Santa Barbara County
#413 Member's Resources
About the IBEW
Over one hundred years ago, in 1891, ten men met above Stolley's Dance Hall in St. Louis in hopes of bringing a better
life to those in the electrical trade. Then, apprenticeship training was unheard of and safety consisted of trial and
error and hoping for the best. Those ten men later became the founders of the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
(NBEW), which became the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) in 1899 when jurisdiction extended to
include Canada
Today, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) represents approximately 725,000 members 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.
Inside and Residential Wiremen install the electrical systems in residential, commercial and industrial buildings. It requires five years of apprenticeship and on the job training for someone to call themselves an IBEW Wireman, insuring that your home, office or workplace is a safer place to be when the work has been "union installed." Our members have been trained to read blueprints and to install and service all types of electrical equipment in a safe, workman like manner.
In the Utility Industry, the IBEW represents linemen, groundmen, repairmen, machine operators, watch engineers, boiler operators, turbine operators, switchboard operators and dispatchers. And of course there are the radio dispatchers, meter installers, testers, clerical workers, cable splicers and welders; all doing their job so that we may have electricity in our homes.
