Jerry McBride Oral History Interview

Jerry McBride shares his Labor story starting in 1978 when he joined the IBEW and thereafter apprenticed to become a journeyman lineman. McBride worked in 10 states for 18 different IBEW Locals over the course of his career describing challenging jobs on the east coast and throughout New Mexico. McBride emphasizes the role of the Union to create a culture of safety and camaraderie with a  "buddy system."  He emphasizes how the Union provides a mentality of safety and how the Union built safety into the way the IBEW does electrical work.

The Working People's History of New Mexico Project (WPHNM) is an oral labor history project created to gather the labor stories of working people in New Mexico. While part of the interviews focus on the specific jobs that the interviewees performed, the interviews also explore labor-management relations as well as union, workers council, and social activism participation.  The interviews contain information about family and social relationships and offer themes of social and historical interest in New Mexico and the US.