RETIRED — Tenth District International Representative Charles “Charlie” McKinney, who led an organizing effort to join the IBEW and went on to be a leading construction organizer in the Brotherhood, retired effective April 1.
Those who know him best said you won’t find a better example of persistence and perseverance.
“He shows that you can’t ever surrender or quit,” said his son, Donnie McKinney, now the Arkansas state organizing coordinator. “If someone tells you no, it just might not be their time yet. And maybe they’ll say no four or five more times. But at some point, they might say yes.’’
Brother McKinney grew up in west-central Arkansas and worked nonunion construction for 15 years, eventually becoming a superintendent for a company.
By 1996, he and other employees noticed that benefits were being cut or eliminated — so they turned to the IBEW. McKinney led the organizing effort and approached Fort Smith, Ark., Local 700 officials for help.
The local agreed to represent them, and the company’s management then voluntarily agreed to recognize the newly formed unit, avoiding a costly battle for everyone involved. McKinney noted that the 17-person group voted unanimously for union representation.
“One of the things I am most proud of is that all 17 of those guys, except for those who have passed away, are still in the union except for one, and he became a signatory contractor,” he said.
Taking advantage of the increased wages and good benefits, McKinney worked as a traveler and started getting involved in Local 700. He was elected business manager in 2007, and after being reelected once, he joined the Tenth District staff as an organizer in 2011.
“[Y]ou never had to worry about what he was thinking. He would give you his unvarnished opinion.”
– Tenth District International Representative David Stephens
One year later, he became the Arkansas state organizing coordinator — the position now held by his son — and the district organizing coordinator in 2014.
McKinney admits that one of his central tenets of organizing might sound a little odd.
While he appreciates that the IBEW has the best-trained workforce and highest standards in the industry, he wouldn’t mention that often when trying to persuade qualified nonunion workers to join the Brotherhood. He said potential new members often found it to be a little intimidating.
“It makes people not in the union a little scared of us,” he said. “One of the most terrifying things they face is that first day on a union job and they wonder, ‘How am I going to measure up to these people?’ I know that’s how I felt.”
Getting them to understand the better quality of life that awaited them often proved a better tactic, he said. McKinney said he also made it priority to reach out to new members once on the job, making sure they felt comfortable in their new surroundings.
“Most of us are just electricians looking to make a living,” he said.
Fellow Tenth District International Representative David Stephens, another Arkansas native who worked closely with McKinney on organizing for more than two decades, said McKinney “brought a professionalism that we needed to the organizing side.”
“He knew how to approach people and how they looked at things, and that was very important,” Stephens added. “The other thing about Charlie is that you never had to worry about what he was thinking. He would give you his unvarnished opinion.”
McKinney was ahead of the curve when it came to organizing the nonunion worker. The IBEW has increased its attempts to do so in recent years to meet the shortage of skilled electricians as the demand from contractors only increases.
“He always stood up and said, ‘There are good ones over there like there are good ones here,’” Stephens said. “He made sure everyone understood they are the same as we are. They just had not had the same opportunities.”
In 2016, McKinney became a Tenth District international representative and service rep for nine local unions in Arkansas, including some on the professional and industrial side.
“A lot of our smaller locals, the staff are volunteers,” he said. “They’re working a 12-hour shift and then getting on the phone to serve their members. I respected that and tried to help in any way I could.”
McKinney lives in Booneville, Ark., just a few miles from where he grew up. He and his wife, Lesile, purchased a camper and plan to travel extensively. He also plans to play a lot of golf.
In addition to Donnie, he has three daughters and two stepchildren.
“I look back, and one of the smartest things I ever did was walking into that union hall and joining the IBEW,” he said “I heard all the bad stories and everything else about unions. They weren’t true. One of the things I enjoyed most about organizing was seeing the look on someone’s face when they got that first paycheck.”
The officers and staff thank Brother McKinney for his years of service and wish him a long, happy retirement.
