u/Unknownperson2010

Well my fellow Electricians. I had to salt for work as work had slowed down and boy let me tell you I'm thankful to be apart of the union. (I called the hall regarding salting and they said yes but I would need to stay in contact every week and bid on jobs) Working non union past week has been a nightmare, false promises, no safety, buy $500 worth of extra tools, limit to only 2 pairs of gloves each month etc. it's been ridiculous and I didn't know some non union companies were this bad. To add the cherry on top we had worked a full 8 hours from 7-3 without any lunch break or getting paid the extra half hour of OT. They always wonder why people leave the trade is because they take advantage of hard working people who are just trying to make some money and go home. You have one foreman who is running 3 projects only getting paid $45/hr CAD. You promise workers job sites that are close to home only to send them into traffic for 3/4 hrs a day just to make a damn living. I would've just been better off to sit at home if you didn't give me false promises.

I'm hoping the hall calls me back next week for a bid I put in. I'm not saying all non union companies are bad but this is a ridiculous move by some companies to exploit others to make money.

I recently had to find work non union for the time being in my trade here in BC because things were a bit slow. I started at a company last week and were told that we could take our lunch break whenever we felt like and we could even leave early at the end of the day. There was one day where we worked from 6:30-2 (without any lunch) but our foreman dragged us onto work until 2:30(again no break). I had asked a coworker about this and he said get used to this non union and the company won't even pay us for it either. He says this happened before as well and the old heads are always like this. Is this not taking advantage of people who are just trying to make a living at the end of the day? Our PM even mentioned to us we aren't allowed to work overtime. This is a crew of 3/4 people just doing a small service job and we're even ahead of schedule. I would appreciate any advice that I can bring up to the board but I feel like they'll think it's a bad impression since it's only my second week but it's definitely not right to take advantage of people

To my fellow brothers/sisters, I'm part of IBEW here in Canada, I'm a 3rd year about to turn 4th year. We had a slow down of work in the hall and I was laid off mid June. I collected EI (welfare) and my union told me I could salt for work.

I got a call from a local non-union company who specializes in industrial stuff and said they can help me a transition to it from commercial within the company. Company seems pretty decent for non-union. Their jobs are service, commute is 30-40 mins each way. I can skip lunch and go home early. Small crew each site. They said they can cover my school fees to learn PLC and AC stuff.

But now I got a call back from the union for a job I bid on and I received the job. This job is around 1hr away or less via transit and it's a Skytrain project that's going on.

My main goal is to specialize in PLC/industrial at the end of the day.

Should I turn down the non-union company? I only went for an orientation and haven't worked. I do feel bad because the company helped me get set up and wanted me to grow within but at the same time I like the union much much better.

Is anyone having issues on PS where you're in a party and it puts you on separate teams?

My fellow brother and sisters I'm currently a 4th year apprentice who is very close to getting my red seal ticket here in Canada. I'm currently part of my local union and recently got laid off 3/4 weeks ago because of shortage of work. Things aren't looking too good in our local as our main projects have all come to an end which means many people are struggling to find a job. I bid on the jobs that I'm allowed to.
I recently got an offer from a non union company that specializes in the industrial side of the trade such as PLC's, Automated controls and some commercial work. They seem to be decent and the pay isn't bad. The most important thing for me is getting the experience, something that I haven't been really able to do in the union where I've normally only been installing pipe that's already pre bent etc.
I want to actually learn the trade and not be an installer. i want to learn and be able to teach other apprentices as well because I feel like we all strive well together if we know what we're doing. The union pay is nice but the chance to learn is very limited here unless you get a small/medium size company in the union where there are chances to move up. What is the best advice you guys have for me? Also I would still be paying my union dues and our local has encouraged salting because work isn't looking too good. Would love to know everyone's opinion

