International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Local no. 3 (New York, N.Y.)

Local 3's origins date back to 1887 when electricians in New York City building trades organized the Electrical Mechanical Wiremen's Union of the Knights of Labor, Local Assembly 5468. This local affiliated with the AFL in the next decade but would not join the IBEW, which established three other locals. A conciliation was reached, however, and an IBEW charter was granted in February 1900.

During a time when workers risked being blackballed for union affiliation, Local 3 organized to protect the wages and working conditions of electricians. Contractors who bitterly opposed the union locked the electricians out of construction sites beginning in 1903. This lockout lasted 33 months with members enduring great personal hardships.

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