Virginia Apprentices Get Hands-On History Lesson at IBEW Museum

November 20, 2007

Field trips to Washington, D.C., aren’t usually on the agenda for most IBEW apprentices, but in November, more than a dozen third-year apprentices from Richmond, Va., Local 666 took a break from the classroom and visited the IBEW’s International Office.

Instructor Bill Rusher, far right, and apprentices from
Richmond, Va. Local 666 visit the IBEW International Office.

The apprentices were given a full tour of the building, which included visits to the roof deck with its view of the U.S. Capitol and Washington Monument. But the highlight of the tour was a visit to the IBEW museum.

Bill Rusher, an instructor at the Richmond Electricians’ Joint Apprenticeship and Training Center, decided that giving apprentices the opportunity to visit the museum and see the union’s history first hand would have more of an impact than just talking
about it. 

“It gives a good appreciation of where we have come from and where we are going,” Rusher said.

The museum, which opened last year, presents an interactive history of the IBEW from its founding until today. Apprentices got the opportunity to study the development of the electrical industry over the last century through displays of equipment used by members going back to the 1890’s. They also watched a documentary that chronicled the union’s 110-year history.

The tour gave Local 666 apprentice TaJuan Wilkins a stronger appreciation of the IBEW and the struggles that made the Brotherhood what it is today. “I believe everyone in the apprenticeship or even those already in the trade should come through here,” he said.

 “It’s a lot different in actually seeing (the history) than just reading about it in books,” said apprentice John Doherty.

For Gregg Tomes, a Marine Corps veteran who joined the IBEW through the Helmets to Hardhats program, the tour gave him a new commitment to the Brotherhood. “Thank you for preserving this history,” he said. “We need to know it if we want the union to have a strong future.”

Rusher hopes to make the museum a required stop for all apprentices at the Richmond training center.