The IBEW was founded on November 28, 1891 in St. Louis, Missouri by a group of ten delegates representing 286 members employed in the electrical industry.

The IBEW is as old as the commercial use of electricity itself. It is the oldest, as well as the largest, electrical union in the world. As public demand for electricity increased, the number of electrical workers increased accordingly and the surge toward unionism was born out of their desperate needs and deplorable safety conditions.

In the 1890s, the work was hard; the hours long; the pay small. It was common for a lineman to risk his life on the high lines 12 hours a day in any kind of weather, seven days a week, for the meager sum of 15 to 20 cents an hour. Two dollars and 50 cents a day was considered an excellent wage for wiremen, and many men were forced to accept work for $8.00 a week.

Since the humble beginnings of the IBEW in 1891, the IBEW has prided itself on the participation of its members and the democracy afforded to affiliated local unions. Locals establish their own bylaws, general rules and policies in concert with the IBEW constitution, The locals have a full autonomy in the election of their full-time officers, table officers and executive boards and they negotiate collective agreements with their employers. The local unions are encouraged to set their agendas for the betterment of their membership and the IBEW.

Today, the IBEW represents approximately 675,000 members internationally. The first Canadian local - IBEW Local 93 (now Local Union 586) - was organized in Ottawa on December 20, 1899 and to-date, the IBEW has 85 local unions representing 64,000 plus members in every province and territory and is very diverse.

We represent members in many industries, such as utilities, manufacturing, construction, telecommunications, cablevision, radio and television, shipyards, railroads, sound and alarm, appliance repair, motor shops, sign shops, pulp and paper mills, mining and government.

For many years, the IBEW in Canada has been fortunate to have genuinely progressive leadership. John Raymond served as International Vice President from 1944 to 1963. Brother Raymond worked many years as an electrician in the construction industry as a member of Local Union 773 in Windsor, Ontario. He was elected as an officer of that local and appointed as an International Representative of the IBEW before becoming Vice President of the IBEW in Canada.

William Ladyman, a lineman from Local Union 435, followed Brother Raymond as International Vice President and remained in that position until his retirement in 1973. Brother Ladyman, since deceased, is well remembered in the Canadian labour movement as an advocate of fair play and a caretaker of the electrical industry. Following Bill Ladyman,

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, CLC

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