# What are the rules on travel pay, per diem etc.?



## JW Splicer (Mar 15, 2014)

Are you going to another locals jurisdiction for work? Is Chicago in your local's jurisdiction?

Sounds like you are not getting any travel time, and you're not getting any per diem unless it was specified in the call. They are paying for all travel and hotel expenses, and you will get either your local's scale, or theirs, whichever is higher. You might have to call the company you will be working for, or the other local to find out if you're getting per diem/travel time.


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## EM1 (Oct 25, 2014)

I am working for my home company, he bid the out of town job. Pay scale is not the issue. He bought my plane ticket, reserved rental car and room. I don't want to go, but he bid the job before asking us if we wanted to go. So being a "nice guy" I agreed to go bail him out, maybe I should not have. Now I find out that he is sending us on a "no frills" airline, budget motel, paying much less than govt. per diem rate, and expecting alot of work to get done in 5 days. I think I am getting screwed, and wanted to know what is to be normally expected when traveling as far as traveling for the company. Traveling home is really burning my ass, late flight out just in case we have to work late, if we don't work late he thinks of it as off time, so I can sit in an airport for hours at his convenience, and then go back on the clock @2130 into Saturday morning @ straight time?


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## dawgs (Dec 1, 2007)

We are union and when I send my guys out of town they get whichever pay is higher. I also pay them while they travel. All our jobs they have driven there company trucks to. I arrange for the rooms in a decent hotel. One man per room. Then I pay perdiem for meals and such. None of my guys refuse the out of town as they always come out ahead with the perdiem and travel pay.


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## dawgs (Dec 1, 2007)

dawgs said:


> We are union and when I send my guys out of town they get whichever pay is higher. I also pay them while they travel. All our jobs they have driven there company trucks to. I arrange for the rooms in a decent hotel. One man per room. Then I pay perdiem for meals and such. None of my guys refuse the out of town as they always come out ahead with the perdiem and travel pay.


If I bid the job for one week, I will give them one week perdiem prior to leaving to go out of town. If the job takes less time they keep the extra perdiem. Which is cash money.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

EM1 said:


> Been an IBEW member for a long time, but never had to travel out of town. I am a Local 26 Test Tech. heading to Chicago for 1 week maintenance work. Pay rate is not an issue. However travel time and per diem rates are not clearly spelled out in our contract and I contacted the business rep. at the hall and never got a clear answer. He said we get whichever scale is higher, and all expenses should be covered.
> Boss says all travel time is straight pay. Will be done on Friday, but flight home is not until 2130, arriving to home airport at 0030 Saturday morning. Am I supposed to kill 7 hours in Ohare airport unpaid, and then travel home on straight time? I agreed to go this time to get him out of a jam, but now he is trying to nickel and dime us.
> Should I make the trip, see what he pays and then go to the hall if I think he is shorting me?


It seems like you should be paid portal to portal and 1/2 day per diem on your travel days.

This would be a good time to make it known that you are not up for traveling, at least not until all involved come to some kind of agreement.
It's kind of a grey area just do to the fact that when you work in another jurisdiction, you are supposed to send supervision and hire local hands.
Does Chicago have local or state licensing laws?


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## EM1 (Oct 25, 2014)

I agree with portal to portal, but when traveling after hours into the weekend should it be paid at straight, or over time, or double time on Sunday? Traveling @0600 Mon. morning, airport 1.5-2 hours from home, returning 0030 Saturday morning, then the ride home. No advance per diem, co. credit cards, that failed last weeks crew from Tuesday til Friday. The only per diem rates I can find online are Govt. which is $71/day Meals and Incidentals for Chicago, he wants to pay quite a bit less. Lodging is co. paid. What about down time sitting in an airport until a flight that leaves at 930 at night? Have to check out in the morning, work all day, no where to shower, for 6-7 hours until flight time. I am not going there to sight see, I am going there to make him money. 
He is very aware that I don't want to travel, but like I said I agreed to bail him out because the other 2 guys going can't do what needs doing. This is switchgear maintenance, so I don't think licensing comes into it.


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## JW Splicer (Mar 15, 2014)

The way I always got screwed out of most per diem is that they paid for the hotel.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

JW Splicer said:


> The way I always got screwed out of most per diem is that they paid for the hotel.


Per diem includes hotel.
I've never made the money I thought I would working out of town.
It's hard to apply a local working agreement into out of town travel.
What I have done in the past was get 10 hours pay with two hours of OT for each day I was out of town.
With that, all expense receipts and travel expenses were reimbursed.
I traveled to the site on my time, Sunday night or early Monday, and returned on company time sometime during that Friday, usually before 3PM.

I'm not saying that works every where if you need to take a regional flight but, you get the idea.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

Last flight back to Oahu from Maui and Kauai every day is full to the brim with construction guys.


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## 211mike70 (May 18, 2015)

Non-union here, but wanted to see what out of town work covered compared to what we get.
The company I work for covers travel time, pays for a cottage (room for each of us, kitchen, etc) and gives us $50/day for food...and beer .

We leave early Monday morning and usually get to site by 7 am, and return early Friday afternoon, getting to the shop by 2 pm.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

EM1 said:


> He is very aware that I don't want to travel, but like I said I agreed to bail him out because the other 2 guys going can't do what needs doing. This is switchgear maintenance,* so I don't think licensing comes into it*.


I'd be the first to drop a dime on that

~CS~


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