicles — a first in North America — and it's thanks in part to members of Detroit Local 58.
A requirement of the New York Local 3 apprenticeship is that everyone get at least an associate's degree in labor studies. It dates to the days of legendary Business Manager Harry Van Arsdale Jr., who believed that all members should have critical thinking skills as well as electrical. A recent product of that decades-old mandate is the children's book "Wire Women Lighting It Up: What It's Like to Be a Female Union Electrician."
February 2024
February Issue
The numbers tell the story: Nearly 200,000 new union members in 2023. Contract victories with double-digit raises for nearly 1 million workers. Soaring support for unions, with favorable feedback from 70% of poll respondents overall and a whopping 88% of young people.
Solidarity, strength and sisterhood were on full display as nearly 4,000 tradeswomen — including almost 400 IBEW members — descended on Washington, D.C., for the 13th annual Tradeswomen Build Nations conference.
Unions and working families in Michigan celebrated Feb. 13 as the state’s repeal of its so-called right-to-work law went into effect.
Union workers including IBEW members are building — and will maintain — the first U.S. high-speed passenger rail line in California, and now they are assured protections under federal labor law.
When it began to look as if the electrical work on Kaiser Permanente’s upgraded Watts Counseling and Learning Center in South Central Los Angeles might need a push to get finished by the project’s deadline, the site’s general foreman knew he could call on Los Angeles Local 11’s John Harriel Jr. for some additional help.
Your union asked, and once again you answered the call: Photos by the hundreds were submitted last year for the 2023 IBEW Photo Contest. You showed us your work sites in spaces dark and narrow to wide open. You gave us a glimpse of your union meetings, your parties and picnics, and even your pickets.
The IBEW and its contractor partners have agreed on a historic package of retirement benefit improvements.
San Francisco’s world-renowned cable car system celebrated 150 years of service last summer. In 2024, members of Local 6 are marking their own milestone: For 80 years, the local’s electrical transit mechanics have maintained and repaired the system’s instantly recognizable wood-and-steel vehicles.
The IBEW officially began its partnership with PGA Tour Entertainment just before Christmas, when employees and freelance technicians working for the company overwhelmingly approved a first contract.
Japan’s bullet train turns 60 this year, Eurostar turns 30. For the past 15 years, China has been pouring billions into building the world’s largest high-speed rail network.
It might sound like science fiction, but members of Dublin, Calif., Local 595 recently finished work on a facility where carbon dioxide, the key chemical compound driving the global climate change crisis, gets absorbed right out of the air.
January 2024
January Issue
Oxford, Ohio, Local 2287 Business Manager Pam Combs works alongside fellow members at a Schneider Electric plant in the southwestern Ohio city. She doesn't have to go far to hear their concerns — and she has had a few herself.
IBEW linemen Brian Wheeler and Toby Claude were part of a dynasty in the world of lineman's rodeo. They competed together on three-man teams that won the best-of-the-best division at the international competition three consecutive times, from 2009 to 2011.
As the president of El Paso, Texas, Local 960, Rene Ortega has been ushering in a lot of changes. The union is more active in the community, and it even won a ballot initiative in 2022 that was crucial to its members. But the one thing he might be most proud of is organizing his mom.
The IBEW’s Tenth District lost one of its most colorful and respected foreman trainers last January when Charlotte, N.C., Local 379 Assistant Manager Business Manager Edgar W. Brown died suddenly at 66.
Toledo, Ohio, Local 245 recently organized the workers of a newly formed flagging company, and Fourth District International Vice President Gina Cooper is hoping that the way this win came about will spark creative organizing conversations throughout the IBEW.
Business managers from more than two dozen IBEW locals in Ohio joined officials from 20 solar companies, six nonprofits, the Port of Cleveland and the city of Columbus at Local 683’s Electrical Trades Center in September to help these renewable energy stakeholders get a better sense of how seriously the union takes its role in their success.
After working all day, many IBEW members look forward to going home, having dinner and relaxing. But not Laporte, Ind., Local 531 member Jonathon Appelman.
There are a lot of ways to foster solidarity in a union, and one of the most fun — and loudest — is with a motorcycle club.
December 2023
December Issue
For a long time, Phoenix Local 640 member Xan Folmer just dealt with the risks associated with ill-fitting fall harnesses and other personal protective equipment.
