This Labor Day, Omaha's growing electrical workers union celebrates 134 years

This Labor Day, while many unions nationally face declining membership rates in right-to-work states like Nebraska, IBEW is growing its roughly 2,700-member base of electricians and training its next generation of electrical apprentices using fully funded local classrooms and on-the-job work.

It matters because electricians are in demand. Jobs for electricians are expected to grow by 9% between 2025 and 2035, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That projected job growth rate is three times faster than the national average of 3% for all occupations.

“We need everybody we can get,” IBEW Local 22 President Jay Ignowski said in a recent interview.

Union leaders say developments, property owners and commercial entities from Norfolk to Nebraska City and from the Platte River into Iowa have benefited and will continue to benefit from members of IBEW Local 22. Electricians power projects big and small, from the new Mutual of Omaha skyscraper and the University of Nebraska Medical Center's expansion to new schools and homes.

“We do it all,” Ignowski said.

Chartered in 1892, IBEW Local 22 is one of the oldest trade unions in Omaha. The local charter came a year after the national IBEW formed in 1891.

Persevering through politics

IBEW Local 22's growth contrasts with national trends of membership declines. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that 10% of workers were union members in 2025. Twice as many workers were union members in 1983, the bureau's first year with comparable data.

The 2025 number was significantly bolstered by public-sector employees, with nearly 33% of them belonging to a union. About 6% of private-sector employees are in unions. That latter tally includes IBEW members.

The 2010s were particularly difficult for unions. Legislative sessions in 2012, 2013 and 2014 each saw 19 or more states introduce right-to-work legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In 2015 and 2017, Wisconsin and Kentucky became the 26th and 27th states, respectively, to enact such laws. Although unions have scored some recent wins — Michigan repealed its right-to-work law in 2023, as reported by the Associated Press — 26 states still have such laws on the books.

Ignowski, president of IBEW Local 22 since 2019, said he is not fazed by the criticism of IBEW and unions overall.

“We’ve been under attack since we came into existence. It’s nothing new to us,” he said. “We’ve been here for 135 years (nationally), and we’ll be here for another 135 years. We just show up, do our job, and everything takes care of itself.”

IBEW Local 22 has been heavily involved in the communities members serve. Union members plan to march in Omaha’s Labor Day parade. The union itself honors its past. 

Prominently displayed on IBEW’s local website is a link to obituaries of union members, including many who retired decades before their deaths.

“We always respect the people that came before us. We’re just the next generation building on and protecting what the people before us fought for,” Ignowski said. “We owe them a debt of gratitude.”

Who can become an IBEW electrician?

Anyone who lives in IBEW Local 22’s service area can apply to be an apprentice electrician. Those who are selected will not have to pay a penny for their training at the local union headquarters. Ignowski said the local union takes in about 120 apprentice electricians each year.

Each apprentice electrician must undergo a four-year training program that includes two three-hour evening classes each week from September through May. Each apprentice electrician is assigned to a contractor who oversees their training during the day.

“They get on-the-job training during the day and then the classroom work during the evenings,” Ignowski said.

For the union, covering the training costs of each apprentice is a sound investment. Ignowski said more than 90% of apprentice electricians successfully complete the four-year program and become journeymen electricians.

“They’re committed,” he said.

Becoming an electrician through IBEW Local 22 opens a pathway to a comfortable middle-class life. A journeyman electrician who completes IBEW’s four-year program earns a starting wage of $48 per hour. Without overtime, that comes out to nearly $100,000 per year.

An apprentice electrician going through the program also earns a wage that increases for every 1,500 hours they log. Apprentice electricians also accrue more benefits as they gain more experience.

IBEW Local 22 has a wide range of recruiting tools. Its members attend job fairs at area high schools. It partners with the Omaha Public Schools on a career pathway for students to become apprentice electricians. Ignowski said the OPS program includes the first-year curriculum taught by IBEW.

“If kids take that class, they’re pretty well set up to come take our aptitude test and get into our apprenticeship program, because they’ve been through our first-year curriculum,” he said.

People can also find out how to become an apprentice electrician by going to the Omaha Joint Electrical Apprenticeship Training Committee’s website at ojeatc.com.

Ignowski said IBEW Local 22 considers applicants of all ages. 

“It’s never too late to start,” he said.