Toronto Local 353 is the IBEW’s largest local union in Canada, with nearly 13,000 members, but adding to that number remains a top priority. If it means displacing a so-called union that is more friendly to management instead of the workers it represents, so much the better. Local 353 recently won certification votes at Onyx…
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Manitoba Represented on U.S. Skills Show
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Local 2085 member Madina Nur could feel the pressure last September while competing in the Ideal Championship in West Palm Beach, Fla., and not just because she was the only electrician from Canada to qualify for the electrical tool maker’s annual televised tournament. “As soon as you step in, it’s just like a…
MoreWomen’s Committees More Than Double in First District
Canadian women members are finding new avenues of support as the First District’s number of Women’s Committees recently rocketed from six to 13. Tradeswomen make up roughly 4% of the construction workforce, representing an upward trend. Still, it leaves a lot of opportunity to recruit new members with construction workers in high demand — it’s…
MoreAlberta Local Helps Defeat Foreign Worker Plan
The importance of political relationships was evident in Alberta in December, when Edmonton Local 424 officials helped persuade the provincial government to squash a plan to import construction workers from the United Arab Emirates. “Employers have used programs like these to drive down wages and working conditions in construction,” said Assistant Business Manager Scott Crichton,…
MoreEdmonton Member Earns National Honor for Safety, Performance
This article was originally published in the January 2025 issue of The Electrical Worker. Renee Melnyk found a path into the trades when she completed the Women Building Futures program in Edmonton in 2005. It’s an understatement to say she’s made the most of it. Now a member of Edmonton, Alberta, Local 424 and a…
MoreB.C. Apprentice Is First Member From Canada to Win Coveted Organizing Award
*This article was originally published in the December 2024 issue of The Electrical Worker Online Justin Santos, an energetic apprentice using social media to help squash myths about unions, was honored in August as the IBEW’s Rank-and-File Organizer of the Year during the union’s annual Membership Development Conference in Chicago. He’s the first member of…
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