Anybody here ever worked for a union?
- Thread starter RIKOLOKO
- Start date
i work for a union... a laborers union. the dues are $28 a month for me, which isnt really shit.... i'm about to get in the sheetmetal workers union, because their retirement is way too good, and their vacation fund is much nicer than mine. another reason is i dont want to be doing labor work until i'm 50-55.
unions are good though, because of the benefits you get, the pay, etc...
rikoloko, are you getting in local 3? i know a few operators... and from what i know local 3 is a good, strong union.. .
bw
unions are good though, because of the benefits you get, the pay, etc...
rikoloko, are you getting in local 3? i know a few operators... and from what i know local 3 is a good, strong union.. .
bw
Union job
I have worked a union job before (Communication Workers of America). I don't know what your union would be like, but working under CWA was excellent. Union dues came to about six bucks a week, a negligible amount. The benefits of a union job? Higher pay than non-union jobs, guaranteed raises over time, better treatment on the job, better job security, etc. (I should add that all this depends on the contract that your employer has with the union. Depending on the contract, you may not have many raises, or there may be little job security, it all depends.) Basically, the union and the employer have a contract that states the wages, benefits, treatment, etc. that workers are to receive. The contract is written down and available to employees so the writing is there if a disagreement ever comes up. The nice thing about my former workplace is that there were independent union representatives at the job, and no one in management was unionized--which means that my bosses could never use union leverage against me, and that if I had a complaint, I didn't have to complain to the same person who had the power to fire me. I don't know if your employer would be set up the same way, but it's worth checking out. I have a friend who belongs to an electrician union (IBEW) working in San Francisco and he seems satisfied with the job.
Solo
I have worked a union job before (Communication Workers of America). I don't know what your union would be like, but working under CWA was excellent. Union dues came to about six bucks a week, a negligible amount. The benefits of a union job? Higher pay than non-union jobs, guaranteed raises over time, better treatment on the job, better job security, etc. (I should add that all this depends on the contract that your employer has with the union. Depending on the contract, you may not have many raises, or there may be little job security, it all depends.) Basically, the union and the employer have a contract that states the wages, benefits, treatment, etc. that workers are to receive. The contract is written down and available to employees so the writing is there if a disagreement ever comes up. The nice thing about my former workplace is that there were independent union representatives at the job, and no one in management was unionized--which means that my bosses could never use union leverage against me, and that if I had a complaint, I didn't have to complain to the same person who had the power to fire me. I don't know if your employer would be set up the same way, but it's worth checking out. I have a friend who belongs to an electrician union (IBEW) working in San Francisco and he seems satisfied with the job.
Solo
Whats crackin? I work at the Cordelia hub shit there is only 13 part time workers there. I feel you tho I was tired as fuck when I was doin trailers, I lost like 10 lbs working those bitches. After you get out of them its cake bro. I started 1 yr ago at 8.85 then got a raise after a year to 9.37. Then I got on smalls which is 1$ more. So thats 10.37 now the 80 cent raise puts me at 11.17. Not bad for part time work especially if its sorting little ass letters.
overall i think unionz r good because they make sure ur gettin paid right n shit but they take too much money from u...example i work @ safeway n i had to pay $689 az n inciation(can't spell) fee then on top of that they charge $41 dollars a month for ur dues but there coverage n insurance is good tho'
riko,
alright, check it... . this is all the info i remember from talking with one of the operators at work today.
local 3's training ground is in sacramento. the apprenticeship is 4 years long, you will spend lots of hours on equiptment. he wasnt sure on the exact number of hours you need to log though. he said at some point in time you stay there for 2 weeks at a time (there is meals and rooms provided).. . they basically just get a good look at you on all types of equiptment to see what you are good at. apparently it is not difficult to find work once your good at something (unlike other construction unions where the out of work list can get lengthy).
a few numbers (estimations, not exact) :
if you are operating a crane over 140 tons, your making about $40/hr.
truck cranes around $30/hr.
tower cranes $35-40/hr (plus you get climb pay, which is an extra half hour to get up and down the boom of the crane... you have to eat lunch, piss and shit up there)
dozer operators make anywhere from $27-35/hr (depending on the size)
hoist/manlift operators, the high $20's.. (job is reserved for the guys injured on the job, or over 55 years of age)
other types of equiptment (ie.. backhoe, sheepsfoot, etc) around $27.
