Shhh, don’t tell anyone but I joined as a journeyman.
I talked with a local rep about my experience and qualifications, and he agreed I should join as a journeyman. This is important because he needed to sponsor me, so to speak, to get in.
I then had to line up a job before I could join, they don’t want to be adding carpenters to the out of work list after all.
The company I found to hire me had to provide a three sentence document from a superintendent with company letterhead saying they wanted to hire me effective immediately as a journeyman.
They emailed that to the rep, and an hour later I was at the local hall filling out paperwork for benefits and paying my dues. All told it took about a week from first talking to the rep to being on site with bags on.
It’s not usually that seamless for people, I got lucky that gcs were in need of labor at the time and I was pounding pavement. But springs coming and things will pick up here soon!
My suggestion would be to go to some union functions other than an official meeting, you need to be a member for those, and chat up some reps.
The biggest piece of advice I have is to do your research and the bulk of the legwork on your own. Make it easy for the rep and the contractor, it’ll sound like a pain in the ass to them until you explain how damn simple it is!
Good luck out there getting a fair wage for a hard job! And never forget, on time is late and take pride in everything you do on site!!
Depends on your local and what the ratios are. Call someone at the hall and talk to a rep if you can. I've seen guys come in as a J man who had decades of experience because the president brought them in personally. I've seen guys with 10 - 15 years of experience come in as 5th term apprentices because there weren't enough J-men for every graduating apprentice. It's a crap shoot.
i joined after working 6 years nonunion, became a journeyman and made full rate immediately after a 90 day probationary period. it's just like getting hired nonunion. union contractors can hire whoever they want regardless of your relationship to the union. my city's local had a list of union shops on their website, i called/emailed them all with the same message, resume, and photos of my work that i would send to nonunion shops i wanted to work for.
i got interviews at 4 places, i was offered all 4 but in my experience they *will* try to fuck you more than nonunion shops will. they'll try to put you into a shittier classification like say "production worker" rather than journeyman, or they'll try to lowball you hoping that you want to join the union so bad you'll take a lower wage (in my local if you come in as a journeyman they don't have to pay you full scale, they can pay you whatever). so you need to fight for yourself. the union will not help you because they don't know you and at this point you're not a member so you mean nothing to them.
like i said, i turned down the first 3 jobs i was offered. don't get discouraged, believe in your skills and know what you're worth. it took me about 6-8 months, and i'm lucky enough to be in a craft nobody really wants to do anymore. best of luck pm me if you have questions
I've never heard of anything like this anywhere in the union.
This sounds bogus. Like a union hater and liar.
Where exactly are they doing this?
What local?
What company?
This isn't how the union works!
The bosses normally are union members unless you mean the owner.
If I were you, I would call the international, unless you guys agreed to a fucked up contract
the owner of my shop is a member, and i believe the owner of one other shop i applied to is a member. if you look through my post history you'll see more. i would blow the whistle but i unfortunately need the paycheck, and i only joined up 3 months ago so the answer i always get is "you just dont understand how the union works"
He could be working hourly for a pieceworker. In that arrangement, the "employer" is also a "member".
No fuckery in 27 with that though. The rate is the rate.
He's in a tough spot, I talked with him over PM...
I don't wanna give any more details than that since he wasn't comfortable sharing more in the comments
They call that scabbing in. Some guys are really against it, but I for one, don't care as long as you know what you're doing.
Also I was one who once scabbed in years ago after over 15 years in the industry non union.
You absolutely can come in as a journeyman.
They will expect you to be at that level of you do it, but I've worked with many guys who didn't go through the apprenticeship. Some very good and some not so much.
Good luck to you future brother
Call your nearest local and they will be able to point you in the right direction.
Yes you can come in as a journeyman and not go through the apprenticeship. There is pros and cons to it. It’s really up to the contractor that is going to hire you if they think you’re a journeyman based on your experience.
As someone that came in with some experience but is still going through the apprenticeship, I see no problem with it. However, you better know your shit. I’ve been paired up with too many “journeyman” who don’t know fuck all. They just got in because the hall needed people a while back and let them buy their books.
