“This Is Why I’m In a Union”
Workers tell us why they join and remain in a union.
On the day of her graduation from apprenticeship, cement and concrete worker and member of Local 20, Jennifer Pilkington, tells Union-Built Matters about why she joined a union and why she plans to make it her career.
In our conversations with New Yorkers across digital media and in person, we have heard many proud union members tell us why they joined a union and what about unions makes them stay. Here are some excerpts from those chats.
Anthony Smiling, Local 18A
“I was working non-union construction before and those guys over there, they just don’t care about you at all. They just put you to work with the barest tools and no training. The job sites were real dangerous and I was worried about something bad happening to me. Because I have kids and a wife. And there’s no insurance — none. So I was real curious when a friend of mine told me they were taking apprentices at the local LiUNA. They were having a day for people to check in, apply. But I was working that day, you know? If I missed a day at my job I know they were going to fire me. So I asked that friend to stand on line for me and I’d come take my place after work that day. He had to stand on that line for hours. It was long. But I got there. I got there. I did my apprenticeship and now I’m a union journeyman in Local 18A.
“Now I feel a part of something, you know? These people I work with, they’re like my brothers. We look out for each other. We got trained for what feels like every possible situation. And that’s why the work sites are safe. I get paid proper. And I get benefits for me and my family. Man, I am dedicated to this work. I want to be a union man for life.”
Danny Coleman, New York Carpenters Union
"I was working at a [non-union] job site where they were having a problem with one of the cranes. And they just patched it up with a cotter pin and some duct tape. This is a big machine lifting very heavy objects up above our heads. I said to the foreman, 'We can do better than this. This is not safe for us.' And he just said 'Be quiet. Get back to work.' I left that place that day and I never went back to non-union again."
Juan Portorreal, Local 6A
“I worked non-union for 7 years. I worked my way up at one company to run some work crews for them. They sent me to get training certificates for things I’d need to know. You know, they want to be able to show these certs to the inspectors and whatnot. Then they took the class fees out of my paycheck. Said it was on me to improve my knowledge, not on them. I was managing the crews. But the crews were always changing. Guys leaving, new guys coming in, and most of them didn’t know much at all. So that put a lot on my shoulders. Finally I had enough. I tried to organize the workers, get them to bond together for fairer treatment. But none of them knew what I was talking about or were willing to risk their jobs.
“So I went to LiUNA in Queens and asked about becoming a member of the union. I showed them my certs and they had me work on a job site with them. They liked what they saw and let me join. So now I’m in Local 6A and I’m at the LiUNA center all the time getting training on everything I can. New equipment. Green construction. Hazardous materials. I just want to have every qualification I can. And it’s all paid for.”
Robert Williams. Local 20
“I worked for a few non-union contractors for several years. When I started they told me there would be a probationary period. We would work a certain amount of time and then we would get partial insurance, something like that. But I didn’t care about that. I knew non-union was not long term. There was no security for you or your family. Nothing protecting you. To me it was just a paycheck. That’s all it was ever gonna be.
“To me, if you want to enjoy your full life, you need to have some kind of backup that goes along with your working. And I get that now that I’m in this union. I’m working toward something bigger than just a paycheck. I’m protected on the job. It’s safe. Safety is our top priority. I have benefits, so my family and I are taken care of. This union is an extended family for me. The people drive me to do better and I drive them too. We all lift each other.”
Sharwin Edwards, Local 6A
“Look, I don’t want to say anything bad about the non-union guys. They work hard. They’re honest people just trying to get by, like the rest of us. But I will say this. It’s a world of difference over here in the union. Over here we get trained on how to be safe, how to use the tools. We learn how to work with various materials. We get certs [certificates] when we show we learned a skill or what have you. Here it’s all about preparing us to do a dangerous job well and safe.
“I joined because I knew the pay would be better and that there would be benefits. I’m putting into a pension too. I didn’t have none of that over on the non-union jobs. No training, no benes. None of the guys I worked with had that. So I won’t knock them. But I will knock the bosses over there. They should be better.”
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