Chicago union electricians make $67/hr?! Holy Obama!

[Fiat1]

lol. Unions. lol. There's no union electrician who's skill is worth $67 an hour. Everyone knows this.

Fixed

 

[spidey07]

Fixed

I use union labor on most of my network builds. I do so because I know I'll get a top notch job (and for many companies it's mandatory). And generally the rate is much higher than 67/hr. Face it, skilled trades can easily pull in over 100K a year, it's not uncommon at all.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I use union labor on most of my network builds. I do so because I know I'll get a top notch job (and for many companies it's mandatory). And generally the rate is much higher than 67/hr. Face it, skilled trades can easily pull in over 100K a year, it's not uncommon at all.

lol

 

[Bignate603]

Fixed

This isn't the UAW who are mostly unskilled labor. The electrician's union handles all the training and things, when you call them up and ask for a few electricians for your job it's the easiest way to get a crew of workers that have the level of skill you'd need. When you have a job that needs a few dozen electricians for only a few weeks or months you don't want to review hundreds of resumes and check up on people's training. You want another group to keep tabs on everyone's training and be able to send over as many guys as you need with the right skills.

For big projects you either call up the union to get the people you need or you call up a company that keep their own pool of engineers on payroll. I can guarantee that for the same set of skills you won't be saving much money going with a company that uses a non-union pool of electricians.

 

[Mani]

Posts like this smack of jealousy. So what if they make that much - become a Chicago electrician then.

 

[Bignate603]

Posts like this smack of jealousy. So what if they make that much - become a Chicago electrician then.

That would mean the OP would have to do real work

 

[spidey07]

Posts like this smack of jealousy. So what if they make that much - become a Chicago electrician then.

Yep. This is why you never tell people what you make, nothing good can come of it.

 

[BoomerD]

My city did away with the "Little Davis-Bacon" requirements for jobs that don't have state or federal money. About 80% of the jobs are still awarded to the union contractors, even though the non-union companies don't have to pay prevailing wages.
The union contractors come in under budget, on time or earlier, do the job safer, and have far less "re-do's" than any of the non-union contractors.
One of the local rat contractors has been banned from bidding on city/county work in several local counties and cities because of shoddy work. They could get the lowest bid...then not be able to do the job right, even with several extra weeks.

Union hands are USUALLY better trained, safer, and get the job done right the first time.

The apprenticeship for my union used to be 6000 hours of OJT training/working, plus 144 hours per year of unpaid "related training," often at one of the local community colleges. In the 90's, it was increased to 8000 hours.
Every year, I studied welding, mechanics, including gas and diesel engines, hydraulics, transmissions, and electrical systems, grade checking, and rigging. Plus, every year, we were required to update our Red Cross first aid & CPR training, as well as take classes in safety, plus various kinds of equipment operation and maintenance.

Are there good hands in the non-union sector? You betcha...I've worked with some VERY GOOD non-union people...but they're definitely not the norm in my trade.

 

[SSSnail]

That is total reasonable for a skilled job. You want ridiculous wages? Try looking at your local government positions or someone who installs a bolt for auto industry.

 

[Monkeywrench]

My city did away with the "Little Davis-Bacon" requirements for jobs that don't have state or federal money. About 80% of the jobs are still awarded to the union contractors, even though the non-union companies don't have to pay prevailing wages.
The union contractors come in under budget, on time or earlier, do the job safer, and have far less "re-do's" than any of the non-union contractors.
One of the local rat contractors has been banned from bidding on city/county work in several local counties and cities because of shoddy work. They could get the lowest bid...then not be able to do the job right, even with several extra weeks.

Union hands are USUALLY better trained, safer, and get the job done right the first time.

The apprenticeship for my union used to be 6000 hours of OJT training/working, plus 144 hours per year of unpaid "related training," often at one of the local community colleges. In the 90's, it was increased to 8000 hours.
Every year, I studied welding, mechanics, including gas and diesel engines, hydraulics, transmissions, and electrical systems, grade checking, and rigging. Plus, every year, we were required to update our Red Cross first aid & CPR training, as well as take classes in safety, plus various kinds of equipment operation and maintenance.

