erics37

Well the only "extra" tools that I own are various hand tools, and they're all in my tool box or tool bags.

Everything else on my van, including many hand tools (especially low voltage stuff - punch down tool, crimpers, etc.), belongs to the shop.

CanadianBrad

If I owned my own company, and determined that you, as a journeyman I employed, were either leaving the worksite to get a cup of coffee, or sending another employee off the site to get coffee, while on my payroll, I would be inclined to fire all parties involved. I'm not entirely sure when "running for coffee" became an acceptable task to pay someone for, whether they be paid minimum wage or a journeyman's wage. My employer shares that mindset.

It's interesting how many journeyman don't seem to understand that. I am a working partner with my journeyman. He teaches, I learn, we work together. It's a third party that signs my cheque, and he is the boss, not that journeyman.

Stan B.

Sorry, but the asshole Canadian boss baglicker apprentice troll has been done to death here.

360max

so your an apprentice?

CanadianBrad

Indeed I am.

Dead Roman

you arent a union apprentice.

brian john

First off I am union and I supply almost all tools, you want it I buy it, you break it, get it repaired I will pay for it. If the tool I give you is old, worn, (INSERT JOKE HERE) get it repaired or let me know I will get you a new one.

BUT, I had a guy that insisted his battery drill was better that the one we furnished,l I never gave it another thought until six months later it was burnt up and he wanted a new one.



New policy time.

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Brian John
Leesburg, VA

CanadianBrad

That's a legitimate point. I bought my own drill and impact driver knowing that I had a ton of uses off the site for them, and took them to work knowing that they were superior in performance to my current tools. Admittedly, I did have a discussion beforehand with the boss, and told him that I wouldn't hold him responsible for damage that the drill may suffer during the course of my time at work. If he would have asked me to sign something committing to that, I would have, no problem. I actually had our regular working conditions in mind when I was buying tools, thinking that they'd probably end up there.

The thing I really like about it is that my regular J-man partner, who is fairly abusive to tools(both his and the company stuff), shies away from borrowing mine. I put a padlock on the case, which keeps him out. The padlock also seems to make him reconsider reaching into my tool pouch, which saves a lot of my other stuff from getting beat up.

So what kind of action would you expect from the union if you had tools you weren't supposed to on the list?

CanadianBrad

Nope. Non-union. Just curious. The contractor I work for now has a pretty broad range of job assignments in industrial and commercial fields. Small commercial construction, industrial system design/construction/renovation, industrial demolition, PLC programming, voice/video/data, etc. So following my apprenticeship, when I've decided what kind of speclalization I want to pursue, I'll look at changing jobs, which may or may not involve looking at the union. So this is just to gather a little info on the union, and tool lists seem to come up a lot from posts I read over in the Tools forum.

sparky970

Most guys probably think you're wormy because you've worked for the same contractor for so long. Oh yeah you're probably a big kiss ass too. I've been with the same contractor for almost 13yrs. and I've heard stuff like that after about year 2. Mostly from the guys that are the first to get laid off. A few extra hand tools is no big deal. I don't check my guys to make sure they don't have things that aren't on the tool list, but I wouldn't want to see them bring any battery or power tools.

brian john

With my company you are NEVER to old or too well trained to get coffee. I do coffee runs all the time. My guys often work long days, long nights and sometimes 27 out of 30 days (like this month), so buying or getting them breakfast, lunch, dinner or coffee is in my opinion a small thing.

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Brian John
Leesburg, VA

sparky970

I agree, I have 10 guys working a shut down today and I went and picked up lunch. This morning I bought a latte for the safety gal.

brian john

Coffee only no Latte's. And they better drink it black.

I have one guy 7 cream,s 10 sugars in a small coffee.

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Brian John
Leesburg, VA

brian john

I have seen mentality this over and over, some guys just don't get it.

When I was learning testing I was called a brown noser as I always volunteered for extra work (to learn testing), took classes, stayed late (FOR OT). I was told, watch when the time is ripe you will go like the rest of us, back to the hall. They went, I got a service truck. When I saw them on other jobs in subsequent years, they would ask, how to heck are you still here, sopping up the gravy?

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Brian John
Leesburg, VA

sparky970

If being wormy is doing your job, keeping your mouth shut, and showing initiative, then I'm as wormy as they come.

