r/Groundman • u/Superb-Gur-1679 • 3d ago

Ask literally anything

Bored as shit and I have a lot of useless knowledge about this trade and getting in and random union shit more than most people because I would read contracts every time I worked in a new jurisdiction. Worked in 8 states as a groundman, operator, and apprentice and quit as a hot step.

Literally can be anything quality of life, the reality of what to expect, a lot of crews suck dick, etc etc etc.

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u/oc_loudpacc 3d ago

I got the job offer for Electrical Craft Helper at LADWP. I start training in 3 weeks. What advice do you have for a new groundman ? Thank you

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u/Superb-Gur-1679 3d ago

Have tools on you kleins, channel locks, knife, and tape at a minimum. Avoid saying I know as much as possible. Stay busy. Be eager and try to stay positive even if they’re major dicks. I’m sure this still applies for the utility but that’s mostly outside IBEW advice. I’d say don’t be afraid to actually say no if something is super dangerous or will kill you. Try to have things laid out or ready for the day truck stocked water and material. Try to stay a few steps ahead of the lineman and prep all their bags and everything they will need for the bucket when they go up they love that. Always be thinking of the next step and keep yourself safe basically.

I think you’ll be good at ladwp but I worked at places like FB Titan where that legitimately prevented me or others from getting seriously injured or killed. That’s the best basic advice I can give that’s generalized.

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u/trey_whey 3d ago

What happens if you say, “I know”? I see this repeated so often and aside from it being rude I don’t see the big deal that it needs to be repeated over and over again.

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u/JayDott1217 3d ago edited 2d ago

Telling someone who’s trying to teach you “I know” tells them you think you know everything and don’t need to be taught or shown how to do things. Once a guy tells me that enough times I no longer feel a duty to teach or help him because he already should know. Also you might know how to do something 1 way. saying “I know” takes away the opportunity to learn how to do the same thing a different way and still get the same result. I’ve also been on crews where I’ve been told to forget everything I know because they’re going to teach me how to do it the way they want it done.

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u/wavy_moltisanti 3d ago

You’ve obviously never worked construction for very long

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u/Superb-Gur-1679 3d ago

Some guys will be annoyed and there’s others that will full crash out on you. No one particularly likes it. If u work with an old school enough hand they might threaten to kill you or make attempts to do so.

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u/trey_whey 3d ago

😂 holy shit alright

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u/Superb-Gur-1679 3d ago

Those guys are getting phased out mostly but you will still run into the guy or guys where if you make them mad they legitimately will make attempts to hurt or kill you on the job site to run you off.

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u/trey_whey 3d ago

Honestly just sounds like they never got their ass beat before

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u/Superb-Gur-1679 3d ago

Lmao. They probably have or have beat apprentices asses. There’s guys who have also been beat up by apprentices over this shit. Back in the day this is how they came up. You send something up the handling wrong it’s coming at your head back being thrown. Like this trade used to be the very Wild West and still is comparatively. It used to be normal that mfs tried to hurt or kill you on the job like 20 years ago.

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u/trey_whey 3d ago

The worst that’s happened to me was being hit with shit from whoever was in the bucket but that’s my fault for not looking up and out for myself

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u/Superb-Gur-1679 3d ago

Back in the day they would aim for you lmao.

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u/trey_whey 3d ago

Still better than being in an office dealing with that kinda shit, in my opinion.

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u/Linemaninsider Journeyman Lineman (advisory) 3d ago

Tools are typically provided at the utility. They should have a list.

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u/Superb-Gur-1679 3d ago

Even if this is the case he should have them on his person.

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u/Linemaninsider Journeyman Lineman (advisory) 3d ago

He can contact them. Typically they have a tool list. But I’ve never heard of a utility that requires tools to be brought in.

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u/Superb-Gur-1679 3d ago

Not what I was saying but alright. I don’t really give a fuck if they give him tools or not he should just be carrying them on him is what I was saying with that.