Illinois IBEW Renewable Energy Fund

Often overlooked, one of Ireland’s most important contributions to the United States and Canada is the labor movement. Millions of Irish immigrants settled in the growing industrial areas of North America following the great famine in the 1840s. Predominantly unskilled blue collar workers, the earliest Irish settlers faced dangerous working conditions, low pay and on-the-job discrimination. As journalist Harold Meyerson wrote in 2009: "When the Irish began arriving en masse in the 1840s, they were met with savage hostility by America's largely Protestant native-born population and shunted into ghettos … In their occupational ghettos, laying railroad track and working on construction crews, they became America's first distinct paid ethnic working class." . Some of those immigrant workers starting organizing, helping to form the first labor unions. A few stand out Irish labor leaders include Mother Jones, Terence Vincent Powderly & Mike Boyle. For nearly a half-of-a-century one name was nearly synonymous with unions in the public’s mind: Mary Harris “Mother” Jones. Born in Cork, Ireland in 1830, she emigrated to the U.S. at the age of five. Losing her entire family to yellow fever in 1867, she devoted her life to the labor movement, helping to organize coal miners for more than 30 years. Known for the saying, "pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living,” she continued to fight for working people and for the end to child labor up until her death in 1930 at the age of 93. . Terence Vincent Powderly was one of the most noteworthy efforts was the Knights of Labor, led at its height by Terence Vincent Powderly. Powderly, born in Carbondale, Pa., to Irish immigrants in 1849, was a machinist by trade and a labor organizer from early on. In 1878, he was elected mayor of Scranton on a pro-labor platform, overseeing the creation of a board of health, a sewage system, street paving, a new police force and fire department. In 1879, he became leader of the Knights of Labor, the U.S.’s first major labor federation, representing nearly a half-a-million workers at its height. The Knights declined in the 1890s, facing competition from the newly formed American Federation of Labor. . One of Chicago’s larger-than-life labor leaders, Local 134 Business Manager Mike Boyle helped lead the IBEW in the Windy City through the worst year of the Great Depression. Born in 1879 to Irish immigrants, Boyle was a tougher than nails negotiator, taking on employees, city officials and even the underworld during the lawless days of the Prohibition to get the best deal for his members. And at a time when much of the union movement was segregated, Boyle took steps to integrate Local 134, recruiting its first black member in 1919, and then appointing the first black business representative in building trades history a few years later.

Today we honor the REF’s own Carole Pollitz. Carole spent many years in the field as an IBEW electrician before becoming the first female IBEW apprenticeship teacher in Local 134. Continuing to break down boundaries, she has won the Chicago Federation of Labor’s Woman of The Year. And we are extremely grateful to have her on the Renewable Energy Fund’s team as our resident mathematics wizard. Thanks Carole!

Celebrating Maria Telkes, The Sun Queen! Responsible for the Dover House, Solar Water Distillation for WWII, and advancements on the Solar Oven. Thank you Maria for all you’ve done! ??????????????????????????

The most feared question of all time??? Not to these @chicagowomenintrades students! Ready for their apprenticeship! Keep up the great work!

This Woman's Month we want to take the time and celebrate The IBEW REF's own Bea Thompson, who was nominated for the Crain’s Notable Leader in Sustainability Award last year. IBEW Local 134 Business Representative Beatrice (Bea) Thompson stands out as an inspiring leader to the Chicagoland electrical industry. Bea was the lone female electrician at the Cook County Correctional Facility, a role that pushed her to break through barriers as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry. For over two decades, she was the lone female electrician at the Cook County Correctional Facility, a role that pushed her to break through barriers as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Despite its challenges though, that role allowed her to discover her passion for making a positive impact, sparking her desire to do more for her community. Thompson then became the first African-American female business representative for IBEW 134. Her transition from being the only woman in a male-dominated field to becoming a leader in her industry embodies the transformative strength . She is also the Board Secretary for the Illinois IBEW Renewable Energy Fund (REF), a non-profit organization that promotes the safe, productive and sustainable growth of renewable energy systems in Illinois through community partnerships, stakeholder engagement and educational services. In this role, Thompson is directly engaged in workforce development initiatives that create a pathway to apprenticeship and life-long career opportunities for students from some of the most underserved south and west side communities of Chicago.

Malina Ventura entered into The REF's program through our High School partnership with @chicagoagsciences from there Malina applied for our Summer Solar curriculum in 2023. Joined the Trainee program, she worked on large solar farms and is now a 1st year IBEW apprentice! We are so proud of you Malina!

Today on International Women's Day we honor Mária Telkes, appropriatley nicknamed "The Sun Queen". Mária Telkes devoted her career to solar energy, inventing in the process one of the first successful solar ovens, solar heating systems, was contracted by the US government in WW2 to create a solar water distilling system for making seawater potable and, in the late 1940s, designed one of the first solar-heated houses. Thank you Mária Telkes!

Both Grace and Malina weigh in on what they enjoy about the trainee program. Both of these students came through our Summer Solar program, then became trainees and are now 1st year Apprentices! Congrats!

Today we honor Omi G. Walden and her contributions or solar energy. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter announced that he will nominate Omi G. Walden to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy. Her area of responsibility would be conservation and solar applications. From 1973 to 1976, Walden served as Federal/State relations coordinator and a policy adviser on energy and environmental issues for Georgia Governors Jimmy Carter and George Busbee. Since 1976 she has been director of the Georgia Office of Energy Resources, which she was responsible for establishing. Omi Walden passed away on July 23, 2021, but her contributions and dedication to solar energy and the environment will not be forgotten. Thank you Omi! #womenshistorymonth #solarhistory101

We asked our friends over at @chicagowomenintrades what led them to join the Renewable Energy Fund’s program.. CWIT is an amazing community organization and has been around since 1981, always providing our Summer Solar curriculum with absolutely amazing candidates. All our these CWIT women are currently working in the field as a IBEW trainee.