Meh, over 1/4 to retirement

What about u?

Any of ya'll guys hear any more info about when you might get picked up again?

Hey guys just reading over some of these posts. I've been in the industry for 10 years. I was a navy electrician and transitioned into the elevator trade after a short period as a maintenance electrician at a plant. I took a pay cut to get into the trade and moved 4 hours away from my wife and children to Austin local 133. I crashed on my buddie's couch and only saw my family on the weekends. I did this for my whole 6 month probationary period, then sold my brand new house and moved the family into a small 1 bedroom apartment in a not so nice complex. After 1 year with Tejas elevator I was laid off. I had to again move this time to California to go to work for Thyssenn, again leaving my family back in Austin. I went another 6 months without seeing them. After moving them out to California I got set-up as a temporary mechanic and never looked back. I went from making $14/hr to $48/hr in a matter of 3 years. Now I am a troubleshooter loving every minute of this crazy trade.

The point of my post is this. Keep your head up and keep striving for your goal of becoming an elevator mechanic. Sometimes in this trade if you want to keep working you have to be flexible. There are tons of old timers getting their retirement papers ready, so the work will be there. Don't let the layoffs get you down. You're on the list and your name will be called, remember though if you turn the offer down you might not get called again. Answer the call future brothers. God bless.

Thanks sccjr. I just got done visiting with my mechanic at the JW marriot to get my school sheet signed.. He said 11 people total got laid off.. 6 of them were out towners. Seems like they did alot of switching with the helpers. My mechanic new helper has a year of experience on me. Makes sense because the helpers mechanic was from san Antonio and he got laid off.. Word from my mechanic is they are suppose to hirr back up in January.
Oh and sccjr, if i were to get laid off here in auatin would there be anyway to pick uo work out in San Antonio?

If you are a Probie working in another local is near impossible because they have their own hiring list of probies, but if you are a 1st year apprentice or higher you can go work in another local as a transient.

Hey sccjr, I appreciate your post and it actually answered a question I had for a while now.

How does school work as a transient though? Lets say you got laid off mid way through the semester, and wanted to travel to another local as a transient. Do you just go to school with your new local and pick up where you left off or what?

Also, it sounds like you ended up staying in California for the long haul. Do you plan on transferring permanently into the California local you've been working out of? Also, don't transients have to be laid off before members from the local are? Did this make staying employed as a transient more difficult, or was California full of work preventing you from getting laid off?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just interested in how you pulled all that off and I think that it's an incredible benefit of being a union member that you could do that.

I did transient into local 18 and yes when you are working as a transient you will be the 1st mechanic or 1st apprentice let go. If you are considered a valuable peice to the company they will actually forgo layoffs until you deposit your card. This wasn't my case at the time, I was a 3rd year apprentice when I deposited my card into 18 and work was bountiful. Honestly the companies care less about apprentices, you are overhead for them. If they could they would only use a second guy when absolutely necessary. Thank God for our Union.

As far as school is concerned I jumped right into my NEIEP curriculum with no interruption when I jumped locals. I also tested out of year 2 based of my electrical degree I earned in the military so if any of you have the background look into that.

Could you define what you mean when you say "deposit" your card? No ones mentioned that to me before.

You have up to six months before you have to "deposit your card", whereas at that time if you have gameful employment and work is good, that new local can accept you and then you work out of that local. Not your previos one. If work picks up where you want to be and you have deposited your card, you could withdraw from the local that you deposited it in and no harm no foul. I've been fortunate enough to never having to travel but the wife has. Never transfered thought, at Schindler now. Hope this is correct, but in any event it's close.

Really hoping and preying yall get back to work quick so I can get my call! Lol

your prayers have been answered. I got called today. I started with Schindler today, Tim called me at 830 and said come in we need u to start today. Me and one other guy got called. So its moving. And at the company they said that they have a lot of work coming up . good luck

Nice Vet, let us know how Schindler goes.

Awesome to hear!

Schindler seems awesome so far. I have only been around the shop , I'll go to my job Monday. It's an apartment off 71 and 290