IBEW and Local History
The objectives of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are:
- Organize all workers in the entire electrical industry in the United States and Canada, including all those in public utilities and electrical manufacturing, into local unions.
- Promote reasonable methods of work.
- Cultivate feelings of friendship among those of our industry.
- Settle all disputes between employers and employees by arbitration (if possible).
- Assist each other in sickness or distress.
- Secure employment.
- Reduce the hours of daily labor.
- Secure adequate pay for our work.
- Seek a higher and higher standard of living.
- Seek security for the individual.
- By legal and proper means to elevate the moral, intellectual and social conditions of our members, their families and dependents, in the interest of a higher standard of citizenship.
We are the INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS!
The IBEW is an organization that relies on members’ support and involvement for strength. The more active members are, the stronger the union is. It is a union with a clear record of dedication to the principles of fairness and dignity at the workplace. It is the largest, strongest and oldest union devoted to electrical workers. The IBEW represents approximately 860,000 active members who work in a wide variety of fields, including utilities, construction, telecommunications, broadcasting, manufacturing, railroads and government.
Since the union’s founding in 1891, the IBEW members have been on the front lines powering the future of North America’s electrified economy, embracing craftsmanship and enabling new technologies to reach homes, businesses and industries every day. With members in both the United States and Canada, the IBEW stands out among North America’s unions as one of the largest in size and because it represents members across such a broad range of skilled occupations. IBEW members are safer and stronger at work because of the power of collectively bargained contracts, industry-leading training and a commitment to excellence on and off the job. As union members, we bargain collectively with our employers over wages, benefits, and rights. Most of us have very limited bargaining power as one person, but as a group, we are strong. And, with a good negotiated contract, we have legal protections we would not have otherwise.
The ten men from five cities who met above Stolley’s Dance Hall in St. Louis in 1891 had one objective: to make life better for themselves, their families and those around them. They and those who continued their work have made life better for themselves and for hundreds of thousands of workers like you. If we want to continue to enjoy the benefits of union representation, we must work toward increasing our numbers. A strong union movement is one of the major factors in protecting our future. It enables us to negotiate for and win good wages, benefits, and working conditions. The IBEW is committed not only to preserving the gains fought for by our ancestors in the labor movement, but continually improving the quality of life for all workers.
Local Union 995
When the Baton Rouge Electric Company built a power plant on the corner of 15th and Government streets in 1916, it almost instantly changed Baton Rouge from a small, rural town into a prosperous industrial city bolstered by the Mississippi River. Not only did the plant provide electricity to thousands of residents for the first time ever, it also helped accelerate the growth and modernization of the capital of Louisiana. But at that time – and for several years before and after – the City of Baton Rouge was anything but a union town, as organized labor was essentially nonexistent and the “plantation mentality of big business” still reigned. In fact, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (I.B.E.W.) had chartered Local No. 315 in the city on June 1, 1904, to serve its electrical workers, but the local was defunct by March 1908.
More than a decade later, the I.B.E.W. established what is believed to be the first enduring local union in the city after a “hardy group of 22 electrical workers” filed an application with the I.B.E.W., along with the $3 charter fee and $2 initiation fees for each member, and the union chartered them as Local No. 995 on July 28, 1919. Of those initial charter members, 15 were electricians, three were engineers, two were oilers and two were linemen. Almost immediately, the new local made a significant impact on the city’s electrical industry. Just six months after it was established, the city’s electricians were “100 percent” organized and the local had already gained a pay scale of 90 cents per hour and “closed” shop conditions by which electrical contractors would only hire Local 995’s union members.
Local 995 turned 100 years old in 2019, its work picture and membership have been on a slow incline over the previous couple of years in both the inside and outside jurisdictions. We are one of several “Inside” halls in the state covering only 10 parishes including: St. Landry, Pointe Coupee, Iberville, West and East Feliciana, St. Helena, Livingston, Ascension, West and East Baton Rouge, but we cover the whole state as the “Outside” union representative.
The local’s inside membership has been making headway into the industrial market and winning work in chemical plants it had been virtually locked out of for decades. The local’s inside contractors are now working in plants owned by Dow, Shintech, Lion Copolymer and KTM Polymer.
Within its outside jurisdiction, Local 995 has been making significant progress in the substation market, with several contractors being awarded work all over the state with Entergy, energy cooperatives and industrial-facility owners. The local also has multiple contractors working distribution and transmission projects with Entergy and some co-ops.
Now taking stock of its future as its membership stands over 800 electrical workers strong, the local reflects on words from its 50th Anniversary Celebration program from 1969, whose intended implications continue to hold significance to this day: “Glancing ahead, let’s pause for a moment to look at our industry – the electrical industry. Through electronics, an entire new world has been opened to electrical workers. The transistor, although only approximately 20 years of age, has made possible entire new products and industries. Atomic power, missiles and other electronic marvels of our present-day society forecast even greater changes in our rapidly-changing industry in the years ahead. This great acceleration in technological progress and the ever-mounting demands for both increased knowledge and greater skill, have a very special significance for I.B.E.W. members and make it imperative that our present-day members seize every opportunity to acquire both additional training and knowledge. This acceleration also reveals most vividly the need for I.B.E.W. craftsmen to prepare themselves for new methods, new materials and new jobs which have replaced, are now replacing and will continue to replace the old and obsolete – whether it be men or materials.”
“IBEW Local Union 995 was built by returning veterans from the First World War and has or has had members who served in every American war since. This local was ingrained with a warrior spirit since inception and has proven to be a survivor in the darkest of times. For 100 years, we have done our part for our nation, state, community and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.Everything we have today is due to the courage and conviction of our forebears and the traditions passed down for generations. We would be remiss to not express gratitude to the sisters and brothers who are currently carrying the mantle of Local 995 each day and doing the hard work to keep this Brotherhood relevant. It matters now more than ever that each and every one of us do our part every day to insure a successful future for the next generation. The I.B.E.W. has proven, time and again, that we are the brightest and most productive the electrical industry has to offer; and not just in Baton Rouge. Members of Local 995 have made a positive mark in almost every local union across this country.”
– B.M. Jason Dedon
Click below to read the full article on Local 995’s 100 year history.
