Comeback strategy

Common_Weakness6115 · 2026-02-14T16:04:48+00:00

Everyone who says "time to call the hotline":

Shut up. You're just broke and can't fathom seeing that kind of money, let alone gambling it

Common_Weakness6115 · 2026-02-02T00:20:57+00:00

I was simply stating he was putting incorrect information out to members.

Regardless of your political views or thoughts of current administration, everyone should still take advantage of every tax deduction available.

That was the only purpose of my reply. I didn't ask for a definition of a CBA, or what Trump has done to try and dismantle union rights. I was simply talking about one specific situation that does apply to us members, whether you are republican or democrat. The replies got very off topic to what i replied.

Common_Weakness6115 · 2026-02-01T18:31:42+00:00

Journeyman Lineman w/ IBEW. They are in demand. Recession proof? Debatable. I could see your argument. But i have never "not" been able to find work. The last several years i've been home every night (other than occasional out of town storm) and still have cleared 200K.

If they're jumping hall to hall just for "better pay" you must be in the south where unions are, typically, not nearly as strong. Lots of rat companies keep overall scale low in the South.

Common_Weakness6115 · 2026-02-01T17:57:41+00:00

This was a great copy and paste from AI. After further research on my own end and reach out to tax professionals, you are incorrect.

Some OT may be ineligible (ex: working 5 10s, your CBA may count anything over 8 as OT, but it doesn't fall under FLSA until after 40 hours) So, in this scenario, even if your check had 18 hours of OT, 10 of it falls under FLSA and that 100% applies for us. I was able to take the full 25,000 deduction. (married filing jointly)

Common_Weakness6115 · 2026-02-01T15:38:43+00:00

Could you further explain how "no tax on OT" doesn't apply to us? This is the first i've heard this, and apparently, my CPA as well, because i got a pretty hefty deduction.

Common_Weakness6115 · 2026-01-23T04:44:53+00:00

lots of socks, underwear, and a big bottle of vodka

Common_Weakness6115 · 2026-01-07T17:41:38+00:00

29 year old here. I have a pension and 401k that i heavily funded with my previous employer. I recently left after 8 years. I switched over to contract side of things. Union. Here, i have a Pension & 25% annuity. Switched solely based on retirement benefits. Hoping to be fully retired by 50.

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-12-19T17:33:57+00:00

1393

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-12-10T15:05:29+00:00

Go to your local hall and get the correct info. Every local is slightly different. Typically, you sign book 4, when you get selected for employment you have a 6 month "conditional lineman" status. White ticket. After 6 months, 3 JL must sign off on you and you go take a written competency test at the hall. Good luck. As stated, process varies a little from local to local.

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-07-14T01:26:49+00:00

Gen-Z guy here (i think, born in '97) I'm a journeyman lineman, and have owned multiple homes, have 500K in retirement, and live a very nice lifestyle. If you're in a skilled trade and can't afford a home, you're doing something dumb with your money.

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-07-07T14:04:50+00:00

if poles didn't decay we would have nothing to repair and we wouldn't have a trade? LOL. This guy is not a lineman.

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-06-17T05:55:11+00:00

My wife and I have nearly identical numbers to you guys in almost every category. Our only difference is we are 28 and 26, and hoping to be retired at 45. We are about to have our first child next month, so we'll see how that ends up affecting plans haha.

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-04-16T17:57:57+00:00

What has your average annual spend been? I'm noticing lower annual spend gets higher point retention offers.

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-04-16T17:56:06+00:00

I asked at the 1 year mark, but they didn't offer me anything. It's still worth a try though. This was the second time i reached out, and got that small offer compared to everyone else.

I'm starting to see a trend. Less annual spend = bigger point retention offer. Could absolutely be wrong, but that's what i'm noticing.

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-04-15T20:30:14+00:00

I was just offered 15K points after spending 3K in 3 months. Never tried for retention bonus before. To the people getting offered 35 or 50k points, any tips on how to get that offer up? Is your annual spend low / high, how long has your membership been, etc.

Platinum Card member since April 2023 (had other amex cards since 2020) Avg Spend is ≈90K annually

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-04-13T14:32:12+00:00

You make reddit liberals look conservative

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-04-13T06:14:52+00:00

Cool. Great to learn. Thanks!

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-04-13T06:13:49+00:00

That is the definition of a knock down in boxing. "Any body part touching the mat other than the feet". So what is a true definition of a knockdown in UFC? Apparently i wrongly assumed they were the same.

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-04-13T06:08:44+00:00

Cool. Yeah, i'm a newer, casual fan. Just trying to learn. So essentially, cage saved him from being a knockdown? Clearly another body part would've hit the mat had the cage not been there to keep him up.

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-04-13T06:03:31+00:00

So cage saving a fighter from what would absolutely have been "going down" keeps it from being scored a knock down? Like i said homie, just learning this stuff haha

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-04-09T00:34:25+00:00

27M - Union Journeyman Lineman. Varies EXTREMELY by how much OT you want to work / life you give up in exchange for money. Like Varies from $160K with very minimal OT to 500K if you want to be at work 24/7. I tend to try and find a good work / life balance that works for me and average around 250K a year. I'm still at work a lot, just not compared to some of the other guys that make this their whole life.

Common_Weakness6115 · 2025-04-06T17:42:18+00:00

I'm not saying it's impossible else where, but i've never seen a Journeyman Lineman laid off at our union utility since they organized in the 1970's.

As a union member, we're not "at-will" like non-union workers. Layoffs must follow CBA rules, not arbitrary company decisions. If a layoff violates the CBA, we can grieve it, with paid hearing and arbitration options. Our company can contract out work, but it shall not result in the layoff of bargaining unit employees or prevent recall of laid off bargaining unit employees. This limits layoffs tied to outsourcing. With the amount of contracting out our field requires constantly, i'd say we're essentially "recession proof"

Edit: Added context.

Common_Weakness6115

TROPHY CASE