FIRST PERIOD JOURNEYMAN

IN THIS EPSODE WE PEAK WITH ANTHONY IVALDI OUT OF 377 AND LET ME TELL YOU THIS MAN IS EXCITING TO TALK WITH HE SHARES THE PASSION FOR THIS TRADE THAT WE ALL CAN REMEMBER AND SHOULD STRIVE TO EMULATE. BROTHERS AND SISTERS ANTHONY IS THE REAL DEAL AND HE IS GOING PLACES. WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS EPISODE AS MUCH AS WE DID RECORDING IT. 

AS ALWAYS 
WORK HARD STAY SAFE AND LIVE WELL

IRONWORKERS/PODCAST CHECK OUT THE CREDIT UNION THEY ARE BAD ASS.

LET US KNOW WHAT YALL WANT TO HEAR MORE OF. AND LET US KNOW IF YOU WOILD LIKE TO COME ON AND SHARE YOUR STORY WITH US.

STAY SAFE WORK HARD AND LIVE WELL.

Transcript

0:02

Okay, welcome back to the Ironworker podcast. It has been a long, long minute and we are excited to be back with you guys. We got most of the crew together. Kevin's probably still in bed sleeping or doing something unproductive cuz that's how he likes to roll. That's why I had to teach him how to be an, but we got less. We got Tanner, we got our. Our main man today, Anthony from the Bay Area 3 77. He's super excited to have you with us, buddy. I appreciate that. We let's, let's get this rolling. Anthony tell us how you got into the trade. What, what started you to become an iron worker? Well you know, probably like a lot of us, man, I, I, I had decided to Not really plan out the direction in my life. I didn't know what I was gonna do. You know, I was just a young, young kid. I ended up knocking up somebody and I had a, had a baby on the way. And I think I was at the time a server at a restaurant bringing home cash every day. Happy to go blow it that night that I got it cuz it would just replenish itself you know, with the gift of gab the next day. And and so So I realized I wasn't gonna cut it. And and I had known somebody who was the wife of an iron worker, a really, really skilled connector who's been, had his hands in all parts of major projects in the Bay Area from beginning of time. And And so I, I reached out and this guy was super, probably like, you're never gonna make it. You know, I'm help you out. You know, you wanna be this. And what's funny is I had never, I didn't even know what an iron worker was, and so I YouTubed it and I was like, fuck that. And so I find another job and the mother of my son was like, well, you have this much time to take it serious and then you're gonna. Follow through with that. And of course I didn't take that, you know, serious. And so I went through the motions and like think we had the baby three days, like the day after. So during the course of when delivery was about to happen, I'm like going to the school and to the union and paying and zipping around and next thing you know, I'm going up this man lift. I'm, I remember pulling, let me tell you this, I gotta share this man. I pulled up to this job site. It's dark cuz you know we work, we start the day early. It's like wintertime and I just see. All the weed burners just blowing the shit out of the columns, up in this skeleton of a dungeness looking structure. And it looked medieval and that was already scary enough. I'm like, what the fuck is going on here? You know? And she kicks me out of the car cuz it's early. She's like, get the hell, you know, get the hell outta here, dude. You know, we're sharing a car and. She's pregnant, she's ready to go back today. She, she had delivered the baby. My newborn's in the car, in the backseat. So I get out, you know, I'm meet and greet, whatever. We're going up the man lift. And so here's I, I'm just gonna embarrass myself. I had these, I didn't have boots, I didn't have anything. I was. Eloquent. I had these like Timberland rollover, the top fashion boot things that, look, I would never wear them now that I'm a man. But at the time I had these I had some funny, like weird fashion pants that I was willing to just let go, like these jeans and and I'm going up the manlift and all these guys are just looking at me and they're like, Get a look at the new guy, look at the Apprentice. And in my mind I'm like, how do they know? Like I just wanted to feel like I fit in, like I'm a seasoned ironworker and they're all giggling and chuckling. Did you, did you have a white hard hat on? No, actually I knew to get a m a MSA hard hat. Oh, okay. Right out the gate. I did, I was fortunate to get the right tools, but the clothing and the outfit just gave me away. Yeah. I had high heeled boots. Right. Like so, and these guys got to the top and it just ran out onto the iron. And I'm like, and they're like, well, come on. And so I proceeded to follow and It was terrifying, but I'm grateful they threw me in the fire. I was with a decking company and And so basically they were like, tack this tack. They threw a stinger in my hand, tack, tack, tack. You know, don't watch your partner, don't chop his fingers off all this stuff. Quick. Crash course. Day two, they're like, go lay out that beam. And so I had to go out on iron and by the way, day two I went and got red wings after day one cuz my heel had slipped a few times on the iron. And I was like, I'm not dying today, you know, and so I laid out in day three. The partner left and they said, you're, you're sh you're spreading this entire project. And it was a hospital and it was behind some really a one connectors. So it, it was a struggle, but I was forced to have to. Learned to throw sheets around columns and do things that I was like, are you outta your mind? And go loud. And I just, it was really a booster. I never really had the fire watch experience in my career. I just kind of got thrusted into being an iron worker. And I'm grateful for that now. But but yeah, man, so it kind of just happened so quickly and then it fizzled out so quickly. So I'm one of the people who I'm not the only one, but I had a book number, which was then. And I screwed it up royally because I was just young, immature I had lifestyle changes I should have made sooner and I didn't. All of which, you know, I try not to regret the past, but I look back and I'm like, God, you really could have done so much more in your career. But I ended up, you know, coming back and doing my thing, kicking ass and getting through apprenticeship in like three years, which is