International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
For Immediate Release: February 5, 2020
Contact: Mark Brueggenjohann

IBEW Endorses Joe Biden for President

The leadership of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, while attending its annual officers meeting, has unanimously endorsed Vice President Joe Biden to be the next President of the United States.

The IBEW represents 775,000 active and retired electrical workers across North America.

“Vice President Biden has been a longtime friend of working families and the IBEW,” said IBEW International President Lonnie R. Stephenson. “Joe has a long record of standing up for union members, and we believe it’s in the best interest of IBEW members to elect him our next president.

“Each of the Democratic frontrunners stands solidly with the IBEW on issues of workers’ rights, including the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would provide millions of workers across the country with additional protections to organize and collectively bargain, and we thank each of them for their commitment to working families.

“But what makes Joe Biden different isn’t just his support for our rights on the job, but his support for good energy jobs. Eighty-five percent of IBEW members work in the energy industry, and our country needs a realistic plan to combat the ongoing threat of climate change without putting energy security or working families at risk.

“Joe Biden has listened to IBEW members, and his energy policy has been shaped by deep, meaningful conversations with the professionals who will build and maintain the energy grid of the future. He backs an all-of-the-above approach to slashing carbon emissions. He also has proposed the largest-ever investment in clean-energy technology, as well as an aggressive clean-power infrastructure plan that will make the United States a global leader in fighting climate change, while putting tens of thousands of Americans to work building the energy economy of the future.

“It’s not typical for the IBEW to endorse this early in the primary process, but this year there’s an urgency we haven’t seen in a very long time. Energy policies made today will reverberate for decades, and it’s paramount that we have a candidate for president who supports IBEW jobs and IBEW values.

“As the largest union of energy professionals in the nation, we have been a leader in promoting clean, renewable power, from installing solar panels and building wind turbines to fighting for pro-environment, pro-jobs legislation on the local, state and federal level. No organization in the world has trained more workers for the green economy than the IBEW.

“Joe Biden’s support of a robust 21st century infrastructure plan will create significant growth not only for the IBEW’s Construction and Utility branches, but also Telecommunications, Broadcasting, Manufacturing and Railroad. In addition, we can count on him to roll back this administration’s attack on thousands of IBEW members who work in government jobs.

“Vice President Biden has listened to what we have to say about one of our nation’s most pressing challenges, and I know IBEW members will have a seat at the table in a Biden White House.”

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The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) represents approximately 775,000 members and retirees who work in a wide variety of fields, including construction, utilities, manufacturing, telecommunications, broadcasting, railroads and government.
"IBEW for Bernie Sanders" Petition
To: IBEW Leadership

On February 5, 2020, the national leadership of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), with no input from the union membership, voted to endorse Joe Biden for President. The leadership of the union had previously provided reassurance to the membership that they would trust the judgement of rank and file leaders and members to represent their own interest in the 2020 presidential primary, and we are disappointed that the international has instead thrown their weight behind the Biden campaign without member consultation.

We the undersigned stand, as rank-and-file, member-to-member organized electrical workers, behind the Bernie Sanders campaign. Senator Sanders has been the only candidate to directly campaign against Trump’s disastrous IRAP changes to union apprenticeship standards on federal projects, and to oppose disastrous trade deals like NAFTA & TPP, all core issues of our National. We stand behind Bernie’s transformative vision for expanding the labor movement, as well as the democracy and the solidarity that his campaign embodies.

We are calling on the international officers to immediately retract their endorsement and call for rank and file to participate in a democratic endorsement process by participating in an in-person vote at their March local meeting.

In solidarity,
The undersigned

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See:
https://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/22315/ibew-labor-bernie-sanders-joe-biden-endorsement