The series contains materials collected by Ian McDonald for the purposes of writing his Master’s thesis on the history of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 213, from 1901 to 1961. Materials within the series include collective agreements, newspaper and journal articles, court case summaries, interview transcriptions, census tables, meeting minutes, correspondence and dissertations; most materials are photocopies rather than original documents, however.

Also included are materials that pertain to the Lenkurt strike of 1966, which McDonald omitted from his original thesis to limit its scope. He took up the events surrounding the Lenkurt strike in a later essay, “Spontaneity Went Out with Spartacus: IBEW Local 213, Les McDonald, and the Lenkurt Strike of 1966,” which McDonald regards as a continuation of his Master’s research; the essay is also part of the series.

File contains handwritten transcripts from interviews Ian McDonald conducted with Malcolm "Cal" Morrison, Larry Jack, John Carson, Mr. & Mrs. Howard Hume, Edmund Morrison, Fred Hoppe and Roland Gerwin.

File contains handwritten transcriptions made by Ian McDonald from his interviews with George Gee and Jack Ross.

File contains notebooks, newspaper clippings, handwritten notes and pamphlets related to Les McDonald's union activities with IBEW Local 213.

File contains notebooks, newspaper clippings, handwritten notes and pamphlets related to Les McDonald's union activities with IBEW Local 213.

File contains notebooks, newspaper clippings, handwritten notes and pamphlets related to Les McDonald's union activities with IBEW Local 213.

File contains material photocopied by Ian McDonald related to William F. Dunne, union leader and state legislator in Montana during the early 20th century as well as a former business agent of IBEW Local 213; of particular interest for McDonald are speeches given by Dunne.

File contains a West Kootenay Power 85th Anniversary Edition of the Hi-Lines newsletter, a shareholder report from Cominco, a timeline of agreements between West Kootenay Power and IBEW Local B-287 from 1946-1947, and the business card of Jack Fisher, public relations for West Kootenay Power.

File contains copies of workmen's compensation reports for labourers in various professions; reports cover 1926-1930, 1935-1939, 1942-1947. Also contains handwritten notes by Ian McDonald recording figures from 1917-1961.

File contains photocopied minutes from a meeting of the Inside Wiremen, an executive board meeting discussing the meeting of the Inside Wiremen and the 1953 election results of IBEW Local 213.