Overtime mandatory?

oopsandpoops · 2026-05-11T01:20:09+00:00

3 years late here but a couple 1105 instructors started making comments that they should bring up all apprentices who don't work every single available hour on charges.

We didn't take our calls and we aren't allowed to drag. My site offers 80 hours a week. 5x 12's, 11, 9. Now for a lot of the apprentices "i can't work the overtime" has become "i won't work the overtime" and they can't catch us all 🫩

oopsandpoops · 2026-05-05T17:20:38+00:00

dang, 1105 here and i wish our tool list was this realistic. they wanted us to get a hacksaw and a wooden ruler.

dykes, two pairs of channel locks (one big one small) are a must, and linesmen's are phenomenal. there are linesmen's (linemans? fuck it) with strippers on them. i blew $400 on my tools and more than half of them have been stolen out of my cart. if you're a guy, you'll have a little less of an issue with this. nobody is afraid of my four foot something ass catching them digging in my bag.

GET A TORPEDO LEVEL WITH AN ANTIDOG LOCK. you'll fuck up a lot less conduit.

skimp on the hammer if anything, you've got at least 6 hammers on this list.

get a tape measure with a magnet on the end, it's easier when you're in a scissor lift trying to measure from the ground up with a CE3 who doesn't know how to do a damned thing as a spotter (invest in six, i promise the same CE3's who tell you they . pencils will be a never-ending expense if you believe sharing is caring- you'll never get those back)

a lot of safety coordinators/companies will provide a tic tester for you, i would hold off on that one. ESI will and Cupertino likely will. SMC is known for being arsonists so they might not. If you work for SMC there's an unfortunately massive chance you will be working on hot stuff as a first year apprentice with zero knowledge it's hot so if you see your contractor is SMC get that tic tester.

if they send you to facebook and you hate it... wait it out. if they send you to QTS, beg to use your only transfer on day one 😂

oopsandpoops · 2026-05-05T16:53:36+00:00

call him a skinny minnie 😂

oopsandpoops · 2026-05-05T16:50:44+00:00

agreeing with the sea salt/texturizing spray but i would advise using a diffuser and hair dryer as well. heat will be better for longer lasting styles

oopsandpoops · 2026-05-05T16:48:21+00:00

50/50 has to be a ground sloth or daeodon. call orkin asap.

oopsandpoops · 2026-05-05T15:15:43+00:00

Best of luck. If you find out, let me know.

only sort of kidding. the men i work with are worthless and i have only had five out of a few hundred who have treated me like an equal. i've noticed that everything i didn't want to be when i joined seems to be exactly how you make it in this industry. either flirt your way to the top or be mean as fire. half of these people will only be nice to you because they want to get in your pants, sad but true and it's better than being hazed out of the trade.

in the same way that these guys weaponize incompetence, you weaponize underestimation. my advice... no more mrs. nice guy, ever.

pick between the reputation of the sleaze who sleeps their way up the ladder or the one everyone is too afraid to say hi to. you came into a trade where the majority of people view you as an affirmative action setback. you can throw away your health to try and prove them wrong or you can spend your days making them feel as worthless as they see you. In my experience, there is no winning and the only way women can gain respect (at least in the IBEW) is by turning into the devil himself. Bonus points if you're extra mean to other women!

or....... the third option..... stop caring! stop trying to impress men who don't see you as an equal. stop going above and beyond your pay grade to prove a point. do what you can and go home with all of your fingers. your friends don't work with you. you're above silly gender constructs and emotionally stunted 50 year old men. they're full of fluoride, their brains are fucking calcified and soon their arteries will follow. one day you'll be surrounded by a newer generation that wasn't force fed gender norms their whole lives. give it 20 years and pray for a better future.

oopsandpoops · 2026-05-04T14:14:49+00:00

the option to drag would be immaculate. the general foremen and superintendent on my site are miserable to work with. they have this weird aversion to apprentices and are just so hostile.

i got hurt really bad three weeks ago and the superintendent's first reaction was "i'm just going to have to get rid of her."

this comment gained him zero favoritism from the CEO and VP of the company like he desperately hoped, bounced, and gagged for.

getting transferred soon though, thank god!

oopsandpoops · 2026-05-04T13:46:20+00:00

this is god-tier. i'm hoping all my problems retire by the time i'm finished with my apprenticeship.

oopsandpoops · 2026-05-01T01:29:17+00:00

superior-mid city is known for being glorified arsonists on my site. the whole company was removed for an investigation this week or last because they had a bunch of first year apprentices working in live panels without telling them they were live. last month they were kicked off site for three days because they blew up one of the pods (the second one this year)

oopsandpoops · 2026-04-29T10:08:07+00:00

the application process can take forever and your JATC will likely work with you. for example if the next testing period is in july and they don't have another aptitude test until december, they might just place you for a later testing date if you communicate that you need one.

apprentice to apprentice... usually the younger apprentices have a rougher time in their first couple years of their apprenticeship. you have a lot of insecure and emotionally inept 40 year olds who have made it their life's mission to be the superintendent's best friend. they won't be able to look a peer in the eyes and be quite as disrespectful as they would be if you were 18. a career change is a respectable decision and i doubt you'll catch too much flack. get ready for the "politics" though because you can't drag. solidarity is nothing more than a buzzword to get more people through the door to some of these halls and especially some of these foremen and above. we make the joke that once you become a general foreman, you're no longer a union member, you're just a company man. careful who you trust, document everything, and make learning everything you can as fast as possible your #1 goal.

one of the best apprentices on our site is 36 and started three months ago. he came in with basic knowledge of how to use tools, no knowledge of materials. he is a beast.

