IUOE Local 150 Apprenticeship

[crooks]

End of the year push is on right now. This rain slowed a lot of job sites down.

 

[FirstWorldProblems]

I just left general membership meeting and they stressed that business is at new heights and subsequently the rental companies are expanding and there is a stoppage of new equipment ordered and shortage of mechanics. They said the big rental companies are buying the smaller ones just for their equipment since they can't get new stuff. They talked about the shortage of mechanics and asked for referrals for guys on outside/non union who are currently mechanics for direct entry into 150. If you interested shoot me a message with your information and experience and I will pass it on the the guy that asked.

There's also shortage of soil testers and drillers which I know little about.

DEEZUZ you gonna make the jump ?

 

[Outlaw]

Seeing shit like this makes me want to jump in. Goddamnit lol.

Big rental places buying up smaller ones for their equipment is 100% spot on. It’s unreal.

 

[crooks]

We are so short handed right now its unreal.

 

[Heavywrenching]

No idea if anyone will read this anymore or not but kind of an update for me. My application for 150 has been in for about a month. I’ve been talking back and forth with one of the 150 business agents thanks to a fellow member on here who has greatly helped me and the BA has helped me out some. (He’s obviously a super busy guy and I don’t expect some kid trying to get in to be his top priority). Otherwise besides reaching out to him I haven’t heard shit. I’m trying not to get discouraged about it. Could be that I just won’t hear about it till spring now when construction season starts back up, I just figured there would still be work to do over the winter for mechanics. Or maybe I won’t hear about it at all who knows. I feel like I’m more than qualified but obviously it’s not easy to get in or everyone would do it. Anyhow if anyone has gone through the experience of joining what was it like for you? Take care all.

 

[1quick]

No idea if anyone will read this anymore or not but kind of an update for me. My application for 150 has been in for about a month. I’ve been talking back and forth with one of the 150 business agents thanks to a fellow member on here who has greatly helped me and the BA has helped me out some. (He’s obviously a super busy guy and I don’t expect some kid trying to get in to be his top priority). Otherwise besides reaching out to him I haven’t heard shit. I’m trying not to get discouraged about it. Could be that I just won’t hear about it till spring now when construction season starts back up, I just figured there would still be work to do over the winter for mechanics. Or maybe I won’t hear about it at all who knows. I feel like I’m more than qualified but obviously it’s not easy to get in or everyone would do it. Anyhow if anyone has gone through the experience of joining what was it like for you? Take care all.

I'm not in the 150, but I do and have worked in chemical plants my entire adult life, It may take you a few trys to get in but keep trying it will be worth it i know people that have applied 3-4 times and eventually they got in, I applied to one plant 3 times before I got hired and that was with quite a bit of experience

 

[Aircal]

My son just mentioned today been over a month and he hadn't heard from the electricians test he took.

 

[Heavywrenching]

My son just mentioned today been over a month and he hadn't heard from the electricians test he took.

Yeah the IBEW was taking applications right around the same time as 150. Can just take awhile I guess. Everyone just says they are so short on employees so you would think they’d try to get people in quickly. Oh well, like everyone says the wait will be worth it.

 

[guspech750]

All I can say is keep trying. Don’t give up. I’ve been in 150 for almost 20 years. Overall the benefits, pay and experience is well worth it. I love playing in a big sandbox with big Tonka toys everyday.

 

[Local 150 operator]

Really wish I knew how this shit really worked.

I've had several places say they'd buy my card for me.

Like how's that work?

Doesn't apprenticeship take years?

Like if I went somewhere to work, they'd tell me go to hall and pay to have my name on a list. Then they'd wait a week or 2 and call and ask for me...

What's with that?

150 Chicago member here

When u go on our out of work
List. Meaning when u finish a jobsite up and the company has no more work for u. U call the hall and ask to be put on the out of work list. You then go on the list behind the other members that have put their name on the list before you.
ask the dispatcher what number on the list you are. If they tell you for example you’re number 30. Well then that means there is 29 other people on the list before you waiting to be called out to work as well.

