r/UnitedAssociation

Good morning brothers/sisters

I’m a Canadian member local 254. We recently had a ratification vote and thankfully it was 85% voted down by members.

Back story: we’ve been watching the non union market, lots of shops are offering the same benefit package we get, RRSP Match which I know is not the same as our pension but it’s also not terrible. We’ve been watching the non union rate go up 45,47, 49, 52$ per hour there just aren’t enough guys up here so wages at non union shops are actually quite respectable. Lots of these shop are also now offering paid vacation time, earned days off, sick days, company bbq etc. there are a lot of benefits to these shops.

We had a ratification vote and our elected officials presented us with the following.

5% Premium for A gas fitters (which is so low because we don’t have many in this province)

3% raise this year 1.5% for the next 3 years and some clarification on some of the clauses where they struck out over time on Saturday/double time on Sunday just to make the stat holiday clause more clear. That’s it, that’s all we got. Inflation in my province was the highest in Canada at 4.5% year over year so the raise we got doesn’t even cover the rise in cost of living.

We had submitted the paid sick days, and benefits other shop seem to be getting in non union and 3 different issues we got the response “it was tabled and removed “ like they didn’t even fight for anything and just told us this is the best we could get. It’s not even what non union is giving. Further more our province just announced that all govt projects will go to union companies (not sure the legality of it or how it’s negotiated- that’s above my pay grade)

Anyway I guess what I am asking is how is everyone else doing in this process? Is our committee a lame duck or do you think 7.5% over 4 years is fair given the current state of the world?

A not our pension did rise but only by like .35 cents or something like that.

Have good one brothers!

Edit: just so everyone knows with the 3% we go up to 47.20$ non union paying 49-52$

Im currently in the VIP program to be a welder/pipefitter. The instructors are awesome and I find the work really engaging, but I’m at the bottom of the class in terms of welding. I’ve been wondering:

If I come out of the course with no certs, will that be viewed negatively?

How easily can you pivot paths inside the union as an apprentice (to plumbing or HVAC) if I can’t weld?

How long would you try at welding? If I can’t get a cert with this programs help I’d only imagine it’d be 10x harder on my own.

Has anyone gotten a letter of acceptance yet? It's been almost 3 weeks since my interview and I'm starting to get antsy.

Hey! I’m interested in becoming a steamfitter welder (not sure if that’s what the job is called) but I have 0 experience. I applied for pipefitting and passed the test but did not move on after the interview. I’m chalking it up to I just wasn’t the best candidate as most of my experience is school, nursing and retail. Is there any advice you guys can give me to help me increase my odds of becoming a better candidate?

I mean what’s the point of joining a union when working 7 12’s feels like you have nothing to do besides work, and sleep. Anyone else doing this schedule? My contract doesn’t mention working all these hours as mandatory.

Currently a 5th year about to turn out and i just wanna say the local 286 apprenticeship coordinators are a JOKE. I’ve seen lower level apprentices go on to the next year regardless of how many absences they have/OJT’s they’re missing. We need more structure and appraisal for those apprentices who take this program/career very seriously. These lower level guys entering the program and scraping by is a joke. Don’t pay attention/ don’t care and have probably been fired/laid off multiple times for different contractors not based on reduction of work force. These guys just let anyone join the apprenticeship and it’s ridiculous. They need higher standards, harder aptitude tests or at least pay attention to their score, more in depth interviews. If they did this we would probably already be at $40+ for JM wage but these scumbags keep dragging us down. Would still highly recommend this career and program would just like better leadership.

Gonna be turning in my application this Friday (May 22) for Local 709 and i am currently studying for the written test. Any advice on what i should specifically study for the written portion of the test? Ive been currently working for a fire sprinkler company for the past 3 months to get my bearings up and understand the concept of fire protection systems. As for the interview, anyone have advice on how to ace the oral interview as well? Im not trying to be a potential candidate or get on the waitlist. Im trying to be A candidate that will start as soon as possible, but also a candidate that leaves a strong impression to where they take me in compared to the other applicants.

I have almost no experience, have a degree in psychology, I am a woman, I am a rugby fullback, I am eager to learn, and my dream is to make my own business in HVAC someday.

Would it be a good idea to tell them I want to make my own business someday? Will that show that I am dedicated or will that show I am going to leave them someday?

Didn’t get picked up this go around unfortunately after it was all said and done I’m now ranked 3rd on the list for local 392 after they picked, I sent my resume to every union contractor, and am now working on my osha 10 other than that what other certifications should I and could I get to get them to possible re consider me and bring me in.

I just got a call saying I got accepted into the local and that June 15-25th I have to attend the bootcamp. Has anyone done one of these? What kind of things will we be doing? Thank you guys for the help!

I am not currently in the union but have been looking seriously into joining. I try to research as much as possible but I’m still a little confused as to how something’s work.

I’ve heard as a newer apprentice not to decline work too much because they will stop offering as much? My only thing is I don’t want to work data centers. I don’t want this to hear anything about my opinion on that I know that there are some very different view but I am looking for answers to due with the process through the union, please.

Can you request work that is not data centers? Or would I just be stuck without work? I’ve heard it’s really booming right now with them so I figured a lot of work coming through and I would have to decline. As an apprentice are you required to work everything given to you? Or is there any say? Any info is greatly appreciated.

Thank you

The union nearest to me is Local 62, I heard there is going to be a test in 2 and a half weeks. I got no experience in this field but it’s something I’ve been wanting to do but I want to prepare for this test the right way.

What is going to be on the test? So I can be ready I talked to this one guy he told me that a lot of the stuff that are online isn’t even going to be on the test. But anyone can guide me in the right direction?

Working 20 hours of OT a week for 8 weeks in a row now

For context, I just joined my local union as journeyman plumber coming from the non union side. I’ve been on the list for two weeks now. However, the organizer said I can take a fitter job in the mean time until a plumbing jobs comes up. What does a pipe fitter consist of?

I know slightly like assembling pipes for the welders but that’s about it. I feel nervous to take a pipe fitting job that I’ve never done, specially as a journeyman. I’m sure they are going expect a lot out of me.

What would you do?

Do any locals have any peer support groups? I know the UA Pipe Pals program exists, but does anyone have it in their local?

Looking to get information to get more resources in my local.

Fraternally, I thank you.

Hi guys, my buddy is applying to Local 4 in Worcester, MA. He received an email stating there will be a computer assessment and he has 2 hours to complete it.

There wasn’t a study guide or any recommendation on what to study stated in the email.

So my question is has any taken a computer assessment at Local 4 or your current local? Could you describe the types of questions they ask you?

When I applied for my local it was a paper math assessment and they gave us study material suggestions.