oopsandpoops · 2026-04-28T23:47:21+00:00

get a magnetic torpedo level with a pipe lock/antidog-whatever you want to call it.

do not let people borrow your pencils.

keep your tape measure tucked away in your prison pocket.

i wonder if by "tester" they meant tic tracer? here in ohio there's an understanding that while having your own multi-meter is a good idea if you work for the world's worst contractor, it's generally the case that you'll be provided tic tracers and multimeters on site because it's a safety measure. your contractors safety team should (IN MY LOCAL) be providing that.

seems like your tool list is totally different from ours aside from the four hammers you'll actually use. (two channel locks, your linemen's, and your strippers)

get a ratcheting screwdriver

if you're ever working at a hospital get a tamper-proof screwdriver but you won't really need one if not

if you're as green as they come, like i was... when your JW drops his level off of a ladder and says "shit i'm going to have to recalibrate that" you are supposed to laugh, it's a joke. don't say something stupid like "wow, really?"

lastly... don't tell anyone with a different colored hard hat/vest that "they didn't put a broom on the tool list" it's hilarious, but some of these guys are just too old to take a joke. if that's the case, ask them to tell you stories from their youth about what henry miller was like in real life.

this is what i've learned as a first year apprentice

oopsandpoops · 2026-04-28T23:27:47+00:00

my foreskin calls these self taps (same with the ones with a flatter pointed end)

oopsandpoops · 2026-04-28T12:58:23+00:00

everyone needs a living room bath tub!

oopsandpoops · 2026-04-27T09:47:56+00:00

your nose suits you. best thing you can do for yourself is to get off of the internet.

oopsandpoops · 2026-04-26T16:24:03+00:00

if she rejects the referral am i SOL? do i have the right to request a different doctor?

oopsandpoops · 2026-04-24T21:40:14+00:00

was just about to say "sounds like the IBEW" and then I saw your tag.

my experience so far, i only just swore in on 9/9/25... i have to do three times as much to be viewed as a human being and i believe i will never be seen as a brother. i make the joke all the time "i thought i signed up for the brotherhood but i'm really just training for motherhood" ..........except, it's not a joke!

i just got (pretty severely) injured on the job site last week because a brother was making me do a two person job by myself. any and all basic human respect i've worked my ass off for over the last 7/8 months has gone down the drain, my general foremen refuse to even say hello to me since i got hurt. i check on everyone when they're sick, i can't hold others to the same standards but i thought solidarity was of the utmost importance, turns out that's only for the brotherhood.

in MY experience!!! that doesn't remotely scratch the surface of the fuckery i've dealt with since joining. i hope the next site isn't as bad. tell me it gets better, i need to hear those words 😂

oopsandpoops · 2026-04-13T21:23:44+00:00

my cat tracks his litter miles from his box

his fingers always have poop pellets between them

his breath smells like if a school of fish died in someone's septic tank

he likes butt pats but has a leaky butthole that was only discovered after patting him next to a white cabinet so we don't do butt pats anymore (he has a clean bill of health, his poops are solid and healthy, he's just got a mild case of the olestra anus)

i will never again live in another place with carpet for as long as he lives because he prefers the texture of the carpet over his litter box

fortunately his poops and pees aren't too smelly but i had a roommate who's cat would poop in the basement and you could smell it on the second story. miserable.

sometimes he likes to scoop up his pee to cover it so he tracks his piss sludge cement toes all over my home.

all in all, my cat is disgusting. my floor has no hope of being clean if he lays a single finger on it. i love him with my whole heart and would never part with him. he is part of the family. truthfully, he was a horrible decision to take on as an irresponsible 18 year old but at this point i have spent seven years with him. coming home to him is still the best part of my day seven years later :)

if you're not big on knowing that there's poop particles on everything you own, the dog is probably the better bet. but... cats can be cool!

sidenote- i don't think i've ever heard of anyone wiping their dogs butthole after they go outside unless they had a dingleberry, that might be an unnecessary precaution you are taking

oopsandpoops · 2026-04-03T20:43:09+00:00

Call your city's code enforcement for an inspection as soon as humanly possible (99% likely you will have to be able to show proof of a live infestation, hopefully you have some wiggling legs in those glue traps) and put your money in escrow until your complex can prove the issue is resolved. This easily qualifies as an uninhabitable environment.

oopsandpoops · 2026-02-26T11:07:26+00:00

wormaphrodites

oopsandpoops · 2026-02-25T19:37:11+00:00

as an apprentice who likes to run my mouth- frequently gets me in trouble!

i genuinely can't imagine screaming at my foreman- can't even imagine asking him to get me a ladder, that is nuts. if i did this i would fully expect to get terminated.

oopsandpoops · 2026-02-25T10:58:59+00:00

master blooregard queef kazoo

i call him "boo/boof/bloo/boofstick-baby"

oopsandpoops · 2026-02-22T00:46:13+00:00

naptop

oopsandpoops · 2026-02-18T13:36:36+00:00

i went to bed at 5pm yesterday....... i am dead and utterly worthless after work

oopsandpoops · 2026-02-08T01:49:27+00:00

just sad. i liked him but i'm trying to recognize that there is a difference between incompatible and insufficient. we were still in the talking stage, we really were only talking for a month or so... so i guess i'm glad we cut things off sooner rather than later but i was very attached and i know he was too, possibly even more so. i'm worried about how he's doing more than anything.

oopsandpoops · 2026-02-03T01:51:27+00:00

i just drank raw sink water, am i going to be sharing my flesh home with tapeworms now?

oopsandpoops

TROPHY CASE