DC -- Chinatown -- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers HQ (900 7th St NW) -- Museum -- DC LaborFest Tour:
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Description of Pictures: A very special guided tour of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) museum. The IBEW museum presents an interactive history of the IBEW from its founding until today, tracing the fascinating development of the electrical industry over the last century through displays of equipment used by members going back to the 1890’s, including a collection of lightbulbs spanning more than a century.
The tour will be led by IBEW Museum Curator Curtis Bateman.
Same Event: Wait! There's more! Because I took too many pictures, photos from this event were divided among the following pages:
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2016_DC_IBEW: DC -- Chinatown -- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers HQ (900 7th St NW) -- DC LaborFest Tour (45 photos from 2016)
2016_DC_IBEW_Museum: DC -- Chinatown -- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers HQ (900 7th St NW) -- Museum -- DC LaborFest Tour (81 photos from 2016)
2016_DC_IBEW_Vw: DC -- Chinatown -- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers HQ (900 7th St NW) -- Views from building (61 photos from 2016)
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IBEWMU_160511_005.JPG: Lineman, ca. 1933
"Takin' up slack." -- This figure depicts a journeyman lineman with the tools and equipment used in the 1930s to adjust the slack in a high voltage power line. Some of these tools are still used today. The dangers of line work motivated the formation of the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in 1891. Today's linemen still need the same basic skills mastered by the first members of their union.
IBEWMU_160511_017.JPG: History of the IBEW
IBEWMU_160511_021.JPG: 1879-2006
The Dream is Born:
In 1890, a group of St. Louis electrical workers organize and affiliate with the American Federation of Labor (AFL) as Federal Labor Union 5221. In January 1891, Henry Miller is elected the second president of the local. He knows that electrical workers will only improve their lives through a national organization. Using his own funds and "riding the rails," Miller organizes other locals. Ten delegates, mostly linemen from eight small to medium-sided Midwestern cities, convene on November 21, 1891, in St. Louis. The convention adopts a constitution, a name, an emblem and a dues structure. The National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is born. Miller is elected Grand President and hits the organizing trail in a world entering a new era of technological advancement.
IBEWMU_160511_026.JPG: The Founding
"I am more pleased than it is possible for me to give expression that your Nat. organization has been brought into existence."
-- Samuel Gompers to J.T. Kelly, 1891
In 1891, ten electrical worker delegates met in St. Louis determined to improve the lives of those working at a new and dangerous craft -- the electrical trade. Trade unionism was still in its early stages, but these founders envisioned a strong national organization built on a widespread base of locals. The union they formed, the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, countered instability in the industry and created a culture of safety, skill improvement and solidarity that sustained them in the difficult early years and lasts to this day.
IBEWMU_160511_040.JPG: Survival and Success
"When the very life of the organization depended on it... I mortgaged my household effects and building association stock to meet the checks and get out the Journal."
-- J.T. Kelly, 1894
Employer opposition, a tough economy and conflicting internal philosophies of trade unionism were among the major obstacles the Brotherhood faced in its first three decades. The NBEW grew in membership and became the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers with expansion into Canada, but a rift was brewing. President Frank J. McNulty's emphasis on craft unionism was at odds with Vice President James Reid's vision of industrial organizing. Reid's faction split from the Brotherhood in 1908, a division that took more than five years to settle and longer to heal. By 1917, the reunited union helped support the "Great War for Democracy" by providing skilled manpower at home and troops "over there."
IBEWMU_160511_044.JPG: How Our Boys are Engaged
IBEWMU_160511_048.JPG: Central Office Relay Test Set:
Introduced in 1927 by Western Electric; this sophisticated set used for quickly locating faulty relays in PBX equipment.
IBEWMU_160511_054.JPG: WWI Magneto Field Telephone
WWII Magneto Field Telephone
IBEWMU_160511_057.JPG: Challenges and Change
"Progress in industry demands a mutuality of confidence between employer, employees and the buyer, for without our industry we have no jobs, and without jobs we have decay."
