[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 163 (Tuesday, November 15, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1479]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN HONOR OF THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF 
                           ELECTRICAL WORKERS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DONALD NORCROSS

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 15, 2016

  Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the International 
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on its 125th Anniversary. I 
appreciate the IBEW for the career they gave me and for their work 
supporting working men and women all across our nation.
  The IBEW is as old as the commercial use of electricity itself. It is 
the oldest, as well as the largest, electrical union in the world and 
its history dates back to the 1890s.
  With Edison's invention of the first commercially successful 
incandescent lamp in 1879 there was a great need for linemen to 
establish and maintain the cables that would soon crisscross and power 
the nation.
  At first only a few intrepid electricians handled electricity, but 
soon many came forward, seeking a life's work. The men and women of 
IBEW have been working on electrical and telecommunication wires ever 
since.
  While the IBEW grew alongside other unions protecting the rights of 
workers seeking a living wage, the IBEW also needed to protect workers 
from the dangers of the job.
  Today, under the leadership of President Lonnie Stephenson, the IBEW 
represents hundreds of thousands of workers in a variety of areas of 
expertise all over the world.
  I am eternally grateful to the IBEW for giving me a career that has 
supported me and my family for decades. I became an apprentice with the 
IBEW as a young man and have worked for the men and women of the IBEW 
all my life, before coming to Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, for me the International Brotherhood of Electrical 
Workers represents the greatest aspirations of labor unions and I am 
proud as the only member of their organization to serve in Congress, to 
join with the IBEW in celebrating their 125th Anniversary

                          ____________________