* thats what you see on your check, with benefits add about $10-$14 more.
he also explained that some companies will pay above scale if your a good operator just to keep you working for them... mainly crane operators.
the man i was speaking with is nearly 60 years old now, and has been in local 3 since 1973... if he retired today he would only draw $3600 a month, which is pretty shitty compared to other trades (sheetmetal - $6000 ; electrician - $5000 ; glaziers - $4500)
he said medical, vision benefits are excellent. $3.25 and hr goes into their vacation fund, which you can draw on at any time of the year! in my union vacation pay is only $2.00/hr and i get it twice a year, i'm not allowed to draw on it at any time.
union dues are steep... if i remember right he said $210 every 3 months. and they are starting to take supplemental dues out of their vacation fund now...
hmmm, cant remember anything else he told me... i can ask for more details if you have any other questions.
bw
alright, check it... . this is all the info i remember from talking with one of the operators at work today.
local 3's training ground is in sacramento. the apprenticeship is 4 years long, you will spend lots of hours on equiptment. he wasnt sure on the exact number of hours you need to log though. he said at some point in time you stay there for 2 weeks at a time (there is meals and rooms provided).. . they basically just get a good look at you on all types of equiptment to see what you are good at. apparently it is not difficult to find work once your good at something (unlike other construction unions where the out of work list can get lengthy).
a few numbers (estimations, not exact) :
if you are operating a crane over 140 tons, your making about $40/hr.
truck cranes around $30/hr.
tower cranes $35-40/hr (plus you get climb pay, which is an extra half hour to get up and down the boom of the crane... you have to eat lunch, piss and shit up there)
dozer operators make anywhere from $27-35/hr (depending on the size)
hoist/manlift operators, the high $20's.. (job is reserved for the guys injured on the job, or over 55 years of age)
other types of equiptment (ie.. backhoe, sheepsfoot, etc) around $27.
* thats what you see on your check, with benefits add about $10-$14 more.
he also explained that some companies will pay above scale if your a good operator just to keep you working for them... mainly crane operators.
the man i was speaking with is nearly 60 years old now, and has been in local 3 since 1973... if he retired today he would only draw $3600 a month, which is pretty shitty compared to other trades (sheetmetal - $6000 ; electrician - $5000 ; glaziers - $4500)
he said medical, vision benefits are excellent. $3.25 and hr goes into their vacation fund, which you can draw on at any time of the year! in my union vacation pay is only $2.00/hr and i get it twice a year, i'm not allowed to draw on it at any time.
union dues are steep... if i remember right he said $210 every 3 months. and they are starting to take supplemental dues out of their vacation fund now...
hmmm, cant remember anything else he told me... i can ask for more details if you have any other questions.
bw
Potfarm,Thanks for all the info.Im registerd to go to a 6 week training course in Sac for local 3.I begin Aug 5th.Im just kinda nervous because I never dealt with a union.This will be a new trade for me also.I already gave my current job my 2 weeks notice so Im offically on my way to learn this stiuff.Wish me luck and once again thanks for all the info.Rikoloko
i just joined the afl-cio union for safeway... i gotta pay like 300 bucks for the sign up fee, theyre gonna take out 15 a week from my paychecks and 24 on top of the 15 every 3rd week of the month... whats cool though is that if i attend 4 union meetings in the next 6 months theyll take off 125 from the 300
not a problem dogg... i hope some of the info i provided helped. best of luck with your apprenticeship and have fun on all that equiptment. it'll be no problem, believe that.. .
the only thing you have to 'deal' with in a union is paying your dues... do you know if you have to pay initiation dues? in my union (laborers) i had to pay $501 initiation.
bw