(02-09-2013 03:50 PM)NFallin Wrote:  ...

I had secretaries smiling at me until they realized I was there to see someone about a "starter" position. Their hamster defence mechanism kicked in. I hit a few walls with "leave your resume, someone will contact you."

...

Haha. You know your game is good if you can pull a hot receptionist from a casual encounter at her company. These girls are hit on non-stop by men from outside passing through to meetings at the company. Not to mention the staff at the company she works for. Not that I've had complete success myself, but one thing that does drop the bitch shield a bit is to try to get her to do something for you. Make you a cup of coffee, make a copy of a document etc. Something out of the ordinary, not just "Please let Mr Jones know that Mr Smith has arrive for the 9:15 interview."

Great post by the way. What type of companies are you approaching Oil companies like CNRL and Suncor directly? Or agencies that hire on their behalf?

yea i am arriving in Calgary in 4 weeks hope i am as lucky have been sending e-mails but no reply's as of yet.

(02-13-2013 02:22 PM)Bad Hussar Wrote:  

(02-09-2013 03:50 PM)NFallin Wrote:  ...

I had secretaries smiling at me until they realized I was there to see someone about a "starter" position. Their hamster defence mechanism kicked in. I hit a few walls with "leave your resume, someone will contact you."

...

Great post by the way. What type of companies are you approaching Oil companies like CNRL and Suncor directly? Or agencies that hire on their behalf?

Thank you sir. I was targeting downtown contractors that are heavily involved in the Oil Sands. I'm not sure approaching somebody like Suncor, CNRL, Syncrude, Cenovus would be very beneficial if you're unskilled like I am. They wouldn't even give me a call back when I was graduating from university.

I just accepted a position today as a 1st year electrical apprentice for an Oil and Gas equipment manufacturer. I start tuesday and should gross around 65-70k with some overtime. Mostly I got it because I looked like this when interviewing:


Haha joking aside...I don't want to scare anyone off from the opportunities here in Alberta but after hitting calgary after last week and then this week hitting everyone up online for labourer, fly in fly out, starter, operator positions I only had two leads. Maybe it's just cause I didn't have some of the certs like H2S alive, first ad, CSTS whatever and am unskilled. I know some trades might be harder to get into than others, and hiring happens at different times in the year so who knows. If you want to grab a trade it's risky for an employer to take you with no skill so you have to convince them otherwise.

But in IME I didn't see that hunger for starters in Calgary. Maybe Edmonton might be better to hit the ground running? But it depends on what you want. This is just my experience after a week of looking and accepting a job. You can do whatever THE FUCK you wanna do!

^^^^ CONGRATS!

Tip to all coming to Alberta. Do not overlook SWAMPER jobs as well. They pay pretty well. Some $27-$33 an hour. During the boom Swampers were making $10,000 a month emptying trucks in Nisku. ( 16 km outside of Edmonton). Swamping is physical for sure, so it's something to look into while you are deciding on a Trade to get into.

(02-12-2013 04:48 PM)NFallin Wrote:  Are there pros and cons for joining the union after you get your start?

If you want to GUARANTEE yourself a camp job, join a Union.

The pros are:
- The Best rates of pay Overtime pay of Time and a half Friday and Double Time Sat and Sun.

- Excellent Health and Dental plan for you and your family.
(Union pays 90% for procedures and 100% on medicines)

- Pension is $6 per hour, $9 on Friday and $12 Saturday and Sunday

- All kinds of educational opportunities, H2S, Zoom Boom, confined space etc only cost $10 in my Union.
There are also opportunities to do project management courses, Health and safety etc.

- The Union has a jobs board with any number of jobs to chose from all over Alberta, all different rotations, camps, LOA etc, You finish one Job and you CAN instantly move on to another.

Good guys will be kept in work through name hires and won't have to use the board, thus weeding out the dog fuckers.

- A sense of brotherhood unlike the non-Union sector.

The Cons:

- I can't really think of any that wouldn't also apply to non-Union jobs.
but you can get assholes in the Union who will like to abuse the system or rock the boat knowing that they have "Rights" and are virtually un-sackabble....these guys are the minority though.

