Construction Organizing

How do I become a member and organize the Company that I am working for?

The FIRST STEP IS TO CONTACT US!   IBEW Local 363 can organize ANY EMPLOYER or CONTRACTOR!   Begin by calling us at (845) 783-3500 and make a direct contact with any Union Representative or Organizer. You can also email any of us at our emails which are listed in the “Staff and Officers Box” on this site.

You can feel confident in knowing that when you contact us – it is held in the strictest confidence and NO EMPLOYER will be told of that contact. The most important part at this stage is for US to have a way to communicate with YOU and YOUR CO-WORKERS – so we will need an email for you or a contact number to get things going.

For now, read the information below to get a basic knowledge and understanding about your rights and about becoming a union member of IBEW Local 363!

IBEW Local Union 363 believes in that simple premise that the unionization of workers is a social and economic necessity.

“Long ago we stated the reason for labor organizations. We said that they were organized out of the necessities of the situation; that a single employee was helpless in dealing with an employer; that he was dependent ordinarily on his daily wage for the maintenance of himself and family; that if the employer refused to pay him the wages that he thought fair, he was nevertheless unable to leave the employer and resist arbitrary and unfair treatment; that union was essential to give laborers opportunity to deal on equality with their employer.”

Quote of Chief Justice Charles Evan Hughes,
of the Supreme Court of the U.S.

When considering forming a union in your workplace, it is important you know the facts about a union. Management may take advantage of your lack of knowledge about the union; therefore you must know some basic information about unions.

What is a union?

A union is a group of workers who join together to achieve better wages, better benefits, respect on the job, and a stronger voice in workplace decisions. With the help of a union, workers negotiate a contract with their employer to ensure these things.

Without a union, employers have 100% control over its employees and complete authority to make all decisions. Unions give employees some of this control to make their workplace better. A union’s major goal is to give workers a voice on the job for respect, safety, security, better pay and benefits, and other improvements to working conditions.

How to join the IBEW Construction Branch

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How do I become a member or organize the contractor that I am working for?

Non-union electricians become union members in various ways, such as:

• Applying to the union's Apprenticeship Program.
• When the contractor they are working for decides to sign a union contract for future manpower needs.
• By you and/or other employees contacting a union organizer and signing union authorization cards, then filing an election petition with the National Labor Relation Board. Winning an election for union representation gives you, as well as all the employees, and the union the right to bargain for a union contract.

Union Authorization Card

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If you are interested in joining IBEW Local Union 363 and/or would like to organize the contractor you are currently working for, please complete the authorization card below and mail to:

John D. Sager
IBEW Local Union 363
67 Commerce Drive South
Harriman, N.Y. 10926

Click To Print

(All cards are held in the strictest confidence)

The Mission Of IBEW Local 363

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When our IBEW union founders gathered a century ago, they embraced a vision of building a strong, national union. They fully understood that the key to union strength is organizing and defined the Brotherhood’s mission:

“To organize all workers in the entire electrical industry… into local unions.”

The IBEW Local 363 construction organizing program is designed to regain control of the skilled labor supply and rebuild our bargaining strength. The interests of our members are best served by an aggressive organizing program, but we also understand that an effective organizing program requires a supportive and active membership.

SUPERVISORS BEWARE

IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR AN EMPLOYER, SUPERVISOR, OR AN AGENT ACTING ON BEHALF OF AN EMPLOYER TO INTERFERE WITH, RESTRAIN, OR COERCE EMPLOYERS SEEKING TO ORGANIZE OR JOIN A UNION.

ANY OF THE FOLLOWING ACTS MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT, AS AMENDED.

