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with most unions, you mainly need to be willing to work hard and demonstrate an interest in the work. Borrus admits there are some applicants he tends to weed out. “We’re not crazy about cowboy types, ” he explains.
    Frausto, who is thirty-three and joined Local #416 more than thirteen years ago, points out that unions are integral to preserving sustainable wages. “We protect the middle class, ” he says. “We can’t build a rich nation on the backs of poor people.” That’s where the union steps in. He points out that nonunion workers have to bargain their wages from job to job, whereas there are preset pay scales within unions. “It’s a way to protect the worker, ” he explains, adding that other union benefits include health care and pensions. He also points out that unions are to thank for having created the familiar 9:00 to 5:00, eight-hour workday, whichmeans employees can’t be expected to work endless hours. “I love the trade. I love the fellowship. I love the work, ” says Frausto. “We’ve built America from coast to coast.”
    There are currently forty-four thousand electrical apprentices in the United States that are learning through a combined program of onthe-job training and classroom work. The industry expects this number to increase to close to 50, 000 in the next several years, saidMichael Callanan, the executive director of the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC). The NJATC is a joint program run by the Internal Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association. Callanan says participants work eight thousand hours alongside a trained craftsperson and spend classroom time learning theoretical approaches to wiring and electrical codes. “I can’t imagine a better scenario.” Once the paid training programs end, apprentices have a built-in job network.
    “We’ve suffered under themantra that if you don’t go to college you won’t be successful, ” says Callanan. He says the electrical industry has to work harder to demonstrate the benefits of the trade, from high wages to the specialized skills that it takes to become certified. “We haven’t done a good enough job explaining to parents and guidance counselors what the trades are about, ” he adds. “The skill is something that can never be taken away.” Plus, Callanan says that the combination of workforce shortages and the rising costs of college tuition may lead parents to see the trades as a desirable option for their children. Callanan says that throughout all of the blue-collar sectors, unions offer an unparalleled opportunity to learn, to earn, and to launch a career. “This is an opportunity to have a career, not a job, ” he says.
    Success in the Real World
    Blacksmithing Became His Passion
    RobbMartin knewwhat hewanted to dowith his life as soon as he heard about blacksmithing. As a kid, Martin, who goes by “Thak, ” was always building things, working with his hands, and he enjoyed creating, drawing, and sculpting. So when he learned about blacksmithing, the original metal craft, he was enthralled. He thought blacksmiths just made shoes for horses and was intrigued to see the many different applications of the trade.
    The artistic, creative side of blacksmithing is definitelywhat appealed most toMartin, who is now forty.By the age of fourteen, Martin says he knewhewasn’t going to college.He practically begged for a job at a blacksmith shop in Floradale, Ontario, near where he grew up.He started off by merely sweeping the floors, for minimum wage, and started to learn the craft fromthe blacksmithing couple who ran the shop.
    Martin also became interested in medieval reenactments and took on a character.His is “Thak, ” and he’s been going by that for years. Most of Martin’s work in his own blacksmithing shop now includes fantasty or medieval-inspired designs. He does a lot of ornamental work for clients who are looking to create unique pieces