In 1870 or 1872, McBride joined the Ohio Miners' Union. He became secretary of Lodge No. 15, M. L. B. A. In 1877, McBride became district president of the Tuscarawas Valley Miners' Association. He also served as president of the Miners' Protective Association of Ohio. In 1879, McBride stopped working in mines and became a check weighman at the Groves Coal Company. In April 1882, he was elected president of the Ohio Miners' Union, a post that he retained until 1889. In December 1888, he became president of the National Progressive Miners' Union and served in that role until February 1890. In 1886, he was nominated for
Ohio Secretary of State, but lost to
James S. Robinson. In 1887, he ran for the
Ohio Senate, but lost. Starting in 1890, McBride was editor of the ''Miner's Independent'', publication of the miners' union based in Massillon. He was appointed police magistrate in
Phoenix, Arizona, and was a member of the tobacco manufacturing firm McBride and Beaver. He served as president of the Arizona State Federation of Labor. ==Personal life==