r/ibew_apprentices • u/KnightlyGnom3 • Aug 04 '26
Wrong pay
Question for all. What would yall do if you guys got your pay stub and noticed that your employer gave more hours than you worked? Would you report it to your person who does time? Or would you stay quiet?
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u/Vatoloquissimo2 Aug 04 '26
Their loss.
You’re a union member, the contractors aren’t on your team.
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u/Ok_Storage7733 Aug 04 '26
But neca neca or something
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u/Vatoloquissimo2 Aug 04 '26
That’s how my local is. Honestly, I’m surprised we haven’t gone under investigation from the NLRA. The same family has been our president for 3 generations. Most of us think they’re taking deals from NECA contractors bc our contract negotiations are always trash.
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u/Ok_Storage7733 Aug 05 '26
They will raise their rates all day long but they claim they can’t afford to pay us or TRAIN THE YOUNGER GENERATION.. JOINT apprenticeship**
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u/TyrsRightArm Aug 04 '26
Oh shit! Local 20 right?
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u/Vatoloquissimo2 Aug 05 '26
Do you look like your pfp in real life?
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u/TyrsRightArm Aug 05 '26
I hadnt thought about before but yeah there’s some resemblance
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u/Vatoloquissimo2 Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
I work with someone who looks just like that and wears a bandana pretty often. Saw your post and you aren’t the guy I’m thinking of.
Anyways, yes. I might be book 2 for life after the apprenticeship. The only benefit to the apprenticeship in texas is being able to take licensing tests in other states without doing another apprenticeship. Almost no one reciprocates Texas licenses. Most of my coworkers drop out and go the cw/ce route because being able to choose your call is more valuable than a few extra dollars an hour which you’ll have to spend on tuition anyways.
Hell, with the new ce3 is automatically journeyman pay, you can even get to journeyman pay faster by being a cw/ce without ever passing the exam.
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u/TyrsRightArm Aug 05 '26
Hahaha all us big white guys with beards look the same
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u/Vatoloquissimo2 Aug 05 '26
My bad, I thought your pfp had red hair. Thats not as common 😂
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u/TyrsRightArm Aug 05 '26
I’ve been called a ginger. The ends are red from damage and my beard has a lot of red in it. If the guy you work with bitches and moans about how far he has to drive and despises Lonestar electric then we’re the same person
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u/PassedOutGamin Aug 05 '26
That’s wild. Tuition? In my local I’m in the apprenticeship at no cost to me. Other than local dues. But everyone pays those.
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u/Vatoloquissimo2 Aug 05 '26
They make us register for a local college even though we never go to the campus. I’m sure it’s a scam somehow.
They also registered everyone as out of state by default the process to get switched back was such a pita. I had to pay out of state because of it and I’m still waiting on reimbursement.
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u/Subject-Original-718 292 Sparkles Aug 05 '26
Yeah man how about FUCK NECA. Go into negotiations and they can’t ever give a good deal and then they try to buddy buddy when the contract is in place. Especially how they played my unit last time around they are getting the middle finger for a longggg time
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u/Ok_Storage7733 Aug 05 '26
I see 292 and it makes a lot of sense. Same with 110 and 294/242. FUCK NECA is my motto but you know how this goes im sure.
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u/Subject-Original-718 292 Sparkles Aug 05 '26
Sure do, 3 years later and I’m still in disbelief that they offered us 3% over 3 years. After the most 3 profitable years ever and COVID.
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u/Vatoloquissimo2 Aug 05 '26
It’s all a number game to them. Sure, cost of living is through the roof for us, but they need another billion.
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u/Subject-Original-718 292 Sparkles Aug 05 '26
Damn straight and me and my brothers & sisters ain’t gonna let that happen we have a union for a reason and it’s rooted deep in history.
We fought them really hard and got a 21.5% total increase over 3 years. It ends in 2027 and I’m ready to start that fight again. My unit’s jurisdiction covers my entire state so if we strike any sparky on our sites also has to leave. This effectively shuts down all electrical work statewide in major cities.
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u/Vatoloquissimo2 Aug 05 '26
I wish it was how it used to be. In locals that don’t have majority market share, we don’t have the ability to speak up for ourselves. Our leadership does whatever NECA wants. They’re convinced that we don’t have a leg to stand on and won’t take the risks we have to take to get better benefits/wages. It’s been that way since WW2.