Hello everyone, going to keep it brief and simple, I'm mid 20's I was part of our local electrical union. I'm currently an apprentice and the job market hasn't been looking good lately and I just don't know what to do with my life. Realistically I have around 700 hours left before I obtain my red seal but the fact that there are no job openings has me worried. We keep getting told there's work but in reality there isn't anything out there. I've applied union and non union and no look. I'm looking to move out of electrical and into something else, I don't hate the trade but some people have put me down in it and seeing constant harassment has made me question it and my future. What would you do if you were in my shoes? I do what to get my red seal but after that what other career paths can I go down? House inspector? Estimator? What is out there? Please help a lost person

I'm not sure how to explain this to anyone, I've been watching soccer for the past 16 years. This is my 4th World Cup I've watched and before this thing even kicked off I wasn't excited one bit because of all the politics and wars going on. I had no hope and thought it would be a flop. Boy was I wrong about that. This World Cup has been the best one I've seen and the fact it was here in Vancouver was even more special. The best thing about the World Cup for me isn't just the game. It's the cultures,religions,traditions that truly make it special and seeing different perspectives really makes me happy and going to downtown Vancouver or even PNE was an awesome vibe. From the Samba Beat of the Brazilians, to the Scottish and their pipe bags, all the way to Mexico with their rich culture, it's truly been an honour.

And to top off all it I really want to give a big shoutout to TSN. From everyone behind the cameras to the front of the cameras you guys and girls were truly amazing. From the first game at Toronto Stadium to the beautiful view at Jack Poole Plaza and to BC place everything was unbelievable. Thank you for helping me fall back in love with the beautiful sport and with this city.

Government and politics don't define a nation, the culture and the people of each country is what defines us and bringing it all together has been an honour. I hope we leave an impact on the next generation and it really does hurt with a heavy heart that this World Cup has flown by and we're nearing the end of this festival. But thank you to everyone who has made this possible

To all my fellow brothers located in the beautiful province of BC who are apart of IBEW 213, how's the job forecast looking out there? I recently got laid off because of "shortage of work" when some of us were told there's lots of work going on. I'm really trying hard to get back into working again ASAP. I've been hoping there's callouts for Seaspan but other than that how is it? Is it really that slow at the moment for apprenticess?

I currently work in a trades job and it's pretty much dominated by Caucasian people and out of around 105 people there's only 2 Sikhs whom we are amritdhari. I have been in this trade for 4/5 years and have a decent amount of experience. Most of the people I work with are fairly nice and get along with well. We talk fine and have no issues. The real issue comes with my bosses who look down upon us. I have always said good morning to them and ask how their day is but they completely ignore me. But if it's someone else they themselves ask how that person is doing etc. Most of the time now I have been getting work of just cleaning up garbage and organizing. While I do that there are people who are of a lower skill level (not complaining because I was also that level once) and new to the company who get handed better tasks. I have never talked back to my bosses and just keep my head down and keep working hard but it hurts that I get overlooked and aren't given anything to do. No matter what even if I do something well I get sent back to doing garbage and organizing. There was an issue with my beard in the past 2/3 times because of a mask to wear but they then moved me to another part of the project. Im just not sure what to do because it's having a mental toll on me but I am trying to stay positive. Any advice/comments are welcomed

Looking to join the Veto family and was trying to decide the Tech XL and Tech Pack. I'm an electrician and I currently have a Milwaukee Packout bag pack. I don't have enough room in it to store all my stuff and that's one of the reasons for the upgrade. I also want to fall in the tier 1 rebate since you get that nice pouch with The promo going on. Also another thing I'd like to mention is my bag would be staying in a tool cart majority of the time while the pouch would carry the essentials since I'm on a lift or something all day. Any suggestions would be greatly welcome and thank you in advance

I'm an Amritdhari Canadian born singh in the lower mainland BC. 25 years old does nitnem and follows Rehat maryada. I have a stable job and visit the gurdwara daily and have a good relationship with everyone. I was trying to look for a singhni that is also nitnemi and follows maryada. What's the best way to approach this situation and were do I find a wife?