Referral Overview

  • The Local 43 Referral Office is located at 4568 Waterhouse Road, Clay NY. Click here for contact information.
  • The Local 43 Referral Office hours are 8AM to Noon and from 1PM to 4:30PM, Monday through Friday. (except for holidays)
  • All original registrations for the Local 43 Referral system must be done in person.
  • Local 43 requires re-registration (re-sign) every month between the 10th and the 16th to maintain registration "list" position.
  • Re-sign may be accomplished in person at the Local 43 Referral Office, by US Mail, Fax or the online Re-sign process.

Journeyman Wireman Referral Operating Procedure
(effective March 1, 2019)

It is the Business Manager’s responsibility to fill employer man-power requests in a timely fashion. The “phone-system” procedure described herein shall be utilized to refer applicants for employment, so long as the Business Manager is satisfied that it fulfills his/her responsibility. If it is determined that this system does not meet those needs, a “traditional” system of calling applicants from the “List” shall be developed and employed. Should this change be necessary, notice of said change shall be made via the phone system.


Click the two sections below for a detailed description of each.

Section 1 – "Referral List", Registration, Re-registration (Re-sign) and Removal

Section 1 – “Referral List” Registration, Re-registration (Re-sign) and Removal.
  1. Applicants for employment within the Local 43, IBEW Journeyman Wireman referral system, must make original registration, in person, at the Local 43 referral office (4568 Waterhouse Road, Clay, N.Y.) during the posted business hours, using the registration form supplied by the Local Union for that purpose.

  2. In order to be eligible for registration, the applicant must prove that, at the time of original registration, he/she is not employed in the electrical industry under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. Some acceptable methods are: 1) personal knowledge of the referral staff; 2) a severance slip from his/her most recent electrical employer; 3) a referral from a state employment agency; or 4) a letter from his/her local union Business Manager attesting to unemployment. Further, applicants may not be employed by a signatory employer in any capacity within the jurisdiction of Local 43, IBEW, whether under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement or not.

  3. 3. Applicants shall be assigned to the highest priority group for which they qualify within the appropriate classification(s) and placed on a list in chronological order determined by the date and time of original registration.

  4. In order to maintain their position on the referral lists, applicants must re-sign and confirm their availability for employment beginning on the 10th and ending on the 16th of each month, either in person or by U.S. Mail, fax or on-line (as described in items 6, 7 and 8 below). Failure to re-register during this period shall cause removal from the “List(s)” at the start of business on the 17th day of each month. If removed, an applicant’s original list position shall be forfeited and a new, original, in-person registration will be required to once again be considered an applicant for employment.

  5. Applicants for employment who wish to re-sign via U.S. Mail must complete and submit the re-sign form supplied by the Local 43 Referral office. In order to be considered a valid re-sign, the form must be RECEIVED by the Local 43 Referral office beginning on the 10th and ending on the 16th of each month following the applicant’s previous registration date. New applications must always be made in person.

  6. Applicants for employment who wish to re-sign by fax must complete and submit the re-sign form supplied by the Local 43 Referral office. In order to be considered a valid re-sign, the fax must be RECEIVED by the Local 43 Referral office prior to 4:30 p.m. (local time) beginning on the 10th and ending on the 16th of each month following the applicant’s previous registration date. New applications must always be made in person.

  7. Applicants for employment who wish to re-sign via on-line must do so through the IBEW Local 43 website: www.ibew43.org. The re-sign may be accessed through the Member Referral Portal link on the homepage. The Re-sign beginning on the 10th and ending on the 16th (local time) of each month following the applicant’s previous registration date in order to be considered a valid re-sign. New applications must always be made in person.

  8. Applicants’ names will be removed from the referral list when they accept a job assignment through this referral system or become employed by a signatory contractor within the jurisdiction of IBEW Local 43 in any capacity, whether under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement or not.

  9. An applicant for employment who is referred to a job assignment and: 1) receives employment of eighty (80) hours or less through no fault of his/her own; or 2) is refused by the employer in writing, shall be restored to the position on the “List” which he/she held prior to the job assignment PROVIDED, upon re-registration in person, he/she presents the appropriate documentation.

  10. Anyone accepting a referral for work by the means explained in Section 2 of this procedure who: 1) quits or does not report for the job assignment; 2) is terminated for just cause; or 3) works more than eighty (80) hours, must register in person as a new applicant upon termination of employment in order to again be considered an applicant for employment.