quick, three and a half years. Getting all the hours in. But back then, if I could have just held onto my seat, boy, what a, what a opportunity. How many more opportunities could I have? Could I have had, you know, but, you know, can't, can't, it doesn't help to regret that stuff. But man, those boys, they, they really I just couldn't handle the work back then. It was really tough work, man. Yeah. No, I don't doubt that. And, you know, it's, it's probably a better thing that you, you did take that time to get yourself squared away because like, one thing that I've learned, you know, in doing this podcast and talking with a lot of the guys we've talked to is it's hard to get on top of your life when you're in the iron workers. Like if you're st I mean, and back me up if I'm wrong, Les or Tanner, but I mean, it's, it seems like it's, it's A pretty gnarly group to be embedded with. Mm-hmm. And then try and make the changes that you need to, to get your life on the right path. Right. So, well, I think there's a few simple components. A, you gotta have some transportation, right? Some good transportation, some method of transportation. I think the thing, the things I see take people out of apprenticeship in this trade really early on is if you have drug and alcohol issues. Mm-hmm. Other lifestyle choices, like maybe you, you've got, you're, you're tied up with the wrong crowd and maybe that's causing you to take vacations at facilities that like to provide you with three square meals and a cot, you know, so to say and don't wanna let you go anywhere. And then the other, the other one is really, you know, I think sometimes people can't separate their personal life from the trade, because in the beginning it really, I mean, you know, you, you don't start at the top of the wage scale, so you, you gotta work really hard. You get your first period pay and if you're not really being reliable, taking stuff really serious, like if you're not early, you're late. You know, and just really trying to soak everything in. And then it helps to have a partner, you know, people who have a relationship that's trustworthy. Really fortunate because it's tough in the beginning and, and a lot of people just can't separate that stuff. Like I, I'm of the variety. I had major drug and alcohol problems and you know, I've been clean and sober for six years. I'm active in my local's recovery efforts. And did on you. Yeah. And you know, and that's, that was my contributing, one of my contributing factors to not succeeding on the first round is because it made such a mess of my life that I couldn't get out of my own way to be able to just do what I now excel at. You know? And so like that's where all that, when I was talking about wishing I could have done it the first time, right, is because once I. You know, got clean and sober and got my life together, I realized I was actually a really kick-ass iron worker, and I could be responsible and accountable and trustworthy and, and, you know, and do this trade at a high level. And it's a good feeling. But like I just. I just was, you know, we all know how difficult those issues can be and some people never can get over them, and I, I'm really blessed, you know, and I'm also available to anyone, whoever wants to discuss those issues because it's a tough path, you know? But, But there's, there's options to get that together. And for me, fortunately, I was able to, and get a second chance in this, this, this trade and start a career, you know? Yeah. I'm happy here. You know what's kind of crazy is we, every time we talk to somebody that's had like a pass with drugs and alcohol or something, it's always, they, they want to be, they want to help, you know? Yeah. It's kinda, it's kinda, I don't know if that's part of being the brotherhood or if it's just part of the, you know, the, the programs that you know. Through the rehab that you, you find, or reaching out and helping one another is helpful. But it's kind of cool to see, like everybody wants to help each other get better. You know, like those who experienced it, I mean less, less is. Definitely, probably one of the best examples I see that he, he'll talk to anybody about, you know, addictions or whatever and yeah. So it, it's kind of cool to see how, you know, even just ironworkers, we, we act like this big, rough, tough, you know, bunch of guys, but when it all comes down to it, we're here to help and we're here to, you know, help one another be better and take care of themselves and become better iron workers and, and, you know, kick the monkey off their back and stuff. Absolutely. So that's pretty neat that you say that. That's pretty cool. And I mean, it mean it wholeheartedly, you know, like just, it's like, it's almost like if you were programmed a certain way prior, which is like that's you're living your life, you have this addiction. You can't expect to understand how to live differently or change cuz it requires a complete change. Of like ideals and behaviors and casting them aside and adopting new ones. And and that's a, how do you do that if you don't even know how to live that way? So you gotta have the help of other people. And there's many of us out here who have been helped by someone else and we're able to get to make it, you know, so I, I'm definitely always available for that. And And boy, man, the iron workers especially, we are a bunch of rough and tough boys and girls, but we we have a bond here unlike any other, and it might not always seem that way, but overall, man, I, I, I love my iron worker family. And because not only are they just amazing, like you can go to work and be in awe if you, if you were Stupid enough to stop and take a, a moment just to look. Yeah, we're all have your, you have your earplugs in hard enough. You can't hear what they're saying. It's magic, you know, and they taught me how to be a man. Literally how to be a man that I'm actually proud of to be today. Now. I would've never arrived there alone, just in life with the viewpoint I have without the iron workers, let alone now that I'm sober. So yeah, super hats off to everybody out there in the field, man. For sure, for sure. You said you excuse me you said that you recently journeyed out about six months