Are there good hands in the non-union sector? You betcha...I've worked with some VERY GOOD non-union people...but they're definitely not the norm in my trade.

Don't many get " journeyed in" thru friends/relatives bypassing the apprenticeship program altogether?

 

[Hacp]

Get rid of all the laws favoring unions. Then let us see how long they will survive. Unions are a monopoly formed artificially by the government. Tear them all down. Now.

 

[NL5]

Don't many get " journeyed in" thru friends/relatives bypassing the apprenticeship program altogether?

No.

 

[NL5]

Get rid of all the laws favoring unions. Then let us see how long they will survive. Unions are a monopoly formed artificially by the government. Tear them all down. Now.

LOL. Name one that favors the electrical union. NECA contractors CHOSE to be union supplied contractors for a reason. Ironically, the ones in my area are generally opposed to bringing in the CW and CE's.

 

[Hacp]

Why the jealousy?

There is nothing stopping you and everyone that wish to become an electrician/tradesman.

Yes there is. These places don't just randomly accept anyone. Its impossible to get in unless you have a relative or good friend already there.

 

[iGas]

Yes there is. These places don't just randomly accept anyone. Its impossible to get in unless you have a relative or good friend already there.

I got in even those I'm an immigrant with no family/friends connections to the union/s or contractors.

It was a bit more difficult than others that have connections, but with hard work and dedication I was able to shoe horn myself in and quickly rise to the top.

Come to Victoria BC. Canada and contact me if you really want to be a tradesman because I'm sure that I can get you an apprenticeship (if you can prove that you are worthy) in plumbing, gas, electrical, instrumentation/control, or refrigeration.

 

[BoomerD]

Don't many get " journeyed in" thru friends/relatives bypassing the apprenticeship program altogether?

Yep...some do indeed, BUT, for many pieces of equipment, those who bypass the apprenticeship have to test at the apprenticeship/testing center to prove they have at least the minimum levels of competency before they can be dispatched. (of course, if the contractor hires them directly, which in most cases, can only happen in the summer months when the out-of-work list is below 15%, then the union doesn't test them...until they come to the hall for dispatch)

 

[Bignate603]

Get rid of all the laws favoring unions. Then let us see how long they will survive. Unions are a monopoly formed artificially by the government. Tear them all down. Now.

I live in Arizona which is a "right to work state" meaning that the unions have almost no bargaining power. IBEW, the electrician's union still exists here because there are clients that still want to hire them even when they have plenty of other options.

Yes there is. These places don't just randomly accept anyone. Its impossible to get in unless you have a relative or good friend already there.

You have no idea what you're talking about. Plenty of people get in each year on their own. Sure, it's easier if you have somebody to walk you through the process but how is that any different from getting into a white collar job because a friend passed on your resume?

 

[sao123]

Yes there is. These places don't just randomly accept anyone. Its impossible to get in unless you have more useful skills than shooting off your mouth while knowing nothing.

corrected.

 

[MJinZ]

Bah. As an overpaid white collar worker, it is pretty sad to see all the other overpaid white collar workers on here(mostly young guys imho) who are outraged that anyone who isn't white collar makes any kind of money. You got yours, why do you care if someone else is getting theirs? It's a good thing if more people are making living wages, unless you feel some happiness/superiority in assuming that everyone else must make $20 /hr less than you.

Yea, if these electricians stop making $67/hr, who's going to be buying useless fucking shit that us white collar workers come up with and try to shove down the throat of consumerist America?

 

[Gibson486]

My son is an apprentice right now. Sounds like a reasonable wage. This isn't wiring switches and outlets in your house - this is one mistake and you die type of work. They have to pay for a lot of their own equipment out of pocket - his climbing gear alone is around $1000. Plus, they ship the guys all over the place. One month he might be working in city A, then when that job's done, they ship him to city B 300 miles away for a few months. Try renting an apartment and tell them "sorry, can't sign a lease - I don't know if I'll be here for a year. In fact, I probably won't be here for a year." A lot of the guys live in motels. 10 degrees outside - he's up on the pole, exposed to the wind, working with live wires energized to 1000's of volts. A few weeks ago, they were putting in new poles crossing a swamp. A bit muddy of a job. As they put in new poles, they had to transfer the live wires from the existing poles to the new poles. You don't get to shut the power off to a village for a few hours. There's a shitload of training to get to that point.

