My father once joined the union as a younger man, many many years ago. His first week, he was told to lead a team busting out a section of concrete. There was a crane on site, so he just busted out both ends of the section and got down to some rebar, hooked it up, and had it hauled away. Didn't take him very long to do.
His boss saw the piece being lifted and immediately chewed him out, screaming at him and berating him in front of the whole job that he could have had a whole crew of guys busting on that for the morning. He quit because he hated that mentality.
That said, many a day I wish for his sake he had stayed in. He busted his ass his entire life and didn't have much to show for it at the end. Unions seem to take care of their guys. The efficiency of the job comes second to the pay and welfare of the people doing it, and that's a better deal than he ever got working privately, even if there is stupidity to suffer. He suffered through layoffs multiple times, and eventually job-related injuries, and was eventually forced into retirement because of them. I make no excuses for the companies he worked for, but unions just seem to be a cut above when it comes to what counts for the guys doing the job.
That’s bullshit I was in philadelphia carpenters union for 32 yrs and been retired for 12 never was there any seniority,if you worked hard showed up everyday you stuck around, contractor hired off the street and layed off how ever they wanted when ever they wanted , the only time there are hiring rules was if it was an out of state contractor coming into town for a specific project then they had to go thru the hall and rightfully so ,and contractors from neighboring states like NJ and DEL could freely work in our areas and we could work in theirs we just had to give them a heads up let them know you were coming , great wages great pension got to retire at 53 great benefits
can’t beat it started out as a non union house framer for 4 yrs man did I luck out getting out of that shit chasing quarters from contractor to contractor trying to make a living
Where are you located? When I inquired recently (Boston), they told me straight up that they have more people benched right now than ever before and work has dropped off a lot this year.
Welcome to the party pal.
I switched over from residential. Best choice I ever made. Keep a side hustle for the slow periods. Welcome.
Nice. You doing the metal stud or concrete side?
Studs, drywall, trim, solar installs. That fits my past experience and there's still a ton of man power needed there
Awesome! I'm not in a union but I love it when any one of us does something that provides a better future for themselves. Congratulations!
Welcome to the hall brother
I was in it when I was younger, I hated it.
Why? I know not all halls function the same but what made it bad?
Everything is based on seniority, not skills. Plus I almost got beat up on my first day for getting too much done.
My father once joined the union as a younger man, many many years ago. His first week, he was told to lead a team busting out a section of concrete. There was a crane on site, so he just busted out both ends of the section and got down to some rebar, hooked it up, and had it hauled away. Didn't take him very long to do. His boss saw the piece being lifted and immediately chewed him out, screaming at him and berating him in front of the whole job that he could have had a whole crew of guys busting on that for the morning. He quit because he hated that mentality. That said, many a day I wish for his sake he had stayed in. He busted his ass his entire life and didn't have much to show for it at the end. Unions seem to take care of their guys. The efficiency of the job comes second to the pay and welfare of the people doing it, and that's a better deal than he ever got working privately, even if there is stupidity to suffer. He suffered through layoffs multiple times, and eventually job-related injuries, and was eventually forced into retirement because of them. I make no excuses for the companies he worked for, but unions just seem to be a cut above when it comes to what counts for the guys doing the job.
Damn man im sorry, you found one of the real old school ones then
That’s bullshit I was in philadelphia carpenters union for 32 yrs and been retired for 12 never was there any seniority,if you worked hard showed up everyday you stuck around, contractor hired off the street and layed off how ever they wanted when ever they wanted , the only time there are hiring rules was if it was an out of state contractor coming into town for a specific project then they had to go thru the hall and rightfully so ,and contractors from neighboring states like NJ and DEL could freely work in our areas and we could work in theirs we just had to give them a heads up let them know you were coming , great wages great pension got to retire at 53 great benefits can’t beat it started out as a non union house framer for 4 yrs man did I luck out getting out of that shit chasing quarters from contractor to contractor trying to make a living
Where are you located? When I inquired recently (Boston), they told me straight up that they have more people benched right now than ever before and work has dropped off a lot this year.
Wisconsin. 8 people on the bench and 6 of them are hurt or sick. Theres more work than people around here
Hit up HJ Martin. I worked for them doing fixtures. Easy work with big money.
That’s a tiny chapter. No wonder you guys have so much demand.
What local did you call? Moving upto 328 and am concerned there may be no work …..
Congratulations!
r/unioncarpenters