Utilizing Workers From the Local Union Hiring Hall
by Bill Haase

A referral/hiring hall furnishes quality craftsmen to signatory contractors within the Electrical Contracting arena. An example of the process is, the contractor faxes a request into the Hiring Hall, before 4:00 PM, for journeyman manpower. At 4:30 PM the requests are available to a pool of manpower through a job line via telephone. An applicant for employment listens to the calls and beginning at 8:00 AM the next morning the applicant calls into the Hiring Hall and places their name on the list for the jobs they are interested in and qualified for. The applicant with the highest registration number is then assigned to the job or contractor. In most cases he is available for work that day before noon or will be at the shop or job site at the designated starting time the following morning.

The term quality craftsmen is not used loosely. In most cases the Journeymen have completed a five year apprenticeship and since 1995 have also obtained an Associates Degree in Applied Science. This training is provided and paid for by a built in amount per hour for every hour worked and in most cases is less than $0.35 per hour. Any craftsman referred out of our Hiring Hall is subject to an agreed upon random substance abuse testing. This scenario as described is available any where in the United States and Canada. Check out www.ibew.org for an IBEW Local Union Hiring Hall near you. This scenario is also available to most trades with some slight differences.

Bill Haase
Assistant Business Manager
IBEW Local Union 153
http://www.ibew.org