ago. Yes. So how's, how's that going? How was that transition? My goodness. Well, I used to crack jokes, right? So I did pretty well in my apprenticeship. And then, you know, as you progress in your apprenticeship and, you know, I did the competition, all this other stuff. And so I was feeling like top of my apprenticeship and then like, you're a first period journeyman, right? Like, it's like, dude, alright, you might have thought you knew some things as an apprentice, but here we go. There's never ending. It's, it's always learning. You, you are never gonna learn it all. And so you gotta humble yourself a little bit as you get in. But for me, I'm now running work. I'm actually hanging my first it's a large project, but it kind of works out the way it is where it's pretty simple to tomorrow. Is it tomorrow? Yeah. Tomorrow's our first day hanging. I had to go yesterday. Get all the, you know, when, when we show up as just. Journeyman iron workers or apprentices we're like, oh, okay. And someone's like, here, do this, do that. All the tools are there. But what you end up learning as you start to run work is like somebody behind the scenes thought out everything. The ep, yeah. Like it didn't just magically show up at the job. You know, we we have people in the background who are reviewing plans and crane placement and. And what tools are needed, what do the men need, what's good for safety, blah, blah, blah. And so I was doing all that yesterday for this project with my partner and and yeah, yeah. So, so being a journeyman has been great to me. I, I'm been entrusted with some Some responsibility and some management. But overall, you know, I feel like it's still just the same as when I was an, an apprentice in the sense that I show up every day to give everything I have zero to 60 until the moment it's time to go home. Because that's kind of how I was taught, you know, is just to, to be the best you like We're a union, a representation of our union, and also a representation of our company. So, It takes some pride in that, you know, like, don't, yeah. If they're, if we're supplying a workforce, it's you know, at the top level, then we should be working in, in, in that way and showing them and, and making our union proud and, and being a good company hand as well. At the same time, you know, I think that it's I always enjoy seeing first, first, first period journeyman come out. Yeah. I remember when I was in those shoes, you know, come strutting in. Fuck yeah, I'm the journeyman now bitches, you know, and this and that and all that bullshit. But I got humbled right the hell up, you know? Oh yeah. Pretty quick. Cuz I realized how much I didn't know and. It's funny watching them come outta the apprenticeship and they were great apprentices, you know? And now I'm more involved in the, I'm not as much as I was like a year ago or so because I've moved more into just being an organizer, but when I was more in the training, it was cool to watch them grow through the apprenticeship. And then as they grow through that, then they go to Journey out and they're great apprentices. But then you just see that head swell right the hell up and they're like, hell yeah, I'm the shit, you know, just like bucket. Except for his never went, his never got, oh yeah, I'm drag up whatever I want and I'm gonna call in if I don't wanna come in cuz I partied too hard the night before. You see that stuff happening with boys, you know? And then, and then you see that moment when they. You see that moment when they're, once they're journeymen and all that, where they're, something happens and you can see it happened to me, it happened. I'm sure bucket can relate to this. I'm sure Tanner, can you see that point where in their career you actually see where if a switch gets flipped and they turn into a real journeyman Yeah, they're, they're humble. Yeah, they're responsible. They lead by example. You know? You can see it, and they're not afraid. That's the one thing I tell apprentices once they journey out, I tell'em, you're just barely beginning to learn. Yeah. So don't forget to ask for help. And don't forget that, you know, if you don't know something doesn't mean you need to spit out an answer. If you're, say like you in your shoes, you're a fresh journeyman, you're running a job. If you don't know something, when a superintendent asks you a question about a phase of the project, do you just spit something out just to give'em an answer Or do you stop and be like, well, I'm not sure. I don't know. But I'll get that answer for you. You know? Absolutely. You know, I think, and for everybody out there listening, man, there are not stupid questions. They become stupid if you repeat them because you're not listening. But for those who are hungry to learn, surprisingly, If you're teachable, there are people out here who are happy to break stuff down for you so you can have a better understanding because that's how our trade carries on, you know? And so definitely I ask lots of questions. I've been that way since the beginning. And it has cer, it has served me very well, you know, in my career. And the same goes while you apprentices are in school. You know, it's really easy. To just start taking stuff for granted and you know, kind of pencil flip through your book and just try to get it done so that you can, you know, get credit for your class. I mean, these are behaviors and habits, I'm sure that happened across the board, across the country, but there's a lot of information to be picked up and you might not think, oh, we learned everything on the job bullshit. Those books in this program, I took it serious. I aced all my classes, not because I wanna be like, Ooh, I'm Mr. SmartyAnts, but because there's information, believe it or not, I now have readily available and didn't have to ask questions or. I, when I arrived at those situations in the trade, I had already a, a, a base level of understanding and I was like, oh, this is what they were talking about in the books. And then you can ask more elaborate questions and they, your journeyman looks at you like, oh, this guy already understands the principles of what are happening, and he can better teach you. So you could really like absorb what's happening. Because