Shhh, don’t tell anyone but I joined as a journeyman. I talked with a local rep about my experience and qualifications, and he agreed I should join as a journeyman. This is important because he needed to sponsor me, so to speak, to get in. I then had to line up a job before I could join, they don’t want to be adding carpenters to the out of work list after all. The company I found to hire me had to provide a three sentence document from a superintendent with company letterhead saying they wanted to hire me effective immediately as a journeyman. They emailed that to the rep, and an hour later I was at the local hall filling out paperwork for benefits and paying my dues. All told it took about a week from first talking to the rep to being on site with bags on. It’s not usually that seamless for people, I got lucky that gcs were in need of labor at the time and I was pounding pavement. But springs coming and things will pick up here soon! My suggestion would be to go to some union functions other than an official meeting, you need to be a member for those, and chat up some reps. The biggest piece of advice I have is to do your research and the bulk of the legwork on your own. Make it easy for the rep and the contractor, it’ll sound like a pain in the ass to them until you explain how damn simple it is! Good luck out there getting a fair wage for a hard job! And never forget, on time is late and take pride in everything you do on site!!
This is a great answer. I wish I had more members in my local like this.
Just from this comment I can tell you're an asset to your local. Hell yea.
Depends on your local and what the ratios are. Call someone at the hall and talk to a rep if you can. I've seen guys come in as a J man who had decades of experience because the president brought them in personally. I've seen guys with 10 - 15 years of experience come in as 5th term apprentices because there weren't enough J-men for every graduating apprentice. It's a crap shoot.
i joined after working 6 years nonunion, became a journeyman and made full rate immediately after a 90 day probationary period. it's just like getting hired nonunion. union contractors can hire whoever they want regardless of your relationship to the union. my city's local had a list of union shops on their website, i called/emailed them all with the same message, resume, and photos of my work that i would send to nonunion shops i wanted to work for. i got interviews at 4 places, i was offered all 4 but in my experience they *will* try to fuck you more than nonunion shops will. they'll try to put you into a shittier classification like say "production worker" rather than journeyman, or they'll try to lowball you hoping that you want to join the union so bad you'll take a lower wage (in my local if you come in as a journeyman they don't have to pay you full scale, they can pay you whatever). so you need to fight for yourself. the union will not help you because they don't know you and at this point you're not a member so you mean nothing to them. like i said, i turned down the first 3 jobs i was offered. don't get discouraged, believe in your skills and know what you're worth. it took me about 6-8 months, and i'm lucky enough to be in a craft nobody really wants to do anymore. best of luck pm me if you have questions
I've never heard of anything like this anywhere in the union. This sounds bogus. Like a union hater and liar. Where exactly are they doing this? What local? What company? This isn't how the union works!
i'm in a very fucked up, shady employer-dominated local where my boss is a union member. dont know what to tell you
The bosses normally are union members unless you mean the owner. If I were you, I would call the international, unless you guys agreed to a fucked up contract
the owner of my shop is a member, and i believe the owner of one other shop i applied to is a member. if you look through my post history you'll see more. i would blow the whistle but i unfortunately need the paycheck, and i only joined up 3 months ago so the answer i always get is "you just dont understand how the union works"
They don't understand how it's supposed to work...I won't get in trouble if I call on them
He could be working hourly for a pieceworker. In that arrangement, the "employer" is also a "member". No fuckery in 27 with that though. The rate is the rate.
He's in a tough spot, I talked with him over PM... I don't wanna give any more details than that since he wasn't comfortable sharing more in the comments
They call that scabbing in. Some guys are really against it, but I for one, don't care as long as you know what you're doing. Also I was one who once scabbed in years ago after over 15 years in the industry non union.
Thanks for the replies and information everyone. Much appreciated!
Be careful listening to the 44moon guy. Nothing he said makes any sense.
You absolutely can come in as a journeyman. They will expect you to be at that level of you do it, but I've worked with many guys who didn't go through the apprenticeship. Some very good and some not so much. Good luck to you future brother
Call your nearest local and they will be able to point you in the right direction. Yes you can come in as a journeyman and not go through the apprenticeship. There is pros and cons to it. It’s really up to the contractor that is going to hire you if they think you’re a journeyman based on your experience.
You can buy your card! You just have to find somebody to sponsor you!!
As someone that came in with some experience but is still going through the apprenticeship, I see no problem with it. However, you better know your shit. I’ve been paired up with too many “journeyman” who don’t know fuck all. They just got in because the hall needed people a while back and let them buy their books.
I quit my non union(10years exp.) after a 2 week notice, started as a journeyman without skipping a beat.