History of the Electrical Workers Local Union 508
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 508 organized November 4, 1916 with approximately eleven members; now the membership exceeds five hundred. In 1955 there were still several members holding membership much older than the Local Union had been established.
Chartered officers were J.T. Hill, President; M. Raines, Vice President; Henry Tollie, Recording Secretary, and W.S. Shattuck, Financial Secretary and Business Manager. Other charter members were C.C. Atkins, H.G. Lucrer, E.L. Cannon, W.C. Sloop, A.J. Tollie, Richard Doyle, and C.G. Robinson.
In 1916 the Journeyman Wireman wage rate were 40 cents per hour. On July 1, 1956 the wages increased to $3.10 which several of our members remember making. However, the last 100 years have been a long slow race to the present time wages that are proudly at $26.55 and we hope to continue to grow every year.
Our hall was located at 39th and Bull Street in downtown Savannah, and then we moved into our current location in 1995 to expand our business. As our brotherhood has grown, we found a need for our satellite office in Brunswick in 2014.
The Local Union 508 proudly holds all the outstanding jobs in twenty-seven counties of Georgia and four counties in South Carolina.
Our IBEW membership meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month starting at 7 p.m. Located at 1526 Dean Forest Road, Savannah, Georgia 31408.
We are in hopes that the progress of our Local Union will advance as it has done in the past and looking forward to the innovative ideas of our future.