WHAT SUPERVISORS AND EMPLOYERS CANNOT DO

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• Attend or spy on union meetings, tap union telephones, or engage in any activity which could create the appearance that employees are being kept under surveillance to determine who is and who is not participating in the union program.
• Have employees attend or spy on union meetings or otherwise report on union activity.
• Take still or motion pictures of employees engaging in union activities.
• Attempt to obtain a list of union activists.
• Ask employees about confidential union matters or meetings.
• Ask employees whether they belong to the union, whether they plan to join the union, or other questions about the union or its representatives in circumstances that might tend to restrain employees from engaging in union activities.
• Threaten or intimidate union members or supporters through third parties.
• Urge employees to induce other employees not to join the union.
• Threaten employees with discharge or layoff if they engage in union activity.
• Discharge or layoff any employee because of his or her union activity.
• Threaten employees with economic reprisal for participating in union activities. Such illegal threats include threats to close or relocate the plant, to curtail operations or subcontract work, to eliminate overtime or paid rest breaks, or to take away or reduce any other employee benefits.
• Make statements about the union that reasonably could be understood to contain a threat of reprisal for engaging in union activity.
• Initiate or encourage a petition against the union.
• Promise employees promotions, wage increases, or other benefits if they refrain from joining or the quit the union.
• Give wage or benefit increases to employees during an organizing drive, where such increases are not part of an established program of improvements.
• Tell employees that union activity will be viewed as disloyalty to the Company.
• Ask a job applicant about his affiliation with or support for a labor organization.
• Refuse to hire a job applicant because he or she is pro-union.
• Provide financial support or other assistance to a union or an employee committee.
• Take an active part in organizing a union or a shop committee or otherwise pressure employee to join a company committee or union.
• Participate in the internal affairs of the union.
• Assign work, transfer employees, or allocate overtime on the basis of union affiliation.
• Discipline union supporters or union officers more severely than other employees or show any other preference for non-union employees with respect to wages, hours, or other terms and conditions of employment.
• Make work conditions more difficult or onerous for union supporters than for other employees.
• Exclude supporters of the union from participation in a company sponsored pension, insurance or other benefit plan.
• Deviate from an established company policy for the purpose of getting rid of a union supporter.
• Close down part of the business to discourage effective union activity.
• Close down one facility to discourage unionism in another.
• Discharge or discriminate against an employee because he or she has filed a charge with the NLRB, refused to withdraw a charge from the Board, given statements to a Board agent, or testified as a witness at a Board hearing.
• Deny benefits or other terms and conditions of employment to employees who testify for the union at a Board hearing, if the employer does not deny these benefits to pro-employer witnesses.
• Ask questions about an employee’s cooperation with the Board or its agents investigating an unfair labor practice.
• Refuse to supply the union’s negotiating committee with financial data, statistics, etc., relating to employees’ wages, benefits, or other terms and conditions of employment.
• Bar employee union representatives from soliciting employee membership during non-working hours.

SUPERVISORS REMEMBER: YOU CANNOT LEGALLY TERMINATE EMPLOYEES FOR REFUSING TO PERFORM ANY OF THE ABOVE ACTS OR FOR TESTIFYING AGAINST AN EMPLOYER AT AN NLRB PROCEEDING.

ORGANIZING

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Local 363 is in the process of organizing contractors and electricians into our local union. We want to ensure that electrical contractors in our jurisdiction pay fair wages and complete projects with the highest standards in the industry.

We are also actively involved in organizing industrial, communication and manufacturing plants in our area. Local 363 wants to ensure that businesses and companies in our jurisdiction pay fair wages to their employees.

MEMBERS

Becoming a member of Local 363 enables you to earn a paycheck that is equal to the work that you perform, provides benefits for you and your family and allows you to retire in dignity not poverty.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

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IBEW Local Union 363 apprenticeship training consists of an intensive 5-year program taught in our state-of-the-art facility.

Journeyman upgrade courses are also offered to our members to ensure our members are the most productive and knowledgeable electricians in the industry.

SENIORITY

In our construction division, seniority is not based on when you joined the union but when you were hired for that particular job. That happens on each jobsite. All members are equal in regard to jobsite seniority, whether you have been a member for 30 minutes or 30 years.

REFERRAL SYSTEM

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Union contractors operate very differently than non-union contractors when they are hiring additional employees. Union contractors do not hire through the newspapers. Union contractors call the union hall and request Journeyman or Apprentices depending on their needs. The union hall then refers the workers who are registered on the referral list.

All electrical contractors whether union or non-union hire, and lay-off workers. No One is completely safe from that. But union members have a greater chance of immediately returning to work because of our Referral System.

UNION CONTRACTORS

There are well over 250 union electrical contractors that employ our members in the Hudson Valley area alone. Union contractors call daily for new electricians and apprentices for their project needs.

