1972-12 December IBEW Journal.pdf - International Brotherhood of ...

gates' auention during the day, but
Local 17 provided emenainment for
the eveni ngs. The program of en·
tertainmcnt included "3 trolley party
to Mt. Clemens, the celebrated
reso n ... a smoker and entertain·
ment ... a cycle trip around the
town and Belle Isle Park."
l .ocn l 17 continued its steady
growth as the 19th century drew
close. The natiOl131 organization of
which Local 17 was a vital part was
growing. 100. In 1899, the Sixth
Convention of the Nalional Broth·
erilOod of Electrical Workers
Changed the name of the union to
Imernatlonal Brotherhood of E1cc·
trieal Workers, and later that year
chartered the first Canadiun lBEW
local.
During the first decade of the
20lh century, the new internat ion;, l
union was faced with serious prob·
!cm.. of consolidating its strength.
Not the least of these problems was
a split in the organization. often
suspected to have been encouraged
by employers. which divided the
union for six years and was nol
finally resolved until 1912.
Despite all these difficulties,
which could not help but affect Local
17, when the local began pre·
paring for its 25th Anniversary in
1916. it could boast of lOOper cent
organization at Edison. 90 per cent
at Bell , and "a scale second to none
in th is vicinity." The membership
had risen to 800, and wages hud
doubled and tripled. Bell linemen.
who had earned S 1.50 a day maxi·
mum 25 years before, now made
from $3.70 to 54 daily. for ex·
ample. A year later, Local 17
proudly announced a general wage
increase for Edison Public Light.
police IlILti rire alarm workus, with
li nemen raised to $5.28 a day, meter
insta llers to $4.40, and foremen receiving
the previously·unheard-of
sum of $4U a week.
When the United States entered
World War I, LocaJ 17 members
worked on the home front and on
the b:ntlefields. By 19 18, the local
had 303 members serving in the
Arnled Forces and countless others
working for the government in and
around Detroit. At the war's end.
the loc:11 was able to find jobs for
all its return in g servicemen, and in
1 ~19 reported that nil members of
the local were emploYl.!d.
In 1927, Detroit again hosted the
International Union's convention,
and this was a history-making meeting,
for it was at this convention
that the IBEW Pension Plan was
CSlahli .. hecl. Coming as it did, only
a few years before the Great Dc·
pression hit our nation. the pension
plan and its 20 years' continuous·
good-standing requirement pre.­
venled the union from a greater
loss of membership in those days
of widespread unemployment.
Local 17 was keenly ",w:lre uf
the depression. It warned members
of the union from other pans of the
eountry not to come to Detroit for
jobs. Layoffs were taking place
throughout the area. and the local
wa~ keenly concerned about the
welfare of the members. Men 40
:lIld 45 years old, the local said in
u resulutiuiI udl)ptcd in 1930, were
being den ied work and relegated to
Ihl.l scrap heap. The local urged thut
Michigan establish a pension system
to aid these older workcrs-re·
member, there was no Social Security
system in those days.
Local 17 and its members pulled
through the depression and late in
the 1930s launched an intensive or·
gun izing drive. Oy r 941, the local's
press sccretury was able to r('cord,
at the start of the year, that the
previous yenr was "u pleasant and
kind one for Illost of the members."
Whel' World War II once again
brought the United States into war,
members of Local 17 played the
same role they had 25 years before
locat 17 is proud of Its
progress in safety over
the years, work practices
have certainly chanaed
since this picture was
taken in 1908.