like you guys said, there's so much going on. And and it really does start with like taking the books and the school serious because it's gonna serve its purpose in this trade. They're not just cramming that stuff down our throats for nothing, you know? And, and so I encourage, I encourage people to take it serious. You know, I learned more. I used to be that guy. Like you said, you know how everyone says, oh, you learn more in the field than you do in the classroom. And I used to feel that exact same way. But after I'd been in the trade for, I. Shit, you know, 12, 13, 12 years or so. And then I started teaching when I started teaching and opened up those books to teach these apprentices, I first walked in there thinking, you know, kinda like that first period journeyman, oh yeah, I'm the shit I'm in here to, and I opened up those books and started prepping to start teaching class and shit. And I realized how much I, you know, I needed to learn still. And yeah, my first year of teaching, I just taught welding and that was it. And I was, I, I. I had a hand on that pretty good. You know, I wasn't, you know, it, it kind of made my head swell up. But then new apprenticeship coordinator and I started teaching some other classes and I realized how much I, you know, I needed to humble my ass, humbled me right back up another level of my life where it humbled me up and I had to realize how much I did not know, but all my experiences out in the field. When I looked in those books and I was teaching the apprentices, you know, it's, it was way easier to understand what was happening in those books cuz I'd experienced all that shit already. Yeah. It was like, oh fuck, that's why that happened. You know, thinking back on my fuck-ups. Yeah. I'm all like, That's why I fucked that up cuz I could have looked in this book and seen, you know, and then that's why I told the apprentices, you know, like I'm learning just when I'm in here teaching you guys, I'm learning just as much as you guys are. I may not seem that way, but I am. I wanna go back to what you said Les about the, that point where you see'em make, become either journeymen, like they come from their first period of journeymen to like an actual like, Productive journeyman. And I think at that point either goes both ways though too. Cuz they either, at that point, they either wash out and they feel like it's, if they've made it through everything they have and then like through all their apprenticeship and they get to there, they either. Quit coming at that point. That's when they start, okay, I can't, I can't do anymore of this. Yeah. I, I'm a journeyman now. I'm not, they're not carrying my bucket of water for me. I gotta do it myself. And that's when they either go two ways. I think they either become a journeyman that's responsible or they be, they just kind of fizzle out and they go on their own way to, you know, a different trade or, or whatever it is. And that's, I think that, that what you were saying was spot on. Cuz it does go. You can, there's that defining moment where, okay. Now I've gotta put my shoes on and become big boy and, you know, and do what I need to do. Or, you know, maybe, maybe I gotta go down the other road and, and find something else that's better suited for me. So I just wanted to add that in there as well. Well, you know, on, on top of that too, to piggyback, like, so like, I remember the moment that like, I'm, I'm in the midst of that moment right now where like, You inherently know how to do all these processes and things. You don't think about it like you just doing your what it, what needs to be required, all the steps, nobody's telling you what to do anymore. And it's the most amazing feeling. When you arrive there for the people who are still, I think like, something I wanted to say about this stuff is cuz a, well, first of all, before I, I, I spin out the you know, people, we have people who are learning this trait, who are looking to you as a journeyman, right? So the guidance of that. So not to adopt a mentality of, Hey punk, carry this for me. Or, you know, get this A to Z and like, also not being afraid to do it yourself. Right, cause you're a journeyman iron worker. And like that is an example to be set for people, but also for people in this trade. I remember being an apprentice, not knowing certain things as you're learning and the level of confidence is lower, right? You could be extremely confident, but then you start to get nervous. Or maybe the panic sets in because you're just trying to do the best you can, but you don't really know what you're doing yet. And to encourage anybody in this trade man, This work is tough and you might be miserable at times because it's hard work or you know, maybe people are getting on you. But a little ray of hope for you is that when you fall in love with this trade, it's. Especially for me, it was right in alignment when I became good at like this trade. When you start to really understand and you know what you're doing and you become skilled, which comes through repetition and time, you might have. You know, more skill than others, but overall it requires the hours to be put in and investing your time and giving your efforts. And with that, all of a sudden comes this also, this level of confidence and enjoyment and true passion for this trade because then it's not a struggle anymore for you to do it. You're doing your job and you're like, it's no longer like, oh my God, I'm stressed the fuck out cuz I don't wanna get yelled at by my journeyman and I don't know what the fuck I'm doing to like, you're effectively doing something and it feels good inside that, wow, I'm doing some really badass shit. I'm an iron worker. I here performing these, these. These tasks and, and I'm doing them right and it, and, and it's not a struggle. And so like, keep coming and doing the job and, and, and, and, and anybody can experience that. You know, it's not forever an apprenticeship while, you know things. Seem so difficult. You know, and I, I really feel watching sometimes apprentices and even journeyman when you can just see the highs and lows of their confidence because maybe they're not doing something as well as somebody else, and you, you just