Did You Know?

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.

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, D.C. 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.