Northwest labor press., January 03, 2014, Page 3, Image 3

IBEW Local 48’s Keith Edwards retires after 44-year career
Keith Edwards feels like a truly
blessed man.
“I’ve had such a good life. Think
about it. Because I’m a union electri-
cian, I’ve had health care since I was 20
years old. I’ve always had the best
wages. I’ve had the best working con-
ditions. A voice on the job. And now a
great retirement — all because I’m a
union electrician.”
Edwards, 64, retired Nov. 1 from
his job as an international representa-
tive for the Ninth District of the Inter-
national Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers (IBEW). He was honored at a
retirement reception Nov. 23 at the
IBEW Local 48 union hall in Portland.
Edwards got his start as an appren-
tice at IBEW Local 48 in 1969, a cou-
ple of years after graduating from Port-
land’s Jefferson High School. In those
days there was a one-year probationary
period before you could join the union.
His official active date was August of
1970.
During his 44-year career, Edwards
broke many barriers, including becom-
ing the first African-American business
manager of a construction local in
IBEW history. He also was the first
black to serve as a member of the Na-
tional Joint Apprenticeship and Train-
ing Committee.
He got his first taste of union ac-
tivism in 1974 when he co-founded the
Electrical Workers Minority Caucus.
“My union embraced it right away,”
he said.
Keith Edwards, a 44-year member of IBEW Local 48, checks out an exhibit
at the Oregon Historical Society featuring the 100th anniversary partnership
of NECA/IBEW. Edwards, the first black business manager of an IBEW
local in the nation, retired last month as an international rep.
Shortly thereafter the international
union established a minority caucus for
African-Americans and Latinos na-
tionwide.
Edwards spent two years in New
York and New Jersey working as a
traveling electrician. He returned to
Portland in 1988 to work at Swan Is-
land building oil modules for Alaska.
He was a regular at union meetings,
and in 1989 he was appointed as a
steward by then-business manager Ed
Barnes. That same year he also was ap-
pointed to Local 48’s Executive Board,
following the retirement of Gus Miller.
Miller was the first African-American
to serve on the Board.
In 1990, Barnes hired Edwards as a
full-time business representative.
Barnes retired in 1995. He was suc-
ceeded by Greg Teeple, who a year
later was hired by the international
union. Local 48’s Executive Board ap-
pointed Jerry Bruce to succeed Teeple,
and in 1996 Bruce tapped Edwards as
his assistant business manager. When
Bruce retired mid-term in 2000, the lo-
cal’s Executive Board appointed Ed-
wards to succeed him.
Edwards won election to the job
outright in 2001. He was the first (and
only) business manager of Local 48 to
be elected unopposed. He also was the
first African-American to be elected
business manager of an IBEW con-
struction local nationwide.
Two years later the international
came knocking again, hiring him as a
representative for the Ninth District,
which encompasses Oregon, Washing-
ton, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Ne-
vada, and the northern portion of
Idaho. Edwards was assigned to locals
in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
Edwards said what he enjoyed most
about his job was working with people
— both on the union side and on the
management side — and helping them
resolve their issues.
“One guy might say the sky is blue,
and another guy says the sky is green.
The truth is somewhere in the middle,”
he said. “A lot of the time (finding a so-
lution) it’s just common sense.”
Edwards says the biggest disap-
pointment of his career is seeing labor’s
fall in both membership and market
share. “The middle class is shrinking,
and the rich ... the rich class isn’t grow-
ing, only the net worth of a few indi-
viduals is growing.”
On the bright side, as a community
activist Edwards says he sees more and
more younger people starting to realize
the benefit of having a union at work.
Known as “The Union Guy” in
Portland’s black community, Edwards
says it’s crucial that union members be
active in their communities, letting peo-
ple know what the union is all about.
“I’m always preaching about the
benefits of being in a union. I’m proof
of it,” he said.
Outside of the union, Edwards is in-
volved with the Coalition of Black
Men, the Portland Workforce Alliance,
and the NAACP, where he has served
as president of the Portland chapter.
He also served eight years on the
Oregon Electrical Board under ap-
pointment of Gov. Barbara Roberts.
“Keith has spent the last 44 years
doing what he can to help the IBEW
and make the lives of all those around
him better,” wrote Local 48 Assistant
Business Manager Alan Keser in the
union’s newsletter announcing his re-
tirement.
And though he says he doesn’t have
any aspirations to run for elected office,
he will continue working to open doors
for others. In fact, shortly after retiring
he had business cards printed that read:
“Keith Edwards. Community Activist.
Retired Union Electrician.”
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