Why a Blue-Collar Job Can Be a Pretty Good Deal

If you want to work with your hands in a blue-collar job, your best bet is to get into a labor union. Unions are great because the union – and not you individually – negotiate the hourly wage that the employer must pay. The same thing happens with benefits (like health insurance, holidays, and overtime pay). So all you need to do is show up and work. The union will take care of everything else. Another cool thing about unions is that, if an employer isn’t doing right by the employees, the union can call a strike, which usually forces the employer to change their policies. (Like with the RTD strike in April 2006.) Union shops are probably the safest places you can work, because the union is checking up to make sure that all the safety equipment is in good condition.

If you hear people say that unions are bad, always remember that it’s just their opinion and not objective fact. Some folks don’t like unions because in the American economy (capitalism), the corporations control the money (capital), and unions work hard to make the corporations fork over more of their money to the workers. So, if you are a big-wig manager or a corporate shareholder, a union can make you nervous, because you won’t make as much money if you have union employees. On the other hand, some employers like to have union employees, because the union (and not the employer) makes sure the workers have the skills they need. This means the employer calls up the union and says, “I need twenty-three workers,” and the union finds the right people for the job. If one of those workers gets sick, the worker (usually) gets paid a sick day and the union finds a replacement.

So a union is a good deal for both the employer and the employee. But don’t look for union jobs if you aren’t prepared to work. In order to join a union and be cleared to work on the contracts it gets, a person must prove that he or she can do the job. And if a person gets on the job but can’t handle the work, the union will be the one to replace ‘em. All that is required of the worker is to pay monthly dues into the union. And in unions, people who have more experience get better jobs. Sometimes this is why people bad-mouth unions, because they don’t like the idea that seniority rules. But other people think that this system is more fair than having jobs going to the people who know somebody, rather than to the folks who are most qualified.

If you aren’t in a union, but you are interested in learning a trade and getting into a union, the local union office is the best place to start. They will tell you how to go about getting training, and, if anyone is looking for an assistant, the union will know about it. Unions aren’t just for construction work, either. There are unions for nurses and grocery workers, trucker drivers and people who work for newspapers.

Unions in Metro-Denver

Although there aren’t nearly as many unions as there were in the World War I/World War II eras, there are still a number of them. Generally speaking, each type of work has its own union – like pipefitters over here and garment workers over there. Here is a list of local offices of some key unions operating in Denver. If you don’t see one here that you are interested in, check out the on-line Yellow Pages for “Labor Unions = Denver” at http://www.superpages.com/yellowpages/C-Labor+Organizations/S-CO/T-Denver/

Union Jobs Clearinghouse

This site keeps a list of union jobs & apprenticeship programs all over the country. There is a page per state, so it’s pretty well organized.

http://www.unionjobs.com/trade.html

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local #7

The union for grocery stores and food manufacturing like Albertson’s, King Soopers, Safeway, and Mission Foods, among others. This is one of the most active and progressive unions around. (That means, they are doing a lot to protect their members.)

Contact info: 7760 West 38th Avenue, Suite 400, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 - (303) 425-0897 or (800) 854-7054. http://ufcw7.org/home1.htm

Ironworkers Union

Ironworkers are the people who make the shell of large office and government buildings. If you ever looked at the guys walking on an I-beam 50 feet in the air and said, “Cool! I wanna do that!” then check into this union.

Contact info: 501 W 4th Ave, Denver, 80223 - (303) 623-5386. http://www.ironworkers.org/

Laborers International Union #720

This union is for construction and building trades.

Contact info: 875 Elati St, Denver, 80204 - (303) 825-8101. (No website at this time)

Pipefitters

This is the union for pipefitters and plumbers (and we all know how much plumbers get paid!)

Contact info: 6350 N. Broadway, Denver 80216 – (303) 428-4380. http://www.pipe208.com/

Postal Employees

American Postal Workers are both federal government AND union employees. Like any union job, you generally start off at the bottom rung, but getting a job with the postal service is like getting a job for life.

http://www.apwu.org/index2.htm

Service Employees

The union for health care workers, like nurses and hospital administrative assistants.

Contact info: 40 W Louisiana Ave, Denver, 80223 - (303) 698-7963 http://www.seiu105.org/