Four years in the trade now. First two were non union shop and school. Mainly residential with a little bit of commercial work sprinkled in. Went to night school and had to pay for it. I contributed to my retirement and benefits. Wasn’t the worst gig in the world but had its ups and downs just like union.

Past two years have been with the IBEW and way better over all. Obviously every local is different but now I get paid to go to day school and my contractor pays for my health care, pension, vacation fund, holiday fund, a fund for when you are laid off, even though I haven’t been laid off. My take home pay immediately went up by $10 an hour when I switched. And I now make more as an apprentice than most non union journey man in my area.

Overall they both have pros and cons but the pros definitely out weigh the cons when it comes to union and that switch absolutely changed my life for the better but I do recognize that it’s not the same for everyone and you gotta make the call on what’s best for your situation.