Existing comment:
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. |