Welding Tips and Tricks

I have been in a few trade/construction unions in my life, and everyone knows how hard they can be to get into, and more importantly, to keep working in.

Boilermaker local 909 is a "travelers" or "suitcase" local, but most boilermaker unions are. The difference is, this local is "suitcase" only, meaning that officially you will be a worker without a permenent hall. I have heard that joining is rather easy, and that the wage rates are a little less stifled than an ordinary hall, which might refuse you without an apprenticeship, or some really legitamite training, and work experiance.

So its a good oppurtunity for young guys just looking for work experiance, or a guy on his last leg trying to make that hard desicion to wait it out a few more weeks, or spend his last few hundred bucks getting to the next job on the road. We all know how that is.

http://906boilermaker.org/job.html

The hall is in SW pennsalvania, but i think you can work without ever visiting that actual, physical hall, and that you would fill out paper at your nearest local boilermaker hall. And of course, boilermaker work is nationwide.

good luck to everyone,

-Rick

Even if its a true suitcase local, the apprentices will have to go to the JATC(Training center, which is usually next to or part of said local). I had a apprentice friend in our union(Plumbers/Pipefitters) that worked out of a suitcase local in colorado. He had to drive an hour to his job, then back home and an hour to his local for training twice a week. But usually 1-3 year apprentices get a whoole 8 hour day off work for training.

Dont know if its the same with the boilermakers or not, as I believe their part of the UBC right?

Supposedly there is no apprentiship in this special "906" local, and everyone is sorta like a second class boilermaker, or "white card/permit hand" until they get in 6000 hours. And then they are still in the suitcase local. I've been told that basicly the wage rates are less progressive over time, but feel better in the begining (because you start out making more than a 1rst year, but less then a 3rd year, if you get the concept), and you sit at that rate until you get 6000 hours. I have also heard that passing a few weld tests will speed it all up dramaticly.

I used to be in the UA, and they are much more devout in their apprenticship pratices than most other unions. I remember a guy who came in from the steamfitters hall close by(industrial only pipefitters) to the pipefitters hall(commercial and light industrial), and they made hime start back as a 3rd year apprentice!(out of 5 years) Talk about life being a bitch!

If by UBC, you mean the united brotherhood of carpenters and joiners of america, then no.

Ah. Out here the the UBC local has Carpenters/Joiners/Pile Drivers Boilermakers and Milwrights. Dont ask me lol.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Over here its carpenters, millrights, and piledrivers too. And the ironworkers hall is composed of ironworkers, riggers, and get this......window installers!

I am aware that many unions cross trade jurisdictions for a few reasons.

The first is that unionization historicly is more productive when there is an entire industry involved, not just a few crafts. This is mostly a CIO thing.

The second is that union beuracrats paychecks, and lifestyle depends on having as large of a membership as possible. It would counter-intuitive for them to act in any other way.

I don't want to union bash......... but they just don't do ya right sometimes. And you don't need a union to be a workin' class brother.

just my 2 cents,

-Rick

ya I know what ya mean, but it all depends where ya live. In las vegas, the union hands in pretty much any trade make about 50 percent more than the non union hands. I believe thats true through most of the southwest, and anywhere where a large immigrant population will work for a great deal cheaper than non-immigrants.

I dont consider 75000 a year to be too much for a skilled tradesman. I do consider under 50k a year to be underpaid. Guess which wage the union guys make out here

Wow! Thats... well quite a bit more than the locals around here! The local UA hands here make 21 bucks an hours, and most of then work only 7-10 months out of the year. you do the math. Also, something I have always thought was pretty underhanded, is that the workers here, apprentices and white cards alike, dont ussually get benefits until they are vested, being 5 years. So for five years you have to work, pay union dues, and only to get the same deal as a non-union worker(21 dollers an hours is not impossible to make here on a non-union job)

The ironworkers(union) here make 23, and the last job I hung steel on(non-union) i made 35. What can ya do?

I tried to get into a 5 year apprenticeship in the local here in youngstown, oh "396 Plumbers/Pipefitters" about 4 years ago. Made it down to the last 20 guys out of 175 but got a notice in the mail that I didn't make it. Called them and asked why and they said that nobody the first time around makes it, (unless your related) The first year rate for an apprentice was only $12.00 an hour so it was not that devastating for me to not make it. I could have tested out and moved up quicker but that didn't matter. I decided to do things my way and I started my own weld repair business. I do heavy equipment repair for local excavating companies, roll-off companies, local machine shops. I do all weld repair for 3 trucstops in the area. Have also done work for 3 cities in the surrounding area. It's amazing at how fast the word travels when you do professional work. Depnding on what part of the market I'm doing work for and what type of repair, I pull down between $50 - $100 dollars an hour. Rather steady too. I have never looked back since. I would encourage anyone who has the interest and the desire to look into it.

Where you from Rick? The thing about unions is that A)generally most of the "skilled" unions (versus unskilled like the laborers) will make around the same wage in an area, and that wage is generally a decent wage for that area. If your cost of living in an area is low than the wage will be lower than say, LA or NY where the union guys both take home 50 plus bucks an hour. Around here we take home 37, which is pretty fair considering the cost of living. That think about only workin 7-10 months out of the year is true too-75k a year divided by 7 months work obviously isnt 75k. I just got off a good run in the union, I worked almost 2 years straight. Now ive been layed off for 10 months and im 500 on the list.

Im also not saying you will always make more workin union. Not the case clearly. But its nice not havin to worry about your wages/benefits. That "vesting" thing your talking about is only for retirement, at least in the UA-You get full health benefits off the bat. As for the wage thing, like I said that was probably on a B scale type deal or somethin. Once you get your certs/5 year letter they'll prolly put you on A side. But I dont know, every union is differant. But for the record, I am a white ticket too and I got on A side cause I was a journeyman when I got in the local. Of course every local is differant.

Im not tryin to sit here and blab on and on about how great unions are-I know what works for me and my family. I didnt like workin non union cause it seemed I always got payed lower because of my age, even if the other journeyman were shitty hands and didnt show up for work half the time. Usually didnt have health insurance, sometimes didnt even get paid on time. Havnt had any problems like that since. Specially now with a wife and a kid, health insurance is VERY important to me. I know when I was single I couldnt give a F*** about health insurance.

I always encourage everyone to explore all options they have availible. There are some good non-union companys, but not very many. Theres actually not a whole lot of good union companys, hell alot of union companys used to be non union companys and kept alot of those ways when they got in the union. But I know at least in my area, the union is the way to go in terms of pay and benefits.

I am from southeastern virginia, and more specificly, I am qouting wages and standereds from the Norfolk, VA metro.