At the 1905 convention, Peter Collins formed a harmony committee of inside and linemen who were divided over questions of initiation fees, technical examinations, and universal traveling cards. He also moved a deadlocked convention into changing conventions of the IBEW from 2 to 4 years, moving national headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Springfield, Illinois, and reorganized the two year old district councils by reducing the number of Grand Vice Presidents from seven to three, but electing a seven member executive board to represent the various geographical areas, and left strike sanctions up to the International President.

An innovative speaker and compromiser, Peter Collins was elected Grand Secretary Treasurer.

The seven geographical areas elected the executive board who were all linemen. They were charged with duties to adjust local difficulties between unions and their members. No sooner had the membership ratified the new Constitution than the inside and linemen locals rejected the compromise, and President McNulty and Vice President Reid (a lineman who wanted McNulty to call a national strike against Bell Telephone, which the linemen hoped to organize nationally), got into a dispute which would split the IBEW and nearly cause it to collapse.

Peter Collins, in support of President McNulty, fielded all the mud slinging and distortions of truth that Reid and the International Treasurer, Frank J. Sullivan, conceived, until Collins and Sullivan came close to a fistfight in the International office.