Women in the Electrical Trade

In response to a reader's questions, I'd like to take this opportunity to discuss this slightly controversial topic, or at least address my experiences thus far. Recently, our Local has engaged in a diversity training program that is accessible online and on DVD. Personally, I've attended many such in-house programs over the years, and the issues that we deal with never feel completely settled. And honestly, I'm glad for that. I grew up in an underprivileged neighborhood, typically meaning it was a predominantly minority population. "Minority" is a certain catch-all phrase that includes so many sub-sets of our human population. I happen to fall into multiple minority categories all at once, and much like Schroedinger's cat, it depends which group the observer happens to be observing, to understand the results of those observations. That is, are you trying to understand another person's cultural background? gender? race? sexual orientation? ethnicity? nationality? What I've often found is if you address these experiences separately and individually, then often pigeon-hole concepts arise and assumptions are made about the person which may not exactly apply in his/her situation.

In this case, when we're dealing with the fact that I am a woman (a minority in the male-dominated field of construction), my co-workers are often hesitant in the first few days/weeks of working with me. And I too am somewhat hesitant. As many apprentices often feel when transferring to a new crew or company, there is a certain testing period that happens when everybody wants to know "Is this a good fit?" Like an ecosystem, there exists a very sensitive balance amongst crew members that builds over time. Sense of humors, work styles, complaining and praising habits are all variables that interact to create the cohesion of a team. When a new person is thrown in the mix, suddenly there's turmoil, uncertainty and curiosity. Add to this the fact that "it's a girl!" and you've got a full-blown tornado of confusion. What do I do? I show up, and work. I do the electrical work the way I've been trained, I ask questions about new concepts, and I cross my fingers that personalities will mesh. Usually, it's no problem. There have been a few glitches here and there, but nothing that I've found terribly off-putting.

One common theme that I've found is that many men who don't yet know me are fearful of what they say and how they act when I am in the room. There is a certain level of mistrust that lingers about "being politically correct" and whether or not a formal complaint will be issued against them. Sometimes it feels like they think I'm a vulture or hawk, just waiting for the opportunity to pounce on their bad deeds, and make it big on the company's legal cash-cow. I guess that's a side-effect of society using legal means and fear mongering to teach about tolerance and diversity. I'm sure these things do happen, but unfortunately I think it's over-represented and a little misguided to perpetuate the drama.

If you happen to be a male electrician, unsure of how to handle a woman on the job, I would advise to not let the fact that she's a woman get in the way of realizing all the other aspects of this human being who you're dealing with, just like that other new guy you're trying to figure out -- there's lots more about a person than whether they stand up or sit down while peeing.

Ultimately, I don't think anyone likes their identity being put into a cubbyhole and being treated, based solely on one aspect of who they are. It is pretty offensive, no matter how you say it -- "Oh you're acting like such a ________." (enter any single aspect: woman, christian, republican, liberal, man, jew, mexican, etc.) If there's any one thing I'd like to be judged on, that would be how good an electrician I am. And everyone should know there's always room for improvement.

Comments & questions welcome.

IBEW on the Radio

Last Thursday, I was listening to National Public Radio on WAMU (88.5 FM) and the discussion was about how the stimulus package is helping to broaden the prospects of "smart grid" technology across the nation. The speaker on the news show reported that there is currently a large project moving forward in Nevada, and that IBEW members are leading the effort! Also, stimulus monies are being released to strengthen training and apprenticeships specifically. Updating to smarter electrical grids may be somewhat controversial right now, but it very well may be the future of our employment. It could create a vast number of jobs, and it may be the key to securing electrical work for next few decades.

What does Labor Day mean?

Okay, this is not going to be about the history of labor (though that would be a great subject to overview), and it's not going to be about the Hallmark-er-ization of holidays (a rant that isn't suitable for this medium). In fact, it's about the mark of time that Labor Day has become for the US calendar. September = school.

