# What has the union done for you?



## icdubois (Nov 16, 2013)

Like the title says what has the union done for you personally, not as an industry, or trade. For me, I was working out of town and was provided housing and $2.5/hr per diem. It was discovered that where we were staying had bed bugs and the contractor said tough titties. Your on your own. Keep in mind that where I was working is a tourist destination town and the cheap hotels were 50-60 per night at the time. Come April those rates will double or even triple. The contractor then said that they would give us $5/hr taxed per diem which still isn’t much for this town. The local fought and got us $6/hr untaxed which allowed me to find a my own room to rent And pay for food and gas. 

What’s your story of the local fighting for you?


----------



## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

icdubois said:


> What’s your story of the local fighting for you?


It would have to start in the 30's with my grandparents....

:vs_cool:

~CS~


----------



## NewElect85 (Dec 24, 2017)

icdubois said:


> Like the title says what has the union done for you personally, not as an industry, or trade. For me, I was working out of town and was provided housing and $2.5/hr per diem. It was discovered that where we were staying had bed bugs and the contractor said tough titties. Your on your own. Keep in mind that where I was working is a tourist destination town and the cheap hotels were 50-60 per night at the time. Come April those rates will double or even triple. The contractor then said that they would give us $5/hr taxed per diem which still isn’t much for this town. The local fought and got us $6/hr untaxed which allowed me to find a my own room to rent And pay for food and gas.
> 
> What’s your story of the local fighting for you?


Bed bugs?


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

NewElect85 said:


> Bed bugs?


Yeah boy, bed bugs....they have those in Florida too!


----------



## icdubois (Nov 16, 2013)

Nasty little buggers

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed_bug


----------



## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

I had issues with my check. I was promoted to foreman and 3, 70-80 hour weeks went by and my pay never went up. Superintendent was upset that I called the hall about it. They kept telling me it would be fixed on the next check.

It was definitely fixed after the phone call, and I got a little extra on top of it tax free.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk


----------



## kg7879 (Feb 3, 2014)

The intention of the union is good but sometimes I think they put organizing over anything else. 

Our local is small so if you put up too much of a fuss, even if it is a legit contract issue, then you are usually sent down the road and put on the do not hire list.


----------



## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

kg7879 said:


> The intention of the union is good but sometimes I think they put organizing over anything else.
> 
> Our local is small so if you put up too much of a fuss, even if it is a legit contract issue, then you are usually sent down the road and put on the do not hire list.


We worked with a guy from Utah and he said they were pretty much a suitcase local and topped you out with a tramp guide and a travel letter.

I was on a do not rehire list after taking a short call and then going back to the hall when my time was up. The contractor wrote down that I quit. 
They playing journeyman roulette trying to find someone to take over a tilt up job. I took one look at it and could see that they had lost half of the stub ups.
The shop superintendent went over on a weekend and threw in plent of pipe, took pictures but didn't know how to mark the stubs.
He thought I could find them with a hammer.


----------



## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

kg7879 said:


> The intention of the union is good but sometimes I think they put organizing over anything else.
> 
> Our local is small so if you put up too much of a fuss, even if it is a legit contract issue, then you are usually sent down the road and put on the do not hire list.


Just think, if it's that bad with union protection, it's got to be MUCH worse in the non-union sector.


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

What has the Union done for me?

You mean like other than providing me a good living, health and retirement benefits, and decent working conditions since I joined?


----------



## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

What has the Union done for me?

Blocked entrances, blocked aisleways, sabotaged my work and degraded my electricians.


----------



## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

sbrn33 said:


> What has the Union done for me?
> 
> Blocked entrances, blocked aisleways, sabotaged my work and degraded my electricians.


Did you copy that from the "Why I don't work for GCs" topic.
I've worked along side 1000 non-Union electricians and never felt the need to sabotage their work.



They seem to lock themselves out, get in their own way, have poor housekeeping habits and their pipe work always looks like it was sabotaged. :vs_laugh:


----------



## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

You know who degrades non-union electrical workers the most? The non-union electrical contractors that employ them.

Those non-union electrician come to that realization when you ask them how many thousands of dollars they will receive each month from their pension and how many hundreds of thousands of dollars are in their annuity/401K, and they answer $0 and $0.


----------



## RePhase277 (Feb 5, 2008)

HackWork said:


> You know who degrades non-union electrical workers the most? The non-union electrical contractors that employ them.
> 
> Those non-union electrician come to that realization when you ask them how many thousands of dollars they will receive each month from their pension and how many hundreds of thousands of dollars are in their annuity/401K, and they answer $0 and $0.


No one makes anyone make the choices they make. You go to work for someone and you accept the terms or you don't.


----------



## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

RePhase277 said:


> No one makes anyone make the choices they make. You go to work for someone and you accept the terms or you don't.


That's not how this works.

It's a prostitute's choice to let me take a dump on her chest, but that doesn't mean that it's not degrading.

But I have to end this here because I gotta run out to the bank to get cash to pay my guys with.


