How to Become a Pennsylvania Union Carpenter
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters includes the following trades in its description of union carpenters: millwright, pile driver, lather, framer and residential carpenter, cabinetmaker, millworker and general carpenter. Membership in the United Brotherhood of Carpenters offers qualifying Pennsylvania tradesmen the opportunity for stronger job security, affordable benefits, better wages, better career choices and improved overall working conditions. Becoming a union member isn't always a simple process --- there's more than one pathway for joining in Pennsylvania.
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Instructions
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Contact your local union chapter and ask about becoming a union member. The Greater Pennsylvania Regional Council of Carpenters lists Pennsylvania's local chapters on its website.
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Obtain an apprentice application. Entry-level carpenters need to apply to an apprenticeship program to become a union member. Applications are available from chapter locations or through the Lebanon training center located in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. The training is free, but the applicant needs to accumulate the proper tools on his own. The apprenticeship program is a four-year program that requires the applicant to work under the supervision of journeyman-level carpenters.
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Apply as a journeyman-level member. This option is for skilled carpenters who have completed their apprenticeships. Journeymen must operate within a larger work environment to become a union member. You can join the union three different ways: through an already established union shop; by organizing current colleagues and crew to push for a union shop; or by talking with your present employer about becoming a union contractor.
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Visit your local union chapter office to find out how to organize to become a union shop. The organizing office can help you decide which approach is best for your present work situation, working from the bottom up to organize the union, or from the top down to engage the employer first.
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Find a union employer. The fastest way to become a Pennsylvania union carpenter is to go to work for a union employer, which then qualifies you to apply to the union. Contact the regional or local United Brotherhood of Carpenters chapter to find out who hires union carpenters in your area.
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