-- The Journal of the Electrical Workers and Operators, January 1931
After World War I, IBEW leaders sought to safeguard wartime gains through increased cooperation with electrical contractors and employers. The "open shop" movement and the Great Depression shattered any new sense of stability. Membership dropped from 121,000 in 1919 to less than 50,000 by 1933. The onset of World War II saw union ranks swell to meet the demands of the industrial boom. More than 35,000 IBEW members served in the armed forces during the war.
IBEWMU_160511_064.JPG: Thomson Watthour Meter
IBEWMU_160511_070.JPG: Panama Canal Company Plaque
IBEWMU_160511_079.JPG: A Better Life
"We can take pride in how far we have come, but there is no time to rest on our laurels."
-- President Gordon Freeman, 1966
As the United States and Canada grew and prospered in the postwar years, so did the IBEW. While already dominating the construction market, the IBEW also carried out a massive effort to organize workers in the fast-growing utility, manufacturing and telephone industries. Postwar struggles with anti-labor legislation made clear the need for greater involvement in the political process. Newfound economic security allowed the Brotherhood to create a larger administrative structure to serve the needs of its members. The new headquarters built in 1971 was by 1972 home to a union one million strong.
IBEWMU_160511_086.JPG: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
"Organized labor is here because we are wanted, because we are needed, and because a free democratic society cannot exist without a free trade union movement. And we are here to stay."
-- President Charles Pillard, 1982
Trouble came in the 1970s with an energy crunch, runaway inflation and the decline of North America's industrial base. By the 1980s, large employers and conservative ideologues were dominating political and social life while attacking the labor movement. Though these factors took a toll on membership, the IBEW fought back with aggressive organizing strategies and a renewed commitment to skills training. Today's IBEW remains dedicated to the goals set by the founders: safety, excellence in the craft and social justice.
IBEWMU_160511_090.JPG: 1911 No. 317 Rural Magneto Party Line:
This phone as a "five bar," 80-volt, alternating current, crank-powered ringing system for up to 40 phones over a distance of 15 miles. These phones would all be on a two-wire party line and connected to a central station like the one displayed in the adjacent telephone operator scene. Each circuit would have a code for each phone, and there was no need to go through the operator to call a phone on your circuit. Each phone is powered by three 1.5 volt batteries.
IBEWMU_160511_101.JPG: Local Unions and Membership
IBEWMU_160511_104.JPG: Local Unions
"No. 105 feels the responsibility which is placed upon it ... but we expect by constantly keeping the seed... well-watered... it shall spring up and its branches reach from the Atlantic to the Pacific."
-- James Donaldson, LU 105, The Electrical Worker, April 1900
In the nineteenth century, the isolated successes of electrical worker local unions inspired Henry Miller's vision of a national trade union. Within one year of the Brotherhood's founding, the early leaders had brought 45 local unions under its banner; today, that number stands are more than 900. As in the early days, IBEW local unions have a great deal of autonomy to address conditions in their communities and jurisdictions, but the bond of Brotherhood unites them in strength and solidarity.
IBEWMU_160511_111.JPG: Membership Ballot BOx:
From LU 124, Kansas City, Missouri; first NBEW Constitution mandated secret membership voting on new applicants; four black balls would reject; by 1905 a majority of black balls required to reject.
IBEWMU_160511_119.JPG: The Death of Henry Miller
Today, the IBEW provides for the perpetual care of Miller's grave site in Washington's Glenwood Cemetery. This photo shows IBEW officers and staff at a 1976 wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of Miller's death.
Henry Miller, one of the founders of the IBEW, died as a result of a work-related accident in an industry that was much more dangerous than it is today. After gathering seven AFL local unions into the NBEW, serving as the first Grand President for two terms and Grand Organizer for part of a term, Miller returned to work with the tools as a lineman. At 11:30 at night on July 10, 1896, toward the end of a long day's work tracing a lighting circuit, Miller received an electrical shock. He fell headlong from the ladder, striking his partner on the way down. Miller recieved [sic] doctor's care and was taken back to his room in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC. At about 4:30 in the morning of July 11, he died. Henry Miller was 38 years old.
IBEWMU_160511_128.JPG: This building where Miller died still stands today at 3216 M Street, NW, in Washington DC.
IBEWMU_160511_140.JPG: Union Culture:
"Omaha's future is bright, not because we are overrun with work, but from a good, true union strongpoint."
