IBEW 237 JOURNEYMAN PAY, BENEFIT ANDRETIRMENT BREAKDOWN
Journeyman pay and benefits
Retirement- Only takes 5 years to vest in the pensions
Journeyman paycheck @ 40 hours a week
$42.20 X 40 hours a week X 52 weeks a year= $87,776 a year in paycheck
Journeymen pay after all dues
42.20 X 40 hours a week X 52 weeks a year= $87,776 – 5% ($4388.80) = $83,387.20
$83,387.20 - $600 (international yearly dues) = $82,787.20 a year after all dues paid in your paycheck!
Health and welfare account (in ADDITION to your hourly rate)
$14.76 X 40 hours a week X 52 weeks a year= $30,700.80
Health and welfare after administration fee
$30,700.80 – 4% ($1,228.03) administration fee= $29,472.76
Total a year before dues for pay and benefit account= $118,476.80
Total a year after dues and admin fee for pay and benefit account= $112,259.96
In conclusion if you work all year full time as a journeyman, not accounting for overtime, not accounting for time off and after all dues are paid you can expect to have a liquid $112,259.96 a year in pay and benefit money. On top of that you would contribute to 3 pensions and an annuity (401k) throughout your career.
You may currently have a paid single plan insurance and paid time off but see if it adds up to $29,472.76 a year
You may have a 401k with a 4% match. Say you make $30 and contribute 4% into your 401K. That math is $1.20/hr into your 401k and your employer matches that so they contribute $1.20 into your 401K as well. That's a total of $2.40 an hour. Our annuity (401k) is $2.00 but nothing comes out of your rate of pay ($42.20) you could put $1/hr (but can go as much as an additional $8/hr) from your $42.20 into your annuity and still have a $11/hr raise and be contributing more into your 401k than before. Not to mention the 3 pensions that come along with the IBEW. It is beyond comparison to the retirement plan you may be receiving now. Please take a look at the retirement figures to the right of this column.
Raise Schedule of current contract
June 2023- $2.10
June 2024- $2.15 *Have you been getting a $2+ raise a year?
June 2025- $2.25
June 2026- TBT on new contract
*Raise distribution is voted on at the union meeting by the membership.
Example. June 2022 had a $2.05 raise. The membership voted to distribute as follows. $1.05 went into the paycheck, .50 cents into annuity(401k) and .50 cents went into Health/ welfare= $2.05 raise
Retirement for 30 years of service (Retire at age 60)
IBEW 237 Pension- 1.4 credit max a year X 30 years’ service at $76 a credit year – 30x1.4x76= $3,192
NEBF Pension- 1 credit year a year X 30 years’ service at $33 a credit year- 30x1x32= $990
International Pension- 1 credit year a year X 30 years’ service at $4.50 a credit year- 30x1x4.50= $135
Total Pensions= $4,317 paid monthly + annuity. These payouts are in today’s numbers and are projected to rise
Annuity (401k)- Cannot easily be determined as it is dependent on how much additional money is added from your rate of pay and how aggressively you take it out upon retirement. It's not uncommon for our members to take an additional $1,000 a month from their annuity.
RETIRMENT FOR 20 YEARS OF SERVICE. RETIRE AT 60
IBEW 237 Pension- 1.4 credit max a year X 20 years’ service at $76 a credit year – 20x1.4x76= $2,128
NEBF Pension- 1 credit year a year X 20 years’ service at $33 a credit year- 20x1x32= $660
International Pension- 1 credit year a year X 20 years’ service at $4.50 a credit year- 20x1x6.50= $90
Total Pensions= $2,878 paid monthly + annuity. These payouts are in today’s numbers and are projected to rise
Annuity (401k)- Cannot easily be determined as it is dependent on how much additional money is added from your rate of pay and how aggressively you take it out upon retirement. It's not uncommon for our members to take an additional $1,000 a month from their annuity.
