On July 8th, 1901, seven men petitioned the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (just 10 years old itself) to be granted a Charter and to become members of the Parent Association.

Of these seven, James Davis was chosen Financial Secretary – at no pay.  The men split all costs for postage and supplies seven ways.

It was a trying time for several years.  It was often to your advantage to have your union button UNDER your hat rather than on it.  Everett was a milltown where unionism was a dirty word.  Getting people to spend their money for union labor was a hard and sometimes almost impossible task.  The infamous Everett Massacre of 1916 left many residents with bitter thoughts of anything connect with unionism.

The earliest dues receipt available from Mr. Davis was for $2.85.  Ten cents went for life insurance.  Unknown to most, it was not until the late 20’s and early 30’s that electricians were able to buy life insurance on the open market because theirs was considered a hazardous trade.  For this reason the I.B.E.W. set up its own insurance plan so members would have protection, even though the amount was hardly more than a burial fee.  It took many years and dollars to convince life insurance companies that the percentage of electricians to die of electrical connected cause was minute enough to drop the restrictions on buying term insurance.

According to the late Brother Don Willingham, it was not until he was Financial Secretary in the late 20’s and early 30’s that the Financial Secretary was paid for his time and efforts.  The Union voted to give one hour’s pay ($.25) per member to the Financial Secretary.  During the depression years, many were not working at the trade and the token pay was sometimes less than $6.00 a month.

Local 191 struggled along with working Financial Secretaries until our entry into WWII in 1941.  There were five shipyards in the jurisdiction working on government contracts building the famous “Liberty” ships.  It was soon obvious that a working Financial Secretary was just not capable of keeping up his own work and attending the many meetings for negotiations of government work.

In April 1942, the International contacted Walt Gallant, the working Financial Secretary of Local B-73 of Yakima, and a subsidiary of Spokane, to become the Business Agent and Financial Secretary of Local 191.  The Union petitioned the International for permission to levy an assessment of 3% of wages to build a fund to rent an office, pay Gallant a foreman’s wage, and hire a person to run the office while he worked in the field.

To keep the shipyards from bleeding off all the uptown men, as the journeymen were referred to, Gallant immediately negotiated a new contract with the Union Shops to pay the uptown men a higher scale ($1.50 per hour, instead of $1.03) than the shipyard men were receiving.  With the influx of Marine Wiremen (during this time Local 191 became a union of both men and women members), assessments built up enough reserve and were dropped to 2%.

After the war when shipyard work fazed out and membership returned to normal, more and more small shops came into existence as the GI Bill helped returning veterans get established.  The International started a supported apprenticeship program.  Until then, the Local was known as the FBI Local (for Father, Brother and In-Law) as 42% of the members were related to each other.

Until this time contract raises were usually of small amounts from $.05 to $.15 a contract year.  The year that the committee was able to sign a contract for a $.25 raise ($.12-1/2 in January and $.12-1/2 in July), the members voted to accept only $.02-1/2 on the second raise to set up a health and welfare plan with the other $.10.

The union bought our health insurance through a union run organization known as the Snohomish County Beneficial with headquarters in the Labor Temple.  As doctor’s rates soared and war-boom children and families grew, it was necessary to bolster the plan with more money.  The members voted take a cut in pay of $.10 with the contractor to donate that amount to the plan.  This fringe has been altered many times to suit the needs of the members, but has always been a solid factor in all negotiations.

Over many years and hard work by negotiating committees, pensions, paid vacations and other fringe benefits were gained for the members.  I cannot speak for today, as I retired in 1980, but at that time, the union was enjoying a scale of $25.00 an hour (a far cry from the $1.15 first negotiated by Gallant).

Up to the time of my retirement, I have the privilege of serving with four business agents:  Walt Gallant, 1942-1953; James Oxley, 1953-1978; Boyd McElroy, 1978-1979; and James Davidson, 1979-1980.  It was a privilege to work for these dedicated men who led Local 191 to the status it has today.

Always remember that IN UNION THERE IS STRENGTH.  The union is only as strong as its members make it.  It takes the concentrated effort of ALL---not just a few---to make it number one.

In Unionism,
Lottie Elke