IBEW 993 Frequently Asked Questions

If a job is posted as filled it’s usually because it was a name request, an apprentice returning from school, etc.

The Unemployed List

The Unemployed List contains everyone who is currently unemployed and has their Ready for Work certifications, regardless of their availability.

Typically shifts are written with the number of working days, a slash, then the number of days off.

Some Typical Shifts

21/7 = Work 21 days, 7 days off
20/8 = Work 20 days, 8 days off
14/7 = Work 14 days, 7 days off
10/4 = Work 10 days, 4 days off
5/2 = Work 5 days, 2 days off

Compressed Work Week

A contractor may decide to work a compressed work week which is 10 hours per day for 4 days per week. This is often called 4/10 or four tens. Don’t confuse this with the 10/4 shift.
For more information on Compressed Work Week schedules, check out section 301 of our agreement.

A Dispatch Request for a compressed work week will always be displayed as:

Shift: 4/3
Hours: 10 Hours/Day

When you’re logged in as a member and viewing unfilled dispatch requests, you will see a link to Register for the call.

The online call registration is one of two ways that you can inform the dispatch office that you are interested in and would like a phone call for that dispatch request.

If you register for a dispatch request, it means that you have read over all of the requirements and definitely want the job.

Occasionally, the dispatch request postings on the web site will have acronyms in the details section.

RFS: Return From School. See this FAQ for more information

NR: Name Request. See the Dispatch Rules and Name Request FAQs for more information

JW: Journeyman Wireman

AW: Apprentice Wireman

WW: Wireman Welder

BT: Boomtruck Operator

LOA: Living Out Allowance. See 704(g) in the Inside Wireman’s Agreement

Acc: Accomodations. The contractor is supplying accommodations, usually along with a daily mail allowance. See 704(g) in the Inside Wireman’s Agreement

If you’re an apprentice that’s currently working and you will be attending school, the contractor that you’re working for will give you a layoff to attend school.

You must call the dispatch office to put your name on the out of work list.

If you don’t call the dispatch office when you’re laid off, all of those days in school will be counted as days worked and that will effect your position on the out of work list. If the contractor doesn’t have work for you when you’re finished school, you will be further down the out of work list than you should be.

If the contractor that you were working for when you were laid off to go to school has work for you when you’ve completed school, they can issue a Dispatch Request for you stating that you are returning from school. The dispatch office will issue a Return From School clearance and you can go right back to work. To initiate the Return From School procedure, please let the dispatcher know that you’d like to go back and we will contact the contractor.

You cannot go back to work until the Return From School clearance has been sent.

What is a name request?
A name request is when a contractor requests a specific person regardless of where they are on the out of work list.

From the IBEW 993 Dispatch Rules:
All contractors working in the jurisdiction of IBEW LU 993 will be entitled to name request one journeyman on a one to one basis to the maximum of fourteen journeymen, from the unemployed list. For example: one jouneyman name request and one journeyman cleared under the normal procedure and so on to a maximum of fourteen journeymen.

From Our Agreement: Article IV Section 402 (Last paragraph)
An Employer shall be allowed to send one (1) “A” Foreman and one “B” Foreman per project site into the geographic jurisdiction of other locals within the Province.

Examples

Out of Jurisdiction Signatory Contractor
One of our signatory contractors based outside of our jurisdiction obtains work within our jurisdiction and sends a name request for their “A” Foreman that is a current employee and member of another local. At this time, they cannot request their second out of jurisdiction “B” foreman because there aren’t enough people on the job site to warrant a “B” foreman. See Article IV Section 402 for an example of job build up numbers and positions.

Calls would be one off the list and one name request until there were 14 journeymen on the job. Further calls would then be all off the list.

Local Shop
A local shop may have a 50/50 name request ratio up to a total of 14 journeymen, which is a total of 7 name requests.
If a shop employs 6 journeymen, then only 3 of them should be name requests.
The name request ratio can get out of sync due to normal business operations with layoffs, people quiting, etc. If the number of name requests is less than 7 but there are less list requests than name requests, then all requests must be off the list until the ratio is restored.

No. There is a maximum number of name requests that a contractor can have, based on the number of people currently on site.

See “How do name requests work?” for more information.

While it’s possible to move down on the list, it usually only happens rarely unless you’re quite far down on the list.

If a member is cleared for a short period of time, it’s possible that their days worked number after their days worked are added is still lower than yours.

The IBEW 993 unemployed lists are ordered based on the number of days worked in the current year. Everyone is assigned a number, to which the number of days worked is added to, determining their position on the list.

Example: If someone has a number of 100 and they work 53 days, their new number when they’re added to the unemployed list will be 153.

At the beginning of each year, the lists are zeroed out and everyone is renumbered maintaining their current position on the list. This is done to ensure that the numbers don’t become unwieldy and to maintain fairness over time.

If you were laid off from a job that you started in the current year, the formula would be:

Number of Days Worked + Starting List Number = New Number

If you were laid off from a job that you started in the previous year, the formula would be:

1. Number of Days from the Start Date to the Zero Out Date + Starting List Number = Number At The Beginning of the Previous Year
2. The Number at the Beginning of the Previous Year is then compared to the Zero Out list so a new number for the Beginning of the Current Year can be determined.
3. Number of Days from The Zero Out Date to the Last Day Worked + Number at the Beginning of the Current Year =  New Number

Depending on the situation, you may be able to move from one job site to another as long as:

1. You are a 993 member
2. The contractor is the same and has an office/shop in our jurisdiction.
3. The contract is the same.

In some cases, contractors from outside our jurisdiction are granted name requests on a per site basis. When this is the case, you must not transfer to another job site.

If you’re ever in doubt, just call the dispatch office and I’ll help you out.

It’s important to inform the dispatch office via telephone (no messages), in person, or by using the online form (no emails) whenever you are out of work so those days aren’t counted as days worked. You must contact the dispatch office and not the main office staff.

We cannot put you back on the list via telephone message or an email. You MUST use one of the two methods:

1. Telephone – 778-470-5657
2. Online Form – https://ibew993.org/end-work/

Even if you do not want to go right back to work, you should should still call in to the dispatch office. If you’re not available for work, just let the dispatch office know and we’ll mark you as not available.

Manpower requests are posted on the website by 4:00 pm the day they were received. You will be able to register for that request until 8:00 am the following business day.

At 8:00 am the following business day, the request is closed to registrations.

A call out will be performed, calling the members that registered in the order that they are on the list.

Manpower requests are posted on the website by 4:00 pm the day they were received. You will be able to register for that request until 8:00 am the following business day.

You have from 4:00 pm to 8:00 am to think about the job, talk to your family or significant other, ask questions via the dispatch request page, etc.

No, we cannot force the company to lay you off. All job calls will be considered indefinite in duration unless an exact completion date is specified.

Yes. Dues must be paid up before reporting to the Job Site. Failing to do so may mean removal from the job until your are dues are paid the the end of the current month.