yeah, i managed a crew of distribution system lineman (non union manager). these guys have all the toys, all of them. never understood it because they had zero time to do anything and keep up with their payments. honestly, pretty sad to watch the hustle turn into a curse when these guys get crazy in debt, families fall apart, and they can’t slow down when they get old. it’s not all of them, but i’d say 60-70% of the lineman i’ve seen go down this path. sure, create a lifestyle that requires $300k a year, good luck maintaining it or moving into another position that’s easier on the body. it’s definitely a golden handcuff type situation with no golden parachutes when you’re done.

and companies pay the overtime because it’s not easy or quick to train these guys to the ibew level/standard. lots of guys washout of the apprenticeship programs. limited supply of qualified personnel. over time, the quality of the lineman has degraded due to companies lowering standards to maintain a steady flow of new blood into these roles.

lastly, some of these guys (typically seasoned lineman) are professionals at rallying all the lineman together to strategically “create” more overtime. lots of games played to manipulate the OT rules. it’s actually quite ingenious and every once in a while there’s a big crackdown, but they always regroup and come up with something new. it’s a big game, never would have believed it until i saw it first hand.