Ross R. Mullis, Business Manager office@ibew177.org
Around the Local
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technical.ly: IBEW Local 24 Business Manager Mike McHale explains how data center construction is fueling demand for electricians, with his local growing by over 700 members in four years, and describes the four year apprenticeship process and the physical realities of construction work.
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syracusecrunch.com: The Syracuse Crunch and IBEW Local 43 are partnering to hold a donation drive on April 12 benefiting the McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center, collecting snacks, juice boxes, baby bottles, and wipes for children and families navigating abuse allegations in Onondaga County.
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nbcchicago.com: An IBEW apprenticeship expo in Chicago highlights opportunities for women entering the electrical trade, showcasing a program designed to recruit and support female electricians in a field where women remain significantly underrepresented.
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opvp.navajo-nsn.gov: Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, and IBEW are coordinating to bring electricity to 13,000 homes across a 27,000 square mile tribal area, with IBEW sending electricians annually through the Light Up Navajo initiative while advocating for federal funding to sustain the effort.
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sciencedaily.com: Researchers at Kyushu University used a spin flip metal complex to harness singlet fission, producing roughly 1.3 energy carriers per photon absorbed and achieving a 130 percent quantum yield, a result that could point toward next generation solar cells capable of capturing far more sunlight than current technology allows.
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aflcio.org: The March 23 edition of the AFL-CIO Working People Weekly List rounds up top labor news including approximately 200 South Jersey healthcare workers voting to unionize and Harvard custodians ratifying a new four year contract after months of bargaining.
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Warner Bros. Discovery agreed to be acquired by Paramount Skydance in a $110 billion deal, ending a bidding war after Netflix withdrew its offer. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2026 pending regulatory and shareholder approval.
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The IBEW called for transparency and regulatory scrutiny following a second round of CBS News layoffs and plans to shut down CBS News Radio, warning that a proposed merger of CBS News with CNN raises serious questions about the future of union broadcasting jobs.
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Per a new EIA report, wind and utility scale solar generated a record 17 percent of US electricity in 2025, up from less than 1 percent in 2005. Utility scale solar rose 34 percent year over year, while combined wind and solar reach 19 percent when residential installations are included.
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A UPenn Kleinman Center policy blog identifies five key risk categories reshaping the US grid: locational congestion, temporal price uncertainty, volume variability from renewables, extreme weather tail risk, and flawed regulatory design, as demand from AI data centers and electrification accelerates.
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EEI and IBEW presented Senators Susan Collins and Jack Reed with the John D. Dingell Award for their sustained bipartisan support of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, with Collins securing a $20 million funding increase to bring total LIHEAP funding to $4 billion in FY2026.
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IBEW Local 430 has filed plans to build an 11,500 square foot union hall in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin to replace its current facility in Racine, serving approximately 150 members as both a business office and meeting hall.
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a formal partnership with North America Building Trades Unions at a BlackRock infrastructure summit, committing $1.5 million over five years to support NABTU training and recruitment as the company projects it will need 20 percent more skilled tradespeople than currently exist to hit its 10 gigawatt compute target by 2030.
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IBEW Local 271 Business Manager Jeimeson Saudino pushed back against claims circulating at a packed Sedgwick County town hall, saying modern data centers use closed loop cooling systems rather than millions of gallons of water daily and pointing to projects in Oklahoma and Kansas where data center development reduced local property taxes.
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Lowell City Council voted 10 to 0 for a one-year data center moratorium after IBEW members and neighbors clashed over a Markley expansion, illustrating the broader political squeeze facing Gov. Healey as consumer anger over high energy costs collides with her AI driven economic agenda and a stalled data center tax exemption that remains unfinalized 16 months after she signed it into law.
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Virginia lawmakers are divided over whether to eliminate a data center sales tax exemption that cost the state an estimated $1.9 billion last fiscal year, with teachers and fiscal advocates calling for repeal while IBEW Local 26 and other trades unions rallied to preserve the incentive they say drives well paying union construction jobs in the Commonwealth.
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Hundreds of Franklin County, Missouri residents filled a high school gymnasium to oppose rezoning agricultural land for two proposed data center campuses, with local trades union representatives countering that the projects would bring thousands of union jobs paying over $100,000 a year while a planning commission recommendation still awaits final county commission approval.
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More than 90 retired members and spouses turned out for the first meeting of a revived IBEW Local 48 retirees group in Portland, a decade after the program went dormant, generating nearly 50 ideas for activities ranging from volunteer work and tool donations to new apprentices to regular social meetups across the metro area.
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IBEW International Vice President Michael Monahan urges Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to stop promoting Gov. Janet Mills over Graham Platner in Maine Senate primary, citing Mills' fraught labor record
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Profile of Nscale founder Josh Payne, Australian former coal miner who raised $2 billion at $14.6B valuation for AI data center company, with Sheryl Sandberg joining board amid infrastructure boom
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BlackRock CEO Larry Fink announces a $100 million investment in skilled trades training, citing a growing shortage of electricians, plumbers, and HVAC technicians as demand for six-figure blue-collar careers surges.
