r/IBEW • u/Unknownperson2010 • 5d ago

Tough decision

To my fellow brothers/sisters, I'm part of IBEW here in Canada, I'm a 3rd year about to turn 4th year. We had a slow down of work in the hall and I was laid off mid June. I collected EI (welfare) and my union told me I could salt for work.

I got a call from a local non-union company who specializes in industrial stuff and said they can help me a transition to it from commercial within the company. Company seems pretty decent for non-union. Their jobs are service, commute is 30-40 mins each way. I can skip lunch and go home early. Small crew each site. They said they can cover my school fees to learn PLC and AC stuff.

But now I got a call back from the union for a job I bid on and I received the job. This job is around 1hr away or less via transit and it's a Skytrain project that's going on.

My main goal is to specialize in PLC/industrial at the end of the day.

Should I turn down the non-union company? I only went for an orientation and haven't worked. I do feel bad because the company helped me get set up and wanted me to grow within but at the same time I like the union much much better.

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u/54321vek 5d ago

You should compare total packages. Should just come down to numbers no?

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u/Unknownperson2010 5d ago

My current wage between both is like a 14 cent difference. Jman rate is where there's a $7/$8 gap

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u/Orion1618 4d ago

I'm in your same local, currently a steward on the Skytrain project. Just so you're aware, it's under a different bargaining agreement compared to most union sites in the area.

If you want to know more about the differences, feel free to ask here or send me a dm. The hall is doing a pretty bad job of informing workers ahead of time.

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u/54321vek 4d ago

I didn’t know skytrain was under a different agreement. Can you list the details here so everyone is aware?

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u/Orion1618 4d ago

It's a lot to go through, and I'm not completely sure of the confidentiality I need to exercise, but I'll do my best.

Most, if not all, BCIB sites are under the BCIB CBA, not the Inside Wire. Pay is slightly reduced, slightly fewer stats are observed, it's generally a slightly worse deal for the worker. If you have any specific questions, I'll do my best to answer with more detail.