can't give up. Man, that's not, that's not the motto of the iron worker. It's not if it can be done, but how can it be done? And sometimes how just means you gotta keep at it until you learn how to do it, you know? Mm-hmm. I agree. With that being said, what where, where do you, where, how do I ask this question? I always, I always have this problem of figuring out how to ask questions. So how do you, how do you change that mindset of those of those. Those journeymen that are fresh out at the apprenticeship, they're brand new. How do you change their mindset to kind of expedite that process of getting that confidence and, and, and bringing that definite, you know, that that change date quicker? How do you think that happens? I, I always try to involve my crew. I. And so I am never afraid to explain what it is. Well, first of all, if you don't take the time to managing human beings is a very challenging task. I'm sure if you guys have worked in the field and as foreman, you know, babysitter, you can say, Hey, this is what we gotta do. And then the response is always, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know what I'm, yeah, I got it. And then, You sure you go, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you come back and you're like, Taking the time to explain something doesn't necessarily mean that they understand it the way you explained it. There's always different ways of people taking information. So sometimes what I am learning to do is take the time to watch them do that, explain to them what needs to be done, make sure that they really understand what it is, because the last thing I want to do is be a dick and get on someone because they just didn't understand. What it was they were being instructed to do, cuz that bashes their confidence. And I'm not here to, to, you know, I, when, when it comes down to it, we have a job to get done. I try to just to build people up, not break them down. And you, it's hard because you just gotta kind of keep an eye on stuff. I think that everybody arrives at that moment when they arrive at it, but it doesn't always. It doesn't help to coddle people, but it also doesn't help to ride them into the dirt too fucking hard, you know? Mm-hmm. Although I got rode in the dirt pretty damn hard, and I was resilient, and it made me strong. But not everybody's built the same. And so I think, I think if you really care about people wanting to make it, everybody deserves the opportunity in this business. Yeah. Who wants it, you know? And, and it requires an observation, I think, of just checking them out, you know? And. Sometimes people don't get it, you know, and they repeat the same shit over and over and it's frustrating. Oh yeah, that's, that's kind of how I was with Kev. I had to baby him and hold his hand and, and walk him through most of the process and he can't ever yell the kid cuz he gets all teary-eyed and looks like a sad puppy kick. So, you know, sometimes you just gotta. Like in Kevin's, you know, you just gotta give him his money. I can't wait till he listens to this, but he no, I, I totally get what you mean. There's, I, you can tell people, some, some people you can tell a dozen times the same damn thing and they just won't get it. And others, you can tell'em once and it. Yeah. And that's, you know, and that goes just, I mean, I think the way people learn, you know, I don't think it much, so much as a listening thing or learning thing, I don't know what it is. But you know, people just have a hard time comprehending and you know, and I think if, I think if we all could just sit down and read it on a piece of paper, none of us would be ironwork. We'd all be in college or something, you know. But I think that's the hard part is none of us learned by being told. We, we learned by getting it done with our hands and, and building it. So Yeah, I totally get that. Which ties back into, show up every day. Like there you can have an amazing career. There's like very simple things we look for. Have a great attitude, have the most amazing attitude. There's no matter how shitty the task is, if they say, go fire, watch. Do that shit with a great attitude. Don't bitch about it. If if you're reliable, which, how do we measure reliability? You show up every day. No excuses. Oh, you know, I got too drunk. Or come the fuck in and push through that stuff. It will be recognized. The people who, no matter what hell or high water who show up to work, whether it's a member in the family, is sick. And I know it sounds crazy, but like I tried to be the Lou Gehrig of iron working like, you know, I'm gonna be there. I'm always gonna be here, and I'm gonna be here an hour before work starts. Why? Because I. This job don't build itself and somebody has to do it. And so I encourage people to have great attitude, be available, you know, and be teachable and just work, work well. You're getting paid to work. Show up and don't be, you know, tucking around watching people work just. Give it your best, whatever that is. Whatever that is. And maybe your best one day is less than another day. We're human beings. Maybe you're sore, maybe your arm hurts, maybe your wife was mean last night. Whatever you got going on, it's understandable. But give your best that you can while you're there and you're there every day and your career will take off. Mm-hmm. There's opportunities. I think it's kinda crazy cuz Our trade, like when our, when our international was founded, there was no apprenticeship. Yes. There was nothing like that. There wasn't for years, I mean decades. For decades. There wasn't an apprenticeship. It was learned off of the tools, you know, learned by experience. And in our apprenticeship class, we've always got that up there. You know the definition of a qualified worker? Yes. And it's defined right there, what it is. Well, back then, that didn't mean shit. Are the roots of our trade and what a journeyman is, or what a qualified worker is, is somebody who is able to obtain a job in the trade for one and for two, maintain employment in that job. That right there tells you that if that person keeps that job, maintains that job, then they're qualified. Cuz if they weren't qualified, why the fuck they still working