International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

IBEW

Full name	International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Founded	1891
Members	725,000 (2014)
Affiliation	AFL-CIO, CLC
Key people	Lonnie R. Stephenson, president
Office location	Washington, DC
Country	United States, Canada,Panama,Guam and Wake Island
Website	www.ibew.org

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a labor union which represents nearly 750,000 workers and retirees in the electrical industry in the United States, Canada,Panama,Guam and several Caribbean island nations; particularly electricians, or inside wiremen, in the construction industry and linemen and other employees of public utilities. The union also represents some workers in the computer, telecommunications, broadcasting, and other fields related to electrical work. It was founded in 1891, 2 years before George Westinghouse won the electric current wars by lighting up the Chicago worlds fair with AC current, and before homes and businesses in the United States began receiving electricity. It is an international organization, based on the principle of collective bargaining. Its international president is Lonnie R. Stephenson, and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.

The beginnings of the IBEW were in the Electrical Wiremen and Linemen's Union No. 5221, founded in St. Louis, Missouri in 1890. By 1891, after sufficient interest was shown in a national union, a convention was held on November 21, 1891 in St. Louis. At the convention, the IBEW, then known as the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (NBEW), was officially formed. The American Federation of Labor gave the NBEW a charter as an AFL affiliate on December 7, 1891. The union's official journal, The Electrical Worker, was first published on January 15, 1893, and has been published ever since. At the 1899 convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the union's name was officially changed to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

...
Wikipedia