Henry Miller — St. Louis, Missouri
Educational Resource
IBEW Heritage
The electrical trade was not handed dignity. Workers organized for it. This page preserves the founding spirit: skill, safety, solidarity, brotherhood, sisterhood, and the duty to organize all.
OurLocal is an independent grassroots education and communication platform. This page is educational only. It is not an official IBEW publication, not a hall publication, and not a substitute for official union rules, local bylaws, contracts, dispatch/referral procedures, grievance procedures, legal counsel, or hall guidance.
Organize All
The heart of IBEW unionism is organizing workers in the electrical industry into local unions so workers can stand together instead of bargaining alone.
Organize All.
The Founding
In 1891, ten electrical workers gathered in St. Louis, Missouri. They were building a brotherhood in a trade where injury, death, low pay, instability, and employer power were daily facts. They chose organization over isolation.
Founding Fathers
These are the ten delegates commonly credited as the founding fathers of the Brotherhood at the first convention.
J. T. Kelly — St. Louis, Missouri
W. Hedden — St. Louis, Missouri
C. J. Sutter — Duluth, Minnesota
M. Dorsey — a major Midwest trade community, Wisconsin
T. J. Finnell — Chicago, Illinois
E. Hartung — Indianapolis, Indiana
F. Heizleman — Toledo, Ohio
Joseph Berlowitz — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
H. Fisher — Evansville, Indiana
Timeline
1891
Ten electrical workers met in St. Louis to form the first national union for electrical workers. Their goal was advancement, safety, skill, dignity, and mutual protection in a dangerous new trade.
1891
The first convention adopted the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers name, drafted early laws and ritual, and established the fist-and-lightning identity that still carries deep trade meaning.
1899
With Canadian locals joining the movement, the National Brotherhood became the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Today
The IBEW represents workers and retirees across construction, utility, telecommunications, broadcasting, manufacturing, railroad, government, and other electrical-industry work.
Founding Principles
- Organize all workers in the electrical industry.
- Promote safe and reasonable methods of work.
- Cultivate friendship and solidarity among workers.
- Settle disputes through fair process where possible.
- Assist each other in sickness, distress, unemployment, and hardship.
- Secure fair employment, fair hours, fair pay, and a higher standard of living.
- Elevate the moral, intellectual, and social conditions of members, families, and dependents.
Respect the Hall
Good unionism strengthens locals. It does not bypass halls, rewrite contracts, impersonate officers, interfere with dispatch/referral rules, expose private member data, or turn rumor into authority.