I'm pretty sure these guys are independent contractors according to the CBA and their individual contracts, not employees.
If you contracted with an Electrician to have some new lighting installed in your home and he couldn't show for the appointment due to a death in the family, just how much of a double take would you make if you still got a bill for the work? I'm sure everyone would be understanding of him failing to show, but who would pay him?
Good point, but if I may clarify the scenario to be sure we're comparing apples to apples.
1) I assume the electrician in the scenario is one of a couple of electricians on my "light-installation roster", and that the others were able to get the job completed in his absence;
2) my contract with this electrician is exclusive: he is forbidden to perform his services for anyone else;
3) my contract is also multi-year, and he has up to this point, performed his duties to my satisfaction;
4) I contracted with him because he was one of the best electricians available to me at the time that I need his services;
5) I have already included the money for his services during this particular installation into my annual "light-installation" budget, so in essence, this will not adversely effect my organization's projected bottom line;
6) If I find at the end of his current contract that he has become the Best, or one of the best, electricians in the country, I damn well want to make sure he liked working for me, and felt that I treated him like more than just a cog in my "light-installation" machine. (
okay, the "light- installation" metaphor has gone a bit over the top).
Given that scenario, yeah, I think I'd not only expect a bill from him, I'd insist that he let me help in any other way I could.