Acadian9

Maybe I wasn't clear on that. I wasn't going out at random times of day to grab coffee's. I get a 15 minute break at about 9:30am and that's when I get my coffee. I work on a job with more than 20 guys, and we have two guys grab coffee (one for the condo, one for the rest of the job.)

The "employer" seems fine with it as it's better for 1 apprentice to grab 10 coffee's than 10 guys grab 1 coffee.

di11igaf

Nope. I've worked out of or with guys from almost every local on the east coast, I've seen this rule broken maybe twice in close to 15 years. When it is broken, its usually an organized guy who doesn't know any better or whatever and brings in their personnel drill. You tell me how many union guys you've seen using their own power tools.
It's not as big of a deal that people here are making it out to be. Nobody's checking toolboxs at the door. Bottom line, we supply our own hand tools(there is a list of the MINIMUM we need to have, what ever they may be. My box has about every handtool you could imagine. I could probably build a skyscraper from the ground up with my tools, long as the contractor supplys the power tools(and they do)
It falls under the same category as why we don't use our personnel phones or vehicles to transport company material, where is the line drawn? It starts off with drills, then sawzall and bandsaws, before you know it suck asses are pulling up with threaders and gangboxes in their trucks.

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IBEW
There's no place like ~/

Amish Electrician

Few topics can be more diverse than the topic of tools for the job- and it's not just a union thing.

There's a tremendous variety in our trade, and one's quite likely to have to do a major re-sort of their tool bag for a different task, let alone a different employer. A lifetime working, and there are still thoudands of dollars worth of tools I haven't got, that I wish I had!

"Breaking balls." Yea, I've seen that. An all steel & concrete job, where the 'list' included a wood chisel. Sure enough, there was one management puke who liked to ask for it, at random, just to harrass you. No wood chisel, home you went for the day.

Not that management has a monopoly on braying. ("Braying" is the sound made by jackasses). I've lost count of the "professionals" I've worked with who never seem to own any tools ... they're always borrowing from others. Some of them are decent about it, while others beat the tar out of the tools. Or, the tools just 'disappear.'

"The company should provide that." Sometimes I agree with the sentiment, but supply my own anyway. Here are a few examples:

Knee pads: I've worked with guys who spent their career complaining of sore knees (from very cold, very hot, or very rough surfaces) but refused on principle to buy the knee pads because 'the employer should.' Well, I get tired of sore knees real fast - and they're my knees, dammit. The boss ain't the one who's hurting.

Fish tape: Sure, the company provides ... but the ones I find in the JoBox are jammed, kinked, have cracked cases and are missing handles. Phooey on that. Somehow, it's the guys who toss them down from the highest ladders, and otherwise abuse them, who always seem to get the new ones. Nope; I won't let them make me look bad by leaving me with the dogs; I'll have mine. An amazing pattern emerges: personal fish tapes last a lifetiime, while 'company' tapes last maybe half a year. Gee, I wonder why. (I also see the same pattern with ladders).

Pipe bender: The company benders always seem to be hidden away, monopolized by some jerk who's going to use in in 'just a minute.' What am I supposed to do? Punch him in the nose? Stand around with my thumb up my ass because he's keeping me from working? Nope. I'm going to do MY job ... and those clown are just another obstacle. Doom on you, Jack.

Common power tools: I've been up a ladder or in a tight spot too many times, in the middle of a task, even with the tool in my hand and at work .... when along comes someone, Boss in tow, with orders to hand over the company tool. Naturally, this puts me behind schedule- and everyone acts like it's my fault. Bull pucky. If it's mine, I can 'just say no.'

OK, so employers can be jerks as well. I'll not forget the place that gave me a $10/wk "tool allowance" then straight-faced expected me to supply an SDS-Max AND a spline-drive rotohammer!

"We supply you with everything you need" might sound nice, but has ALWAYS, IMO, led to a low-skill job with inadequate or improper tooling.

There's no substitute for personal "ownership," whether you actually own the tools, or they are simply issued to you and you're held responsible.

"Tool lists" are a nice idea, but they have to be relevant, and they have to be enforced. If the guy is told that he needs a 1/2" socket, he better have it by day 2 (I'll assume he was sent direct from the hall on day #1), because I'll not share. He's screwing me, if he thinks it's my job to subsidize him.

Theriot

Of course there is a difference between union tools and nonunion tools. Union tools are smarter and cost twice as much. Lol

brian john

But they perform better and last longer.

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Brian John
Leesburg, VA