Section 4.01 - Referral System

In the interest of maintaining an efficient system of production in the industry, providing for an orderly procedure of referral of applicants for employment, preserving the legitimate interest of the Employees in their employment status within the area and eliminating discrimination in employment because of membership or non-membership in the Union, the parties hereto agree to the following system of referral of applicants for employment.

Section 4.02 - Sole Source

The Union shall be the sole and exclusive source of referral of applicants for employment.

Section 4.03 - Employer Rejection

The Employer shall have the right to reject any applicant for employment.

Section 4.04 - Referral Discrimination

The Union shall select and refer applicants for employment without discrimination against such applicants by reason of membership or non-membership in the Union and such selection and referral shall not be affected in any way by rules, regulations, by-laws, constitutional provisions or any other aspect or obligation of Union membership policies or requirements. All such selection and referral shall be in accord with the following procedures.

Section 4.05 - Register of Applicants

The Union shall maintain a register of applicants for employment established on the basis of the groups listed below. Each applicant for employment shall be registered in the highest priority group for which he qualifies.

Journeyman Wireman - Journeyman Technician

Group I - All applicants for employment who have four (4) or more years experience in the trade; are residents of the geographical area constituting the normal construction labor market, have passed a journeyman's examination given by a duly constituted inside Local Union of the IBEW or has been certified as a Journeyman Wireman by any inside Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee; and who have been employed in the trade for a period of at least one year in the last four years in the geographical area covered by the collective bargaining agreement.

Group II - All applicants for employment who have four (4) or more years experience in the trade and who have passed a journeyman's examination given by a duly constituted inside Local Union of the IBEW or has been certified as a Journeyman Wireman by any inside Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee.

Group III - All applicants for employment who have two (2) or more years experience in the trade, are residents of the geographical area constituting the normal labor market; and, who have been employed for at least six months in the last three years in the geographical area covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Group IV - All applicants for employment who have worked at the trade for more than one (1) year.

Section 4.06 - Exhausted List - Temporary Employees

If the registration list is exhausted and the Local Union is unable to refer applicants for employment to the Employer within 48 hours from the time of receiving the Employer's request, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excluded, the Employer shall be free to secure applicants without using the referral procedure. But such applicants, if hired, shall have the status of "Temporary Employees"

Section 4.07

The Employer shall notify the Business Manager promptly of the names and social security numbers of such "Temporary Employees", and shall replace such "Temporary Employees" as soon as registered applicants for employment are available under the referral procedure.

Section 4.08 - Labor Market Area

"Normal Construction Market" is defined to mean the following geographical area plus the commuting distance adjacent thereto, which includes the area from which the normal labor supply is secured: Dade and Monroe Counties. The above geographical area is agreed upon by the parties to include the areas defined by the Secretary of Labor to be the appropriate prevailing wage areas under the Davis Bacon act to which this agreement applies.

Section 4.09 - Resident Definition

"Resident" means a person who has maintained his permanent home in the above defined area for a period of not less than one (1) year or who, having had a permanent home in this area, has temporarily left with the intention of returning to this area as his permanent home.

Section 4.10 - Exam Intervals

"Examinations" and "Examination" shall include experience rating test if such examination shall have been given prior to the effective date of this procedure, but from and after the date of the procedure, shall include only written and/or practical examinations given by duly constituted inside construction Local Unions of the IBEW. Reasonable intervals of time for examinations are specified as (90) ninety days. An applicant shall be eligible for examination if he has four (4) years experience at the trade.

Section 4.11 - Out of Work List

The Union shall maintain an "out of work list" which shall list the applicants within each group in chronological order of the dates they register their availability for employment.

Section 4.12 - Re-Registration

An applicant who has registered on the "out of work list" must renew his application every 30 days or his name will be removed from the list.

Section 4.13 - Group Restoration

An applicant who is hired and who receives, through no fault of his own, work of forty hours or less shall, upon re-registration, be restored to his appropriate place within his Group.

Section 4.14(A) - Referral Order

Employers shall advise the business manager of the Local Union of the number of applicants needed. The Business Manager shall refer applicant in Group I, in the order of their place on the "out of work list" and then referring applicants in the same manner successively from the "out of work list" in Group II, then Group III, and then Group N. Any applicant who is rejected by the Employer shall be returned to his appropriate place within his Group and shall be referred to other employment in accordance with the position of his Group and his place within the group.

Section 4.14(B) - Repeated Discharge

An applicant who is discharged for cause two times within a 12-month period shall be referred to the neutral member of the appeal's committee for a determination as to the applicant's continued eligibility for referral. The neutral member of the appeals committee shall, within three business days, review the qualifications of the applicant and the reasons for the discharges. The neutral member of the appeals committee may, in his or her sole discretion; (1) require the applicant to obtain further training from the JATC before again being eligible for referral; (2) disqualify the applicant for referral for a period of four weeks, or longer, depending on the seriousness of the conduct and/or repetitive nature of the conduct; (3) refer the applicant to an employee assistance program, if available, for evaluation and recommended action; or (4) restore the applicant to his/her appropriate place on the referral list.

Section 4.15 - Referral Order Exceptions

The only exceptions which shall be allowed in this order of referral are as follows:

1. When the Employer states bona fide requirements for special skills and abilities in his request for applicants. The Business Manager shall refer the first applicant on the register possessing such skills and abilities.
2. The age ratio clause in the Agreement calls for the employment of an additional Employee or Employees on the basis of age. Therefore, the Business Manager shall refer the first applicant on the register satisfying the applicable age requirements provided, however, that all names in higher priority Groups, if any, shall first be exhausted before such overage reference can be made.

Section 4.16 - Appeals Committee

An Appeals Committee is hereby established, composed of one (1) member appointed by the Union, one (1) member appointed by the Employer or by the association, as the case may be, and one (1) public member appointed by both these members.

Section 4.17 - Appeals Committee Function

It shall be the function of the Appeals Committee to consider any complaint of any Employee or applicant for employment arising out of the administration by the Local Union of Section 4.04 through 4.14 of this Agreement. The Appeals Committee shall have the power to make a final and binding decision on any such complaint, which shall be binding upon the Local Union. The appeals committee is authorized to issue procedural rules for conduct of its business, but is not authorized to add or subtract from, or modify any of the provisions of this Agreement and its decisions shall be in accord with this Agreement.

Section 4.18 - Records Inspection

A representative of the Employer or of the association, as the case may be, designated to the Union in writing, shall be permitted to inspect the referral procedure records at any time during normal business hours.

Section 4.19 - Procedure Posting

A copy of the referral procedure set forth in this Agreement shall be posted on the bulletin board in the offices of the Local Union and in the offices of the Employers who are parties to this Agreement.

Section 4.20 - Apprentice Exclusion

Apprentices shall be hired and transferred in accordance with the apprenticeship provisions of the agreement between the parties.

Section 4.21 - Employee Reduction Procedure

When making reductions in the number of Employees due to lack of work, Employers shall use the following procedure:

1. Temporary Employees, if any are employed, shall be laid off first. The Employees in Group IV shall be laid off next, if any are employed in this Group. Next to be laid off are Employees in Group III, if any are employed in this group. Then those in Group II, then those in Group I.
2. Paragraph (a) will not apply as long as the special skill requirements as provided for in section 4.13 (a) is required.

C)  Supervisory Employees covered by the terms of this Agreement will be excluded from layoffs as long as they remain in a supervisory capacity. When they are reduced to the status of Journeyman, they will be slotted in the appropriate group in paragraph (a) above.