it? Yeah. Right. Yeah. Because there wasn't a shortage of men back then. No. Now there, now that's that. That probably wouldn't fly because I mean, there's a lot of times we keep guys on the job just because we don't have a place, you know, we can't get enough men to supply the workforce. That is an issue. Men and I, I say men, but I mean men and women. When I say men, cuz I mean, let, let's be real. There's not enough people that are willing to do this work. I mean, You know, it's, so, it's a lot of times now to, to play off what you said, Les, you know, a qualified man is, or man or woman isn't, not necessarily the one that can stay there the longest. You know, just cuz and you can't, you gotta have the person there, whether they're there, have. The time or not, they've gotta be there. You know, we saw that out here at this airport job here in Salt Lake, and, and it's, it's, you know, there's guys that are completely unqualified to even be on the project, but there's no one to take their spot. We, we can't get any more people out of the hall. There's just not enough guys. We're, we're, you know, and we're trying, we're trying to get more people, but it's just, on that note, it's tough. There's a huge, so that ties into something that people, so when I went to Impact, we discussed this. They brought all the competitors from the 2022 Rumble and the Rockies Outstanding Apprentice Competition, and they put us up in a hotel over there and had us run through, you know, Some specialized courses and stuff and then run through the general business meetings and all that. So we have a very interesting time in our trade. Right. So when you say there's a shortage of workers, what we see, I think a lot in the field is you have the people who have been in the trade that are in their forties late thirties and even older than that, and they've all. You know, put in their work and paid their dues and their, where they're at in their career. Some of them just wanna work. They don't want the responsibility. Some of them have Rosen up the ranks to where they're at. But what's what's coming right now down the pipe that the international really illustrated for this, and it's a huge opportunity is for the young people coming into this trade. And yes, we do have a sh a huge shortage of workers, but to those who came now, Who wanna excel at this trade and who are giving it their all getting involved in the union, taking school serious, showing up every day. The people i e, the baby boomers and that generation of people who are about to retire soon. The people who are young are next in line right now, and they normally, in the past, what would happen is you had to be in this trade for X amount of years and have all this experience to fall into these managerial responsibilities, whether it's in the structure of the union or just on the job site at the local level or whatever. Well, we don't really have that now. What we have is what's here now. And the people who proceeded who are about to retire. Mm-hmm. And so who do you think has the greatest golden opportunity of their lives to really find themselves in a position where, The opportunities or which direction you wanna go in this path is limitless. Whether you want to get involved as an organizer or a business agent, or a business manager, whether you want to take it to your district council level, whether you wanna push further at your local level and get recognized by the international, these opportunities are here, they're now, and for the people who really want more for themselves and for family, and want to be of service to our great trade in our union. Don't for a second think that this can't be you. On the other end of this podcast listening, find yourself in a position where you're like, how did I get here? How did this even happen? It's here because there's nobody else to take those positions. And so for those who wanna excel at what they're doing right now, the sky is the limit in this trade because those positions need to get filled. And we're also at a pivotal point in this trade where. The old way isn't necessarily working anymore, and we have a newer generation with different ideas and different things, and they're gonna start to infiltrate and implement this business and make a huge change. My hopes in the right direction. To make the adjustments we need so that we can get ahead of the changes that are coming in the industry and not be playing catch up. But there's people here who are bright, intelligent. They're, you know, they're, they're younger, and, and, and we need you. We need you, and we need you to know that nobody's trying to hold out on an opportunity for you to get there. The opportunity is available and it's yours for the taking. If you wanna come for it and take it and just know that you don't have to just be an iron worker in the field who doesn't feel like he has you know, any hopes and someone's gonna tell you what to do anymore, that that's not the case. And so I'm saying that because Because I love this trade and I know we need the new leaders and the, and, and the next generation to to really take it serious and, and step up to the plate because the time is now. Mm-hmm. I agree. I agree 100% with that. Because the, the, the hard part is too, is you'll get those old timers that are like, you know, they've been around a few times that they'll tell you, You've been, oh, you gotta do this, this, and this. You need more experience in this and this to be this or that, or this to hold this position in the, in the, in the hall or in the local or whatever. And, and that's simply not true. You know, if you're willing to serve and you're willing to do your best, I mean, that's all it takes. And you know the hell with what those other peoples have to, other people have to say, you know, it's, I don't think that you need to have the experience running a raising gang or running a job or doing this or that to realize that. You know, being a business manager, business agent or whatever is, is a, has a potential for you. You know, you just, if you show up every day and you do your damnedest to, to do, to better your local, then you, you've already. Qualified for that position? I think personally. Yeah. Well, and, and I mean obviously