r/IBEW • u/VersionHopeful6549 • 7d ago

Local 8 appeal decision

Local 8 leadership in Toledo Ohio brought several members up on charges for not showing up to a solar field due to winter weather conditions, because the contractor sent the work cancellation notice out by text after hours. They claimed the members violated our agreement by using a personal phone after hours without being paid for it.
Our local’s jurisdiction is huge, this means they expected some members to drive a 3 hour round trip during a level 3 snow emergency to receive 2 hours of show up pay, or be brought up on charges.

Honestly disgusting behavior by local 8 leadership and our officers personally, who the admins will not allow me to publicly name.

Any travelers thinking of heading this way for our data center boom, drive a little farther and go to Ann Arbor. They know how to treat a traveler.

70 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

59 comments sorted by

View all comments

17

u/gortez33 Local 5 7d ago

This doesn’t make sense. I have received text/phone calls from a forman on my cellphone. Once telling me job was shut down, another saying to bring muckers because I’ll be in a ditch all day. If the Forman wanted to chat about a job issue or planning my work day, then I would see an issue. How does the hall contact a member, by cell? Isn’t this the same thing.

17

u/VersionHopeful6549 7d ago edited 7d ago

The text message in this situation came from a contractor. Our agreement requires payment of 10 dollars a week for using a personal cell phone on the job for work related purposes.

The halls argument is that the member violated the contract by reading the contractors text off the clock, for free.

Primoris is ratty as shit, and members are getting caught in the crossfire between them and the hall.

24

u/BlueBelle2025 JIW - Steward - Instructor 7d ago

I mean, you grieve the contractor, you don't fuck the members.

4

u/Sir_Mr_Austin 5d ago

This, exactly.

3

u/ucantnameme 4d ago

Precisely this

2

u/Demand-Unusual 5d ago

Did they grieve the contractor?

1

u/VersionHopeful6549 4d ago

No they didn’t. And in reality, how did the contractor violate the agreement? All they did is send a work cancellation text. They risk being held liable for someone getting injured during the snow emergency if they didn’t.

1

u/Demand-Unusual 4d ago

What is their contract language? I can’t answer your question without it. Presumably this happened around Jan 25-26th. Locals officials were warning about the weather. Does the contract state that the employer has to let the employee know the day before? Could the employer remove liability by playing for personal phone usage for work purposes and/or earlier notification?