Lonnie R. Stephenson, whose 47-year career at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers took him from apprentice to the union’s top position, has announced that he will retire as IBEW president, effective Jan. 4.
In a Nov. 23 announcement, the union's international executive council named Kenneth Cooper, 61, currently IBEW secretary-treasurer, to fill the rest of Stephenson’s term, which was to expire in 2026. He was appointed union president in 2015 and re-elected twice.