Traveling in railroad boxcars, Henry Miller visited Evansville, Louisville, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Milwaukee, organizing as he worked. Unions were organized in Toledo, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Duluth. Other small organizations of linemen and wiremen in New York, Denver and on the West Coast were contacted. 

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A year later, in September of 1891, the call went out to all those newly organized locals to meet in St. Louis to pull this loose collection of locals into a national union. And on November 21, ten men -- T.J. Finnell from Chicago; F.J. Heizleman from Toledo; E.C. Hartung from Indianapolis; Harry Fisher from Evansville; Henry Miller, J.T. Kelly and William Hedden from St. Louis; and J.C. Sutter, Joseph Berlovitz and James Dorsey representing locals by proxy -- met at what became the First Convention of the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. They met for a week and worked out a constitution, adopted a logo, the now-famous clenched fist holding lighting bolts. Miller was elected first Grand President and Kelly first Grand Secretary.