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Thank you for taking the time to express interest in helping all of our IBEW Members through this grassroots initiative. It is our right as mentioned in LMRDA Title 1 Members Bill of Rights, to hold meetings and disperse literature without interference of union officials, this is a nonprofit setup to further the prosperity of all IBEW members as mentioned in the oath we all took.

“I ______________ , in the presence of members of the international brotherhood of electrical workers, promise and agree to conform to and abide by the Constitution and laws of the I.B.E.W. and its local unions. I will further the purposes for which the I.B.E.W. is instituted. I will bear true allegiance to it and will not sacrifice its interests in any manner.”

That being said lets look at our I.B.E.W. Preamble:

To 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. To promote reasonable methods of work; to cultivate feelings of friendship among those of our industry; to settle all disputes between employers and employees by arbitration (if possible); to assist each other in sickness or distress; to secure employment; to reduce the hours of daily labor; to secure adequate pay for our work; to seek a higher and higher standard of living; to seek security for the individual; and, 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.

Now, we would have to say, those underlined portions do not seem to be completely met. We’d further say that the later puts our families in distress at times, by not receiving full benefits of contracts we work under when working off of any book other than Book 1, home local. 

We can reasonably argue that the union halls we work out of are misrepresenting the prevailing wage scale and benefits that they paid out to all members working under said agreement. Our objective is to get all monies due to us per the contract we work under.

Our objective can be met in a number of ways :

  • Reciprocity of all wages and benefits, by changing the ERTS language and setting up a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) or a Health Savings Account (HSA) in your home local for those lost benefits to be paid into.
  • The I.B.EW. as a whole moves to a universal H&W system, which would further drive down costs to the contractors and provide better coverage for plan participants.
  • There are many options that could resolve this issue and our objective is to find one that works best for all parties involved.  
  • We are just getting started in this endeavor and the road is long. We need the support of all rank and file members to join this movement. Your task can be simple or as involved as you would like. The simplest thing we can all do is to start having this conversation openly and get more people involved.
  • On this site you will be introduced to a few options that have forgone us. Please take the time to read and share this site with your family and our Brotherhood.

See the donate button? That’s for Paypal Donations which are desperately needed to help make change. We are rank and file members just like you!