Local Non-Union Podcast

Today I sat down with Nick and Lorenzo, who are 4th year electrician apprentices in the Union here inn the Bay Area.   The theme of this conversation was the frustrations Nick and Lorenzo have been dealing with inside their local. The Union life has served these two men well in their careers so it was interesting hearing their opinions about what is wrong with the inner workings of that particular union.  Some unions have more power then others many times where they land geographically play a big part in its influence and politics . These two work in a California Bay Area Local and I would guess it is one of the stronger Electrical unions in the country .  Despite the name of this podcast I am not antiunion. I simply want to have conversations with men and woman within the construction industry, Union or not . I hope this conversation is interesting or if not maybe entertaining. Please follow Nick on instagram @locals_only_ultd and his podcast @shooting_blanks_podcast show him support by following his links in his bio to his sticker store , merch store . 

Today I sat down with Adam of @ajtxknives . Adam is a journeyman electrician that currently travels the western part of the united states working on the wind mill farms.  We chatted about how he got into that line of work and some of his experiences in the field.  Adam makes outstanding knives with his extra time . We did a craftsmens swap one of my briar pipes for one of his knifes . Please give him a follow and consider investing in one of his handmade knifes.  

This podcast was a special treat . I happen to see Jake on instagram and he was Passing through vacaville on foot on the beginning of his fourth trip walking across the US. Jake is an Army Vet who was dealing with ptsd ,and he found comfort in walking.  He has walked Across the country 3 times and has some pretty cool stories to tell.  He is currently on his fourth trek across the US, and promoting his book " Walking America , a 10,000 mile journey of self Healing " . He is actually carrying his books with him this time and selling them to nice folks along the way to fund this project and save for land up in Oregon .   I encourage everyone who listens to follow him on insatgram or facebook @jakewalksamerica. and follow along with his adventure.  Please if possible buy a book that he will sign and ship out to you during the coarse of this trip and help him meet his goal of selling 10,000 books by the time he reaches Maine.

Today i sat down with Michelle and Robert from @driverback.  Michelle is the face and person behind driverbacks instagram page and Robert is her ride or die and a union pipefitter . we chatted about how the driverback drill holster came to be , and how robert found his way into the trades.  we also gave our perspectives about some of the current issues facing the current policies and regulations hitting our industry. hope you enjoy this episode .

Today I sit down with @hulk_da_sparky . We chatted about his journey inn becoming a electrician , how he got into the trades , and how his father a baker helped him develop his strong work ethic.  Also he explained the concept for his up and coming podcast BlueCollar Backrounds. Where he will be working alongside different trades people and interviewing them about there work and passions.  
to support the show please check out :
localnonunion.redbubble.com   pick up some hardhat stickers 
@localnonunion_tattoo to follow my tattoo art journey 
@black.thumb.briars to get yourself a badass wooden briar cannabis pipe hand made by me !

Garrett sits down with some old middle school buddies . Each one of us found ourselfes found our way into the construction industry after high school . I think it was thrown out there in the pod that none of our teachers had high hopes for any of us.. Yet here we are , in a trade that makes more money then most teachers . Mostly we just catch up on each others lives as we have been in a room together in many years . But we also partake in some good shop talk along the way .

In this episode Garrett sits down with good buddy Alex , a foreman carpenter from a local remodeling company .  We chatted about the current state of the remodeling industry in our area, lumber  and material prices have gone out of control recently .   Alex is interested in The process of getting your contractors license in California in 2021. Alex comes from a taping background and was swooped up by local contractor and taught carpentry and project management . Alex told us about his plans to drive through famous baja California with his family in his pickup truck . Alex said he,ll be on again soon!
support the podcast by visiting www.localnonunion.redbubble.com

Today I surprised my buddy Chad with a podcast . He had no idea it was happening .  Chad is a local handyman just starting out with his business. We discussed a lot of the contractor laws and regulations regarding starting your own handyman business, and the grey areas that some people run into.  We also discussed the process and requirements for being elidable to take your contractors state license test in California.   I also explained a bit about my background in the construction industry, as well as some of the hardships I've gone through running my own general contracting business. I hope you find some value from this episode .

Garrett sits down with Nick from @locals_only_ultd (Instagram). We chatted about the pros and cons of being a union construction worker. We also discussed how to become a contractor in California and how to become a journeyman in the union.  Nick and Garrett are big fans of Bang energy drinks and tried out the new flavor strawberry kiss, and debated how many bangs are appropriate for a work day.  Nick is a Union electrician and Garrett is a small general contractor focusing on artisan projects and small remodels.  Garrett shows nick some of his smoking pipes made in his maker shop.

Quick show with my brother Dennis who is a division manager for a large asphalt and paving company in California.  We discuss the pros and cons of being in a union in the construction  industry as well as the struggles of business owner from small business to big shops. I told a story about my crew and I  finding a dead guy in San Francisco ! We also chatted about work ethic and moving forward in the construction industry.