So As the contractors call and put in a work order for however many operators they will need for the job. Could be one operator to several and which type of equipment they will need them to operate they will go down the list calling and asking the member if they would like to take the job or if they are able to operate certain pieces of equipment or equipment with certain attachments on them.
This does not necessarily mean you will have to wait for 29 other people to get called out to work before you. There is certain factors in it. Whether the job is to far away for them to travel everyday whether they can operate the equipment being needed on the job or sometimes whether the member just doesn’t want to do that type of jobsite.
(Word of advice tho it’s never good to be picky and keep turning down different jobs being picky bout what u wanna run or hoping to win the golden ticket. Because dispatch needs these positions filled and when they can’t get them filled or have a tough time that’s when u can start losing our work to other trades and also u turn dispatch down to many times u make yourself look unreliable. And most important you will start to give 150 a bad reputation and u will eventually have to answer for why u keep turning down work.)

Also when it comes to call outs is why we have our training site. If you get certified to run equipment and they go down the list and your number 30 on the list and certified to let’s say to run a backhoe but the other 29 people aren’t certified to run one. You will get called out for that job before them.

So I goes without saying and why I always tell the younger guys go to the training site every single chance u can get. Take whatever class u can get into and certified in whatever u can. You’re only making yourself more valuable the more u equipment u can operate the more u are going to work. If you never go out to the site and better yourself and can’t run shit then don’t sit there when ur laid off for months or waiting for weeks for a call out during our main working season bitching about why u can’t get a job. Ya did it to yourself and only one to blame. Def not the 150’s fault. 20 years in and best fkn union in the country and proud to say I’m a member.

Ps anyone that wants to bitch about Chicago unions or Chicago politics. It’s the biggest strongest union town in this country. What’d ya expect. Ur not gonna win that scab shit in our city.

 

[Shawn1112]

Ps anyone that wants to bitch about Chicago unions or Chicago politics. It’s the biggest strongest union town in this country. What’d ya expect. Ur not gonna win that scab shit in our city.

Scab here and I do a shit ton of work in Union bldgs, shit I even work side by side with some Union GC's and so do a ton of other people. I'm a former Union carpenter and a Teamster, the unions arent what they use to be. Also most bldgs downtown could give 2 fucks about who is union anymore. I remember 15yrs ago, you got carded at every dock, now your lucky if 1 of every 25 asks for a card.

 

[importcrew]

I've been in Teamsters, 150, 152. Currently not in any union. We work around a lot of union workers and we don't have problems. Every once in a while a BA would show up trying to ask questions and we tell them to fuck off. I have to admit that 150 was the union that looked out for the people the most (out of the unions I was in). There was a company that was stealing the union dues and didn't report me to the union. Then that company locked us employees out and we called up the NLRB (labor board) and filed suit. I was the star witness and we won the case. But in that mean time my BA got me a nice job with another company for 2.5 years. But after that job I worked with family in the concrete side of construction with a different local. That union never sent anything in the mail, never reached out, never cared. All they cared about was money. Fast forward and some shit that happened, we went non union and continued working. Unions can be beneficial but other times they only care about the money.

Also on an aside, sometimes we do sub work for union contractors and never had an issue with unions neither.

 

[1quick]

I was teamsters for 7 years never saw any rep from the union the entire time, got stuck with shit contracts so they could keep getting paid, non union now I make more money and have better benefits I did move to management when I left the union so that’s part of the pay increase, the guys I manage are union there’s no issues with that

 

[Shawn1112]

I was teamsters for 7 years never saw any rep from the union the entire time, got stuck with shit contracts so they could keep getting paid, non union now I make more money and have better benefits I did move to management when I left the union so that’s part of the pay increase, the guys I manage are union there’s no issues with that

Teamsters are the absolute worst when it comes to looking out for their members