The IBEW represents its utility members' interests through Utility Department involvement in legislative, regulatory, and standards development. The department provides assistance to 433 Local Unions in Canada and the United States, supporting some 250,000 utility workers.
The IBEW represents employees at:
83% of all the organized utilities in the United States and Canada
70% of the organized investor-owned utilities
96% percent of the organized rural electric cooperative utilities
76% of the organized municipal utilities
100% of all organized federal government utilities
In the utility industry, the IBEW represents linemen, groundmen, equipment operators, boiler operators, I & C techs, maintenance mechanics, electricians, welders, control room operators, and dispatchers. Then, there are the meter installers, meter readers, field reps, clerical workers, cable splicers, substation electricians, warehousemen, communications techs, fleet servicemen, and relay technicians.
The IBEW represents thousands of people in the gas industry from clerical workers to the employees involved in the construction and maintenance of gas transmission and distribution lines.