Think you can install a new substation without years of experience? Go for it. One mistake... things go boom.

Including benefits... $67 an hour is reasonable.

Go to about 3 1/2 minutes in. He shows what happens if you get a pinhole in your gloves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQBZfcEJtLM

To that story, I say they need to really put the engineering firm in check. the way distribution is designed is if something goes down, there is a back up. It's when the back up to the back up goes down when power goes out. Did that firm or electric company not even look into it? Maybe this occured in an area that has not had ANY upgrades done for years...However...if i were a PE, i would not be stamping ANY project documents that required the transfer of 1000VAC LIVE wiring. As an engineer, it's your job to ensure things are done in the safest way possible. If the engineering documents put the pressure on the contractor to do this the safest way possible, then that contractor needs to get his head checked because he purposely put a life in danger to cut down on cost.

 

[Bignate603]

To that story, I say they need to really put the engineering firm in check. the way distribution is designed is if something goes down, there is a back up. It's when the back up to the back up goes down when power goes out. Did that firm or electric company not even look into it? Maybe this occured in an area that has not had ANY upgrades done for years...However...if i were a PE, i would not be stamping ANY project documents that required the transfer of 1000VAC LIVE wiring. As an engineer, it's your job to ensure things are done in the safest way possible. If the engineering documents put the pressure on the contractor to do this the safest way possible, then that contractor needs to get his head checked because he purposely put a life in danger to cut down on cost.

You'd scream bloody murder if your power costs jumped because they needed to have multiple backup routes to connect everything. Similarly, you'd gripe if the power company turned off power for days at a time because they needed to work on something. If anyone is forcing the need to work on live wires its the customers.

You're not really familiar with how the grid works. When you're dumping a few million dollars to string a line out to a small town you're not going to pay for a second line. The jobs that the lineman do with live wires are safe if they are well trained, have good equipment and follow procedure. It's far cheaper and easier to get good people that can do this sort of job safely than it is to string a second line.

 

[Zebo]

Get rid of all the laws favoring unions. Then let us see how long they will survive. Unions are a monopoly formed artificially by the government. Tear them all down. Now.

Get rid of capitals ability to organize (legal corporations) and 0% loans to them and I'll do away with unions. You really need to read wealth of nations by Adam Smith. You only have capitalism half right. He talks about the ying and yang.

 

[Rubycon]

Get rid of capitals ability to organize (legal corporations) and 0% loans to them and I'll do away with unions. You really need to read wealth of nations by Adam Smith. You only have capitalism half right. He talks about the ying and yang.

Adam Smith was wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5jrNoNNtrE

 

[Zebo]

Eh - whatever the case - they take WAY too damn long to do their job [taking examples of Union electricians installing power cables/lines for semiconductor tools at the local Intel fab - holy hell, they move slower than molasses on a cold day and take 3x as long a it should to get the job done. It's god damn annoying].

Fast good and cheap. As certain as laws of gravity you can only pick two, choose. I'll tell you with 100% certainty which "other" will suffer.

 

[DrPizza]

Yes there is. These places don't just randomly accept anyone. Its impossible to get in unless you have a relative or good friend already there.

I see that Sao already corrected you. But, given how much you constantly spout off your mouth against unions, I'm wondering if it's just that you weren't good enough to qualify?? They don't want you??? I know my son had to take a test to get into his apprenticeship. He majored in physics for 2 years at a university prior to entering the apprenticeship. Less than 30 days on the waiting list & he was in. Another former student of mine (I teach math and physics in a high school) also got right in. He took his test, went for his interview, and they called him while he was on his way home to tell him when he started. Neither of them knew anyone in the union.

Or, you can go to a couple of linesman schools that they have around the country. When you walk out the door, there are companies ready to hire you as a linesman. I believe they have right around a 100% placement rate. What's stopping you?

Or, are you going to continue to make up bullshit excuses to rationalize why you can't get a good job??