Amid skyrocketing demand for electricity, the IBEW is promoting an all-of-the-above strategy and making sure cities and towns know the benefits of partnership with the IBEW.
That’s why Aaron Brown, Fourth District international representative, was glad to join a panel at the July Democratic Mayors Association conference in Cleveland. There he shared a 30,000-foot perspective on the biggest energy union in the world.
“We need to be out there in these communities,” Brown said. “They don’t know anything about our apprenticeships or training.”
On the panel about energy, Brown discussed project labor agreements, training, and the tri-trades agreement between IBEW, the laborers, and the operating engineers, that clarifies jurisdictional lines in solar construction. In Ohio, where Brown is based, IBEW members are hard at work on multiple solar construction sites.
Nationally, however, the Trump administration has frozen or cancelled grants and loans that would have employed tens of thousands of IBEW members in energy and infrastructure. The administration solidified its anti-renewable stance with the One Big Beautiful Bill. The bill was signed into law in July despite IBEW opposition.
The administration’s policy shifts won’t change record demand for energy. This demand, fueled by domestic manufacturing, data centers, and artificial intelligence, will require all forms of energy generation. Brown told the conference audience the IBEW has the training and experience to increase the country’s generation capacity.
“Renewables are here and we have new tools to move into these technologies,” Brown said, adding the buildout of the power sector will create good union jobs, and help states and cities meet demand with affordable energy.
Additionally, investments to climate-proof infrastructure and enhance disaster preparedness can also create jobs while protecting communities and promoting economic development.
“I encourage elected officials to reach out to the IBEW,” Brown said. “If you sign a project labor agreement for a capital project, you are going to experience skilled work performed on time and within budget by local workers who contribute to the local tax base. That’s the value of union labor.”