Getting In 1985-86

Every union pipefitter has a story about getting into the trade. Very few wander onto a jobsite and are hired, then join the union. The application and pre-selection process changes for every person. It depends greatly on how much work there is currently or in the immediate future. Having a family member in the union helps significantly. The international union can dictate numbers. In my case, it was the year of affirmative action. This was prior to the merger of Locals 109, 54 and 818 into Local 267 in 1989. At that time I was in Local 109 and there was only 1 female and only a handful of blacks and Native Americans. I don’t believe we had any Hispanics or Asians. I was living in Oswego working in the accounting department at Nine Mile Point Nuclear plant, and I was very unhappy. I had been promised that I would be taught accounting, but instead I shuffled paperwork all day long. I had given up my job as a vet tech only to discover that I was not meant to be an office drone. The ad in the Palladium Times offered good job with good pay; women and minorities encouraged to apply. At the time, my boyfriend was a pipefitter at NMP from Toronto, Canada. He would bring home his co-workers and I kept thinking, “This doesn’t seem that tough a job. I know I am smarter than these guys!” I was worried I wasn’t up to the task physically, but you only have to pick up 70 lbs officially. I was regularly picking up dogs that weighed up to 100 lbs., and I figured pipes don’t bite. I can do this! So I sent my application in and was scheduled for a Dept of Labor test. It was the strangest experience ever. First you had to prove dexterity by put pegs into holes. Right hand, then left, then both together. Then there was a written exam in which they tested your spatial ability with drawings of tools that had shaded parts. “One of these things is not like the other” I hummed to myself. Then the final part was English comprehension. To this day I have no idea how anyone passed that part. I have a BA in Zoology with English minor and I was having a hard time. I was told later no one had every scored as high on that part. No surprise since knowing synonyms, antonyms and analogies are not really pre-requisites to a good mechanic. Next came the interview. Three men asking me probing questions like-- Do you mind getting dirty? Do you ever fix things? Are you afraid to climb a ladder? Do you know any pipefitters? They must have liked my answers because I was placed 7th out of all the applicants, usually over 200. Unfortunately they only took 6 apprentices that year(1985). But the next year they called and offered me a job. Yep, we were the Affirmative Action class; three females, three blacks, and the nephew of a contractor. Our wages were the lowest in years(30%) and we didn’t get a raise for 18 months. Of that group, only one other female and the nephew made it through to become journeymen. The rest is history!

Welcome to Lady Pipefitter's Story Hour!

Welcome to my blog! Just to be clear I am very opinionated and do not always follow society's rules concerning proper behavior. I believe in the ability of people to change both for the better and worse. I believe in God, but not religion. I believe that the Bible was written by men to explain the unexplained and to create chaos out of disorder. I believe people live by the choices they make, but that very few are irreversible. I think people pretty much do what they want to do, so that actions speak louder than words. Hope the politicians are listening out there! I believe that many situations and relationships are helped with good food and wine(in moderation).

This blog will be a place where I describe the crazy world of the traveling pipefitter. The perils and pitfalls that we endure and hopefully some advice on ways to avoid them. It will sometimes be the case of do what I say not what I do. So let the adventures begin...