we, there, it's a business. You have to learn the business and the language of the business. It's a whole new language. It's, you have to learn it and what's going on. But overall, yes. Like, and, and I don't, I, I just say that because I want people. To be hopeful and not feel like there's a ceiling on what they can do and where they can take themselves in this business. There's a lot of stuff that goes on and, and the picture will emerge for you as you continue in this trade. And you'll get to see there is a huge big picture here, which I got to really get exposed to after getting involved with the. Apprentice competition and all that stuff. And that's when it really popped out at me. And that changed changed a lot for me. And I just want other people to have those kind of exciting epiphanies for themselves so that they know that you're not just gonna, you don't have to just sit here and And hurt and be sore and worked every day and get yelled at by your boss. Like, it's up to you to do what you wanna do with this where you wanna go with this trade. And there's definitely some people amazing in the field and and they have a lot of traits and qualities that I think would better serve in many ways. And so just open, keep your minds open out for boys and girls and And ask questions and find out what, you know, what's out there and what's going on. Man, I really, I really think that we don't put enough emphasis on self-accountability as well, like this, this trade. Has the ability to be everything that you want it to be, and all it takes is you to just put the elbow grease in. That's it. Mm-hmm. If you, if you're sitting there licking your nuts, worrying about why you're not making any money and why you don't have any job contacts and why people ain't calling you for work, well, I hate to tell you, but it's probably you, you know what I mean? Yeah. It'll go out there, make the handshakes, do the work, do the work properly, do it on time safely and, and put your heart and soul into this, and it'll reward you with that. You know, I don't, I don't think that gets exempt. I don't think that that gets shown to the younger crowd showing up into this. You know, they're all, they're all learning from these season. Veterans that have, you know, 20 years ago went through all this, you know, so they've kind of forgotten the taste of blood in their mouth a little bit. And so I think it, it's really on guys like you guys like Bucket les myself that understand that to show these new 20 year, year old kids, 19 year old kids come in and say, Hey, listen, you have the, the opportunity right now, especially to grab this trade by the balls and just run with it. Mm-hmm. Yeah. You know, and it's all off the sweat of your back. So if you, if you. Want to be that guy, then by all means be that guy. You know what I mean? Yeah, absolutely. Or gal. Yeah. I think this week, so I worked 14 hours Friday. I think I put in 60 hours this week and we had a holiday. I must in, and you know what that that sounds. Like, ugh. And you know, uncle Sam likes to take his piece, but but really the bigger picture with unions, right? You got, you got hours into the pension and you got your vaca vacation pay and you have your annuity acquiring and, and hours of experience, which are invaluable. You know, and making you a better skilled worker at your trade. And and my God, dude, like it is, it's blood, sweat, and tears out here and it pays off for those who take that path. You're 100% right about that. And a lot of people, I think you're right. A lot of people don't see that. And when, when the opportunity to work more comes up, some guys are like, you know, fuck that. And you know, uncle Sam's gonna take it all and. And what's the point? And that's, I don't think that's the right mindset to have, you know? And and it'll show. Well, I, I agree. Especially because, you know, we've talked about this in the past, but I, I agree a hundred percent what you're saying, Anthony, is that, you know, we're. We're blessed in a way, I guess, to, to be a part of the union. Right. We're, we're blessed in a way to have the ability to say, you know, I make a, I make a decent wage. I live, I, you know, yeah. We could always make more money. We could always, whatever, whatever the bitch is that we have, right? Yeah. But we gotta remember that there's, there is. Guys out there in the non-union that are doing it, they're, they're not, they can't afford to take a day off. They can't afford to, to not show up to work. They can't afford to piss away this day because they got hung over drunk the night before. Whatever the, the situation is. And, and the shit that we do on a, seems like a daily basis, you know, there's. They can't, they just can't afford to do that. We, we, we take this, you know, this, this, this luxury or this blessing that we have to be a part of the, the union, right? And we, we squander it in a way, you know, there's guys like, like you, like Les, like Tanner, you know, that. We show up every day. We do our job. We, you know, eight for eight or 10 for 10, or 14 for 14, whatever it takes to get the job done. And you know, and you look back and you're like, damn, that was a good day's work. Yeah. Yeah. Uncle Sam will take his cut, but. You know, here's into my pension, here's into my annuity, here's into my retirement, my blah, blah. My, you know, my, my vacation, whatever it is. You know, we gotta look at it on that side and like, you know, yeah. Uncle Sam, I'm gonna get his cut of that too one day. But still, it's, you know, we've gotta put in on our work now because we're not gonna be this young and good looking for the rest of our lives. I mean, look, look at Les and Tanner. They're already halfway gone. I mean, les's, got a 14 head there. And so we we pull out the tape, pull out the tape. We you know, we, we gotta realize that it's not so much of a, a silver spoon that we were born with in our mouth, but more that we just you know, it's a, it's a job. It's a trade that we've chosen. You know, realize that there's guys out there that are just as hungry and I live on union. We'll come get it. You know, those guys who are forced into a position because they don't have the same representation in rights. Those