  11. Applicants who become employed: 1) outside of the geographical jurisdiction of Local 43; 2) within the geographical jurisdiction of Local 43 by other than a signatory employer; or 3) by a signatory employer within the geographical jurisdiction of Local 43 in other than a Bargaining Unit position, shall notify the Local 43 referral office.

  12. Applicants who wish to be considered for “specialty” calls (i.e. welding, instrumentation, etc.) MUST register their specialties with the referral agent. Anyone not so registered, shall not be considered for such calls. Proof of qualification for a specialty may be required.

Section 2 – Referral "Call-Outs" and Dispatch

Section 2 – Referral “Call-Outs” and Dispatch

Normal dispatch hours shall be between the hours of 9:00AM and 12:00PM on regular business days. Dispatch may occur on weekends and/or holidays as necessary.

Duly registered applicants for employment may apply for Journeyman Wireman job assignments using the following procedure:

  1. A list of available job assignments may be obtained by logging in to the Referral Portal OR calling the referral office voice-mail system at 315-671-0095 or 1-800-839-9880 from 5:00 p.m. on normal business days until 9:00 a.m. (Syracuse time) of the next business day. From time to time, referral calls must be filled on weekends and/or holidays to allow for Sunday or Monday work starts. It is therefore not advisable for applicants to wait until Sunday or Monday to check for weekend job availability. Note: The 800 # is only available from outside the 315-area code.

  2. Applicants who are interested in accepting one or more of the listed employment opportunities MUST either log-in to the Referral Portal OR register on the daily check-in list by calling the referral office voice-mail system at 315-671-0095 or 1-800-839-9880 from 5:00 p.m. on normal business days until 9:00 a.m. (Syracuse time) of the next business day and leaving the information listed in Step 3 of this Section on the recorder. Note: The 800 # is only available from outside the 315-area code.

  3. Registration on the daily check-in list requires the following information: 1) applicants name and Social Security number; 2) what job or jobs the applicant would be willing to accept in order of preference; and 3) a phone number where the applicant can be reached, or a message may be left between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon.

  4. The referral agent will begin contacting applicants registered on the daily check-in list for job referral assignments at some time after 9:00 a.m. in chronological order of original registration by priority group. Calls will be made only to the phone number registered on the daily check-in list.

  5. If there is no response at the registered number within a reasonable time, the referral agent will proceed to the next person on the list until all calls are filled.

  6. If there is no response from the applicant at the registered number and a voice message may be left, the referral agent will indicate to what job the applicant has been assigned (based on his/her position on the “list”) and when and where he/she is to report. This message shall be considered a job assignment and the registrant is responsible to man the job at the designated date and time.

  7. If the registered number is a beeper, the referral agent will consider the call unanswered and the applicant shall receive a refusal if there is no response from the applicant within thirty (30) minutes of the time the beeper message is left.

  8. Job assignment calls may be recorded on a random basis as part of Local 43's record keeping system.

  9. Due to the Business Manager’s responsibility to fill employer man-power calls in a timely fashion, emergency calls and open calls not filled by the phone-in procedure which cannot wait another day due to employer needs (as determined by the Business Manager through the referral agent) will be filled using the “traditional” method of calling applicants from the referral list in chronological order by priority group. Due to the very nature of emergency calls, applicants from the referral list who cannot be contacted within a reasonable period of time (as determined by the Business Manager through the referral agent) will be skipped over and the referral agent will proceed to the next person on the list in an attempt to fill the job(s).

  10. Local 43 will attempt to convey any and all information available regarding the duration of available job assignments. However, applicants need to be aware that this information is not intended to be a guarantee of employment duration. The Local Union has no control of this issue nor may it be held responsible for employment which is longer or shorter than advertised on the referral system.

  11. 11. Referral slips must be picked up at the Local 43 business office prior to reporting for a job assignment unless otherwise instructed by the referral agent. Upon an employer’s refusal to hire or termination of employment, referral slips must be completed and signed by the employer or a representative thereof and returned to the referral office. Properly completed and signed referral slips shall be required proof of 1) employer refusals; and/or 2) employment duration for the purpose of list reinstatement under Section 1, Step 10 of this Referral Procedure.

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