Hawking refers to the act of peddling items around the job site or to scrap yards, often with the implication that the goods were acquired through dubious means or are of low quality. Workers use the term when someone is trying to offload excess materials, personal tools, or salvaged parts for quick cash. It carries a slight stigma of desperation or shady dealing.
Heard on the job
He spent his whole lunch break trying to hawk those surplus drill bits to the framing crew.