Examine your IBEW Local Union’s rate sheet below:

Imagine that a NECA electrical contractor is hiring six IBEW Journeyworkers for a project that will take one work week of 40 hours. Using the most recent wage rate available to you above, calculate the total amount that the contractor will need to spend in labor costs for this team. Write the amount down and save it for later on in the module.

Example: If the total package rate is $45 per hour, you would multiply this rate by forty hours, then multiply that amount by six journeyworkers. The calculation would be $45 x 40 hrs x 6 JWs = $10,800 in total labor costs for a week of work from this team alone, not accounting for Foremen pay or other travel, admin, or field-related expenses borne by the contractor for this team.

After completing the union labor cost calculation, imagine now that a nonunion contractor hires six nonunion electricians to do the same job. Imagine that the nonunion contractor pays three of its electricians on this team at the rate of $35 per hour and three of the electricians on this team at a rate of $25 per hour. They pay each electrician on the team the equivalent of $10 per hour in fringe benefits. How much would this six person team cost the nonunion contractor to hire for the week of work?

Now compare the two numbers:

1. Which contractor–the NECA or the nonunion contractor–would generally, based purely on the labor costs of this team, have lower project costs?
   
2. If you were a client bidding out work and you only considered the project costs in dollars and cents, to which of these contractors would you choose to award your bid?

Nonunion contractors typically have the edge over NECA signatory contractors when it comes to pure labor costs, as on average, these labor costs will typically be lower than the average labor costs of hiring IBEW electricians for the work.

So, how do we set ourselves apart so that our clients will want to choose to hire NECA contractors and IBEW electrical workers over our nonunion competitors?

There are several factors to consider, almost all of which directly result from holding ourselves accountabile to the IBEW Code of Excellence and standards of conduct. Just think:

Because IBEW electrical workers are the most educated and skilled workforce around, we are more likely to produce high-quality work the first time around and will rarely need to redo incorrect work.

Because NECA contractors and IBEW electrical workers focus so much on safety, we are more likely to minimize costs related to medical and legal fees arising from the job site.

Because IBEW electrical workers do not believe in tardiness but do believe in providing eight hours of work for eight hours of pay, we are more likely to complete projects on time for clients.

Considering all of the above, as well as a multitude of other reasons, NECA contractors and IBEW electrical workers often beat out our nonunion competitors for work, despite higher labor costs.