What keeps so many black men out of the trades??

[luciddreamer]

There's plenty of black electricians, now licensed black electricians is another story.....

 

[Roland Coltrane]

Dudes don't want to get their hands/clothing dirty and would rather move boxes/sort mail/drive a big truck around than crawl under a house to install piping or an attic during the summer to fix AC ductwork. These are the top excuses I've heard thus far from my own people.

UPS, around here, pays about $12-20/hr and is strictly part-time which means NO BENEFITS. I know apprentice plumbers making $25 to start working 40+ hours/wk. and basically just run tools back and forth.....AND GET FULL BENEFITS + become members of the local Union.

​

agreed, I'm presently a second term apprentice in the carpenter's union out here and I make 22 an hour, with time and a half for overtime(there's a lot) and double time on sundays. when I journey out I'll be making north of 40 an hour


all that being said, a buddy of mine who's been in the IBEW for 30 years talked it up to me to the degree I was working a carpentry gig at Nike and started a conversation with one of the Black electricians I saw. From there he put me in touch with a couple Black IBEW union reps and when I went and applied for the Inside Electrician and Low Voltage apprentice ship they paid for BOTH applications(60 bucks)



anyways, the unions in general are getting very conscious of diversity these days and they definitely want Black people. all the brothers and sisters I've interacted with in both the carpenter's union and the IBEW really want to see more Black faces, they embrace you, and really go out of their way to make sure you succeed.


is it the most glamorous work? nah

but the benefits are great and you also get a pension when you retire.

I'd say going the union route is one of the best decisions I've ever made.

 

[Wink Beaufield]

Elevator and escalator mechanics make bank as well, especially the brehs that work for Metro, they make $80-100k. And man the cacs in the DC area hate the fact brehs are caking off Metro.

 

[Razor Reader]

To me the real answer is the "fukk a book" mentality. You will see handymen but fewer LICENSED people working trades. Difference in opportunities and potential earnings between licensed tradesmen and handymen is night & day.

We all know people who DO carpentry, masonry, plumbing and electric work. Some of them are very skilled at what they do, but for whatever reason never took the steps to become licensed by the state. I can only attribute this to the general aversion to formal education/schooling/testing that exists in some segments of the community.

That might not be the answer, but it's the only way it makes sense to me. Why else would people leave money on the table like that?

Gotta spend money to make money, so I don't want to hear that "couldn't afford trade school" shyt

This is exactly what I mean. Becoming LICENSED MASTER electricians, plumbers, Carpenters and Mason's.

 

[Razor Reader]

Partially yes. But only partially. There's other moving pieces involved.

 

[MegaTronBomb!]

The trades that people are talking about in this thread is construction. If the men in your family are not being put on crews now days then young guys don't usually have a way to get on those crews.

These type of threads always miss the forest because of the trees. Nothing is wrong with going to college, because college offer construction management and the like which ties in with the trades. So it is not a college versus non-college thing. What I see is that young guys can not even get to first base now days, which is on basic construction crews.

OP literally said carpentry, plumbing,masonry and electricians..... not just exclusively construction.

 

[Razor Reader]

These things aren't even in HS anymore....and most don't even have the funding to do it.

IMO, HBCU's should invest in trade schools....seeing that it'd do more in regards of bettering black America......especially for blacks who live in areas that aren't exactly degree-friendly.

There is no shame in working with your hands for a living.

Exactly, REPPED.

 

[Amerikan Melanin]

It’s 100% lack of knowledge. These white boys know about unions by the time they are in middle school and they daddies and uncles have spots saved for them. What’s happening now though is a lot of their kids don’t want to get their hands dirty so spots are opening up for us.

I’m an Operating Engineer. Pay is fantastic. Made 146k last year and had time off didn’t even work that many weekends.

Welders make bank!
Electricians
Plumbers
Boilermakers
Plumbers
Longshoreman

Check into your local unions and see when the next apprenticeship is. Apply and tell your friends and family to apply also.

 

[Samori Toure]

OP literally said carpentry, plumbing,masonry and electricians..... not just exclusively construction.

Carpentry, plumbing, masonry and electrical is construction. There are other trades though. When I was in the Navy there were machinist mates and other trades.

 

[MegaTronBomb!]

Carpentry, plumbing, masonry and electrical is construction. There are other trades though. When I was in the Navy there were machinist mates and other trades.

you're using construction as very broad ass term.

 

[Samori Toure]

you're using construction as very broad ass term.

Aight. Then just know that what I am referring too is what I thought OP was saying. We are not in disagreement though on the overall point.

 

[Razor Reader]

Now... there's no connects. The gateway to working on trades is usually someone already doing it. That doesn't happen for black kids.

This one dude from my school (white guy) went straight into mechanics after school. He had a family friend that put him on. Eventually, got all the certs, works for Mercedes-Benz now. I could never have done that.

However... the same is often needed for a college degree type job.

True.

 

[Noriega]

I don't think I've ever heard of a rich plumber or electrician. But it's mainly lack of interest.

Union plumbers make $45.00+/hourly
Union electricians and lineman make $52.00+ / hourly

Especially in big cities up north

 

[Roland Coltrane]

It’s 100% lack of knowledge. These white boys know about unions by the time they are in middle school and they daddies and uncles have spots saved for them. What’s happening now though is a lot of their kids don’t want to get their hands dirty so spots are opening up for us.

I’m an Operating Engineer. Pay is fantastic. Made 146k last year and had time off didn’t even work that many weekends.

Welders make bank!
Electricians
Plumbers
Boilermakers
Plumbers
Longshoreman

Check into your local unions and see when the next apprenticeship is. Apply and tell your friends and family to apply also.

breh I heard it's stupid hard to get on with the Operating Engineer union out here. they have a loooooong wait list.


to you tho

 

[Rawtid]

I don't think I've ever heard of a rich plumber or electrician. But it's mainly lack of interest.

Lmao you act like dudes aren’t choosing trades because they are going after more lucrative work.