IBEW Local 48 and the Oregon-Columbia chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) have a new one-year contract covering 111 residential electrical workers in Oregon and Washington. It covers work on single-family homes and duplexes, and multi-family buildings of up to three stories above grade in Oregon and six stories in Washington.
There are two classifications in the contract: residential journey-level workers and master residential workers. Both classifications get a $4 per hour total package increase in the contract, representing a 5.7% increase for the master classification and 7.7% increase for journey-level. Base wages are now $46.56 for master and $37.15 for journey-level.
The contract includes several new additions beyond the raises. It requires workers to be paid for no less than two hours if they arrive and there’s no work, known as “show-up pay.” It also provides that tools and materials will be put away before quitting time, so they aren’t doing that work for free. If workers are on a job where there is paid parking, the contract specifies the contractor will pay for parking costs. It also adds penalty pay, charging a per-day penalty if workers aren’t paid on time.
The bargaining team included four workers from the residential unit, along with business representative Joe Bond and business manager Garth Bachman.
Workers ratified the contract Nov. 9, and it runs through the end of 2023. That means both sides will be back at the bargaining table again in a matter of months.
