The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers was founded in 1891. This union is comprised of proud union members with a wide diversity of skills and jobs. One of the most progressive unions in existence, the IBEW represents some 750,000 members in the United States and Canada. IBEW Local Union #300 was founded in September of 1939.

Local 300 is a labor union that serves 1,200-plus working Vermonters, and is located in South Burlington. The mission of Local 300 has been the same since chartered in 1939: to serve and represent its members fairly. Local 300 members are employed state-wide at some of the most well-known and successful utility companies, telecommunications, municipal, manufacturing, and construction businesses. Among the employers are American Electric, Ben and Jerry's, Brown Electric, Burlington Electric Department, E.S. Boulos, Green Mountain Power, Peck Electric, Powercom, Sherwin Electric, Vermont Electric Cooperative, Vermont Gas, Washington Electric Cooperative.

Unions are about a simple proposition: By joining together, working women and men gain strength in numbers so they can have a voice at work about what they care about. They negotiate a contract with their employer for things like a fair and safe workplace, better wages, health insurance, a secure retirement and family-friendly policies such as paid sick leave and scheduling hours. They have a voice in how their jobs get done, creating a more stable, productive workforce that provides better services and products. Always adapting to the challenges of our nation’s evolving workforce, unions are meeting the needs of workers in today’s flexible and nontraditional work environments. Because no matter what type of job workers are in, by building power in unions, they can speak out for fairness for all working people in their communities and create better standards and a strong middle class across the country.