Leaders from every part of the IBEW gathered in Atlanta recently to renew their commitment to organizing every worker in the electrical industry during the annual Membership Development conference.

“Because of your hard work, your commitment and your determination, the IBEW is bigger, stronger and more powerful than it has been in generations,” International President Kenneth W. Cooper said to the gathering, after announcing that the union had added more than 30,000 new members over the past year.

“For the first time since 1991, IBEW membership has climbed above 900,000,” he said. “That’s not just growth. That’s momentum.”

Cooper noted that there are practically countless organizing opportunities in every branch of the IBEW.

“Seizing those opportunities will take every local union and every member stepping up and doing their part,” he said. “Because if we’re not doing this work, someone else is.”

To wrap up the conference, awards were presented to IBEW activists and locals that have excelled at growing the union’s ranks and market share across North America.

Business Manager of the Year

Van Mumford, Wilmington, N.C., Local 495

Local Union Organizer of the Year

Steven Perez, Phoenix Local 640

Rank & File Organizer of the Year

Brody Rutledge, Newark, Ohio, Local 1105