same guys that union guys sometimes will bash or treat like crap because they're non-union workers that some of'em are so super skilled and, you know, can. Work'em right into the dirt. But for those guys that work that hard, because they have to, my God, I would love to have those guys represented in the right like they, they have the mentality because they had no choice. And I feel like sometimes it is, you know, some people, when you have the choice to make, sometimes it's that much easier to make the wrong choice, you know, in order to just grow comfortable and And cared for change. I mean, if, if it doesn't work out, like there's a lot of'em that would love to make the change, but if, if they just jumped right on over. And then they decided, you know, ah, shit, you know, or some of our members treat'em like shit, which is not, you know, unheard of. No. And they, they just decide that, ah, fuck this, you know, this ain't what I thought it was. If they try and go back to that company, they might not have a place to go or they gotta go to another company and they just took like a, you know, eight, nine,$10 an hour pay cut. Or maybe they had some Benny's with the other outfit. Not good ones, but some maybe. Yeah, they go to this next one. I mean, they're not guaranteed shit us. We got a minimum wage. Every local we go into, there is a minimum wage, bare minimum, that that contractor can pay us. Yeah. Guaranteed. Yeah. And it's important for people to know that that wage is negotiated. You can get more. Yeah. And so if, which pulls back into your skill, like if you put your time in and you learn this business and you become skilled, you become valuable. And when you're valuable, you have more leverage to say, Hey. Pay me more. And, but they can never pay you less. And that is what we have here as represented union people. But that doesn't mean that there's, your wage can't be higher. And to those who choose to, to take the time to become good at this business, take it serious. They quite often do get paid a, a fairly decent wage because they have something to offer the company that they need. And so those same non-union companies that have the ability to exploit those skills and those needs or to secretly pay one more than the other sometimes what ends up happening for the unrepresented, I think, is that they get paid way less and there's no standard set. And that's unfortunate. And And I'm hopeful for the future in terms of this battle we have of growing union density and you know, we all know there's a lot of campaigns and from the bottom up and all stuff that are happening throughout our international, and I think part of it will really shift. When the younger generation that's growing up in our union starts to make the changes that have been difficult for people with a different mentality make, make some different approaches, and and we might start to see maybe a better. Buddy, my heart for you organizers. You guys have the toughest job, dude. Like, it's, it's so difficult. Yeah. Well, that's one thing I don't understand. Going back to kind of what Les said, like, you know, that that's what I, I, I don't understand why not just. You and your buddies if you're working together, like if you're with this company, say company A, steel directors A, B, C or whatever. Right. And I, I use steel directors A, b, C 1 23, like all the time and all my, my comments. But I don't understand why those guys, I mean they, there are some that are super talented and, and there is that fear of coming over. It's like You know, well, if I, if it doesn't work out or if I get treated like shit, well, why not just come over with your entire, like your whole group of guys, gang, bring the whole company with you. Yeah. You know, like why? It's not just the union's, not just a single person. It's the whole. The whole group, and if your whole group can better their lives, and all your buddies that you've grown, that you've been working with, and you've been watching each other's backs for hump teen years, right? Like, why not bring'em all with you? Come on over. Like, and, and come with, come with all your friends, you know, and, and, and all of you guys can learn or earn a l wage and become better, you know, so. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Well, and on top of that, you know, I mean, if they do that, They can, they don't have to worry about leaving to another company and having a change of scenery or wondering who the next person is they get to work with. They're gonna be working with their same okay. Coworkers that they've always worked with, and they don't have to have a change of scenery. All they had was just the. The only change of scenery really is that they all looked at each other and said, fuck this. We've had enough. Right. They deserve better, for sure. Yeah. They definitely deserve better. Definitely. Well, Anthony, it's been a pleasure chatting with you, man. I do definitely appreciate your, your your gungho spirit and your your drive to make this local, your local better and, and to be. You know, to be a better iron worker and make our, make our trade shine, it's, it's something that's very, very hard to find nowadays. I think a lot of the guys are just like, like we talked about, you know, eager to just coast by and, and experience those wonderful benefits and, and livelihood that we have, but not really fight for it. And I think it's gonna come down to it one of these days where we're all gonna have to fight for it. And so I'm glad there's guys like you and Les and Tanner myself that are. You know, that are gonna stand together and fight back. So it's, it's truly been a pleasure chatting with you today. Absolutely. And thanks, thanks for taking time outta your day and yeah, man, and visiting with us, it's been great. I appre I appreciate the, the opportunity and I'm really proud of you guys. All the things you're doing, you know, it's, it. Every, everything matters, man. Everything matters. And, and for those who are actually taking the action, my hat's off to you. Much respect, man. Much respect. Yeah, for sure. Well, all right guys. Thanks for listening to the Ironworker podcast. We'll we'll see you on the next one. I guess. Talk. Absolutely. Bye bye.