in maryland all you need is the boss to be a master electrician. as far as checking for juridictional licenses forget it, i know people who have over 25 yrs. in the trade and don't hold a license, some of them used to have them but got tired of paying the fees to carry all of them. as for bidding low- nobody mentioned better trained or highly specialized. some of these resi crews kick it in the @ss and put other crews to shame. not only do they come in with a complete game plan/materials/tools etc. they also know the ins and outs of the local codes and know exactly how the g.c.'s and other subs operate. also oftenly the workers operate at piece rate
