# union vs location



## jimmy21 (Mar 31, 2012)

Looking at all this union/non union debate. I have to say that i think a lot of it boils down to location. For example, in oregon, if you lived in portland, it would be a bad decision to work for an open shop. You can stay working fairly steady in the union and make way more money with benefits on top of it. On the other hand if you lived in an area with really poor union market share, you would probably be dumb to go union.


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## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

Jimmy, in my area I cannot tell you exactly what percentage of work the union has, I have been told about 30% commercial but no hard facts to back that up.

Now I wanted to go union but could not get into the locked boys club (I was told I was not cut out to be an electrician and should look at other trades), what were my options?

Hang drywall..I thiink not. I worked open shop.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

No matter how good you are, location does matter:

As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a grave-side service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper’s cemetery in the Ohio back-country.
As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost; and being a typical male I didn’t stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight.
There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn’t know what else to do, so I started to play.
The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around.. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I’ve never played before for this homeless man.
And as I played ‘Amazing Grace,’ the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full. 
As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say "Sweet Mother of Jesus, I never seen nothin’ like that before and I’ve been putting in septic tanks for over twenty years."


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## Loose Neutral (Jun 3, 2009)

You nailed it. Go below Brian's local 26 and good luck. Come up and you got a shot.


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