Read Blue Collar and Proud of It: The All-In-One Resource for Finding Freedom, Financial Success, and Security Outside the Cubicle for Free Online Page A

have to earn it and learn the trade and get to the top with hard work.Ross suggests offering to work for free for two weeks. If you want to be a plumber or electrician or are curious about the sheet metal industry, Ross suggests begging for an unpaid job. Prove yourself and demonstrate that you are hungry to learn. The employer has nothing to lose, and youmay get a greatmini-introduction to a certain trade.
    The Role of Unions
    Unions are a crucial component of the skilled trade workforce and one of the best ways into the blue-collar industries. There are approximately 15.4million unionmembers in the United States and about 4.5 million in Canada. Joining a union oftenmeans that you will receive, at no cost, industry-specific training, apprenticeships, assistance landing a job, and continuing education.Unions aremost well known for advocating on behalf of their members for higher or more equitable wages and benefits. They become your resource for support with contract negotiations and camaraderie among colleagues. Studies show that union workers earn, on average, 28 percentmore than nonunion workers, and they aremore likely to receive healthcare and pension benefits.
    “Most people think of them as a place to get a job, ” says David Bor-rus, about unions. He is the business representative for the Pile Drivers Local 56 in Boston. As Borrus explains it, a large amount of his job is “selling knowledge and skills” to contractors looking to hire workers. These skills come fromthe apprenticeships that Borrus touts as the best aspect of union membership. Membership dues are what pay for the apprenticeship programs, which are in turn free for you. “We have a lot of money, ” says Borrus, who is a welder and commercial diver. “You can really buy state-of-the-art equipment.” The unions are training people to be the cream of the crop, the best possible tradespeople out there. “We put a lot into training our next generation.”
    Unions are also in a position to know and hire the best tradespeople in the field, so themost skilled workers are typically the ones training the apprentices. “Apprenticeships are the future, ” says Borrus. For example, Borrus explains that apprentices are usually eased into jobs, with plenty of mentoring and coaching. They are around colleagues who have been in the field for awhile and can offer support. They won’t ever be thrown into a job without the proper training. “It’s not just a school, ” says Bor-rus. “There is a whole system of formal and informal mentoring going on.” While trade schools are not necessarily bad places to get an education, they won’t provide the mentoring or coaching available through unions. Borrus adds that once you graduate from one of these schools, you are typically on your own when it comes to finding a job.
    For years, the unions had a reputation for being an old-boy network and one that was nearly impossible to get into if you didn’t know someone who was already a member. “That father-son local has gone by the wayside, ” says Borrus. “The vast majority of our apprentices don’t have a family member in the trades.” Marco Frausto, the president and business agent of Ironworkers Local #416 in Los Angeles, agrees. He says the old-school attitudes have largely changed. “Now, it’s more open, ” he says. You don’t have to have connections on the inside. But you do need to be professional, demonstrate that you want to work hard, and make a good impression. Plus, the tests required to get into the unions prevent unqualified kids who have connections fromgaining automatic membership.
    Frausto explains that you don’t need experience to apply with a union. Rather, the union is where you get the experience and training you need. “We teach you to be an ironworker, ” he says of his union. “We can make anybody an ironworker.” When asked what skills someone should have before applying, he says that’s not themost important factor. As