IBEW 993 Frequently Asked Questions

At the beginning of a new year the unemployed lists are renumbered, maintaining everyone’s position. You position on the unemployed list will not change because of a zero out.

Immediately after a zero out, your position on the Master Unemployed List and your days worked number will be exactly the same.

The process of zeroing out the unemployed list is done to ensure fairness over time for all members.

Example list before a Zero Out:

Example of the same last after a Zero Out:

Notice that all positions have been maintained and no one has been moved up or down the list. Only the Days Worked numbers have changed.

Your current number is determined by taking your number from the beginning of the year and adding the number of days that you’ve worked in the current year.

Your number is not your place on the out of work list but determines your place on the list.

Even if you haven’t worked any days in the current year, your number cannot be zero because we have to maintain the list order.

To see how the order of the unemployed list is determined see How is the order of the unemployed list determined?

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

Typically no. Your position on the unemployed list is determined by the number of days that you’ve worked in the current year.

It’s important to inform the dispatch office via the online form or by telephone (no messages) whenever you are out of work so those days aren’t counted as days worked.