Local 363’s electrical apprenticeship program provides paid training opportunities
When she was working as a supervisor at a Walmart store, Neia Robinson said her pay was fine––even if it was nothing extraordinary. The problem was the stress.
“The amount of stress and headache that comes with that job—no, it’s definitely not worth it,” she said. “It’s a lot of stress in a job, whether people think so or not…not only from the work you have to do with customers but, oh my God the holidays that you don’t get off!
“It was a good thing and a bad thing I was there; I can say that for sure.”
After working at Walmart, Robinson signed on as an apprentice with the Building Trades Educational Benefit Fund’s Local Union 363 electrical contractor apprenticeship program. Now, she doesn’t have to deal with customers and, she added, she actually likes the work she’s doing, as well as her work environment.
Along with other students, Robinson works as an apprentice electrician for her employer overnight, from 9 p.m. until sometimes 6 a.m., at various construction sites. Twice a week, she attends classes at the Transit Tech Career and Technical Education High School in East New York, Brooklyn.
Robinson’s employer pays her a union salary wage plus benefits; one of those benefits is her electrical contractor education and training. When she finishes this five-year apprenticeship program, Robinson will be licensed to install and maintain electrical systems––a highly sought-after skill. As a certified electrical contractor, she can earn anywhere between $52,000 and $171,000 a year, according to the income monitoring website Payscale.com.
The COVID-19 pandemic drastically decreased student enrollment in the program, said Paul Iaccarino, director of the Building Trades Educational Benefit Fund, but classes have been filling up again. “This year, we started with about 15 students in one class, but two years ago, three years ago, we had 60 guys in the first year of training,” Iaccarino said. “We had two large classes.” This year, the program has only about 100 apprentices, but in previous years, they have had 200 to 300. Five years ago, they had closer to 400 students.
Apprenticeship classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. In their first- and second-year courses, students learn to understand the fundamentals of a series circuit, which carries a single current throughout an electronic circuit. Instructors like Axel Natal teach third-year students the core components of electrical systems. On the night the AmNews visited, Natal was testing students on how to draw ladder diagrams, which show how a system works, and wiring diagrams, which show where the wiring equipment is and how it’s connected.
Electrical training is one of the benefits of working with Local 363
One of Natal’s students, O’Neal Honus, said a fellow co-worker told him about the apprenticeship program. All of the program’s students are members of Local 363, and their employers sign them up to receive this electrical training as part of their benefits––along with a full retirement package and healthcare benefits.
“He said, ‘Hey, listen, this job offers you schooling; you should contact Building Trade.’ He said, ‘Hey, listen, call and they send you to school from the first year all the way up to the fifth year,’” Honus explained. He called and was able to register online for classes. “And since then, I’ve been coming to school,” he said.
Those interested in taking classes in Local Union 363’s electrical contractor apprenticeship program who don’t work for employers connected to the union can contact the office of the Building Trades Educational Benefit Fund or Local Union 363 and ask to have their résumés sent to union-affiliated contractors. Once employed by one of these companies, they can get into the apprenticeship program.
“It is a very physical, hands-on, demanding trade, but there’s a lot of—how do you say—a lot of facets to it,” Iaccarino told the AmNews. “Some of it is glorious: A lot of the electricians are viewed as like the white-collar/blue-collar guys, because they come in and they’re doing finishing work. They’re putting boxes and lights up. It’s kind of clean; it’s dangerous, but it’s kind of clean. But a lot of our guys do commercial industrial work. We’re picking up and bending some of that really large pipe. Some of our guys work in the tunnels that the subways are in—confined spaces where there’s danger…it’s more rigorous. In this training program, our goal is to make every electrician as well-rounded and educated as possible, so the doors are open for them. They can make the choices that they want to make, specializing in work and on the skills that they want to work on.”
Loving the learning experience
George Rodriguez, who’s in his second year in the apprenticeship program, said he loves working with his union-affiliated company. His employer has been contracted to build nine elevators at MTA subway stations. After class, he’s scheduled to work on the electricals for an elevator in Manhattan, at 14th Street and 6th Avenue.
Before being hired by his current employer, Rodriguez was working as a car mechanic, but he said he wanted to see himself doing something more than just fixing cars. “I love the learning experience, pretty much how I do electrical work,” he said. “They teach you how to bend pipe, how to run a wire…you just learn so much. I’m looking forward to growth with my company. The money is always going to be there. This company I work for and this union—it’s always going to thrive and so the money is always going to be there. It’s just more the experience you’re going to get from working….the union and the opportunity it gives you is just pretty good. It’s amazing.”
Fourth-year apprentice Kurk Lapaix said he likes the fact that his company’s work is very hands-on. Every day, he works in a different location. “People are still taking their time out to show you how to do things. They talk to you like…not like a child, but like a mentor, like somebody who is actually trying to help you succeed and trying to see you grow.
“It depends on your experience and how much experience you build up. Then they begin to start to basically give you that trust. Rather than shattering you every minute, they’ll leave you with a project and say, ‘Okay, take care of this and I’ll be back to check on you,’ and in their coming to check on you, you’re creating a lot of experience. They’ll see how you’re doing, see if you’re doing the right thing, see if you need any help or anything. And then the more experience you build, that’s how you grow and get your status up and become a mechanic eventually.”
For more information about the Building Trades Educational Benefit Fund’s Local Union 363 electrical contractor apprenticeship program, call 516-487-7830 or send an email to office@bteducationfund.org.
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