The IBEW represents approximately 887,000 active members and retirees who work in a wide variety of fields, including utilities, construction, telecommunications, broadcasting, manufacturing, railroads and government.
Since the union’s founding in 1891, the IBEW members have been on the front lines powering the future of North America’s electrified economy, embracing craftsmanship and enabling new technologies to reach homes, businesses and industries every day.
With members in both the United States and Canada, the IBEW stands out among North America’s unions as one of the largest in size and because it represents members across such a broad range of skilled occupations.
IBEW members are safer and stronger at work because of the power of collectively bargained contracts, industry-leading training and a commitment to excellence on and off the job.
Cooper began his career in 1985 at Local Union 688 in Mansfield, Ohio, where he served a four-year apprenticeship to become a journeyman wireman. He served many roles at his local union, including steward, vice president, president, chairman trustee for the Pension Fund, chairman trustee for the Annuity, and chairman of trustees for the Health and Welfare Fund. In 1993 he was elected business manager.
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The son of a St. Louis Local 1 IBEW wireman, Noble got his first IBEW job in 1986 as a material handler. After graduating from ITT Technical Institute, he joined West Frankfort, Ill., Local 702 as combination person for Contel Telephone. He then went on to serve a five-year apprenticeship.
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The 22 departments of the International Office serve the IBEW’s members and retirees and work at the direction of the international officers. Whether they’re working in one of the IBEW’s core branch departments, managing member records, organizing new workers, servicing local unions or tracking vital legislation, the employees of the International Office work for you, the membership. Click below to find out how to contact the appropriate department or contact your local union or district office for help.
The IBEW Code of Excellence embodies our unwavering commitment to the highest standards in the electrical industry. Rooted in the values of Safety, Professionalism, Accountability, Relationships, and Quality (SPARQ), it ensures superior workmanship, promoting safety, professionalism, and excellence on every job.
In its simplest form, the IBEW is a collection of individuals working together to make the workplace better. And there’s a place for everyone within this large and diverse union. With IBEW Strong, we rededicate ourselves to increased diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging within our ranks. The union principles of collective action for collective good, fair treatment and a voice for all workers are core to who we are as IBEW members, and IBEW Strong seeks to translate those beliefs into real action. With RENEW/NextGen, we seek to foster the IBEW’s leaders of tomorrow. And with the Electrical Workers’ Minority Caucus, women’s and veterans’ committees, we ensure that every IBEW member can engage with like-minded sisters and brothers to increase belonging and promote mentorship in the trades.
Explore the IBEW’s rich 130-year history and plan a visit to our museum in Washington, D.C., or to our birthplace in St. Louis, Missouri. See how the struggles and ideals of our union’s founders influence the IBEW that exists today.
Kenneth W. Cooper has served as IBEW International President since 2023. A member of the IBEW for more than 40 years, he got his start in the union as an apprentice with Local 688 in Mansfield, Ohio.
He served in many roles in his local union, including steward, vice president, and president, before being elected business manager in 1993.
Under his leadership, Local 688 prospered, construction market share grew, and organizing increased, including a 200-person manufacturing facility.
In 2002, Cooper relocated to Las Vegas, where he served as assistant business manager of Local 396. There, he helped organize five units at Nevada Power Company and a new power-generating plant in Apex.
Four years later, President Edwin D. Hill appointed him as an international representative for the IBEW’s Fourth District, which covers Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
In 2011, President Hill recognized his leadership and recommended him to serve as Fourth District International Vice President.
Delegates to the 38th International Convention elected him to a full term, and he was re-elected in 2016 at the 39th International Convention in St. Louis.
A year later, thanks to his persistence and leadership, the IBEW celebrated one of its biggest organizing wins when more than 1,400 Baltimore Gas and Electric utility workers voted to join the Brotherhood.
International President Lonnie R. Stephenson invited Cooper to join him as International Secretary-Treasurer in 2017, and delegates overwhelmingly elected him to a full term in 2022.
Upon Stephenson’s retirement in 2023, members of the International Executive Council supported Cooper as the IBEW’s next International President.
During his tenure, the IBEW has broken organizing records, recruiting tens of thousands of electrical workers each year, growing at rates not seen in more than 50 years.
He has also enhanced the IBEW’s voice in Washington and state capitals across the nation.
In 2024, he helped win upgraded pension benefits for members and created the first new IBEW retirement benefit since 1946.
Cooper serves on the Executive Committee of the AFL-CIO and the Governing Board of Presidents for North America’s Building Trades Unions.
He and his wife, Gina, have three daughters and two sons.
IBEW International Secretary-Treasurer Paul A. Noble’s IBEW career began in 1986, working as a material handler out of St. Louis Local 1 in 1986.
He then joined West Frankfort, Ill. Local 702, working for Contel Telephone, before being accepted into the local’s 5-year Inside Wireman apprenticeship program.
Noble served as organizer, business representative, and training instructor before becoming business manager in 2006.
International President Edwin D. Hill appointed Noble as an international representative in the Sixth District – which covers Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota – in 2010, where he served as Illinois state political coordinator.
He helped lead two historic pro-worker and pro-jobs wins: the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which includes some of the strongest pro-worker provisions for the energy industry in the nation, and the Workers’ Rights Amendment, which enshrines collective bargaining rights in the state constitution.
In 2022, International President Lonnie R. Stephenson appointed him Sixth District Vice President, and he was elected to the position by delegates to the 40th International Convention in Chicago.
The following year, he was appointed International Secretary Treasurer.
In his current role, Noble helps lead the IBEW’s health and benefits programs, which have experienced steady growth and rank among the strongest in the electrical industry.
In 2024, working with International President Kenneth Cooper, he helped shepherd the first NEBF pension increases for members in two decades and create the first new pension benefit since 1946, the NEIB.
Under his fiscal leadership, the IBEW has grown even stronger as one of the most financially stable and influential unions in the labor movement.
A lifelong resident of Southern Illinois, he and his wife, Gina, have two daughters and two grandchildren.