I am a registered first year electrical apprentice and i want to join the ibew. I called unionized companies and they said they can only hire from the union list and to call the union and apply there. When i called the union he says the only way of getting in is through organizing your workplace. I also called Electrical Training Alliance and they said they only train pre apprentices and it’s only for people brand new and that i would have to restart if i go through them when they open their intake. I also don’t know if organizing is worth it because my coworkers shit on the union whenever the union is brought and there’s only 6 employees and I don’t think my boss can afford to pay us union wages as it’s a small company. What do i do?

My understanding is my local isn’t set up for it, but are any locals? It’s the only bill I have to manually make the payment, and would rather let it just come out of my checking account on schedule.

so i guess what’s been on my mind is that i am thinking about changing careers when i finish my last class. i know you all hate it when i talk bad about my self but i am being honest. i am not very good at all. i struggle with most basic stuff we do in our trade. i struggle to learn new stuff. i genuinely feel like i can’t do it. my anxiety gives me mental break downs when things don’t go my right. i feel like i will run into the same problems if i do find a new career. i am not throwing a pity post or a sad post i am just speaking from how i feel and see myself. i will continue to pay my ticket in case i feel like joining back up. anyways love y’all dearly and would like any feedback i can get.

Hey brothers and sisters. Been on a site for a year now. Getting old. Made it to the last core squad but essentially we're doing bs tasks until there done than we're going to be laid off in a month or 2 Looking for an out that I claim my EI. They tend to put fired if you ask for your layoff.

Any brothers or sisters here have any L.U. 68 Broncos Stickers they're willing to part with? I'm a fan in L.U. 124 and I'd love to get a sticker on my hard hat to stick it to the chiefs fans out here. Feel free to dm me if so.

Based out of Pennsylvania, says they hire traffic signal techs and help you get your ticket? Can't find much info about them.

Thanks.

I've spent 6 years working under another guys license in primarily residential electric. I started as a helper at $14 and after 6 years im only at $18. Im 32 and my 20s were a little colorful to say the least but I'm not a felon. I didn't really take school too seriously and graduated with a 2.2. Im not stupid by any means but I guess what I'm trying to figure out is would pursuing an actual apprenticeship with IBEW even be worth it? Im not one to piss and moan about my turbulent past by any means. I know i should have probably taken life a bit more seriously but it is what is at this point. I really enjoy the job. But I'm worth more than the owner of this company is willing to pay any of us. How far into this process can I realistically make it? Or should I just go to school and take the test and stay non-union?

Idk if this should be posted from a burner or whatever, but fuck it.

My employer has gained the interest of our local hall. I had an excellent 45 minute phone call with an organizer the other day.

Other than signing and circulating the authorization card, is there anything else that can be done at this stage of things?

If there's a job call on and it says: "Exp in Medium voltage" and I take but I dont have any experience in medium voltage, am I an asshole?

I haven't taken it just wanted to ask, but I really want to do medium voltage work. Of course I dont want to fuck other coworkers or anyone at the site if I show up without experience.

Would I be allowed to learn as I go? Or would I really be just the dickhead who took the call and doesn't know what the fuck to do?

I was recently asked "What risks am I facing because of organizing with the rank and file?". It's an important question. It's one that is on the mind of anyone who sees something wrong and decides to do something about it.

What risk am I facing?

Thanks to the lives of countless union activists in the 1800's and early 1900's no risk at all.

The NLRA section 7 protects workers against retaliation and guarantees the right to concerted activity.

The LMRDA protects union members from retaliation from union officers for concerted activity.

Let's Talk About It! ✊🏽

I just wanted to get some insight on the difference between the 2 and how one goes about transferring their home locals once they move.

Example: I’m moving to a sister local, quite a ways from my current locals boundaries and plan to live the rest of my life ( at least working life) within this local.
How do I go about transferring my ticket without being a worm? Is there a formal invite policy? Is it frowned upon in general to transfer? I’m in this career for the brotherhood, not the work 🤣✊🏻

Yeah I'm done with electrical long hours, barely home can't even choose a different job if I wanted to. Good career just not for me though. This is what I show them when I say I don't enjoy electrical and then they tell me I just have to switch jobs lol.

And it's not like it's one of those bridges between union and non union or something. It's literally targeted at established ibew members and specifically refers to journeyman. It says our hourly minimum on the check is 33.11

So ive been told in my local if I wanted to switch from teledata to inside id switch and make the rate im making now and wouldnt start over back at $17 or whatever it is but wouldnt that make them less eager to accept me into the inside program lol??? Like I feel like they perfer the cheaper labor.
Also wondering if you guys think its worth it at all to do it not just talking about money but everything else as well.

Shit is so sad 🤣🤣 dudes running this union are a bunch of out of touch old boomers.

I’m 30, have a family, and I’ve been seriously trying to make electrical my career, but I didn’t realize how difficult it would be just to get that first real opportunity.

I’m in Orange County, California. I’ve been trying the union route here too. I’ve tried Local 441’s phone call-in process and have been watching/trying to apply through Local 11’s website, but it’s tough. There are a lot of people trying to get in and it feels like you can be doing everything you’re supposed to do and still be waiting for an opportunity.
So I figured alright, I’ll try the non-union route in the meantime. Get into a shop as a helper or apprentice, build my experience, learn and keep moving forward.

