Related field history You chose the electrician / trades record. Each milestone below describes that field. A link to your specific role or workplace needs its own source.
Decisions behind this path Apprenticeships, contractors and jobsites
1962
New York’s Local 3 widens apprenticeship recruitment
Who Edward Mays, Harry Van Arsdale Jr. and IBEW Local 3
What changedThe local invited applicants through civil rights groups and vocational schools. Mays, a Black electrician trained in the program, helped select the new class.
Who Arthur Fletcher, U.S. assistant secretary of labor
What changedOn covered construction contracts in five Philadelphia-area counties, bidders had to set minority hiring goals for electrical work and five other trades.
Electrical workers organize for a voice in their union
Who Leon Wilkerson, Johnny Walker and fellow IBEW delegates
What changedBlack and Hispanic delegates formed the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus. Caucus members met with union leaders to press for representation on the national staff.
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Learning the trade, holding a license, joining a union and obtaining paid work were separate hurdles. These records show Black contractors, apprentices and union organizers changing access in specific places.
Field records. A connection to your workplace needs its own evidence.
Scope & research limits
Five episodes across Chicago, New York and the Philadelphia area. Apprenticeship admission, contract requirements, union representation and an actual jobsite are kept separate.
The orders identified exclusionary union practices and contractors’ dependence on union hiring halls.
Who made the decision
Assistant Secretary of Labor Fletcher issued the Philadelphia Plan orders under Executive Order 11246.
What changed
Bidders on covered contracts exceeding $500,000 in five Philadelphia-area counties had to commit to minority employment goals, including for electrical workers.
Where the evidence stops
A contracting requirement and a court ruling do not establish how many workers a particular contractor hired or retained.
Where to look The Electrical Worker, February 2025, page 7; stadium maintenance paragraph
PLACE BY PLACE
At specific workplaces
These records name an institution, school or employer. Open one to see what connects, what changed and what still needs evidence.
IBEW-NECA Technical Institute, Alsip, ILAlsip, Illinois
Program start date undocumented
IN-Tech trains electrical apprentices
The institute describes its communications and electrical construction apprenticeships and explains how candidates apply. Its public guide does not identify individual apprentices.
Where the connection stops The institute describes its registration and selection process. The guide leaves individual admission and hiring decisions unknown.
Taylor Electric Company, Chicago, ILChicago, Illinois
1922
Sam Taylor starts an electrical contracting company
Sam Taylor and Charles Vernon Stewart III studied the trade together when publishers refused to send electrical lessons to Black readers. Stewart helped Taylor start the company in Chicago in 1922.
Where the connection stops The HistoryMakers’ biography describes a friend ordering lessons that publishers would not send to Black readers. Stewart and Taylor studied the trade before starting the company.
Black electricians gain full membership in Local 134
Charles Stewart recalled that Black electricians in Chicago first received work permits and later gained full union membership. He went on to help other Black electricians enter Local 134.
Where the connection stops Stewart’s interview guide distinguishes work permits from full union membership. It dates the change to 1943.
Taylor Electric, the Black-owned Chicago contractor, took over electrical maintenance at Soldier Field in the early 1990s. The union’s account names the company but does not identify individual workers on the job.
Where the connection stops The union identifies the contractor responsible for electrical maintenance. Its account leaves the names of individual crew members unknown.
Electrical workers and contractors built a joint apprenticeship system that paired paid work with technical instruction. This is a documented route into the electrician trade. These sources do not establish how accessible individual programs were to Black applicants across regions.
Unions and contractors sponsor apprenticeship programs, and some employers train electricians through other routes. States and localities often require a license. The trade label identifies an important training gate, with the legal permission to work determined separately.
These figures describe the published electrician / trades occupation. A separate measure would be needed for your specific job title.
Employed workforce
Black maleBlack female
Coverage 2006–2024. Dots mark reported years. Gaps stay open.
2006–2008 definition. Electricians. Black or African American alone (RAC1P=2), any Hispanic origin or birthplace. Denominator: all U.S. civilian employed people age 16+ in this occupation (ESR=1 or 2; 50 states and DC). Weighted by ACS person weight PWGTP. OCCP: 6350.
2009 definition. Electricians. Black or African American alone (RAC1P=2), any Hispanic origin or birthplace. Denominator: all U.S. civilian employed people age 16+ in this occupation (ESR=1 or 2; 50 states and DC). Weighted by ACS person weight PWGTP. OCCP: 6350. Underlying occupation verified against SOCP 472111 on every person record.
2010–2017 definition. Electricians. Black or African American alone (RAC1P=2), any Hispanic origin or birthplace. Denominator: all U.S. civilian employed people age 16+ in this occupation (ESR=1 or 2; 50 states and DC). Weighted by ACS person weight PWGTP. OCCP: 6355.
2018–2024 definition. Electricians; excludes helpers and other trades. Black or African American alone (RAC1P=2), any Hispanic origin or birthplace. Denominator: all U.S. civilian employed people age 16+ in this occupation (ESR=1 or 2; 50 states and DC). Weighted by ACS person weight PWGTP. OCCP: 6355.
Electricians. Black or African American alone (RAC1P=2), any Hispanic origin or birthplace. Denominator: all U.S. civilian employed people age 16+ in this occupation (ESR=1 or 2; 50 states and DC). Weighted by ACS person weight PWGTP. OCCP: 6350.
Electricians. Black or African American alone (RAC1P=2), any Hispanic origin or birthplace. Denominator: all U.S. civilian employed people age 16+ in this occupation (ESR=1 or 2; 50 states and DC). Weighted by ACS person weight PWGTP. OCCP: 6350. Underlying occupation verified against SOCP 472111 on every person record.
Electricians. Black or African American alone (RAC1P=2), any Hispanic origin or birthplace. Denominator: all U.S. civilian employed people age 16+ in this occupation (ESR=1 or 2; 50 states and DC). Weighted by ACS person weight PWGTP. OCCP: 6355.
Electricians; excludes helpers and other trades. Black or African American alone (RAC1P=2), any Hispanic origin or birthplace. Denominator: all U.S. civilian employed people age 16+ in this occupation (ESR=1 or 2; 50 states and DC). Weighted by ACS person weight PWGTP. OCCP: 6355.
Coverage 1990–1990. Dots mark reported years. Gaps stay open.
1990 definition. Electricians, except apprentices + Electrician apprentices. People age 16+ in the U.S. civilian labor force classified in the named occupation, including experienced unemployed. Black, single reported race, any Hispanic origin or birthplace. Share of all people in those rows, male and female combined. Published decennial sample estimates.
Electricians, except apprentices + Electrician apprentices. People age 16+ in the U.S. civilian labor force classified in the named occupation, including experienced unemployed. Black, single reported race, any Hispanic origin or birthplace. Share of all people in those rows, male and female combined. Published decennial sample estimates.
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