I did a controls project at the Cleveland Cancer Center during a a remodel about 8 years ago, as a factory authorized representative for a lighting company. We were there to update software on light drivers (somewhere around 3,ooo individual lighting fixtures that had to be plugged into one at a time and a software patch uploaded). We were told in advance that only platform ladders were allowed on the project, sent out crew with (4) brand new platform ladders purchased specifically for his job. When we arrived, we were told that our ladders (brand new) were unacceptable because they had not been inspected, we couldn't get them inspected because the union electrical contractor's safety man had to inspect them...and he was not allowed to do so since we were not part of the union! We were told that the electrical contractor on the project would let us borrow (2) ladders that had been inspected, I sat on the job for two days with a full crew waiting for them to provide the ladders. Once we got them, they tried to take them back after about three hours.
It wasn't until I told the superintendent that our billing of $400.00 per hour started each morning when we walked onto the job site - whether we worked or not (they had ordered the incorrect light fixtures, we were helping them out by updating software instead of them replacing all of the fixtures) that we were allowed to do our job.
The UNION is a joke, I've been in the electrical field for 25 years and have worked on more union projects than I could count, everywhere from Boston to California and it is the same story everywhere...they don't want to get the job done, they want to milk it for as much time as possible while they are there. I understand why the union exists, but they have strayed way too far from their original intent.