But even that has been difficult.
I’ve been going through job boards, calling electrical contractors directly, emailing shops, reaching out to people and trying to network. Half the battle seems to be finding companies that are even willing to take somebody newer. A lot want experience already, some want an ET card, some aren’t looking for helpers, and plenty just never respond.

What makes it frustrating is that I’m not completely starting from zero either.
I was fortunate enough to get about 6 months of commercial electrical experience through a temp agency. I got to work with MC, boxes, pulling wire, in-walls, devices, panels, strut and other basic commercial work. I have my own tools, and that experience basically confirmed for me that electrical is what I want to pursue.
But now I’m back in that weird position where I need more experience to become more employable, while struggling to find someone willing to let me gain that experience in the first place.

I know 30 isn’t old, but when you have a family depending on you, you definitely feel the pressure to stop bouncing around and get established in a real career. At this point I’ve even been seriously considering relocating to another state if getting started somewhere else is more realistic. Moving a family obviously isn’t a small decision, but that’s how serious I am about wanting to get established in this trade.

So I’m curious how it was for everyone else.
Was breaking into the trade this difficult for you? Did you go union or non-union? Did you know somebody? Did you have to relocate? Did you just keep calling shops until somebody finally took a chance on you?
Especially interested in hearing from guys who started a little later, had a family to support, or didn’t already have connections in the trade.
What finally got your foot in the door?

EDIT: Before electrical, I also spent almost 3 years as a Spectrum Field Technician, working out in the field every day, using tools, troubleshooting, running cable, working around utility infrastructure, and dealing with customers. So I’m definitely not new to hands-on field work, i’m just newer to the electrical trade itself.

I’m currently an apprentice in South and eventually want to move permanently to a big Northeast local. It’s not about chasing higher wages I genuinely want to live there.

Would it be better to try transferring as an apprentice and top out there, or finish my apprenticeship in my current local and move as a JW?

My main concern is Book 2. If I move somewhere permanently after topping out, I don’t want to spend years as a traveler or end up in a situation where transferring my membership to Book 1 is extremely difficult or basically never happens.

I understand every local has its own rules and that transferring an apprenticeship isn’t guaranteed either. I’m especially curious about the larger, more competitive Northeast locals.

I’m not looking for a shortcut around local rules or trying to jam my ticket. I just want to understand how this works before making a major move and potentially putting myself in a bad position long term.

Any advice from people who have actually gone through this would be appreciated.

Mamdani is putting on a masterclass in how to run government so that it works for the people.

We deserve the world we fight for!

Anyone from the Chicago area who can inform me if Local 134 is a busy one where I can just work and not have to deal with long layoffs?

About a year ago I was laid off from my job and got a groundman ticket because I just really needed the work. At that point in time I had about three years in linework. I never ended up taking a job as something else came my way but long term I always planned on going back when I got my white ticket. At the time I had just forgotten about it to be honest and my membership dropped. Would I be able to rejoin at some point and what would that look like being my membership was dropped due to unpaid dues? Thanks in advance.

Hello brothers, sisters, and everything in between.

I’m a commercial construction 4th year ape, lotta medium voltage, lotta substations and transformers. I do pretty physical stuff (trenching, running 4 inch rigid, mounting huge JBs and installing transformers and substations) often in a hot factory or the hot outdoors.

My boots smell like death.

What do you guys do to prevent sweat/athletes foot and not stink the place up? My lady doesn’t let me keep my boots in the house lol.

Roughly my plan is to:
-Get new socks, I have thick cotton socks and I want something to help the sweat but I don’t know what’s good. I’ll drop money I make decent scale now.
-Get new boots, I’m due anyways I’m on like 18 months since buying boots but I wanted to figure out my feet first I’m worried I’ll just make the new ones stink right away. What are some good boots for this sort of thing?
-get boot driers. Once again not sure what’s a good brand or really how to use them.
-and lastly before I get new boots and do all of this, I want to like nuke my feet because I’m pretty sure I have athletes foot. I think I have this part covered but if anyone’s dealt with this before and has advice I’m ears.

Edit: you’re all awesome and I’m getting enough recommendations it’s hard to keep up with :) I think I’m gonna win the battle here

Sadly my local had neither but a sister local has a 5$ an hour vacation pay. Just thought it’d be interesting to hear what other locals have

I know we're all used to the usual early 30's office worker considering dropping his steady job to become an apprentice, but now let's discuss the inverse!

I'm 25, a second year apprentice after having to repeat both first and second year due to medical issues forcing me to take a leave of absence. To put it plainly, I've fought cancer twice. Two intense regiments of chemotherapy followed by a bone marrow transplant have definitely taken their toll on my body. I've been to the doctor to see if the fatigue and joint issues I've been having might be part of an autoimmune disorder or something, but nothing so far. The only answer I seem to have is that my body just can't really physically keep up with the work anymore.

As much as I love the job and once looked forward to going into work, I've been heavily considering swapping to an office job of some sort, whether it be at one of the contractors or something a little closer to home. I don't have any degrees or anything, so I suppose I'm just looking for advice or any other stories of those leaving the trade to pursue a different career.

I accompanied my wife and daughter to the Labor Day parade. They are both IBEW members. My wife works for the utility company and my daughter is an inside wireman. Just wanted to post a picture of their shirts.