Over the last three years, I have been attending "day school" for the apprenticeship, which means going to school for 8 hours every two weeks without fail, barring a handful of holidays that happened to land on my school day. No summer vacation to speak of, and a winter break that meant we went a month instead of two weeks between classes. (And that was always a bummer because it meant that much more time to forget everything we learned in class, and thus a more difficult time preparing for the next test.)

After these three grueling years of "day school" we finally get a summer break, and with said break, it means Labor Day (and all its symbolic time marking capacity) is upon us in full force. School once again starts the day after Labor Day. For me, that's literally the day after Labor Day. I have been assigned Tuesday evenings for my first class in night school, that being Power Quality. We're apparently using the same text book that we studied during book 5 for Power Quality, which is a very good text. I'm looking forward to delving in a little deeper, and getting a better understanding of all the nuances that occur in the power systems that degrade our energy consumption. It's back to electrons, harmonics, semi-conductors and sine waves. Yipee!

Additionally, this year is the beginning of a new responsibility for me. At the end of book 5 all 3rd year apprentices were given the chance to "run for candidacy". The elected position of 4th year representative for the Appeals Board becomes open every year as the current seat holder graduates to fill the 5th year position as a voting member. I made the decision to run, wrote a letter addressing my fellow classmates, and ultimately was chosen to fulfill this duty. I am excited and proud to take part in our organization in a way that offers my time, giving back to a massive structure that has thus far given me so much already.

A little bit about $$

Last week I was thrilled at seeing my new paycheck. It was a long time coming, and definitely a boost to my budget. The pay grades that are scheduled throughout the apprenticeship have been a gift in disguise. Even though the early stages (1st year through 3rd) were a tough pill to swallow, being somewhat on the low side of the scale, they also gave me the opportunity to really plan and budget for all of my expenses. Budgeting and saving have not been much of a priority to me in the past because I took it for granted that I would always be working. At the very least, all my bills were paid, and if I ever wanted to save for something big like a vacation, or a luxury purchase, it wouldn't be a thing to just put some cash aside for that high ticket item.

Maybe it's my age sneaking up on me (30 in a few months!), or maybe my eyes are just a little wider now because of these "tough economic conditions", but saving for a rainy day has become more important than ever. To be honest, on my 3rd year wages, I was just breaking even with my monthly expenses. I didn't rack up debt, but I wasn't exactly building a nest egg either. However, I do own a home, and that's something to show for. Thanks to the consistent and reliable income, I've been able to routinely pinch a tiny bit off the top to "pay myself first" through automatic savings. Although the actual figures in that savings may look paltry, the most valuable thing of it has been the habit itself.

I loved Ralph's talk in Book 5 about layoffs and savings. Students in my year are fortunate. We've seen the effects of a terrible recession all around us, and yet most of us have not been touched by it personally. We're still considered somewhat cost-effective on the job, and so have a bit more of a safety net with the apprenticeship. One thing is for sure: I don't take it for granted any more that I will always be working. I've talked to mechanics that I worked with from other companies and they've been out of work for months, and one in particular has been out for over a year. I've seen my company lay off workers who have been with them for 10, 15+ years. It is a fact of this industry. You've got to be tough. But more importantly, you've got to be prepared. Luckily the whole being prepared thing is easy enough to learn for anyone!

Official News

Here are a few official tidbits that apply to my situation:

1. I am officially out of day school, and shall begin attending night classes in a couple of weeks.

2. This entire last week was my first week being paid as a 4th year apprentice, at 70% of AJ scale (that's $26 + change). I eagerly await next week's paycheck to realize the full benefits of this upgrade.

3. The new and improved local JATC website has been running for about a month now. Yay, we have officially entered the 21st century. It's exciting!