----------



## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

HackWork said:


> That's not how this works.
> 
> It's a prostitute's choice to let me take a dump on her chest, but that doesn't mean that it's not degrading.
> 
> But I have to end this here because I gotta run out to the bank to get cash to pay my guys with.



Off he goes....


----------



## Helmut (May 7, 2014)

The Unions I worked for taught me that no matter how hard you try, you'll never earn more than the slack jobs you get to work with, and they taught me how employees will intentionally manipulate circumstances to screw over businesses.


----------



## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

Helmut said:


> The Unions I worked for taught me that no matter how hard you try, you'll never earn more than the slack jobs you get to work with.


Many of us often worked out deals to make more money than the CBA rate. There are also many advancement opportunities, just as many as you have working in a non-union company. Foreman, general foreman, super, estimater, project manager, owner, etc. There are also lateral moves that the union will train you for such as instrumentation, automation, etc.


----------



## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

HackWork said:


> Many of us often worked out deals to make more money than the CBA rate. There are also many advancement opportunities, just as many as you have working in a non-union company. Foreman, general foreman, super, estimater, project manager, owner, etc. There are also lateral moves that the union will train you for such as instrumentation, automation, etc.


I
love how you broke off the rest of the quote. Kinda sad actually.


----------



## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

sbrn33 said:


> I
> love how you broke off the rest of the quote. Kinda sad actually.


I only chose to respond to one topic. Do you want to discuss the other one? If you do, I would be happy to.



Helmut said:


> they taught me how employees will intentionally manipulate circumstances to screw over businesses.


I have never personally seen this, nor would I tolerate it.

My local has 200+ contractors who voluntarily signed with the union because it benefits them. We have a mutual respect for each other and work together as a team.

Lazy bums get fired. Getting fired twice gets you kicked out of the local. They embarrass us all. And those who sabotage contractors are dealt with harshly. 

If you read my other posts about the union, you will see that I have said some pretty negative things. I am open and honest about it in both directions.


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Helmut said:


> The Unions I worked for taught me that *no matter how hard you try, you'll never earn more than the slack jobs you get to work with,* and they taught me how employees will intentionally manipulate circumstances to screw over businesses.


In my experience that is completely untrue.

The least I ever made over scale was $1 hr, the most over scale $5 plus beau coup extras with it.

I have always had a truck to take home, company phone, credit card, petty cash, OT, DT, call out pay, etc

I've had employers feed me side work for their friends and used my company truck and materials to do the jobs.

I doubt I've just been lucky.


----------



## Helmut (May 7, 2014)

MechanicalDVR said:


> In my experience that is completely untrue.
> 
> The least I ever made over scale was $1 hr, the most over scale $5 plus beau coup extras with it.
> 
> ...



No, I think it's because you worked for the IBEW.

There are many other unions, who electricians work for. Is this thread just about the IBEW union?


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

sbrn33 said:


> I
> love how you broke off the rest of the quote. Kinda sad actually.


Why was that sad?

It isn't an experience that Hacks nor I shared so it's semi irrelevant to the info Hack posted.


----------



## splatz (May 23, 2015)

sbrn33 said:


> What has the Union done for me?
> 
> Blocked entrances, blocked aisleways, sabotaged my work and degraded my electricians.





Southeast Power said:


> Did you copy that from the "Why I don't work for GCs" topic.
> I've worked along side 1000 non-Union electricians and never felt the need to sabotage their work.
> 
> They seem to lock themselves out, get in their own way, have poor housekeeping habits and their pipe work always looks like it was sabotaged. :vs_laugh:


I have experienced the exact kind of thing @sbrn33 is talking about. 

Was my work shabby next to the heroic union contracor's? :laughing: In the years since, the customer has brought me all the subsequent business. They'd rather eat worms than hire the union contractor again.


----------



## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

splatz said:


> I have experienced the exact kind of thing @sbrn33 is talking about.
> 
> Was my work shabby next to the heroic union contracor's? :laughing: In the years since, the customer has brought me all the subsequent business. They'd rather eat worms than hire the union contractor again.


So you and sabrina had a bad experience with a union contractor. Sounds terrible.


----------



## splatz (May 23, 2015)

HackWork said:


> So you and sabrina had a bad experience with a union contractor. Sounds terrible.


I have had plenty of bad experiences with all kinds of contractors. 

I just don't like people pretending there aren't douchebags that feel it's there duty to perpetrate this bull****, 

I don't like people insinuating that it's really just that my work is garbage, 

and I don't like people pretending unions are some kind of white knight for the standing up for the little guy, *I* am the little guy.


----------



## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

splatz said:


> I have had plenty of bad experiences with all kinds of contractors.
> 
> I just don't like people pretending there aren't douchebags that feel it's there duty to perpetrate this bull****,
> 
> ...


I once asked sabrina to show me on the doll where the IBEW touched him. But then I found him in the corner humping the doll.


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Helmut said:


> No, I think it's because you worked for the IBEW.
> 
> There are many other unions, who electricians work for. Is this thread just about the IBEW union?


You could be correct, in this forum I just think IBEW.