Non Union companies would have much lower rates of pay and benefits if it wasn't for the Unions.

Getting the start was as simple as going to the hall, filling out a form and paying six months dues in advance.
I was however already Qualified in my field.
I have since gotten 5 people into the Union as 1st years with little or no previous experience.
It can be done quite easily.

(02-13-2013 11:38 PM)Lux Interior Wrote:  

(02-12-2013 04:48 PM)NFallin Wrote:  Are there pros and cons for joining the union after you get your start?

If you want to GUARANTEE yourself a camp job, join a Union.

The pros are:
- The Best rates of pay Overtime pay of Time and a half Friday and Double Time Sat and Sun.

- Excellent Health and Dental plan for you and your family.
(Union pays 90% for procedures and 100% on medicines)

- Pension is $6 per hour, $9 on Friday and $12 Saturday and Sunday

Pension is $6 an hour???? Seriously? So pretty much if you're rate is $30 an hour you have to drop it to $24 an hour due to paying Union Pension? And on top of that if you leave the Union, do you even get the money you put into the pension back?

Have to disagree on the Union being responsible for the overall rise in wages. Wages are pretty much up to attract people to work away from home. I recall the days when Floorhands were making $12-$15 an hour. Now they are making $20-$30 an hour to start. Non-Union. One rig manager stated they raised Service Rig wages to attract rig workers due to workers leaving to make a bit less in pay working construction. For 2-4 dollars less an hour, some folks chose to stay close to home (in bed every night) instead of living the Rig Life.

(02-14-2013 12:08 AM)RossTan Wrote:  

(02-13-2013 11:38 PM)Lux Interior Wrote:  

(02-12-2013 04:48 PM)NFallin Wrote:  Are there pros and cons for joining the union after you get your start?

If you want to GUARANTEE yourself a camp job, join a Union.

The pros are:
- The Best rates of pay Overtime pay of Time and a half Friday and Double Time Sat and Sun.

- Excellent Health and Dental plan for you and your family.
(Union pays 90% for procedures and 100% on medicines)

- Pension is $6 per hour, $9 on Friday and $12 Saturday and Sunday

Pension is $6 an hour???? Seriously? So pretty much if you're rate is $30 an hour you have to drop it to $24 an hour due to paying Union Pension? And on top of that if you leave the Union, do you even get the money you put into the pension back?

Have to disagree on the Union being responsible for the overall rise in wages. Wages are pretty much up to attract people to work away from home. I recall the days when Floorhands were making $12-$15 an hour. Now they are making $20-$30 an hour to start. Non-Union. One rig manager stated they raised Service Rig wages to attract rig workers due to workers leaving to make a bit less in pay working construction. For 2-4 dollars less an hour, some folks chose to stay close to home (in bed every night) instead of living the Rig Life.

$6 per hour pension is at the journey man rate.
In other words a journeyman will get $45 and will have $6 dollars put into a pension fund, totalling $51 dollars per hour.
The pension fund is designed as an incentive for people to stay in the Union and can be collected after 20 years.
Far better than anything in the non-Union sector.

As far as I'm aware the rigs are all non-union.
I was referring to Unionised sectors.

I have 2000~+ hours as an operator and paid dues but was technically a student, only ran a roller and some full size trucks.. Does anyone know my best course of action? I did a lot of labour usually.. Hit up the union hall and apply here in Ontario before going out? Need to put the wheels in motion.. Not against applying fr labour either

Hey Lux, what Union trade/craft do you belong to? I'm a Union Ironworker of 16 years here in the US & I'm dying to get the opportunity to come up there. I've been in contact with the International President, looks like another month or 2 before non locals have a chance. Any insight from anyone?

(02-14-2013 10:17 AM)twitty529 Wrote:  Hey Lux, what Union trade/craft do you belong to? I'm a Union Ironworker of 16 years here in the US & I'm dying to get the opportunity to come up there. I've been in contact with the International President, looks like another month or 2 before non locals have a chance. Any insight from anyone?

I'm a member of Local 1325, (Carpenters and Scaffolders)
Our union is filled with all sorts of nationalities as are all the unions.
You should have no problem at all joining the Union once you are legal to work in Canada.
Ironworkers have a strong Union here......local 720.