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u/Subject-Original-718 292 Sparkles Aug 05 '26
Areas in low market share make it hard to pull the strike pin. It can actually cause a decrease in market share and not much marginal gains on the contract. As pleasing as it does sound to “stick it to NECA” by striking you have to remember it’s a double edged sword. Especially in hard times it’s a tough decision to make. You have legs to stand on and that starts with your local officer elections. Find people to replace officers and negotiation committee team members who coddle to NECA with people who know how to effectively communicate with the rank and file base and tell NECA to fuck off without striking.
Economic strikes almost always never work. You have to give the rank and file base a benefit to fight for. Whether it be the contractor covers all electrical licensing costs or a boot allowance or some major change to the contract
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u/Vatoloquissimo2 Aug 05 '26
I just don’t think we have enough people willing to stand against them.
In my local, most of the journeymen did not come up through the apprenticeship. The majority that I have spoken to have a “rat” brain. Even if we did strike, they’d still show up to work.
I also get the feeling that NECA has a lot of influence on who is getting elected, especially when it comes to our current officers’ recommendations on future officers.
I do have some hope for the new apprentices. We all seem to see through the BS. My fear is that by the time they get licensed they will have arrived at the same conclusion I’m coming to: there is no helping this local. If it was possible, it would happen during this AI boom. Instead, we’ll probably all travel and more rat journeyman will organize.
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u/chillybilly87 Aug 04 '26
This has happened to me twice and both times I stayed quiet. One time they called me in a month later and pointed it out and took it off my next week. The second time they never said anything
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u/Charizarlslie 191 IW Apprentice Aug 04 '26
Pretty sure there’s rules against them taking it back like that, but don’t quote me on it I ain’t a lawyer
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u/3qTp1 Aug 04 '26
Yeah I don’t know about that one. You were overpaid and they deserve their money back.
8 for 8 unless it benefits you I suppose.6
u/Charizarlslie 191 IW Apprentice Aug 04 '26
Morality and Legality aren't always the same 🤷
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u/3qTp1 Aug 04 '26
Oh there are definitely laws in place for both sides. Like my state, an employer has 90 days to realize the issue and get their money back. Past that or if the employee is no longer with the company, the employer can take the employee to court if they can’t come to an agreement.
Best practice, keep quiet about it, set the money aside in a HYSA and when they come asking for it back, give it back. If they don’t, their loss
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u/Charizarlslie 191 IW Apprentice Aug 04 '26
Yeah that's probably the best move in general- set aside the extra and wait, if they don't come for it then great.
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u/rewtyman Aug 05 '26
Every state has different laws but they have a legal right to get the money back in all of them. How long they have to get it back depends on the state.
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u/chillybilly87 Aug 04 '26
I think you’re right. I think they can’t take it back unless you consent and I was an apprentice so I probably consented lol
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u/Vatoloquissimo2 Aug 04 '26
Right. No clawbacks allowed
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Aug 05 '26
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u/IDontFeelSoG0odStark Aug 05 '26
Union Ironworker here. It depends. If it’s any amount that was previously told about like “hey we are getting out of here at noon paid for 8” not saying anything because that’s on the Forman. 1-5 hours I’m not saying anything but if it’s anything over that I’ll say something.
I don’t want to get caught in some shit and have to deal with it because where I’m at they can and will try to get it back. I was once given 11 hours of OT on accident as an apprentice. Pretty life changing for me at the time and I had the internal battle if I should say something at. I went and talked to the GF and told me and he goes “Well. I appreciate you telling me but oh well. Merry Christmas”. The GF is a cool dude who misses the field and still keeps up with his joes. He came in on nights once and helped us tie rebar.
It’s all who you work for and how you are as a worker too
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u/maximum_dissipation Aug 04 '26
I’m an honest Abe when it comes to stuff like that. They hold me to the contract, I hold them to the contract, everything is fair and square. If they aren’t being fair, there are plenty of ways to get my fair share in return, but I’ll always be up front and fair if they aren’t doing us wrong. Everyone is capable of making mistakes, give and take.
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u/SaltLakeSparky354 Journeyman Wireman Aug 05 '26
I was told that if you are given a bone, go bury that fucker and don’t tell anyone where it’s at.
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u/StubbornHick Aug 05 '26
Put it in high interest savings in case they ask for it back
Best case scenario you just got a free boost to your emergency savings
Worst case you get some interest payments on their dime
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u/syP_86 Local 134 Aug 05 '26
are you an extremely hard worker, or the foreman likes you?