----------



## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

HackWork said:


> I only chose to respond to one topic. Do you want to discuss the other one? If you do, I would be happy to.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That is great and that means some IBEW locals have finally turned the corner on the old way of doing things. 

But I'm sure old attitudes still remain. Perhaps that will die off completely once that old guard is gone.


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

splatz said:


> I have had plenty of bad experiences with all kinds of contractors.
> 
> I just don't like people pretending there aren't douchebags that feel it's there duty to perpetrate this bull****,
> 
> ...


Are there crappy Union contractors? Sure there are but you have some recourse and the hall behind you to move on to a better one. Not a huge thing.


Are there crappy non Union contractors? Sure there are but do the employees have recourse? Not really, they quit or get fired and they are on their own to go find another job and hopefully it's with a better contractor.


I'm not anti non Union by any means.

A couple of my Uncles had very large non Union shops with very happy employees. But those shops are more the exception than the rule.


----------



## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

MechanicalDVR said:


> You could be correct, in this forum I just think IBEW.


True, I knew better. From now on I will just let you high and mighty's just whack your own peters.


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

sbrn33 said:


> True, I knew better. From now on I will just let you high and mighty's just whack your own peters.


Does that mean you non Union guys do each others????

Asking for a friend.


----------



## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

You know I love you. Some days I just need to watch **** instead of this.


----------



## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

Do you still love me?


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

sbrn33 said:


> You know I love you. Some days I just need to watch **** instead of this.


I have nothing against that hobby.

I just prefer to make my own home made stuff.


----------



## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

HackWork said:


> Do you still love me?


I am not sure, but I do have that loving feeling.


----------



## active1 (Dec 29, 2009)

icdubois said:


> Like the title says what has the union done for you personally, not as an industry, or trade. For me, I was working out of town and was provided housing and $2.5/hr per diem. It was discovered that where we were staying had bed bugs and the contractor said tough titties. Your on your own. Keep in mind that where I was working is a tourist destination town and the cheap hotels were 50-60 per night at the time. Come April those rates will double or even triple. The contractor then said that they would give us $5/hr taxed per diem which still isn’t much for this town. The local fought and got us $6/hr untaxed which allowed me to find a my own room to rent And pay for food and gas.
> 
> What’s your story of the local fighting for you?


I know brothers that traveled because there is no local work. Going to Cali to work on the solar or Bay Area. They complain about the same thing. Cheap motels, bed bugs, being in bad areas, long drives, & prices of everything near the job. Except because they're traveling their are paying for that flee bag motel. For financial reasons it dosn't pencil out to pay for a better place. Some go as far as sleeping in their vehicle. Then having a gym membership to use shower and toilet. Making a lot of money but living like they got evicted. Many still don't do that great. Working crazy hours, living in a cheap motel, paying for laundry, local taxes, local dues, and high food costs. It works out to around a normal 40 hr week back home.


----------



## active1 (Dec 29, 2009)

kg7879 said:


> The intention of the union is good but sometimes I think they put organizing over anything else.
> 
> Our local is small so if you put up too much of a fuss, even if it is a legit contract issue, then you are usually sent down the road and put on the do not hire list.


It's like that with some EC in Vegas. Some have gotten their last check because they brought up a mistake on the one the week before. 
Seems like the big EC run the hall more then the members.


----------



## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

active1 said:


> It's like that with some EC in Vegas. Some have gotten their last check because they brought up a mistake on the one the week before.
> Seems like the big EC run the hall more then the members.


This is a reality. The best thing we can do is not only put the hard work in to stay internally organized, but to advance to foreman, general foreman, and supervisory positions or start our own conpanirs to run work more in line with our ideals.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk


----------



## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

active1 said:


> I know brothers that traveled because there is no local work. Going to Cali to work on the solar or Bay Area. They complain about the same thing. Cheap motels, bed bugs, being in bad areas, long drives, & prices of everything near the job. Except because they're traveling their are paying for that flee bag motel. For financial reasons it dosn't pencil out to pay for a better place. Some go as far as sleeping in their vehicle. Then having a gym membership to use shower and toilet. Making a lot of money but living like they got evicted. Many still don't do that great. Working crazy hours, living in a cheap motel, paying for laundry, local taxes, local dues, and high food costs. It works out to around a normal 40 hr week back home.


Man , if I were a traveller in the union , working in
the SF bay area , I would seriously consider a used
winnebago and park that beeatch on the beach like 
Jimmy Rockford


----------



## kg7879 (Feb 3, 2014)

MechanicalDVR said:


> In my experience that is completely untrue.
> 
> The least I ever made over scale was $1 hr, the most over scale $5 plus beau coup extras with it.
> 
> ...


Your experience is rare. Especially if you were not a foremen.


----------



## lighterup (Jun 14, 2013)

What did the union (s) ever do for me?

depends on the union and where I was at.

One place , they found out my politics was more in
line with Repub's cause I really liked Newt Gingerich
when he was Speaker...I suddenly started going in 
reverse on the locals seniority list on some alleged 
national deal that was worked out in favor of others
that strated after me...yeah right.

But I will say , money and bennies was better in the 
union then any non union place I ever worked at.


----------