-- Local 22 submission to The Electrical Worker, May 1900
The preamble of the first IBEW Constitution vowed "to cultivate feelings of friendship among those in our industry." From the early days of the Brotherhood to the present, the local union has been more than a vehicle for collective bargaining and organizing; it offers comaraderie and a rich social life as well. Since 1891, members have celebrated the fellowship of honest labor through local functions and community service.
IBEWMU_160511_146.JPG: Dangers and Handships
"We are up against social forces that prize the individual over the community. We live in a society where the myth of the rugged individual has supplanted the ideal of collective action. We live in an age that glorifies technology over craftsmanship."
-- President John Barry, 1996 IBEW Convention
IBEW members have never taken working conditions or workers' rights for granted. Safety was a prime factor behind the founding of the Brotherhood, and union initiatives have dramatically improved conditions in the often dangerous world of the electrical worker. So too, the fight for respect and dignity of the workplace is never ending. Local unions are resolute and unified when negotiating with employers and have taken to the picket lines when necessary to win decent wages, benefits and working conditions. These struggles have yielded hope and opportunity to generations of IBEW members, even in the face of political and corporate opposition.
IBEWMU_160511_152.JPG: The Reid-Murphy SPlit:
The "Reid-Murphy Split" marked a painful chapter in IBEW's history. From 1908 through 1912, an internal feud effectively split the union and forced members to choose sides. One side was led by Frank McNulty, an inside wireman who was elected Grand President in 1905. The other side was led by Jim Reid, District Grand Vice President, who convened a special convention in 1908 to remove McNulty from office and install himself in his place. When neither group recognized the legitimacy of the other, the IBEW began a 4-year struggle of confusion and animosity.
IBEWMU_160511_158.JPG: Origins:
The origins of the split arose from ideology. McNulty, supported by inside wiremen, pushed for steep membership fees and tough examinations. He favored using diplomacy and strategic strikes to secure the IBEW's influence. Reid, supported by linemen who struggled with organizing, fought for low initiation fees and Traveling Cards. He also advocated for aggressive general strikes to show the IBEW's strength. These ideologies collided in 1906 during a strike led by Reid against Bell Telephone. When McNulty refused to use death benefit funds to support the strike and instead negotiated with Bell, Reid accused him of favoring the dead over the living.
No longer confident in IBEW's leadership, in 1908, Rein joined with fellow lineman James Murphy to organize a special convention in St. Louis. The delegates votes to remove IBEW's executive officers and elected Reid and Murphy as Grand President and Secretary. Deemed "secessionists" by McNulty, the Reid-Murphy faction saw themselves as the true IBEW.
IBEWMU_160511_161.JPG: Conclusion:
The split resulted in 4 years of bitter internal struggle. During that time, both factions printed their own versions of The Electrical Worker and held conventions in 1911 in the same city as the same time. Members were forced to divide their allegiance. Samuel Gompers, founder and President of the AFL, offered to help through mediation. Frustrated by Reid's refusal to compromise, he eventually sided with McNulty in 1910.
An end to the struggle came through court action. In 1912, a lawsuit was filed against Reid on the grounds that the 1908 convention was illegitimate. According to the IBEW Constitution, an insufficient number of local unions were present to cast the votes to remove McNulty. This allegation had haunted the secessionists since the convention. When Judge Phillips favored McNulty, rebel local unions immediately began to re-affiliate. Reid appealed the case to the Ohio Supreme Court in 1913, but it resulted in the same ruling. The secession movement was officially over.
McNulty immediately published a peace accord, inviting all members and local unions to rejoin with no repercussions. More than a hundred local unions ultimately returned, and the IBEW was once again one union of hearts and minds.
IBEWMU_160511_176.JPG: Training at the Local Level
"Skill, knowledge and attitude are the main focus in all [our] training programs."
-- NJATC Mission Statement
Training has been a common thread running through the history of the IBEW. With roots in the early 20th century, the apprenticeship program in the construction branch today produces world-class craftsmen and women capable of meeting the technological demands of the modern industry. Through collective bargaining, the Brotherhood has also worked with employers in all branches to provide skills training and educational opportunities for all members, with a commitment to safety and professionalism.
