So if there aren't apprentices to be had, a contractor is going to have to just bite the bullet and pay a ton of money to have all journeymen on the job. This is why when big jobs open up we'll get hired in waves to keep the ratio right and save the contractor money.
You are cheap labor as an apprentice, it's that simple. Because of this you will discover apprentices are employed easier than the journeymen are.
I heard that they took 26ish apprentices in last year which was extremely out of the ordinary I think and likely the reason they haven't called us all out yet this year. So don't get me wrong, the demand is still there and it's still a good time to get in, but we don't get hired until all apprentices are working and the books are cleared.
It's possible in a couple years they don't even hold a recruitment because this year and the last few will have had such an influx of apprentices.
Vet also made a great point, lay offs suck and we can only hope this union keeps demand up by not over saturating the work force. It's a growing city though so again, not a bad spot to be in. 20 years down the line though, who knows. By then you would have been smart to have found yourself into a foremanship or service truck.
Either way these big projects can't start soon enough, I'm itchen to get started. I'm also looking forward to a pay raise so I can save up from some property hopefully, renting in Austin is getting absurd.
Same thing in Texas. My electrical union is weak as hell and lots of guys leave for open shops because the perks are just as good. However the IUEC is incredibly strong for a state like Texas, that's why it's so appealing to me at least.
Also realize that this unions negotiations are likely driven by the 3 main contractors like otis and are I believe the contract is actually nationwide. This means some of the strength is being derived from more powerful union states and we are seeing the benefits of that. I could be wrong though, and I'm unfamiliar how this overall agreement conflicts with the local agreements.
It's impossible to know until we sit down to read our contract and stuff.
My lease is up at the end of the month and I'm scrambling to find a cheaper roommate situation. I ain't gonna keep burning so much money on rent. It's frustrating.
Second, because the companies employ you, they actually are the demand in this equation. The union doesnt have much say, other than they have no more,people to be hired, when work picks up. Thyssen takes on 4 big jobs in a month, 2 more than they have manpower for, they go to the hall for people. Now add in Otis, or Schindler, doing the same thing, there is a snapshot of the demand. Does this mean the companies have enough work for this new workforce for the future? Absolutely not, hence the layoffs. Now layoffs are used by the companies,for many things, like was mentioned the end of a large project. The company may have 1-2 guys that are not working out as planned, here is their shot to drop them, without showing cause. Maybe a guy was late, bad attitude, other things that might not show in a file, here is how they move them on. Some guys need a new place to really take off.
So there is a small picture of the workforce. It is the unions "job" to provide qualified elevator personnel for the companies to hire, its the companies job to get enough work to hire them. Hope this clears it up a little, and for the record, I will be in for 14 years in September. I have been laid off once, for 3 days, and was rehired by the company that laid me off. Was a union standard, no temporary mechanics while we have mechanics on the bench. The 2 put in their letters, and until they were hired, all companies dropped their TMs down to apprentice. For every TM dropped, it displaced 2 apprentices. They both were offered jobs, declined them, and the companies could go back to using TMs. Giant cluster at the time, but my own "rainy day fund" allowed me to keep my sanity. Good luck guys, and I hope this thread is not a preview of how much you all will be talking in the field!