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EW Category: My IBEW Story

Rachel Cannon, apprentice wireman, Salem, Ore., Local 280

During the Great Recession, I decided to go to graduate school because I couldn’t find a job. I’d applied to many entry-level jobs after getting my bachelor’s degree, but I didn’t get any of them. So I took out loans for a graduate degree in museum studies. 

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October 24, 2025

Isaac Arnold, apprentice wireman, Youngstown, Ohio, Local 64

“When I was just out of high school, I worked at a grocery store for about a year. I’d applied for the apprenticeship and didn’t get in on my first try. They were looking for people with experience, but after the interview, the Local 64 president at the time gave me a call and said there was a job as a cable puller doing low-voltage work with the union.

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October 1, 2025

Jessi Webster, journeyman wireman, foreman, Salt Lake City Local 354

“In 2016, I was bartending, and I had a couple of regulars who would come in for lunch. I always had their orders ready as they walked in the door. One of them asked me if I’d ever thought of doing something else. Her name was Jen Bingman, and she turned out to be an instructor at the JATC.

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September 1, 2025

Dalton Thompson, apprentice wireman, Lansing, Mich., Local 665

“I did electrical work before I joined the Army. It was commercial industrial nonunion work, and I did that for

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August 1, 2025

John Nyongesa, journeyman wireman Philadelphia Local 98

“I was born and raised in Kenya. In 2011, I came to the U.S. through the green card lottery. I

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July 1, 2025

Marco Zarate, journeyman wireman Los Angeles Local 11

“I always wanted to be part of a union. After working as a foreman in concrete construction, I started work

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June 1, 2025
Edna Michelle Wright, journeyman wireman Montgomery, Ala., Local 443

Edna Michelle Wright, journeyman wireman, Montgomery, Ala., Local 443

“My father was an IBEW member, and I remember all the picnics, Christmas parties with the union renting out an

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May 1, 2025

Tamer Kirac, journeyman marine electrician, Seattle Local 46

“I started the electrical trade at Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Co. on Harbor Island in Seattle, working in the evenings

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April 1, 2025

About the Electrical Worker

The Electrical Worker was the name of the first official publication of the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in 1893 (the NBEW became the IBEW in 1899 with the expansion of the union into Canada). The name and format of the publication have changed over the years. This newspaper is the official publication of the IBEW and seeks to capture the courage and spirit that motivated the founders of the Brotherhood and continue to inspire the union’s members today. The masthead of this newspaper is an adaptation of that of the first edition in 1893.

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About the IBEW

The IBEW represents approximately 860,000 active members and retirees who work in a wide variety of fields, including utilities, construction, telecommunications, broadcasting, manufacturing, railroads and government. The IBEW has members in both the United States and Canada and stands out among the American unions in the AFL-CIO because it is among the largest and has members in so many skilled occupations.

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