# From Laborer Union to Electricains Union



## cjludwick (Nov 26, 2009)

I am number 45 on the list for *IBEW* *Local* *46. *They are taking another class in May of 20, so my number will likely be 25. When I was a laborer, there were often day jobs, or week long jobs. Sometimes jobs as long as 6 months, but layoffs were constant. My question is to those who have been in the union for a while, do jobs tend to last longer than what I described being a laborer?


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## BuzzKill (Oct 27, 2008)

I would hazard to say that as a laborer, your skill set is limited so goeth your employment opportunities; being an electrician with an expansive, in limited supply, skill set, your employment will therefore be more steady.


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## Ocularpatdown (Apr 27, 2010)

I'm not sure if it has to do with the skill level, I know plenty of waitresses and shelf stockers that work 3,000 hours per year.

Also, I don't think there is a limited supply of skilled electrician, at least not now.

It's all a gamble, some laborers get called out for a day or a week, some stay on the job for the entire time, even longer than electrician. Some laborers get called out for mason tending instead of cleaning, so that could be a long job.

On the other hand, I know good electrician that just always had bad luck and got called out on short jobs, 2 weeks here, 4 weeks there. 

All in all, I think many laborer calls are shorter than the average electrician call, but it's really just the luck of the draw.


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## sparky970 (Mar 19, 2008)

My current apprentice also works out of the Laborers Hall. He's due for rotation in a couple weeks and then has a couple months work as a Laborer. With 8 or 9 apprentices on the book, it's good he has something to fall back on. He's actually one of the best apprentices I ever had. Great attitude, takes pride in his job, and asks a lot of questions.


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