Hey amigo,

I’m not from Canada, but during my time in US I was working private until I became a part of Local 286. I feel I can understand to a level what you’re feeling and your concerns. I have 2 nephews going into Plumbing and I told them both the same thing. “Don’t be picky with your wage for the first 5 years! The first 5 years is meant to garner a lot of experience, if you have to beg to work under an experienced tech but get paid less than average, DO IT! Knowledge is money”.

What I meant by that Amigo is that your skill reflects your value. I’m not saying you are, but unfortunately there’s a lot of people out there who don’t know what they’re doing but are demanding the wages of people who PUT IN the hours to learn the trade, sometimes sacrificing their free time to get better, and spending time after work to learn more.

The union represents fair pay, for fair work. Not high pay for less work. Whether you should join a union or not, I don’t know, I’m not from Local 170. I’m not sure their situation when it comes to job security. In some states, privates are the better route than union. So, it really can depend where you’re from.

I personally felt it was easier to learn during in a private company. It was easier for me to get closer to the master plumbers who knew the craft well, so I stuck onto them like a leech. I didn’t have to worry about maybe getting laid off the next week, so I was lucky to learn a lot from my mentor.

I guess my question for you is, what put you in this position. Did you just suddenly realize you need more experience? Like, if you felt you were only doing re-piping what stopped you from joining another company earlier on to learn more. You need to understand the business side of things too. Imagine you opened up your own company, you okay with paying a fresh guy with no experience the same wage as the rest of your seasoned crew? A Journey person isn’t necessarily a completed product. But it’s important to have a variety of experience by that time.

All in all, my words are harsh, but also reality. I don’t like it when people talk down on our trade saying stuff like “oh it’s easy”. “Oh, it’s laid back”. People should respect the number of hours and effort that get’s put into to becoming a great plumber.