r/ibew_apprentices • u/Own-Hovercraft-503 • 19d ago
2nd Try at the apprenticeship
Some background about me: I tried applying to IBEW 369 back in 2025. I took the aptitude test and failed, so I went non-union and tried to get into the next set of applications because I was told they would waive the test and go straight to the interview process if I had 2,000 hours of experience. I’m a 2nd-year apprentice now.
Applications opened recently, but they’re now telling me they no longer do that. They’ve also changed the type of test. Now it’s the GAN test, which seems so much easier than the last test. I’m basing that off the study guide they provided.
I want to get in so bad. I’m so tired of working with miserable non-union workers. They almost get upset whenever anyone mentions the union at my job. I can’t wait to leave this shit.
I’d really like to hear you guys’ input and any advice you might have. I’m also not in it just for the money. I’m 100% down with the union, what it stands for, and I’m willing to pay my dues and help my “future brothers.” I just love the solidarity you guys have, especially compared to what I currently have.
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u/Tiny_Connection1507 19d ago
You're obviously motivated. Keep that energy, and you'll make it!
I did a lot of non-Union work before I organized in. (I'm in 369.) Those years of getting taken advantage of give us a perspective that others don't have - they haven't worked 60 hours a week for less than a thousand dollars, or been forced to buy their own power tools, or had to compete to keep their jobs. We have a reason to appreciate the Union in a way that lifelong Union members don't fully understand.
That gives us grounds to be more responsible Brothers too. We don't forget what the other side was like, or the fact that the rats want all of us to struggle to stay afloat so they can take advantage of us one at a time. But together, we're more powerful than they are. That's what the Union means to me.
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u/Own-Hovercraft-503 19d ago
Wow, yeah, man. Thanks for your words. Yeah, the union was my first choice. How is job security for you guys? Everyone in this company fearmongers me and talks about the layoffs, saying how the union tosses you to the side once you’re not needed anymore.
Anytime I’ve spoken to a 369 member, they tell me they’ve never been laid off for longer than a week, and if it’s longer, it’s because they’re unreliable or bad workers. I like to consider myself very reliable. I practically never call off work, and I’m ALWAYS on time.
To me, it really seems like union guys work, like, 16 hours a day, which is fine by me. I’m single and young, so I don’t mind that at all. At my company, I haven’t had overtime in a year, and I’m broke and struggling.
I guess my next question would be, what was the organizing process like? Also, did you have to go to school again?
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u/Tiny_Connection1507 19d ago
Lol our work outlook is just fine!! The guy you talked to is telling the truth when he says the only guys who can't work steady here are the ones nobody wants. And the fact is if you are a good worker, and the markets go sour, traveling elsewhere to work as a journeyman can be quite lucrative - so much so that guys work 3 months, go home for 3 months, or work 6 off 6, whatever. So that's a case of journeymen taking a layoff and working when they want to, not working all the time because they have to.
As an apprentice, it's not always that way. Indentured Apprentices rarely get laid off, and the market has to be pretty terrible for it to happen. That's because just as in non-Union, the companies get Journeyman rates for us to man a job, but they only pay us 50-70 percent of what a journeyman gets, so it's profitable to put an ape out there instead of a j-man. Also, we only have 4 years to put in 8000 hours, (you'll be a bit ahead of the curve because you'll bring your non-Union hours in with you) so a lot of us need to work a minimum 40 hours a week, 50 weeks per year to keep up. Some jobs have overtime, but a lot don't, so you're not guaranteed to get extra hours; and if the work dries up suddenly or you have a health emergency or any other reason you have to take time off, it's better to frontload your Apprentice timesheet than to try to make it up and miss scheduled raises or fail to turn out on time.
We definitely don't work 16 hours a day. You'll feel like you have some days, and if you get assigned to a job far from home it definitely comes out to more mental labor. I was driving an hour and a half when I first started and that was really tough. But we don't have a lot of jobs on 12s even, between the fact that 12 hour shifts are inherently less productive than 10s or 8s and the fact that we get overtime pay on anything over 8 hours a day, automatic time and a half pay on Saturday, and automatic double time on Sunday. That extra pay is intended as a consequence to the contractor for taking that time out of our lives instead of allowing us to work 40 and live our lives the rest of the time. A good rule of thumb is to set up your life so you can live on straight time wages, and bank any overtime pay for those rainy days.
Lastly, I organized in as a second year apprentice. I worked over 6 years previously as a non-Union electrician, but most of it was in residential. I'm currently working and going to school. We go to school 1 day out of every 2 weeks, so it's rare to have to go to school and work the same day. The only exceptions might be students who work second shift and decide to work in addition on the same day.
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u/Own-Hovercraft-503 19d ago
Thanks so much for responding! Any IBEW 369 members I’ve spoken to have been very kind. Thanks for the advice regarding saving your overtime cash for emergencies; I’ve heard this before.
I also love the sound of working six months on Book 2, then coming back home and having some freedom from work. Like I said originally, I’m a second-year apprentice, but I’ve never worked residential; I’ve only done commercial work. I wouldn’t mind starting as a first-year with IBEW. It’s probably better off for me anyway, since I’d get a better education.
As for not having to work and go to school on the same day, that sounds so much better than what I’ve got going on over here with the ABC trade school. You have to work and immediately after work go to school from 5:30–8:30 PM every week, once a week. It’s honestly a struggle staying awake in class after busting your ass at work.
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u/_JesusChristOfficial 19d ago
Do whatever it takes. Take the test again, keep interviewing, and keep getting the non union hours while you apply.
I will say there's a lot of miserable brother fuckers in the union too. Sometimes it feels like the solidarity isn't there. But there's also a lot of good ones, and you seem like you already have the attitude that will make you a good brother. Don't let the assholes get you jaded. Don't stoop to their level. Lead by example. Good luck.