The IBEW in Canada celebrated when the New Democratic Party — a longtime advocate for the nation's working families — swept into power in the Manitoba provincial elections Oct. 3.
Teresa Baranowski was an excellent student and standout soccer player at Lake Central High School in northwest Indiana near Chicago.
The IBEW signed a project labor agreement Dec. 11 to build a $1.3 billion, 580-mile transmission line in New Mexico and Arizona.
For generous souls everywhere, the winter holidays are an extra-special time of giving. The brothers and sisters of the IBEW collect warm coats and clothes, run turkey and toy drives, stock food banks, prepare and serve hot meals, and make their communities festive and bright with magical lighting displays.
Molly Muller's union brothers and sisters, training director, business manager, friends and family were thrilled and proud when she became the first woman to win the IBEW's Western States Electrical Contest.
November 2023
November Issue
Attendees of this year's North American International Auto Show were lining up for the chance to test-drive some of the latest electric vehicles, including on an indoor track courtesy of Detroit Local 58 and the southeast Michigan chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association.
Before he became a member of Victoria, British Columbia, Local 230, Dan Headecker worked a lot of physically demanding jobs. They just tended to come with camera crews and a cheering audience
Members of Syracuse, N.Y., Local 43 are making a big difference in their community, from providing much-needed electrical upgrades for a local nonprofit to a high-profile role in a charity golf outing.
Hector Carrillo has a path to prosperity, and it happened by accident.
When the aging site of the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, N.Y., needed modernizing, the officials who oversee the sports complex knew they could trust the IBEW’s electricians from Watertown Local 910.
Edward Aldrich and the men he fought with in the 720th Military Police Battalion during the Vietnam War finally reached a point where they thought their service would never be recognized.
The clock is ticking down to major elections in Virginia, New Jersey, Kentucky and Mississippi, along with a special congressional election in Rhode Island and thousands of city, county and school board races nationwide on the Nov. 7 ballot.
October 2023
October Issue
When a major new sports venue opens in the city of the IBEW’s birth, it’s a safe bet that St. Louis’ Local 1 performed the electrical work.
Older pets without homes have a lot of cards stacked against them, but thanks to a few St. Louis Local 1 members, they have one more place to go and a better chance at finding a forever home.
The nearly 400 IBEW members who work for electrical utility Hydro Ottawa went on strike against their employer June 28 after the utility’s final contract offer ignored their concerns about safety on the job.
September 2023
September Issue
America’s factory floors are busier than they’ve been in generations. Massive new plants are under construction. And more are on the way as manufacturers pour more than $500 billion into U.S. microchip production and clean energy technology.
When Wakenniosta Cooper graduated from her apprenticeship in August, she wasn't just part of the Electrical Joint Training Committee's first Indigenous-specific cohort. She was already a decorated tradeswoman, having won Apprentice of the Year in 2021.
Kianni Vigeant had never considered a job in manufacturing before serendipitously landing in one. Dianna O'Brien only knew about the possibilities because of her mother. Yet both women have found successful careers in this growing segment of the American economy, reinvigorated thanks to new investment and an emphasis on "Buy American" by the Biden administration.
The Biden administration has come out with new data supporting a long-held view: that unions are good for the middle class, and what’s good for the middle class is good for the American economy. And, according to new polling, most Americans agree.
The wildfires that devastated Maui in early August were among the worst natural disasters in Hawaii’s history and were the deadliest fires in the U.S. in over a century. As always, IBEW members were there to help pick up the pieces, many of them on the job when they didn’t even know the fate of their own homes.
August 2023
August Issue
The most sweeping updates to federal prevailing wage law in 40 years are now on the books, meaning more money in the pockets of IBEW members and other construction workers on federal projects.
Membership in the IBEW’s Telecommunications Branch has significant growth potential during the coming years via the Biden administration’s $42 billion broadband expansion plan.
Ottawa, Local 586 Business Manager John Bourke had a message for the coach of his local's hockey team when it finished in second at the IBEW's highest-level hockey tournament: Pretty good — but you can do better.
Kansas City, Mo., Local 124 construction members already were busy with a number of major projects.
Jonathan Sherwin has spent much of his Pittsburgh Local 5 apprenticeship performing heavy industrial work, often in steel mills that frame western Pennsylvania history.
Memo to IBEW members: Be on the lookout for the Brotherhood's logo on a pair of bicyclists when out traveling this summer. The Scheids are back on the road, looking to raise money in the fight against childhood cancer.