I'm not trying to join their local, I just want to work up there out of their jurisdiction. The way it works through our International, once the projects are manned up with locals, boomers may come on board. I'm just waiting for a phone call.

I'm very strongly considering doing this for six months when I get out of school with a physics degree. Are any of you guys contacts out in the oil fields? It's all pretty up in the air right now but would appreciate a PM, thanks.

(02-13-2013 11:38 PM)Lux Interior Wrote:  

(02-12-2013 04:48 PM)NFallin Wrote:  Are there pros and cons for joining the union after you get your start?

If you want to GUARANTEE yourself a camp job, join a Union.

The pros are:
- The Best rates of pay Overtime pay of Time and a half Friday and Double Time Sat and Sun.

- Excellent Health and Dental plan for you and your family.
(Union pays 90% for procedures and 100% on medicines)

- Pension is $6 per hour, $9 on Friday and $12 Saturday and Sunday

- All kinds of educational opportunities, H2S, Zoom Boom, confined space etc only cost $10 in my Union.
There are also opportunities to do project management courses, Health and safety etc.

- The Union has a jobs board with any number of jobs to chose from all over Alberta, all different rotations, camps, LOA etc, You finish one Job and you CAN instantly move on to another.

Good guys will be kept in work through name hires and won't have to use the board, thus weeding out the dog fuckers.

- A sense of brotherhood unlike the non-Union sector.

The Cons:

- I can't really think of any that wouldn't also apply to non-Union jobs.
but you can get assholes in the Union who will like to abuse the system or rock the boat knowing that they have "Rights" and are virtually un-sackabble....these guys are the minority though.

Non Union companies would have much lower rates of pay and benefits if it wasn't for the Unions.

Getting the start was as simple as going to the hall, filling out a form and paying six months dues in advance.
I was however already Qualified in my field.
I have since gotten 5 people into the Union as 1st years with little or no previous experience.
It can be done quite easily.

Lux, as a fellow union member I agree that the union jobs are by far the best in the oil patch, although I wouldn't discourage anyone, especially a new guy from going the non-union route. It's all about getting your foot in the door and starting an apprenticeship, if you want to eventually join a union, you can do so, just don't turn down an apprenticeship opportunity just because its non-union.

As far as I know, non-union, CLAC companies (JV Drivers, Ledcor, Kiewit, etc.) actually have more workers up in the oil sands, even the camp jobs. There's mixed sites and also sites that are strictly non-union (CNRL Horizon and most in the Conklin area) and sites that are union (Syncrude, Suncor base plant, etc.)

I've worked both and both have their own pro's and con's, I recommend doing what is best FOR YOU, especially in terms of work advancement.

(02-13-2013 11:38 PM)Lux Interior Wrote:  

(02-12-2013 04:48 PM)NFallin Wrote:  Are there pros and cons for joining the union after you get your start?

If you want to GUARANTEE yourself a camp job, join a Union.

The pros are:
- The Best rates of pay Overtime pay of Time and a half Friday and Double Time Sat and Sun.

- Excellent Health and Dental plan for you and your family.
(Union pays 90% for procedures and 100% on medicines)

- Pension is $6 per hour, $9 on Friday and $12 Saturday and Sunday

- All kinds of educational opportunities, H2S, Zoom Boom, confined space etc only cost $10 in my Union.
There are also opportunities to do project management courses, Health and safety etc.

- The Union has a jobs board with any number of jobs to chose from all over Alberta, all different rotations, camps, LOA etc, You finish one Job and you CAN instantly move on to another.

Good guys will be kept in work through name hires and won't have to use the board, thus weeding out the dog fuckers.

- A sense of brotherhood unlike the non-Union sector.

The Cons:

- I can't really think of any that wouldn't also apply to non-Union jobs.
but you can get assholes in the Union who will like to abuse the system or rock the boat knowing that they have "Rights" and are virtually un-sackabble....these guys are the minority though.

Non Union companies would have much lower rates of pay and benefits if it wasn't for the Unions.

Getting the start was as simple as going to the hall, filling out a form and paying six months dues in advance.
I was however already Qualified in my field.
I have since gotten 5 people into the Union as 1st years with little or no previous experience.
It can be done quite easily.

