In a sweeping address Monday, newly re-elected International President Lonnie R. Stephenson took stock of the union’s enormous strides since the last convention, saluting growth and change that helped the IBEW meet the unprecedented trials of the pandemic.
“Let me say simply and with great pride: the state of this union is strong,” Stephenson told delegates Monday afternoon. “We are a bigger IBEW. We are a stronger IBEW. And we are a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse IBEW than we were in 2016.
“I’m more optimistic about our future than I’ve ever been in my entire IBEW career.”
He pointed to organizing victories and innovative new outreach and tools that have brought in tens of thousands of new members, including veterans, women, minorities, and LGBTQ workers.
He also cited titanic shifts in the political landscape. “President Biden is the most pro-union president we’ve ever had, full stop,” he said. “And Prime Minister Trudeau has made it clear that he’s on our side as well. We have friends in high places.”
Stephenson took delegates back to the St. Louis convention when, despite beginning to dig out of the 2008 recession, labor was under constant siege from “union-busting on all levels of government. Labor was still stuck playing stuck defense, trying to hold on to what we had.”
Citing Resolution 2 in 2016, reaffirming the IBEW’s commitment to organizing as its highest priority, he said, “From the IO down to the local union level, every one of you took those words to heart.”
He gave a shout out to some of the IBEW’s newest members, baristas at Colectivo Coffee in Wisconsin and the Chicago area who won their hard-fought battle for a union last year, joining Milwaukee Local 494 and Chicago Local 1220. “If you get a chance,” he urged delegates, “stop by and say hello.”
He applauded more traditional organizing wins since 2016 — “Baltimore Gas and Electric; Atlanta Gas Light; JCR Construction, one of the largest nonunion outside line contractors in the Northeast; hundreds of new energy workers in Puerto Rico. The list goes on and on,” he said.
“Despite the challenges of COVID-19, hostile politicians, and our low-road competition, the IBEW is growing at a faster rate than it has in decades.”
He said it’s clear that working people across North America are fed up, from the pandemic to low-wage jobs, to management that treats them as expendable. As evidence, he noted the record number of national organizing drives and the so-called “Great Resignation.”
“The truth is, as one business reporter put it, we’re not seeing a great resignation,” he said. “We’re seeing a great renegotiation. Working people want to change the rules of the game.”
He stressed that for the IBEW, however, organizing is only half the battle. “As we all know, we face a historic shortage of skilled energy workers,” he said. “If we can’t recruit more workers into the electrical industry and the IBEW, the shortages we already see in many areas are only going to get worse.”
He described a variety of new programs and web tools and noted that one of lesson of the pandemic was how effective virtual job fairs can be. “Pre-COVID job fairs were labor- and money-intensive,” he said. “Now we can interview workers and connect them with NECA contractors all online.”
But his overriding message went beyond numbers. Organizing, he said. “isn’t just about building a bigger IBEW. It’s about building a stronger one as well.
“That’s why in 2016, we pledged to make diversity and inclusion a top priority. We pledged to make our culture inclusive for people of color, women, and LGBTQ workers. We still have a long way to go regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion but we are heading in the right direction.”
He cautioned the naysayers, saying that “some loudmouths like to turn diversity into a political shouting point. So, let’s be clear:
“IBEW Strong isn’t about wokeness. It’s about solidarity. It’s about building IBEW power the only way we can: by bringing together workers from all backgrounds to stand together for a better life.”