IBEWMU_160511_183.JPG: The Members:
"Tell the nonunion electrical worker... about the benefits you have derived through your affiliation with the Brotherhood."
-- The Journal of the Electrical Workers and Operators editorial, 1916
The IBEW, spanning a continent and beyond, is embodied in the face and story of each member. Our of the dedication of many comes one union whose members ensure that Henry Miller's call for members to be "first class" in life as well as on the job continues anew with each generation. Each member contributed to the IBEW in his or her own way, and each reaps the benefits of a network of programs and the strength that only unity and solidarity can provide to working people.
IBEWMU_160511_184.JPG: Telephone Operator, ca. 1912:
Telephone operators were an important part of the Brotherhood's membership of the union's existence. Operators connected calls by hand on equipment like the magneto switchboard built to handle 30 party lines shown here. From the beginning, jobs in the telecommunications have been --as they are today -- constantly shaped by technological change.
IBEWMU_160511_214.JPG: Women in the IBEW
Women have always been important members of the industrial electrical business. As skills diversified, women increasingly took to the shop floor. Here, Bettie Jane King of LU 1041 in New Jersey makes condensers at Cornell Dublier Electric.
In 1891, the word "brotherhood" was considered an all inclusive word like "mankind." In 1892, NBEW sisters became a reality in the electrical industry. Electrical manufacturing and telephone companies hired more women, and the new union reached out to organize some of them. Local 1A, Boston telephone operators, joined the Brotherhood in 1912 and was the third largest local union with 2,500 members. The fight for equality would continue well into the 20th century, but today, opportunities for women abound in all branches of the IBEW.
[Having said that, they've never had a female president.]
IBEWMU_160511_218.JPG: The IBEW Evolves
"Our combined energy should be used in organizing the unorganized of our calling, as that is the keystone to the success of all organizations."
-- President James McNulty, The Electrical Worker, 1904
The IBEW is the oldest electrical union in North America and the largest of its kind in the world. Despite severe financial hardships in the Brotherhood's first decade of existence, the idea of a national union had taken root. The growth that followed, through good times and bad, gave the union the strength to win a range of benefits that substantially improved the lives of members. Today, some 800,000 men and women are proud members of retirees of the IBEW. They enjoy the protection of union contracts and the security afforded by health care and pension plans, training and education and other programs.
IBEWMU_160511_222.JPG: NBEW and IBEW Early Objects
IBEWMU_160511_226.JPG: Groundbreaking Shovels
Painted shovel, top, used to start construction of IBEW headquarters at 1125 15th Street, NW, Washington DC, 1969;
chrome shovel used for Newton Place near Boston, Massachusetts, equity office building investment of IBEW pension funds, 1983.
IBEWMU_160511_232.JPG: Governing
"No business ever got much of anywhere without a responsible head -- neither can a labor union, local or international. We now face some of the same problems that business corporations have. We must meet them the same way."
-- President H.H. Broach, The Journal of the Electrical Workers and Operators, 1930
Local unions, system councils and the International Office form the vital web of the IBEW's government and administration. The International Convention, consisting of elected delegates from every local union, is the highest governing body of the Brotherhood and the forum for electing the union's International Officers. The International President, Secretary-Treasurer and Vice Presidents are the full-time officers who undertake the daily governance of the IBEW, with the advice and consent of the International Executive Council and within the framework of the IBEW Constitution and bylaws.
IBEWMU_160511_244.JPG: Headquarters
"The heart and soul of the IBEW is found in union halls and work sites throughout North America, but the symbolic home of the Brotherhood is the International Office."
-- President Edwin Hill, 2005 dedication of new IBEW headquarters
From humble beginnings in St. Louis, the IBEW moved its headquarters several times in the early years, finally settling in Washington, DC, in 1920, where it remains today. The International Office is the nerve center of the IBEW, with departments that oversee every major industrial branch as well as numerous programs to serve the needs of members. The International also fosters member communications through its official publication and Web site.
IBEWMU_160511_252.JPG: Conventions
"In our deliberations let us be ever on guard against selfishness, lack of consideration of the rights of others and violations of the tenets of our Brotherhood. May we... report to those we represent that that business of the convention was conducted with fairness to all and malice toward none."
