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IBEW Local 21 Safety and Health
The everyday hazards surrounding the duties of electrical linemen were compounded in the early years by long hours, low pay and dangerous working conditions. Electrical linemen commonly worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week, in all types of climates for about 15 to 20 cents an hour. There was no apprenticeship training, no industry standards and no safety training. In some portions of the country, one out of every two linemen hired would perish on the job. Nationally, the death rate for electrical workers was twice as much as the national average for other industries. These inhumane conditions were the primary impetus behind the formation of the IBEW at the end of the 1800's and early 1900’s
Safe working conditions have always been a major priority for our union. All workers have the right to go to work in the morning and then return home in the same shape as when they left.
However, we are again at a crossroads in America. The laws that provide safe workplaces and protect workers lives are under attack. Part of the corporate agenda uses phrases like "cost effectiveness," "regulatory reform," "competitiveness," and "unfunded mandates," they attack the laws and safeguards that protect us, and many workers feel pressured to work faster and produce more instead of complaining about their working conditions.
Along with other unions throughout the country, IBEW Local 21 has responded to these threats against our health and our lives with an active, aggressive health and safety program. But the most important element in making your workplace safe is YOU: the thousands of active, informed local union activists and health and safety committees that organize to fight these day-to-day battles in workplaces across the country.
Only with your support are we able to urge the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue the legal protections that we need, and to fight successful battles in Washington D.C. to defend and expands our rights.
The following links will re-direct you to our IBEW International Unions Safety and Health pages and other resources. Please check them out as our lives all depend on being safe at home and on the job!
• IBEW Safety and Health Department
• Safety Message from International President Hill
• Occupational Safety & Health Administration
• History of the Bell System Safety Creed
