Questions for IUOE local 150 members

[dust eater]

turn 60 in April I'm pretty excited

 

[Steve Favia]

If the member is retired, paying dues ends. Yay !

Hey Tinkerer we pay 132.00 a year now for retirement dues.

 

[Steve Favia]

turn 60 in April I'm pretty excited

turn 60 in April I'm pretty excited

Congratulations! You earned it! You’re gonna love it especially the 1st of every month

 

[Heavywrenching]

An IUOE mechanic with his own truck doesn't mean that he is self-employed. Although a few of them are.
They get their work thru the hall.
Contractors will always pay for your truck to be used while you are employed by them.
It is sometimes more cost efficient for them not to own the truck.
The company owned trucks are almost always the ones that work full time.
I saw a lot of mechanic owned trucks work year around.
I turned down an offer (request) to work as a mechanic in a company owned truck.
I stayed with that contractor running dozers for many years after that offer.

Ok that’s good to know. This is what I mean I just don’t know how all of this works quite yet. At this point in time I hope to work in a shop or company owned truck. I would also like to work year round so hopefully if I get an offer from somewhere it will be a company that keeps mechanics on all winter, as the thought of being laid off scares me.

 

[skyking1]

turn 60 in April I'm pretty excited

^5 brother!!
I paid dues through the end of July next year. I figure I have about 10 months to pay after that.

 

[Tinkerer]

Hey Tinkerer we pay 132.00 a year now for retirement dues.

Nooo dues when you get your Gold Card !
Heavywrenching ;
The most important thing to know is to never,ever go out on your own and look for a job after being in any IUOE union. Heavy fines and getting banned can or will be the result of doing so.
The Business Representative or the dispatchers are the only way to get a job thru the hall.
Once you work for a contractor they can call the hall and request for you to come back to work for them if you get laid off for some reason. It is referred to as recall rights.

 

[Heavywrenching]

Nooo dues when you get your Gold Card !
Heavywrenching ;
The most important thing to know is to never,ever go out on your own and look for a job after being in any IUOE union. Heavy fines and getting banned can or will be the result of doing so.
The Business Representative or the dispatchers are the only way to get a job thru the hall.
Once you work for a contractor they can call the hall and request for you to come back to work for them if you get laid off for some reason. It is referred to as recall rights.

Ok that is good to now I had no idea. So for example if a 150 guy at a dealership wanted to leave and go work for a contractor he wouldn’t be allowed to just be hired by that contractor? So essentially you don’t go out job hunting, the union will find you work? The IUOE sounds better in almost every way except maybe stability? Unless I was to get another dealership. That’s the one thing my my current job has at least is stability and no chance of lay offs really.

 

[Steve Favia]

All you’re employment comes through the dispatch office,usually in your district,but no always,you can be on the out of work list in other districts if you want to travel.

 

[Steve Favia]

Congratulations! You earned it! You’re gonna love it especially the 1st of every month

Hey dust eater try to attend one of the pre retirement seminar’s very helpful,especially with all the different pension options and healthcare credits.

 

[Tinkerer]

Ok that is good to now I had no idea. So for example if a 150 guy at a dealership wanted to leave and go work for a contractor he wouldn’t be allowed to just be hired by that contractor? So essentially you don’t go out job hunting, the union will find you work? The IUOE sounds better in almost every way except maybe stability? Unless I was to get another dealership. That’s the one thing my my current job has at least is stability and no chance of lay offs really.

NO JOB SEEKING ON YOUR OWN, EVER !
All IUOE locals have a system in place, similar to going to court for breaking a law. There will be hearing, facts stated and most likely a member who filed the complaint against the member that tried to get a job on his own. It will destroy the reputation of that member forever.

The drawback with your present employer is that you are at their mercy for a job. At any given time they can lay you off without a reason.

 

[Heavywrenching]

All you’re employment comes through the dispatch office,usually in your district,but no always,you can be on the out of work list in other districts if you want to travel.

Do you have any experience or know of anyone who has been a mechanic in the 150? Is it common for them to work for the same company for a lot of years or do most guys get bounced around in and out of work as they are needed?

 

[Steve Favia]

That’s so true Tinkerer!Luckley right now you can quit today and be dispatched out tomorrow at least out here in 3!

 

[Heavywrenching]

NO JOB SEEKING ON YOUR OWN, EVER !
All IUOE locals have a system in place, similar to going to court for breaking a law. There will be hearing, facts stated and most likely a member who filed the complaint against the member that tried to get a job on his own. It will destroy the reputation of that member forever.

The drawback with your present employer is that you are at their mercy for a job. At any given time they can lay you off without a reason.

That is true but the IAMAW still does protect us. We would most likely have hours cut, as we only have guaranteed 32hr weeks on our contract. They cut hours down to 32hrs a week for mechanics at the start of covid, however 32 hrs a week might still be better than being laid off as a contractor mechanic. The 150 would definitely have a higher reward factor but also seems like it could have higher risks as well. Still just trying to weigh it all out in my head.

 

[Steve Favia]

Most of the mechanics in 150 are always employed as long as their good.The guy’s in the service truck’s that work for the big dirt and sewer and water contractors really put in the hours.When winter comes their in the shop.

 

[skyking1]

if you want good stability, do the service oiler job and don't worry about turning wrenches as much. Those guys are the first ones hired for a big project and the last ones laid off.
You also need to rethink your entire money spending ethic. Don't budget your life around big paychecks, budget it around the unemployment check. You may never collect it but you'll never be in a bind either!
If you play your cards right you retire early not at 60 or 62 or 65.

 

[Tinkerer]

I got to know and work with a couple of hundred (maybe more) mechanics thru the years.
Most of them worked all year for the same contractors.
Depending on a job location an hour long drive to work would not be unusual.
The same is true for equipment operators. 58 hours was a normal work week for me. It was quite normal to work a lot more hours than that.
Nothing is guaranteed in life.
If want the kind of full time employment you now seem to have, it would be best to stay where you are.
In the early 1980's I was out work and ran out of unemployment compensation.
There was very little construction work in my area at that time.

 

[skyking1]

Those were bad times all over, Tinkerer.
I moved to western Washington in 1980 because Yakima dried up bad.

 

[Heavywrenching]

I reached out to Local 150 talk with their apprenticeship people to see what advice and answers they have. Otherwise I can pick up my application from the hall at the end of the month. I’m going to apply and we’ll see where it goes. It is scary to think of leaving a decent & stable job but a lot of the guys I work with have regrets for never trying to get into 150 or something else before they became too tied down and feel stuck here now. Hopefully I’ll get accepted and can update you guys in the coming months on what happened. Any advice on what unions like to see in applications that can set me apart from everyone else?

 

[Steve Favia]

Excellent you won’t regret it!You will need two letter’s of recommendation from 150 operators retired or active when you turn in your application.You’re young enough to start piling in hours for a very comfortable retirement! Good luck!

 

[skyking1]

I'm going at 62 but really only because my DW is 4 years younger than I.
She's not quite ready to hang it up.
The retirement medical is a big reason why we are set.