-- President Daniel W. Tracy, Keynote Address to 23rd International Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1948
The founding convention in 1891 consisted of ten delegates. Modern IBEW conventions bring together some 5,000 delegates, officers, staff and guests from all branches and across the broad geographical reach of the Brotherhood. In addition to setting policies and electing officers, convention delegates enjoy the opportunity for communication and fellowship. The IBEW International Convention is held every five years and lasts for five working days.
IBEWMU_160511_274.JPG: Underground Electrical Vault, ca 2000:
This scene conveys the technical complexity of underground electrical and communications systems that would be found in a large urban area. IBEW members undergo special training to develop the skills needed to install and maintain such systems safely and efficiently in close quarters that present unique hazards and challenges.
IBEWMU_160511_281.JPG: Full Float Body Belt, c. 2005
IBEWMU_160511_283.JPG: IBEW and the Space Program
This photo shows construction of the Cape Canaveral missile pad and Blockhouse 37 with heavy wall galvanized conduit banks, which were installed by members of Local Union 756, Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1962.
Since the first days of the US space program, the IBEW and union labor have helped in mankind's leap across the solar system. In 1969, IBEW locals and other union brothers and sisters manufactured the equipment for a safe lunar landing and kept communications running from Houston to the moon. The collective efforts of IBEW members were "accomplishments of the first order," according to the first man on the moon, former astronaut Neil Armstrong. As the union label flies with NASA on its space stations, satellites, and shuttles, the IBEW continues to train members to meet the demands of space-age technology.
IBEWMU_160511_289.JPG: Multi-Network Cable Tester with Butt-Set, c. 2005
IBEWMU_160511_295.JPG: Video Camera Prison Unit c 1985
IBEWMU_160511_300.JPG: First Issue of The Electrical Worker
Vol. 1, No. 1, January 1893
IBEWMU_160511_313.JPG: Journeyman Wireman, ca. 1976:
In an environment where one spark can cause a deadly explosion, a journeyman wireman tests a circuit for continuity. For decades, wiremen have been among the most highly skilled of all trades, achieving journeyman status only after a rigorous multi-year apprenticeship. Wiremen are encouraged to upgrade their skills regularly.
IBEWMU_160511_326.JPG: Bell System Hatchet
Fits cross-arm bolt head
IBEWMU_160511_330.JPG: Submarine Cable Feeding Statue of Liberty Island, c. 1986
IBEWMU_160511_336.JPG: Bell System Maul
Leverage note, to rotate pole step screw
IBEWMU_160511_341.JPG: Edison Gem Bulb, c 1903
IBEWMU_160511_344.JPG: Edison Bulb, c 1903
IBEWMU_160511_346.JPG: Early Edison Bulb
IBEWMU_160511_349.JPG: Edison Buckeye Bulb, c. 1890
IBEWMU_160511_352.JPG: IBEW in Canada
In the 21st century, the IBEW is a vibrant force in Canada from coast to coast. These delegates to the All-Canada Progress Meeting in Ottawa in 2005 met to share information and plan strategy for the future.
As workers spread the technology of Edison, Tesla and Bell across Canada in the late 19th century, Canadian electrical workers faced the same obstacles as their American counterparts. In 1899 at the brotherhood's sixth convention, the delegates approved changing the first word of the name of the union from "National" to "International." On December 20, 1899, Local Union 93 in Ottawa, Ontario -- the first Canadian local -- received its charter. Today Canada boasts 91 IBEW local unions with approximately 60,000 members.
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.)
I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com
and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
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2016 photos: Equipment this year: I continued to use my Fuji XS-1 cameras but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000.
Seven relatively short trips this year:
two Civil War Trust conference (Gettysburg, PA and West Point, NY, with a side-trip to New York City),
my 11th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including sites in Utah, Nevada, and California),
a quick trip to Michigan for Uncle Wayne's funeral,
two additional trips to New York City, and
a Civil Rights site trip to Alabama during the November elections. Being in places where people died to preserve the rights of minority voters made the Trumputin election even more depressing.
Number of photos taken this year: just over 610,000.
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