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Demand for licensed electricians is rising sharply as AI infrastructure and data center construction expand, with younger workers increasingly drawn to the trades for stable, well-paying careers.
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A union electrician is entering the congressional race on Staten Island, aiming to mobilize the borough's labor base in a bid for federal office.
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Construction unions including the IBEW are celebrating approval of a major AI manufacturing facility in Independence, Missouri, calling it a generational win for union jobs in the region.
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Workers at Ingalls Shipbuilding have ratified a new contract featuring the largest single wage increase in the shipyard's history, a milestone win for IBEW and affiliated unions.
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Residents opposing the approved AI data center in Independence are organizing a referendum petition drive to challenge the city council vote on the project.
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Former IBEW Local 1 President Jack O. Jacobs remembered as dedicated union man who served 25 years as officer, passed away February 23, 2026 at age 89, 70-year Local 1 member
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IBEW Local 1 and NECA contractors recognized for ReConnect STL initiative providing free electrical repairs to St. Louis tornado victims, restoring power to over 200 addresses after May storm
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Twenty-eight contributors to the Federal Judicial Center's Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence have signed an open letter condemning the deletion of its climate science chapter as a political attack on judicial independence. The chapter was removed in February after 27 Republican state attorneys general pressured the center to retract it, leaving federal judges without a peer-reviewed resource on climate science at a time when climate litigation is rapidly expanding in U.S. courts. Subscription may be required.
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IBEW International Secretary Treasurer Paul Noble writes in The Electrical Worker about the ongoing fight against right-to-work laws and the union's strategy for protecting worker organizing rights state by state. Noble draws on his experience helping secure the Workers' Rights Amendment in Illinois to make the case for why every state should give workers the full freedom to organize and bargain collectively.
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The Electrical Worker examines Illinois' landmark energy reform legislation, which includes some of the strongest pro-worker provisions in the country for the energy industry. The law, backed by the IBEW and the state's building trades, ensures that the transition to clean energy in Illinois creates and protects union jobs, setting a model other states are beginning to follow.
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The March 2026 issue of The Electrical Worker reveals the winners of the annual IBEW Photo Contest, which drew hundreds of entries from members across the United States and Canada. The contest, with a first place prize of $1,000, showcases the work, activism, and fellowship of IBEW members through photography submitted from locals across North America.
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IBEW International President Kenneth Cooper writes in The Electrical Worker about the union's role in meeting surging electricity demand across the country, from data centers to clean energy buildout. Cooper argues that the boom in power infrastructure represents a generational opportunity for IBEW members and calls on locals to position themselves at the forefront of the expanding electrical grid.
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IBEW Local 1049 demonstrates community engagement through volunteer programs and emergency response on Long Island
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Rock Island Local 145 uses VR headset simulation at career expos to give students hands-on electrical jobsite experience without safety risks, yielding real apprenticeship applications from expo attendees
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Profile of Corey Goldberg, apprentice wireman from Bakersfield Local 428, sharing his journey into the electrical trade and IBEW membership
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St. Louis IBEW member recognized for relentless dedication and commitment, earning prestigious IBEW scholarship award
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IBEW Local 124 offered $600K+ sponsorship to restore iconic Western Auto sign with LEDs and lifetime maintenance, but HOA rejected proposal citing other bids without sponsorship requirements
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Virginia workers and House Speaker Don Scott oppose legislative effort to eliminate data center sales tax exemptions as state budget negotiations advance
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Analysis of why utilities resist burying power lines despite reduced outages from blizzards and hurricanes, examining cost and technical challenges
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Alabama Power secures portion of $26.5 billion federal loan program designated for electrical grid infrastructure modernization and upgrades
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US artificial intelligence expansion confronts major electricity supply constraints as power demand from data centers strains grid capacity
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Maine IBEW business manager argues recent policy changes benefit both electrical workers and electricity ratepayers across the state
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2028 Democratic contenders who backed data centers with tax breaks are suddenly retreating amid growing voter revolt over electricity costs and community impacts
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Data center landlords securing top credit ratings for asset-backed securities to unlock billions in financing, with Compass Datacenters achieving first-ever Aaa rating from Moody's
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Nearly half of Americans expect data centers to become a campaign issue within five years, with top concerns centered on electricity bill increases and blackout risks, new Politico poll finds
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IBEW Local 1439 honored Stephen Lindewirth for five years of service and Treasurer Ray Rose for 35 years during recent ceremony with President Chad Fletcher
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IBEW Local 648 says data centers could bring 800-1,200 construction jobs, but researchers warn facilities are capital-intensive while creating few permanent positions despite massive tax breaks
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Portsmouth Naval Shipyard IBEW Local 2071 members each received $1,000 from Second District locals during six-week government shutdown, rewarding those who rejoined after executive order ended dues deductions
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At 91, Charlie Horhn reflects on a lifetime at the intersection of the Civil Rights and labor movements. Beginning with his work organizing IBEW Local 2268 at a segregated Jackson, Mississippi factory in the 1960s, Horhn draws a direct line between economic justice and civil rights, and the enduring power of solidarity across both movements.