Lux, as a fellow union member I agree that the union jobs are by far the best in the oil patch, although I wouldn't discourage anyone, especially a new guy from going the non-union route. It's all about getting your foot in the door and starting an apprenticeship, if you want to eventually join a union, you can do so, just don't turn down an apprenticeship opportunity just because its non-union.

As far as I know, non-union, CLAC companies (JV Drivers, Ledcor, Kiewit, etc.) actually have more workers up in the oil sands, even the camp jobs. There's mixed sites and also sites that are strictly non-union (CNRL Horizon and most in the Conklin area) and sites that are union (Syncrude, Suncor base plant, etc.)

I've worked both and both have their own pro's and con's, I recommend doing what is best FOR YOU, especially in terms of work advancement.

Scotian what if you're in a non-union company starting your apprenticeship? Do you just chill for now until it suits you? I just don't understand how it helps out career progression-wise and if you get in trouble if you go to work for a non-union outfit.

(02-15-2013 02:17 AM)NFallin Wrote:  Scotian what if you're in a non-union company starting your apprenticeship? Do you just chill for now until it suits you? I just don't understand how it helps out career progression-wise and if you get in trouble if you go to work for a non-union outfit.

It really depends on the company but in my trade anyway, the union companies are the big guys and have all of the big jobs so sometimes you'll get on with a company and get stuck on one particular job or doing one particular task for a long time and not get a chance to expand your skill set until "its your turn". This happened to me big time, it was never a major issue because I was always busy and making A LOT of money, so I was happy but I'm five years into my trade and I have less work experience in other aspects of my trade than some of my colleagues do, many who've been at it less time than me.

When I was a non-union company, it was a small operation in Calgary, I think ten guys in total and the boss was super keen on getting us all trained up in various methods and aspects of the trade. I really liked working for the guy but when the work dried up back in 08', I bounced to a union company.

The union company kept me super busy and had lots of camp work up north, so that's what I kept doing even when the smaller operations got busy again.

I made the choice to chase money instead of expanding my skill set, its not something I regret as I've enjoyed the money and paid off my debt, but when I go back to work in a couple of months, I'm going to focus more on career advancement than making the big dollars.

very strange just got a reply back from a company based in fort mcmurry and they said 'Thank you for interest. Unfortunately it is policy that we do not hire out of the country. You must be able to work in Canada PERMANENTLY to be eligible. they must not be crying out for workers after all if there refusing people and only want people with a PR. i was applying for the position of just a labourer. i taught it was a strange reply. but sure hey i will just keep on trucking

i started doing welding last week (im still in the UK), i dont think that shit is for me. My eyes have been hurting and i bet this can affect your vision in the long run.

I am thinking drilling at the moment.

yea not a fan of the welding myself have done it for years. yea or just general work in the oil sands be grand good pay.. i am heading to calgary in 4 weeks cant wait

My visa got approved. Will be in Edmonton in about 2 weeks to start my job there. Looking forward to the latest adventure in Canada, making some new friends and making some money.

Best of luck to those of you still waiting for an offer. Keep the faith as they say...Get on the phone if you haven't heard back! You've nothing to lose.

(02-15-2013 01:56 AM)scotian Wrote:  Lux, as a fellow union member I agree that the union jobs are by far the best in the oil patch, although I wouldn't discourage anyone, especially a new guy from going the non-union route. It's all about getting your foot in the door and starting an apprenticeship, if you want to eventually join a union, you can do so, just don't turn down an apprenticeship opportunity just because its non-union.

As far as I know, non-union, CLAC companies (JV Drivers, Ledcor, Kiewit, etc.) actually have more workers up in the oil sands, even the camp jobs. There's mixed sites and also sites that are strictly non-union (CNRL Horizon and most in the Conklin area) and sites that are union (Syncrude, Suncor base plant, etc.)

I've worked both and both have their own pro's and con's, I recommend doing what is best FOR YOU, especially in terms of work advancement.

Agreed, i have also worked non-Union and the jobs are still better than in trade jobs in most of the world.
The offer most of the same benefits as working Union except the rates of pay are lower.
In Genereal though CLAC companies are dragging wage rates down in the Oil Sands.

