The History of IBEW
The Early Years
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is as old as the commercial use of electricity itself. It is the oldest, as well as the largest, electrical union in the world.
Opportunity Grows
Various histories of labor record no attempts to organize electrical workers during the experimental days of electricity. In 1844 the first telegraph wires were strung between Washington and Baltimore carrying that famous message of Samuel Morse, ``What hath God wrought?" This was the first electrical accomplishment of commercial importance. It changed the whole aspect of electricity, which most people believed to be an interesting but dangerous experiment. In 1848 the first telegraph station was built in Chicago. By 1861 a web of telegraph lines crisscrossed the United States, and in 1866 the transatlantic cable was laid. Linemen to string the wires became a necessity, and young men flocked eagerly to enter this new and exciting profession.
Early Sign of Unity
With Edison's invention of the first successful incandescent lamp in 1879, the general public became aware of the possibilities of electricity. The electric power and light industry was established with the construction of the Pearl Street Generating Station in New York in 1882. Where once only a few intrepid linemen handled electricity for a thrill, many now appeared on the scene, and wiremen, too, seeking a life's work. As public demand for electricity increased, the number of electrical workers increased accordingly. The surge toward unionism was born out of their desperate needs and deplorable safety conditions.
Beginning in 1870 many small, weak unions organized, then disappeared. However, by 1880 enough telegraph linemen had organized to form their own local assembly and affiliate with the Knights of Labor. A few more locals soon organized, and a district council was formed. In 1883 this council called a general strike against the telegraph companies. The strike failed and broke up the first known attempt to organize electrical workers. The urge to unite was strong, however; and another attempt was made in 1884 this time with a secret organization known as the United Order of Linemen. Headquarters for this union was in Denver, and the group attained considerable success in the western part of the United States.