This page is dedicated to answering questions raised by persons visiting this site. Please submit your questions using our "Contact Us" page. If we think others will find the answer to your question interesting, we will post the question and answer it here. If we think the answer is something only you will find interesting, we will respond by e-mail.

Question Posted July 8, 2005: Is IBEW 213 able to guarantee I will receive a wage increase if it is certified to represent me?

Answer Posted July 8, 2005: Almost.

Employers who do not want to become unionized frequently tell employees their union cannot guarantee a wage increase because their wages are determined by the marketplace and not by the union. The fact is unionized workers on average earn 14% more than non-union workers, and IBEW 213 members earn about 30% more than non-union workers in equivelent positions. This does not mean every unionized worker receives more than every non-union worker in an equivelent position. However, it does mean they very likely do and are almost certain to do so in the future.


Question Posted July 8, 2005: Doesn't joining IBEW 213 mean I will take home less money because I will have to pay union dues?

Answer Posted July 8 2005: This is very unlikely. However if this situation does arise, it is certain to be a temporary situation.

Employers who do not want to become unionized also frequently tell employees they will take home less money if the union is certified because they will have to pay union dues. What they do not tell employees is that union dues are tax deductible and generate an extremely good return on investment.

Most IBEW 213 members pay union dues of 1.3% of their gross wages plus $10 per month. After taxes, the average IBEW 213 member pays less than 1% in union dues and receives about 30% higher wages.


Question Posted October 6, 2005: Last night on the Global T.V. News, the newscaster said there were shortages of tradespersons in all trades and non-union construction companies are paying union rates. Are these things true?

Answer Posted October 6, 2005: Not as far as we know.

Currently, IBEW 213 has 140 unemployed construction electricians on its unemployed list. This is a 7.4% unemployment rate, which is fairly typical. There may be a shortage of skilled electricians willing to work for less. However in our jurisdiction, there is no shortage of skilled electricians.

IBEW 213 electricians are among the best trained and qualified electricians in Canada. They expect safe working conditions and to be paid what they are worth. As far as we can determine, the rumours of shortages are circulated by employers who have failed to sufficiently invest in training and apprenticeship and who now want the Government to open our borders to foriegn workers in order to supress wage rates by creating artificial surpluses of skilled workers.

The current all-in wage rate (which includes pension, health, and welfare plan premiums, etc.) for IBEW 213 electricians is $38.69 per hour. We are not aware of any non-union or open-shop contractor paying an equivalent rate.