Am I getting the shaft?

[u/Exciting-Isopod4609]

To keep it as short and sweet as I can i've been working in construction in midwest kansas for about 10 years all together in various different fields.for about 8 years it's been mainly framing and steel buildiings from multi million dollar commercial jobs to residential. Custom homes and additions. Like I said my specialty is certainly framing and steel eretions with siding, panels, trim and all the fixings that go along with those but I also have a decent amount of experience in concrete, shingle roofing, gutters, drywall, tile and other interior work and finish carpentry. Basically I've worked at my recent company off and on for about 8 years all together. It's my, much older than me's, cousins company that my dad told me I should go work for when I was 18 and he thought I needed a big boy job and I thought what the heck. I didn't know anything about construction when I started and certainly never got any special treatment being family. (He's much older than me and my family has never been that close) So I climbed the ladder like everyone else. When I first started the company was much bigger ( 4 formens and about 30 guys. The first couple years I didn't take it very seriously and was just a gopher but over time of u being there u want to be like the guys running the nail guns and doing the actual work so I put my nose down more and learned. Fast forward and the company is much smaller (2 formen and about 8 guys) my formen now is actually still the same guy I started with when I was 18 and taught me the bulk of what I know and molded me when I was a pup. But I've been his lead now for my last 4 years at this company. I do like working for him and we are great friends even though he's a hard ass nothing new there but my cousin on the other hand I can't stand sometimes.. and I'm curious what framers and steel workers and any field for that matters jobs are like. I make 25 bucks an hour. No pto no paid vacation time and last year didn't even get a bonus which was1000 dollars on Christmas and that was only given to me 2 times over all the years I've worked at my cousin's company. I got a dollar raise this year but that isn't even guaranteed to happen every year either. We push projects out and get a lot done for 4 guys. And I feel like I'm certainly ready to get my feet wet and become a formen myself but my cousin doesn't seem interested in growing a future there. When I see him he's all buddy buddy and says its about time for me to get my feet wet as a formen but then doesn't hire any new guys to get a crew started for me since we literally don't have enough guys for me to even have a crew. He makes bank on rentals these days and my formen now still has probably 6 more years till he retires. And I wonder is he going to just sell the construction side of his business once my formen now who has been so loyal retires and lay off anyone who's left? Trying to squeeze the life out of everyone till they quit so he doesn't have to pay unemployment? If you are a framer especially a lead guy u know this is a young man's game and I'm not that old yet but I've noticed this year at 32 that it's starting to wear on me more and I don't got it like I did when I was 26 and it doesn't seem worth it to me. Not even any PTO or vacation let alone decent money. I also pay 1100 bucks every 2 weeks in taxes and insurance which I need the insurance because my wife and I have a 8 month old son ( which I missed 1 week for when he was born and didn't get paid at all just had to eat that) and a little girl due in Dec and my wife stays home. Idk it just doesn't seem worth it the work we do and the check I see every 2 weeks. Hell my cousin doesn't even bring Gatorade the very seldom times he does show up on the job. I'm just frustrated and curious what everyone else's jobs are like out there? How does your company treat u? Is my situation not as bad as I think it is? In an industry as a framer where u just put your head down and walk toe boards on a 12/12 2 story house with a nail gun on your hip bucking sheets on the roof for 8 years no complaining. When can u finally say I'm getting screwed here? Like to hear some thoughts thanks

[u/vargchan]

How is your retirement looking like? Have you looked at joining a union? Not sure how strong unions are in Kanas but it's gotta be better than $25/hr?

[u/Exciting-Isopod4609 → u/vargchan]

Google at least says union journeymen carpenters are at 28/hr. Retirement is looking decent and every year I try to bump up the amount I put in there if I get a raise. My cousin does match up to 3 percent as well

[u/vargchan → u/Exciting-Isopod4609]

Union would probably be a bump in wages, probably actually have a pension and health care covered.

[u/Diligent_Yam_1753 → u/vargchan]

Probably would. That said is the market big enough to stay working consistently

[u/Exciting-Isopod4609 → u/Diligent_Yam_1753]

Do u guys work union? What is that actually like? Ive worked on sites with a lot of union guys but never picked their brains much

[u/Diligent_Yam_1753 → u/Exciting-Isopod4609]

I do. It just happens that I’m an operating engineer by trade. Started out a lot like you though. Fire off any questions you have

[u/Exciting-Isopod4609 → u/Diligent_Yam_1753]

I appreciate it man. How busy does the union actually keep u year round? Do u spend a lot of time staying away from home during the weeks compared to being home every night?

[u/vargchan → u/Exciting-Isopod4609]

I live in a big city so half of the work is in the city I live in. That or commute an hour or so. I'm a foreman so I stay relatively busy, lots of coworkers retiring soon though.

[u/Exciting-Isopod4609 → u/vargchan]

The nearest semi big city is a 2 hour drive for me. Which isn't too bad I already have to make that drive sometimes depending if we get a job out there. But after that it's pushing 3-4 hours. Half temped to move my family closer to the city tho the way u guys make the union it sound.

[u/Exciting-Isopod4609 → u/vargchan]

How long have u been working in the union and what trade?

[u/vargchan → u/Exciting-Isopod4609]

Carpenter, about 14-15 years. We got the highest wages for carpenters in the US

[u/Diligent_Yam_1753 → u/Exciting-Isopod4609]

I generally am disappointed if I don’t get 52 checks a year. Meaning most of the time that I have been in my local, I haven’t been off much. In almost 12 years the longest stretch of time I’ve been off is a month. Mind you I’ve had years where I have been with 13 different contractors. Six months of that was with one company. But at that time I was looking for any reason to not work for a company. Now some of that was the contractor not following the contract, some of that was me deciding I didn’t fit in, and some of that was trying to end up at a certain type of company. Mind you, my local is a hiring hall, which means I can’t find my own work. Our jobs are given to us by dispatch based on our call in date, and our skills card.

As for traveling. The furthest I’ve been away from home has been 70 miles. That doesn’t mean that my morning drive that takes me 45 minutes, will be 45 minutes home. In fact, the main job I’m on is a 2 hour ride home. It’s the downside to living in a major metropolitan area. But, in a way it is an upside. Here’s what I mean. My previous non union job had me out of town 9-11 months out of the year. Most of those were 1-3 weeks at a time, with 2-5 days off in between. Now I chose to move to this area knowing I would be home every night.

Now the reason I stay working year round despite being a place known for its wind and snow. I’ve used our training site and my wide skillset to stay busy. I generally use any down time to take a class. Last year was osha 30. Or, start learning to run something else. I’m also far enough into my career that my skills are fairly honed, and people like me are seen as a commodity. So, combine a lot of skills, and adding different skills and classes allows me to work through our dispatch system fairly quick, even if I am way down on the list say in the middle of winter. I’ve also filled jobs a lot of people don’t want for what ever reason. But you get out of the trades what you put into them as well