Rites of Passage

Two Fridays ago, I attended my second-to-last class for "day school". That means I took my very last test, #60. What a relief!! After school was over, I went with a couple other apprentices down the road to celebrate by throwing back a couple of brewskies. It's nice to know that all these other 3rd year apprentices have made it this far. It's really quite an accomplishment. Every two weeks we've gone to the school and taken a written test before each session (almost every single session). Then we've proceeded to sit [sit!!] through 8 hours of listening, watching slides, and hearing stories. For some people, it's torture. The knowledge is great, when you get it. But the sitting! We're just not accustomed to be in one spot for such a long period of time. After all, we like to move; that is why most of us chose this profession as opposed to "office manager", right?

Now my class has only one session left to attend. August 21st. I'm sure every student in Brown Friday has that day marked on their calendars. Even though we're still apprentices, we theoretically have the knowledge of 5 years worth of apprenticeship book training. From what I understand, the JATC of Local 26 was one of the first schools to implement this "day school" program, whereby the first three years are devoted to teaching and learning the traditional curriculum of Books 1-5. It's really great because by the 4th year, we can really begin concentrating on becoming an A-Journeyman. We've got enough book learning to basically comprehend most of the electrical systems we come across, (and if we don't, we at least have some kind of text book to use as a reference) and yet there's that fine line that delineates us from everyone else -- lack of experience. It's humbling. And that's a good place to sit, in my opinion.

The best way that I can describe how this feels goes something like this: there will always be someone more knowledgeable than me, and this is a person I want to learn from; there will always be someone less knowledgeable than me, and this is a person I want to learn from. In fact, some of the best things that I have learned about the trade have come from watching or working near a lesser-qualified electrician. When you make a mistake because you don't know any better, you just don't understand why it happened, how it happened, or how not to make it happen again. But when you watch a mistake happen and you know exactly how it got to be, it's a much more memorable experience.

Three cheers to the end of day school! Three more to the beginning of night classes!

PS. I'm still terribly excited for our fourth year bump in income.

Control!

In my most recent class, we talked more about Building Automation, which revolves around "control processes". (That would be turning equipment off and on at particular times, or when otherwise called upon.)

Traditionally, when we think of the work that electricians do, lights & power comes to mind. That is, we install all the parts of an electrical system that allows energy to flow to end devices that utilize it, ie. lights and receptacles, and other miscellaneous equipment in between that either uses power or controls it. (Often we supply power to HVAC components like condenser pumps or Variable Air Volume units for example.)

Originally, large equipment like motors and big industrial machines were controlled the same way that we basically control lights -- manual switches that get flipped on and off. However, industrial switches are rather souped up and reinforced to withstand the higher voltages & currents. As more and more systems go automated vis a vis computerization, we're seeing more "control guys" out in the field. The issue right now is, to whom does this type of work belong?

When I first started in this field, I wondered who these "control guys" really were. What trade actually does this kind of work? Telecom? Inside wireman? Mechanical contractor? It seems currently that the job is up for grabs because there's always new technology reaching us in the field, yet the majority of installers who work on these control systems are in fact Mechanical contractors. I find that very interesting, seeing as most of the control work involves electrical components, varying from transformers & fuses to circuit boards and programmable logic controllers (industrial computers). What's even more interesting is how few electricians are actually comfortable with this type of work.

One of the topics that we covered as 3rd year apprentices was Motor Control. We learned how to interpret and even build a very basic control diagram. The stuff I thought was gobbledeguke at the beginning of the lessons turned out to be very simple (once we learned it of course). Strangely enough, I have yet to come across a Motor Control Schematic per se, on the job. However, I have found that the knowledge I gained in those lessons prepared me to feel comfortable with control diagrams of all sorts. Lighting control, fire alarm and other low-voltage systems aren't so intimidating to me anymore.

My question is, if control work is "big brain" work for electricians, then why are the mechanical guys doing it all? Is it that electrical contractors just don't want to bother with it? I understand that there may be somewhat of a disparity as to how many electricians are qualified to do it, but just like fire alarm systems, electrical contractors must pick and choose which individuals they'd like to train to do the highly specialized work. Shouldn't it be just as important to train a few to work on mechanical controls?