# Apprentice needs advice.



## Nastyniz (Jun 16, 2011)

Hey guys, I'm kinda in a difficult situation. I'm a third year apprentice in my local. And it's not my contractor taking advantage of me it's my foreman. I have about 4 years prior experience in the trade before i got in my local. And this foreman is using it to his advantage. My contractor doesn't have a clue what's going on. This dude is just a load. And a drug addict. When he can come to work on time and stay the entire day with out giving me some kind of farfetched excuse he's not a horrible guy. But basically all the work is being pushed on me and me the apprentice is essentially running the job. The only thing he does is call material in answer questions from owner and answer gc's questions when he's their. To the owner he looks like a guy who's a real company man. When he's their I can't even give him a task because he just spins his wheels. What do I do? I don't want to be labeled a rat or get a bad reputation so young in my career in my local because word travels fast.


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## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

Start calling in sick at the worst times (for him).


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## rlc3854 (Dec 30, 2007)

Nastyniz said:


> Hey guys, I'm kinda in a difficult situation. I'm a third year apprentice in my local. And it's not my contractor taking advantage of me it's my foreman. I have about 4 years prior experience in the trade before i got in my local. And this foreman is using it to his advantage. My contractor doesn't have a clue what's going on. This dude is just a load. And a drug addict. When he can come to work on time and stay the entire day with out giving me some kind of farfetched excuse he's not a horrible guy. But basically all the work is being pushed on me and me the apprentice is essentially running the job. The only thing he does is call material in answer questions from owner and answer gc's questions when he's their. To the owner he looks like a guy who's a real company man. *When he's their I can't even give him a task because he just spins his wheels*. What do I do? I don't want to be labeled a rat or get a bad reputation so young in my career in my local because word travels fast.


Are you sure you're not the foreman and don't know how to supervise people?


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## Nastyniz (Jun 16, 2011)

rlc3854 said:


> Are you sure you're not the foreman and don't know how to supervise people?


Yeah I'm pretty sure I'm the apprentice lol. He doesn't know what's going on on the job. Because I've done all the work. So he just asks me what still needs to be done. For example theirs no reason it should take 3 hours to wire two 8 foot strip fixtures or a whole day to do two floor boxes


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## Nastyniz (Jun 16, 2011)

The guy is a meth addict.


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## Cl906um (Jul 21, 2012)

Nastyniz said:


> The guy is a meth addict.


Doesn't your local have an apprenticeship committee you can air this out in? Kind of tossing dirty laundry out to the Internet.


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## Nastyniz (Jun 16, 2011)

Lol I'll pass on that. Basically he's a guy who's well connected which is why I'm scared to rat the guy out. He has to be if he's constantly sent out as a foreman than works like he does.


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## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

Nastyniz said:


> Lol I'll pass on that. Basically he's a guy who's well connected which is why I'm scared to rat the guy out. He has to be if he's constantly sent out as a foreman than works like he does.


 
Sometimes one has to work with the hand you are dealt with, you seem to have an answer for all the typical avenues for grievance, so tuff it out and seeing you have 7 years in the trade put your skills to use. You should transfer at some point?


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## big2bird (Oct 1, 2012)

Nastyniz said:


> Lol I'll pass on that. Basically he's a guy who's well connected which is why I'm scared to rat the guy out. He has to be if he's constantly sent out as a foreman than works like he does.


I seriously do not know what I would do in that situation.


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## Nastyniz (Jun 16, 2011)

brian john said:


> Sometimes one has to work with the hand you are dealt with, you seem to have an answer for all the typical avenues for grievance, so tuff it out and seeing you have 7 years in the trade put your skills to use. You should transfer at some point?


I'm trying Brian. I've been with the same contractor since day one in the local. This guy was a new hire because he needed someone to run the job. I guess I have to much of a conscience but I'm scared to act on it. I feel bad for the contractor he's getting boned. And I have to work like a jerkoff to pick up this guys dead weight while he gets all the glory. Very frustrating.


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

In my first year I had to work with a guy who never showered and hung out at a fish store after work. The passenger window on the workvan remained open in the dead of winter so I could hold my meals down. He used his back pockets for his hand tools and when they wore thru, he duct tapped them. There was finally a blow up one day when I ran a three wire over two runs of two wire , he believed that three wire cost double two wire. I got laid off and got a job elsewhere working with guyd who showered. No more open windows in the dead of winter.