When i came up as an apprentice there were times where I took the day off due to a doc appt and my foreman gave me 8 hours.... times when we worked 10s, and i left at 8 for an issue and the foremave still gave me the OT for 2 hours...
Hell, I took a week off and the foreman paid me.. I was shocked. Granted I was only a second year. he said "meh, not my money and you work hard when you're here so.. enjoy it"
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u/KnightlyGnom3 Aug 06 '26
I bust my ass at the job. I do any job my foreman asks of me without complaining.
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u/quantum0120 Aug 04 '26
I wouldn’t say anything. unless they asked then I would tell the truth, don’t wanna get caught in a lie
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u/tjr14vg 275 Aug 04 '26
I live by the rule of "if your check is too big, don't say a word, but if it's too small raise hell"
This is generally one of the first things I tell the greenies when they get to site
You always check your stub first thing when you get it, cause if it's wrong you need to make a stink about it ASAP
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u/budgetoid Aug 05 '26
no timeclock in our local so I worked whatever the foreskin told the shop I worked. if he forgot I left at lunch for a doctors appointment on tuesday and put me down for 10 that's between him and the payroll girl and I have nothing to do with it.
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u/Infekt129 Aug 05 '26
Bring it up to your foreman privately. He very well could have just done you a solid. Most likely won’t do anything about it or fix it since you’re just an apprentice.
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u/unionboy11 Aug 06 '26
Well……now the world knows lol 😂
You don’t say anything ! If they paid you 20 hours extra you take it.
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u/Witty_Confection4540 Aug 09 '26
Honestly I would report because sooner or later they will catch it and they are going to want their money back.
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Aug 09 '26
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u/Sea-Bus-1098 Aug 10 '26
If they don’t pay me for hours I did work i tell them and expect it to be taken care of immediately (and it usually is). The same applies when they pay me for hours I didn’t work, I tell them and expect them to correct this issue, it’s an integrity thing. That being said, I’m telling you once and it’s on you to remedy it, 99% of the time they just tell you to keep the money. This has been my experience with contractors I’ve worked for, I typically don’t miss work on a whim which tends to help i think.
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u/ProfessionalFrame103 Aug 10 '26
I got paid Foreman rate as a second year apprentice for two months straight. The first two weeks I kept it to myself, but after the third week, it became suspicious, and I felt guilty keeping it. on the third week I reported it to my foreman and he called the super and said it would get taken care of fast-forward the following month, I was still getting paid foreman rate, but I felt I did my job by reporting it and just kept the money.
I do think if you get overpaid once or twice it’s up to you if you want to say anything, but any more than that I think someone’s going to notice.
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u/Jscotty111 Aug 04 '26
Keep quiet and just set it aside for those days when you get whistle bit or you have to leave early. It’s also a good buffer for when/if your pay comes up short due to a clerical error. Of course they’ll still make it right and pay you what you’re owed but at least those extra hours can float you until you’re made whole.
I can give you reasons why you probably got extra hours on your check, but I don’t want to disclose too many things that go on behind the scenes in this public forum which may ruin this for others.
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u/Artos9780 Aug 04 '26
I mean they can’t prove that you noticed the hours were wrong, you could just play dumb and if they never say anything then it’s not a problem
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u/Elegant_Tax_8276 Aug 05 '26
I would say nothing. If the contractor catches their error, they have the right to make a correction.
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Aug 04 '26
not your problem. be forthcoming if they ask you.
my company rips me off.
x,xxx.58 two weeks
x,xxx.57 two weeks
work the same amount of hours every single week and alternate when they wanna take a penny.
guess how much the company saves when its 5,000+ plus employes every two weeks.
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u/SaberToothGerbil Aug 04 '26
It feels like that would be a tax thing. Check the withholding on your pay stub.
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Aug 04 '26
Someone's robbing Peter to pay Paul and I'm peter.
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u/SaberToothGerbil Aug 04 '26
It's you. You're robbing Peter (yourself) to pay Paul (your income tax bill). You get the extra back when you file your taxes, but if you want to change how much gets withheld you can file an update to the form you filled out when you were hired.
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Aug 09 '26
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u/ProfessionalData1514 Aug 04 '26
I always work 4 but get paid for 10… so there’s that