July 2023
July Issue
A minority of Ohio voters could wield majority power under an anti-democratic ballot measure that would make it nearly impossible to pass pro-worker referendums and other initiatives protecting Ohioans’ liberties and livelihoods.
Leadership at the specialized manufacturer Lighting Quotient recently — and enthusiastically — agreed to take their decades-long relationship with the IBEW and New Haven, Conn., Local 1040 to the next level by implementing the union’s Code of Excellence.
Among the many challenging tasks that IBEW members perform every day, one of the most dangerous is the work that line clearance tree trimmers do to keep power lines obstruction-free.
For years, Local 2330 was in a slump. Membership was declining at the local in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, and there was little active organizing. But with a few changes, it's on a new path — and already adding signatory contractors and members.
Despite recent victories in Congress, such as legislation that protects multi-employer pensions, American retirees’ hard-won benefits remain politically precarious. That’s why the AFL-CIO’s Alliance for Retired Americans is on the watch.
When Mike Finn, a retired journeyman from Portsmouth, N.H., Local 575, first found out about the Building Trades National Medical Screening Program, it didn't seem urgent. But eventually he signed up, and it may have saved his life.
Anti-union politicians have been targeting prevailing wage laws, one of the most effective tools for ensuring fair wages for public construction projects, for years, with six states repealing theirs in the past decade.
Oklahoma City Local 1141 members stepped up to volunteer at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma in February, continuing a tradition of solidarity and goodwill in the community.
June 2023
June Issue
IBEW local unions know they need to grow quickly with the massive surge in infrastructure projects across North America. Part of that means extending their reach to historically underrepresented groups in the electrical trade.
It’s no longer a question: Summer temperatures in the U.S. are rising, and the heat is clearly taking its toll.
After months of negotiations, the IBEW’s Railroad members at four of the largest U.S. freight carriers finally have what they’ve long sought but that many working people take for granted: paid sick days.
Young workers are entering a workforce that is still recovering from the pandemic while also dealing with high inflation and rampant income inequality. There is no shortage of economic anxiety.
Every year, the IBEW awards scholarships worth up to $24,000 to help cultivate a new generation of leadership in the union and the electrical industry.
The law in Canada couldn't be any clearer: Workers have the right to form unions, and companies must negotiate with them when they do.
May 2023
May Issue
There's more construction work than construction workers, and that means the race is on to recruit more people to the trades. Local unions across the IBEW are casting a wider net by welcoming historically underrepresented groups like women and people of color.
Organizing is often described as a marathon. It takes time to build relationships and establish trust. For Phoenix Local 640, that long effort has come to fruition, and the local's rolls are swelling.
When Michigan repealed its so-called right-to-work law in March, it wasn't just a huge victory for working families in that state. It was a shot across the bow.
Justin Trudeau used a fitting backdrop to pledge support for one of Canadian labor's highest priorities.
For a quarter-century, The Electrical Worker has asked you to send in pictures that showing how we are all bound together, and then vote on your favorites.
Fred Ross Jr. from Vacaville, Calif., Local 1245 was one of the most celebrated organizers of his generation.
IBEW membership is a powerful tool for improving one's life. Claudia Achury's story is proof.
IBEW utility lineworkers in Alabama will soon be running fiber-optic cabling for broadband internet, thanks to a recent agreement with Alabama Power. The pact stands to have far-reaching job-growth and training implications for IBEW utility workers across the U.S.
More than 2,400 Raytheon Technologies missile and defense workers are getting on-the-clock training on the IBEW’s Code of Excellence program, thanks to a years-long effort by the leaders of Waltham, Mass., Local 1505 and representatives from the Second District office.
April 2023
April Issue
Every year in late November or early December, media outlets in and around Buffalo, N.Y., report on the installation of a huge ice boom at the head of the Niagara River. For good reason, too. Without the arch and the IBEW members who install it, the entire region could be in harm's way.
Years ago, New York Local 3 member Lowely Cheung had a problem. She had to do some wiring and was under a strict deadline. She needed a 10-foot ladder and was told they didn't have any that day, so she should just use the shorter ladder, which she would have to stand on top of, risking her safety.
When fourth-year apprentice B. Travis Brown got the call from Washington, D.C., Local 26 to introduce the president of the United States for a major speech at the hall, he almost didn't pick up. He's glad he did.