*You can retire earlier than 60 years of age, but you take a penalty. 55 is the earliest you may retire for IBEW 237 Pension plan
I will always get laid off
A layoff is only scary when you're not sure of your future. If a non-union electrical contractor lays someone off, chances are they are not coming back. That worker must start over with another company and try to negotiate their wages and benefits. IBEW works on a multi-employer system. IBEW contractors are constantly putting in calls to the union hall for workers. If one IBEW contractor lays you off due to lack of work, you just go work for another IBEW contractor. Can there be some time in-between jobs? Maybe, but you can have benefit money to supplement your unemployment or go work in a neighboring jurisdiction in the mean time. Also, workers can be laid off because they are constantly not showing up for work, being late, leaving early, being lazy, on their phone all day etc.. 99% of those workers often leave the IBEW and tell everybody "they were laid off all the time". That's a very one-sided story. The IBEW prides itself on being an efficient, reliable workforce of highly skilled professionals. We are paid to be the best. If you are reliable and have a good attitude/ work ethic, then you should have a very lucrative career with the IBEW
They wont' accept me
I'm not in the clique!
The old clique theory! Certainly not the truth! We are called the International BROTHERHOOD of Electrical Workers. I hear some workers from non-union shops say they are treated like family. The IBEW treats each other as brothers! We call each other brother/ sister on the jobsites. We are a unified group and it's very ingrained into who we are and how we conduct ourselves. We have specific classes we run each year to promote unionism and to ensure all new members that are brought in from the non-union or from the street are treated well and equally trained. It's not the 1980's anymore!
They just want the dues
We want your membership. We want you doing work for our contractors and coming home safe with decent pay and benefits. Our members pay dues. It keeps the utilities on at our hall and pays the salary's of the office staff. Other than paying for the union staff and hall, your dues also provide you with a retirement fund, a life insurance policy and an educational scholarship for the children of 237 members who are going to college.
IBEW 237 is a "not for profit" and we are audited regularly. All accounts and funds are monitored by a board of trustees. Nobody gets a bonus if we have 200 members or 1,000 members! The more members we have, the more bargaining strength we have to further the success of the IBEW. That means continued good wages and benefits for our membership and the industry as a whole. A company would pay worker's peanuts if they could get away with it! IBEW members have no problem paying dues as it affords them higher pay, better benefits, safe working environments and better job site conditions. You pay a little and get a lot
GET THE FACTS!
The IBEW is in need of manpower across the state. IBEW local 237 recognizes Brady/ Modern Electric as having a top quality workforce. At the heart of it we are all very much alike. We are all electricians, we have apprenticeships, we service and build the same local industry and we even share the same electrical supply shops. After work we patronize the same local establishments in our community. We all have family and friends we want to go home to at then end of the day. Pay and Benefits are the difference. An IBEW 237 inside Journeymen is currently making $75.14/ hour between pay and benefits. IBEW members work under a multi-employer system that utilizes a collective bargaining agreement. A collective bargaining agreement ensures pay, benefits and jobsite conditions are safe, fair and equal. Every IBEW member has the same pay and benefits for their classification. There is no favoritism or secrecy when it comes to what IBEW members are paid or how much of a raise they got. There are yearly raises negotiated by the IBEW and our contractors. Our members never have to ask for a raise and our IBEW wages ARE prevailing rate. Fun fact- If you ever worked a local prevailing rate job, you were paid what our IBEW members make EVERYDAY!
1914
Year Established
220
Number of Members
26
Signatory Contractors
60
Number of Apprentices
EDUCATE YOURSELF
IBEW local union 237 would like to encourage all workers at Brady and Modern Electric to explore their options with the IBEW. Based on the feedback we receive from non-union workers who come join us, there is a lot of deceptive rumors spread about our organization. It's all for a reason. Companies do not want you to leave! Unfortunately, they also do not want to give you the pay and benefits you can have with the IBEW! It's cheaper to keep workers at bay with falsities. It pains me to hear some workers say they are "treated like family" and then I hear their pay and benefit package.
You have the talent to make more and deserve fair yearly raises with proper medical benefits and a retirement you can live comfortably on.
There is a massive amount of work here for the IBEW and it's not going away any time soon! Every jurisdiction in New York is hurting for SKILLED Electricians. The Electrical Industry as a whole is hurting for SKILLED Electricians! If you are not making what the IBEW makes, please do yourself and family a favor and see what your options are with the IBEW.
APPRENTICESHIP INFO
CONTACT
Inquiries
For any inquiries or questions
please call: 716-297-3650 ex.103
or fill out the following form
Contact Us
IBEW 237 Niagara Falls
6700 Schultz Street
Niagara Falls, NY 14304
Tel: 716-297-3650 ex103
Fax: 716-297-8471