The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers was founded in St. Louis, Missouri on November 28, 1891. IBEW Local 1547 was chartered in Alaska on October 1, 1946, assuming the jurisdiction of IBEW work in Alaska from Local 46 in Seattle, and continues to advocate for safety and protection of the rights of electrical and communications workers, as well as local government employees, health care industry employees, and many more non-construction occupations. Local 1547 represents workers in many diverse construction classifications including power linemen, inside wiremen, power plant workers and technicians, mechanics, warehouse workers, line clearance tree trimmers and heavy equipment operators. Classifications in communications include telephone linemen, installation and repair workers, telephone operators, central office technicians, cable maintenance workers, and fiber optic specialists, just to name a few. We also take pride in knowing that our efforts in strengthening safety and worker rights benefit many other workers in our state, not just those we represent. Traditionally, people think of IBEW members as people who work with electricity—but over the years, other classifications have joined the ranks of Local 1547. Some of the many classifications we represent are: cooks, certified nursing assistants, clerks, accounting specialists, engineers, city and municipal employees, property management workers, maintenance custodians, gardeners, librarians, plant services workers, programmers, radar operators, cashiers and x-ray technicians. With close to 5000 members, IBEW Local 1547 is, we believe, one of the strongest unions in the state of Alaska.