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

Shockdoc said:


> In my first year I had to work with a guy who never showered and hung out at a fish store after work. The passenger window on the workvan remained open in the dead of winter so I could hold my meals down. He used his back pockets for his hand tools and when they wore thru, he duct tapped them. There was finally a blow up one day when I ran a three wire over two runs of two wire , he believed that three wire cost double two wire. I got laid off and got a job elsewhere working with guyd who showered. No more open windows in the dead of winter.


I always figured you for a pansy. :whistling2:


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## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

Shockdoc said:


> In my first year I had to work with a guy who never showered and hung out at a fish store after work. The passenger window on the workvan remained open in the dead of winter so I could hold my meals down. He used his back pockets for his hand tools and when they wore thru, he duct tapped them. There was finally a blow up one day when I ran a three wire over two runs of two wire , he believed that three wire cost double two wire. I got laid off and got a job elsewhere working with guyd who showered. No more open windows in the dead of winter.


My first year I worked with a guy that chewed tobacco, if he thought we were moving to slow on the deck (he would be on a upper deck), he'd spit at us. One day after lunch he fell on the rebar (drunk and on reds). The head foreman got his money (in those days we were paid in cash) stuck it in his pocket and left him there.


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## sparky970 (Mar 19, 2008)

If he is showing up to work "high", it's your duty to report him. How will you feel when he gets hurt or hurts someone else? Its not being a rat. Its called being responsible.


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## Celtic (Nov 19, 2007)

Shockdoc said:


> There was finally a blow up one day when I ran a three wire over two runs of two wire , he believed that three wire cost double two wire.



That explains a lot...
that lesson seems to have remained with you...
#*47* [Why is??? 3/8 FMC cost as much as 12/2 MC]

:laughing:


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## eejack (Jul 14, 2012)

Nastyniz said:


> Hey guys, I'm kinda in a difficult situation. I'm a third year apprentice in my local. And it's not my contractor taking advantage of me it's my foreman....


You are in a very tough spot.

No mention of any journeymen on the job...if they are there they should be dealing with this and not you.

If you had a steward on the job, you would bring this to him, but since you do not you bring this to either one of your apprentice teachers or better yet, your apprentice training director.

The way you do it is nicely. 
"I don't want to get this guy into trouble but ..."

The folks who are suggesting you report this are correct - he is a safety hazard and it needs to be dealt with.

Now, the other thing you can do is suck it up and carry the guy to the end of the job. It sounds like you have done this so far and it sounds like you can finish the job. However, you need to let him know that you are doing it and you expect him to stay out of the way so nothing bad happens. 

Tough spot...good luck.


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## Jstanton27 (Jul 19, 2011)

Sounds like a real piece of work. The way I'd look at it if he's a not a douche and don't mess anything up.let it go. Its good to be king. you really can't do anything cuz your right you would be a rat. But if he almost blew you up or a close call I'd be all up in his face. However I'm not union but The you have every right to complain. But If it were me I'd cover my ass and let him bury his own grave because if he's tweekin he most certainly will.


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## sparky970 (Mar 19, 2008)

When something happens, and they find out you knew, you'll be just as guilty.


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## John Valdes (May 17, 2007)

What about an anonymous letter to the contractor?

Encourage them to come to the job to see for themselves. Use enough truths to make sure they understand this no joke. But do not provide any personal identification.
Make sure your letter is believable by writing something they will know had to come from the job site.


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

there are three basic courses of action, two of which have been discussed:

1) shut up and do the work
2) whine, rat him out, cry wolf
3) sink the knife in deep

1) not too bad of a situation as you think it is. you get to learn to be a foreman for free (although not making foreman wages). this is not too bad because if you screw up, you have an out "waddya mean, Joe is running this show, I'm just an apprentice !"

2) I don't like this move because you will get it from every possible angle, and might even get a name for yourself.

3) if you are not ready to put this guy out on the street and move up don't even think about it. the way you cut the throat of a guy like that is to feed him misinformation to the point where he is giving the owner completely false information at the worst possible time. then you step in and show the owner that you have been in control of everything, it's running fine, and you are making him money, the other guy is doing nothing, is a liar, and wasting the owners money. this can easily backfire, but if you plan it out you move up he moves out. not for the faint of heart, and if you aren't ready to make the move don't do it.


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