For the last 130+ years, IBEW Local 26 has provided the most versatile, productive, and well-trained workforce available. We have over 10,000 highly skilled craftsmen in Maryland (5 counties), Virginia (47 counties) and the District of Columbia with expertise in a variety of industries, including commercial, industrial, multi-residential electrical construction, service & maintenance, fire alarm & life safety, communications/voice/data and more. We believe that a construction project can only succeed when our craftsmen/women and contractors partner together. You need craftsmen with the right skills, attitude, and productivity to profit in a competitive business environment and the need for highly skilled labor has never been greater. IBEW Local 26 is committed to ensuring that our business partners can count on our highly trained craftsmen to perform safely and professionally every day. Below you will find information about the benefits of partnering with Local 26 as a contractor:

The most important way that we help our employers be more competitive is by providing world class training at every stage of our members’ careers.  Local 26 has state-of-the-art training centers in Manassas and Roanoke, VA, and in Lanham, MD. Our four- and five- year apprenticeship programs are rigorous and are taught by the most highly experienced instructors.  Journeymen electricians continue to upgrade their skills through advanced classes that incorporate the latest technological developments. As a result of this training, we ensure that our members perform the highest quality work safely and efficiently. While our members may have vastly different skill sets, they all share the pride and commitment of being the most highly trained in the most up-to-date methodologies, tools, procedures, and safety measures. The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) is responsible for educating all apprentices and trainees and for providing skill-level and continuing education for Journeymen. Our instructors are certified through the National Training Institute, which helps us develop the most productive and safest workforce in the industry. Our apprenticeship program is much more rigid and thorough than state mandates require, consisting of classroom and on-the-job training for a period of five years. All entry level electrical trainees are required to attend skill level classes.

We work with our employers to continually recruit top quality craftsmen needed for projects. When contractors anticipate a project and need to gear up, Local 26 leaps into action creating a pipeline of skilled craftsmen available to man the project, no matter how large, no matter the location within our large jurisdiction.

Local 26 staff is familiar with the multitude of regulations and requirements in the jurisdictions in which we operate, and we take the initiative to educate and inform our contractors of developments that can open up new opportunities. We are on point with updates on licensing, zoning and permitting changes. We not only stay abreast of legislative and regulatory changes, we also actively lobby for new laws and ordinances that make our industry safer and provide more opportunities for responsible contractors to get work in both the public and private sector.

Local 26 is a valued community partner in the DMV area. As responsible and active community members, we have the resources, training, and expertise to improve the conditions in the community. We build relationships with community leaders including elected officials at the local, state and federal level; administrative agency heads; faith communities; business leaders; and nonprofits. These networks benefit our contractors and always keep them in the loop on new opportunities. IBEW Local 26 provides a strategic marketing plan to support our contractors and craftsmen. From widely circulated television and radio advertisements, to earned media events such as community service projects, we lift up the profile of our contractors by elevating public awareness of our skilled union craftsmen. 

Local 26, as with most Unions, establishes certain pay standards. You, as the contractor will be given a schedule of rates for entry level trainees through General Forman. Competitive wage package is negotiated on a 3-year contract basis between NECA (National Electrical Contractors Association) and Local 26. This relieves you of the burden to negotiate different rates and raises for every individual employee. The contract is a minimum and you as the contractor could always go above and beyond if you choose.

There's a certain comfort knowing your employees are going home safely to their families at the end of each day and Local 26 has a safety coordinator on staff to assist you with this. The truth is Union Workers are safer workers because they are trained and highly skilled. Our signatory contractors are also held to a higher standard to maintain safety policies that are second to none in the industry. Local 26 offers a Drug Free List and OSHA-10 and First Aid/CPR classes for a safer workforce.

In today’s world, maintaining an abundance of benefit programs such as healthcare, 401k plans, etc. takes time and money; time that can be better spent actually running your business. Local 26 and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) maintains a Health and Benefit plan and Pension program. Our self-insured healthcare plan provides excellent coverage at a very reasonable cost and we can also provide plans for your clerical/administrative employees. The IBEW/NECA partnership offers you the security of knowing there is a dedicated team managing a full suite of benefit plans for your employees so you don't have to.

As a Union Contractor you have access to an extensive workforce with a variety of skills and qualifications. From electrical apprentices and trainees to wiremen and Journeymen electricians, Local 26 has over 9,000 men and women ready to work. Across the country, the IBEW has hundreds of thousands of members available in every state. Whether you need to maintain a two-person shop or quickly hire 200 employees at a moment's notice, you can with Local 26. Whether you need manpower for one day or one year, we're here to provide you with the skilled workforce you need to run and grow your business.

Our Union has launched a major initiative to diversify the electrical industry from top to bottom. To create more minority contractors, we have joined with the Electrical Alliance to endow a diversity scholarship at Virginia Tech for the study of construction management. Local 26 has expertise in SWaM certification and can provide advice to small, minority and women-owned businesses on how to get certified in each jurisdiction. Both governmental and private projects seek out SWaM contractors and we can steer our contractors towards those opportunities. We can also provide information on federal Small Business Administration programs. Finally, we facilitate relationships with the more than 150 contractors of all sizes which benefit everyone.

Our mission is “to improve the relationship between signatory employers and the IBEW at all levels, to explore ways to work together to become more competitive, to implement programs that increase employment opportunities for these employers and their employees, and to promote the value of union electrical work to the end user.” – Mission Statement of the National Labor Management Cooperation Committee (NLMCC). Programs of the LMCC have been developed from recommendations by the membership of both National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the IBEW, local unions, and chapters.

The LMCC goals:

• To improve communication between representatives of Labor and Management.
• To expand and improve working relationships between workers and managers.
• To provide workers and employers with opportunities to study and explore new and innovative joint approaches to achieve organizational effectiveness.
• To ensure and develop standards regarding the continuing education of the Journeyman Wireman.
• To foster improvements in occupational safety and health and other working conditions in the construction industry.
• To provide a meaningful marketing program.
• To implement a mechanism to benchmark current market share and future market share trends as a result of programs initiated and/or administered by this Committee.

Go here to view projects completed by IBEW Local 26’s trained craftsmen and women.

What's Next?

Becoming a union contractor involves more than just signing some legal documents and calling the IBEW Local 26 for manpower. It means building a relationship that benefits your business for a lifetime.

With a large pool of signatory contractors, Local 26 provides a whole host of options to build a winning team every time. You will have access to thousands of professional, safety-conscious, craft-trained workers. And conversely, union workers are introduced to new and profitable opportunities with the most successful contractors in the region

Qualified help is hard to find and harder to keep. In today’s economy, your employees need to work smarter, faster, safer, and more profitably. Hiring union workers will do just that.

To see how Local 26 can work with you to raise industry standards, improve training, promote quality and protect the bottom line we will be happy to share more information with you. There is no pressure, obligation, or expectation; we just want to help you make an informed decision that is best for your business.

For more information on how IBEW Local 26 can help your company grow please fill out the information below and we will contact you as soon as possible or you can contact the IBEW Local 26 Business Development team by calling 301-459-2900. We look forward to working with you!