Union workers generally earn 20-30% more than non-union workers *Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

• • Entry-level/no-experience starting pay ranges from $14-17/hour + exceptional benefits
• • Journey-level pay averages $27-30/hour + exceptional benefits
• • Many trades offer prior experience apprenticeship advanced placement & pay
• • Some trades allow qualified workers to start at top Journey-level pay
• • All trades have generous opportunities for overtime
• • $100,000+ per year is common for Journeyman

The cost of benefits for non-union workers many times drastically cuts their amount of ‘take home pay’. Most union workers pay NOTHING or MINIMAL COSTS for their healthcare, prescription drugs, dental and vision insurance. This allows members to have more ‘take home pay’ and use it as they wish.

NO COST TO MEMBER:

• • Healthcare
• • Prescription Drugs
• • Vision, Dental and Life Insurance
• • Short-Term Disability Insurance
• • Accidental Death & Dismemberment
• • Defined Benefit Pension Plan(s) / Retirement

OTHER BENEFITS

• • Retiree Medical Insurance Plan Option
• • Flexible workplace location and time off as needed

Having consistent income once you retire through retirement pay/pension plan is the key to maintaining the lifestyle you want when you are no longer working. Pensions were once offered by many employers but that has decreased dramatically EXCEPT FOR unions.

Having a real, defined-benefit pension is one of the most dramatic examples of the union advantage: 67 percent of union workers have one; only 15% of nonunion workers have one. In fact, more than half of nonunion workers don’t have any employer-sponsored retirement plan, not even a 401(k). By comparison, more than 80 percent of union workers have a retirement plan on the job.

Union trades provide world-class apprenticeship training and an ‘earn while you learn’ on-the-job experience to get established in a career, without the burden of college debt. Unlike traditional college degree programs that cost money — and lots of it — our apprenticeships are referred to as ‘the other 4-year degree’ and comes at no cost to the member and are recognized as Department of Labor(DOL) Registered Apprenticeship Training programs. Also being a Registered Apprenticeship provides a GI Bill stipend for Veterans.

With the opportunity to learn from the construction industry’s most highly trained instructors in a safe environment, apprentices graduate with a portable, recognized credential affording them good pay and benefits to support themselves and their families.

‘College Credit for Apprenticeship Training: Building Trades and the RACC’

The Registered Apprenticeship College Consortium (RACC) is a network of colleges and Registered Apprenticeship programs that work together to provide enhanced educational opportunities to a significant number of apprentices across the country. Through the consortium, colleges agree to provide credit for a Registered Apprenticeship completion certificate towards an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree as recommended by a recognized third-party evaluator. This provides opportunities for apprentices to complete a college degree(s) at member colleges should they choose to.