CONTRACT

When working for a union contractor, you work under the terms of a written contract that provides you with the wages and benefits that have been listed, along with working conditions.

UNION DUES

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There are 2 dues structures - Membership dues and Working dues.

Membership Dues - you pay yearly to be a member of the IBEW They equal .82 cents per day

Working Dues - you pay on your hours worked. They equal 3% of your gross wage.

UNION MEETINGS

Union Meetings are held once per month and anything that is of importance to our members or the electrical industry is discussed and important decisions that affect our members are voted on. This is also where union electricians that work in the area for different contractors meet to socialize and compare experiences. Union Meetings are held in the Harriman Training Facility on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 7:00 PM.

WAGE AND BENEFIT RATES

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Construction pay rates are set-up in 2 pay rate zones and are as follows:

ZONE 1 WAGE = $ 41.00
ZONE 1 BENEFITS = $ 23.48
• ZONE 1 TOTAL WAGE & BENEFITS = $ 64.48

ZONE 2 WAGE = $ 37.00
ZONE 2 BENEFITS = $ 23.24
• ZONE 2 TOTAL WAGE & BENEFITS = $ 60.24

Residential pay rates are set-up in 2 pay rate zones and are as follows:

ZONE 1 WAGE = $ 35.00
ZONE 1 BENEFITS = $ 19.12
• ZONE 1 TOTAL WAGE & BENEFITS = $ 54.12

ZONE 2 WAGE = $ 31.00
ZONE 2 BENEFITS = $ 18.88
• ZONE 2 TOTAL WAGE & BENEFITS = 49.88

JURISDICTIONAL ZONES

CONSTRUCTION

ZONE 1 : All of Rockland county. All of Orange county. All of Putnam county.
Towns of Dutchess county to include Beacon, Fishkill, and East Fishkill.

ZONE 2: Remainder of Dutchess county. All of Ulster county, All of Sullivan county,
Our portions of Greene and Delaware counties.

RESIDENTIAL

ZONE 1: All of Rockland county. All of Orange county. All of Putnam county.
Towns of Dutchess county to include Beacon, Fishkill, East Fishkill.

ZONE 2: Remainder of Dutchess county. All of Ulster county. All of Sullivan county.
Our portions of Greene and Delaware counties.

HEALTH AND WELFARE BENEFITS

The UNION provides health insurance to all eligible members and their families. We are self insured but also use AETNA POS II plan.

COVERAGE INCLUDES:

• EYE CARE
• PRESCRIPTION PLAN
• DENTAL CARE
• SURGICAL
• DISABILITY COVERAGE
• HOSPITAL
• LIFE INSURANCE
• OFFICE VISITS

PENSION PLANS

Local 363 has 4 separate retirement plans for you to retire in dignity not poverty. The normal retirement age for the local pension is 65 years old.

• LOCAL UNION PENSION
• N.E.B.F. (National electrical benefit fund)
• I.O. PENSION (International Office Pension)
• ANNUITY FUND

The above listed plans are defined as follows:

Local union pension - $81.50 dollars per month for every year of service.

N. E. B. F. - $32.00 dollars per month for every year of service.

I.O. Pension - $4.50 per month for every year of service.

Annuity Fund - $ 4.00 per hour distributed into fund for every hour worked in construction, and $ 1.00 per hour distributed into fund for every hour worked in residential.

VACATION FUND

$4.00 per hour distributed into fund for every hour worked in construction and $ 1.00 per hour distributed into fund for every hour worked in residential. Vacation forms are mailed yearly to each participating members home address to be signed and returned to the union office. Checks are available the first week of April each year.

HOURS OF WORK

40 Hours per week. Start and quitting times are flexible and vary from job to job.

OVERTIME

After 8 hours per day Monday through Saturday is paid at time and one-half of your regular rate of pay. Holidays and Sundays are paid at double-time of your regular rate of pay.

SUPPLEMENTAL UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT

The S.U.B. plan is designed to provide a supplemental income to you in the event you receive a State Unemployment Benefit. The weekly gross payment for journeymen is $175.00. The weekly gross payment for apprentices is $125.00