Saturday was a national day of service for the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus, and 25 volunteers from St. Paul-based Local 110 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers spent the morning roughing in a Habitat for Humanity home in Faribault.
The service project brought together journey-level workers, apprentices and their family members. Volunteer turnout was the highest Local 110 has seen since the union began participating in the day of service five years ago.
Mike Roberts, a journey-level worker who participated in the volunteer project, said Local 110’s minority caucus is growing.
“IBEW members are recognizing that the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus is not just a minority committee,” said Roberts, who serves as caucus president. “They’re recognizing the important work happening in the committee, and they’re getting behind us. We’re all doing this together.”
The Habitat build offered several newly registered apprentices an opportunity to sharpen their skills working alongside more experience Electrical Workers, connect with fellow union members and have some fun.
“Everybody likes to do Habitat houses,” Roberts said.
For the Rice County chapter of Habitat for Humanity, the feeling is mutual. The Minority Caucus day of service is among several projects adopted by Local 110 volunteers throughout the year.
“We are very grateful for the strong partnership with IBEW,” Dayna Norvold, executive director of Rice County Habitat, said. “The crews are great to work with, and we couldn’t fulfill our mission of building safe, decent and affordable homes without their partnership.”
The home IBEW volunteers wired Saturday is a one-story rambler with two bedrooms, one bathroom and a two-car garage. Norvold said she hopes to see it completed in March 2020, with a deserving family taking ownership in the following weeks.
Roberts said union members take pride in every job they do, but there’s something unique about projects that improve people’s lives.
“As IBEW members, we feel like we are obligated to give back and serve our communities,” he said.
Union Advocate 
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