Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 26 are celebrating the legacy of George Hogan, business manager of the IBEW Local 26. After holding office since 2016 and being an IBEW member for 50 years, he is now entering a well-deserved retirement.
To take Hogan’s place, members have elected Joe Dabbs as business manager and re-elected Tom Myers as president.
Hogan’s legacy
Hogan’s IBEW legacy goes way back. Not only is he a 50-year member of the IBEW, but he’s also the fourth generation in his family to hold membership. This follows his great-grandfather, grandfather, and father, who was also a former business manager.
“Growing up in a union household, I had always been told about the union way of life and how it was the union that had given my dad a chance to provide for his family,” Hogan said. “This was the start of my understanding of what the possibilities of a life in the electrical trade could be.”
Monumental projects in Washington, D.C.
Hogan started his career after graduating from the apprenticeship program in 1976. Throughout his career, he worked on many well-known sites in Washington, D.C. These included the Metro System, Pentagon, the U.S. Capitol, and many monuments, including the Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and FDR Memorial.
“I was able to work at the Pentagon which might not seem to be that important, but my grandfather, George C. Hogan, whom I was named after, built the Pentagon from the ground up,” Hogan said. “To me, that was exciting. I was also able to stand at the top of the Washington Monument (on the outside) which few people have done. I have been down in the depths of the United States Capitol Building in places that the public never gets to see and under the Jefferson Memorial where the whole understructure is exposed and like a large cave. Again, there are things that few people get to see in their everyday jobs.”
Union pride
Clearly, Hogan has always been proud of being part of the union. He takes pride in the high quality of training all workers receive and the excellent standard of workers’ rights.
“We always keep our members up to speed on the latest advances in the electrical world through our JATC apprentice training and our continuing education classes that keep our members at the top of the trade,” Hogan said. “There are no others better than us in the electrical trade and I have seen that throughout my career.”
Looking forward with Joe Dabbs
As Hogan moves toward a well-deserved retirement, incoming business manager Joe Dabbs is excited to take on this new opportunity.
“I have so much admiration for the work George Hogan has done for our industry,” Dabbs said. “That’s why I’m so honored to step into this position and will do my best to fill his shoes in continuing to uplift all of our hard-working members.”