March 2023
March Issue
Michigan became the first state to repeal a right-to-work law in nearly 60 years when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill on March 24 that was passed by the state’s House and Senate earlier in the month.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court election is one of the most important political races in the United States this year, promising to have a big impact on union members and working families.
The IBEW has joined a coalition of labor unions to sign an agreement to build and run what is billed as the first truly high-speed passenger rail line in the U.S.
A budding electrician had the hottest ticket in D.C. as President Joe Biden delivered a sweeping State of the Union speech that reported on record-breaking job growth and other unparalleled progress for American workers.
The IBEW’s benefit funds had a change in leadership March 1, but members can be forgiven if they missed it.
Workers at Boston's convention centers have been dealing with subpar pay and poor working conditions for years. So when they got the chance recently to join Local 103, a group long known for its experience and for going to the mat for its members, they were all in.
The conversion of an airport ferry from biodiesel to electric power could help carry more marine-based work to the members of St. Catharines, Ontario, Local 303 and beyond.
Former International President Lonnie R. Stephenson's career received a fitting epilogue when the Edison Electric Institute awarded him its rarely issued Thomas A. Edison Legacy Award.
The Michigan Senate took a big step toward restoring workers’ rights in the state on March 14, when it voted to repeal the state’s right-to-work law and restore project labor agreements on public projects.
The job of a foreman may come with a bigger paycheck, but a key downside to the job has been that it hasn’t historically come with an instruction manual.
In September, the IBEW welcomed Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Local 1974 as one of the union’s newest chartered locals, representing hundreds of workers making mission-critical military and GPS products equipment.
IBEW members who work for Alabama Power joined a team of more than 100 volunteers to build a Habitat for Humanity home, a project that was completed in just 10 days.
It's been decades since the Seabrook Nuclear Generating Station went online, providing clean baseload energy to customers in New England. And thanks to the work of IBEW members who navigated a long, complex project, the plant now has decades more to go.
February 2023
February Issue
Kenneth W. Cooper grew up in a house with no indoor plumbing in one of the poorest neighborhoods of a dying Rust Belt town and then joined one of the smallest construction locals in Ohio.
The IBEW has had a strong relationship with its national broadcasting partners for decades. So, when PGA Tour Entertainment employees went looking for a union, they had a good idea where to turn.
It’s that time of year. The nine finalists have been selected for the IBEW’s annual photo contest and, as usual, members have provided us with stunning images.
If it is Super Bowl Sunday, there’s a good chance IBEW members are playing a large role in the day. That will be the case again this year’s game, when the Philadelphia Eagles play the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 12.
January 2023
January Issue
Detroit Local 17’s tree trimming program is one of only two Labor Department-certified apprenticeships in the country, and what makes it even more special is the relationship the local has with the Parnall Correctional Facility in Jackson, Mich.
San Diego voters on Nov. 8 approved Measure D, which overturned a ban on project labor agreements in the city.
The political adage "Elections have consequences" is going to be put on display in Michigan in ways that could benefit IBEW members and all working families, including a potential repeal of the state's so-called right-to-work law.
The twinkle in President Joe Biden's eye and delight on his face said it all: Once again, an IBEW member had knocked his socks off.
When Boston Local 103 Business Manager Lou Antonellis swore in this year’s class of apprentices, he welcomed the most diverse class in the union’s history. And it wasn’t by accident.
Lincoln, Neb., Local 2366 members have been working at Schneider Electric for the past 50 years, but the coronavirus pandemic created an opportunity for the manufacturing plant’s workers to show just how essential they really are. And it helped spur a $70 million investment by the company.
Two IBEW locals in Pennsylvania were awarded state funding exceeding $1 million for their apprenticeship programs.
IBEW members worked around the clock to restore power to Atlantic Canada after Hurricane Fiona battered the region in late September.
IBEW apprentice and journeyman wiremen once again took several top honors at the annual Ideal National Championship, held Nov. 4-5 in Tampa, Fla.
The U.S. Senate on Dec. 21 confirmed retired Tenth District International Vice President Robert Klein as one of six new directors on the governing board of the Tennessee Valley Authority, bringing a labor voice to the electrical utility serving nearly 10 million customers across a wide swath of the South.
For two years, Syracuse, N.Y., Local 43 Business Manager Alan Marzullo was part of a small group working with state and civic leaders to convince Micron Technology to build a new semiconductor facility in their community..