For those who want to go into drilling, check out this show: http://www.licencetodrill.ca/episodes.aspx?season=3

(02-15-2013 01:06 PM)Lux Interior Wrote:  

(02-15-2013 01:56 AM)scotian Wrote:  Lux, as a fellow union member I agree that the union jobs are by far the best in the oil patch, although I wouldn't discourage anyone, especially a new guy from going the non-union route. It's all about getting your foot in the door and starting an apprenticeship, if you want to eventually join a union, you can do so, just don't turn down an apprenticeship opportunity just because its non-union.

As far as I know, non-union, CLAC companies (JV Drivers, Ledcor, Kiewit, etc.) actually have more workers up in the oil sands, even the camp jobs. There's mixed sites and also sites that are strictly non-union (CNRL Horizon and most in the Conklin area) and sites that are union (Syncrude, Suncor base plant, etc.)

I've worked both and both have their own pro's and con's, I recommend doing what is best FOR YOU, especially in terms of work advancement.

Agreed, i have also worked non-Union and the jobs are still better than in trade jobs in most of the world.
The offer most of the same benefits as working Union except the rates of pay are lower.
In Genereal though CLAC companies are dragging wage rates down in the Oil Sands.

Yes this has already happened, back in 09' some of the unions signed the "Kearl Lake Agreement" with Imperial Oil at their Kearl Lake site in order to secure work for union members, basically they lost their double time on weekends, they did this because they couldn't compete with CLAC companies. I'm not sure if this is standard on all sites now but its bullshit anyway, I"m pretty sure the oil companies can pay the union rates and it won't hurt their bottom line.

Imperial Oil (Exxon) also built a lot of the mods for that project in Korea to save money and planned on shipping them through the USA and up to Alberta, I had to laugh when this happened because it cost them millions, good job dickheads: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/busine....html?_r=0

(02-15-2013 01:06 PM)Lux Interior Wrote:  

(02-15-2013 01:56 AM)scotian Wrote:  Lux, as a fellow union member I agree that the union jobs are by far the best in the oil patch, although I wouldn't discourage anyone, especially a new guy from going the non-union route. It's all about getting your foot in the door and starting an apprenticeship, if you want to eventually join a union, you can do so, just don't turn down an apprenticeship opportunity just because its non-union.

As far as I know, non-union, CLAC companies (JV Drivers, Ledcor, Kiewit, etc.) actually have more workers up in the oil sands, even the camp jobs. There's mixed sites and also sites that are strictly non-union (CNRL Horizon and most in the Conklin area) and sites that are union (Syncrude, Suncor base plant, etc.)

I've worked both and both have their own pro's and con's, I recommend doing what is best FOR YOU, especially in terms of work advancement.

Agreed, i have also worked non-Union and the jobs are still better than in trade jobs in most of the world.
The offer most of the same benefits as working Union except the rates of pay are lower.
In Genereal though CLAC companies are dragging wage rates down in the Oil Sands.

Yes this has already happened, back in 09' some of the unions signed the "Kearl Lake Agreement" with Imperial Oil at their Kearl Lake site in order to secure work for union members, basically they lost their double time on weekends, they did this because they couldn't compete with CLAC companies. I'm not sure if this is standard on all sites now but its bullshit anyway, I"m pretty sure the oil companies can pay the union rates and it won't hurt their bottom line.

Imperial Oil (Exxon) also built a lot of the mods for that project in Korea to save money and planned on shipping them through the USA and up to Alberta, I had to laugh when this happened because it cost them millions, good job dickheads: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/busine....html?_r=0

(02-15-2013 01:06 PM)Lux Interior Wrote:  

(02-15-2013 01:56 AM)scotian Wrote:  Lux, as a fellow union member I agree that the union jobs are by far the best in the oil patch, although I wouldn't discourage anyone, especially a new guy from going the non-union route. It's all about getting your foot in the door and starting an apprenticeship, if you want to eventually join a union, you can do so, just don't turn down an apprenticeship opportunity just because its non-union.

As far as I know, non-union, CLAC companies (JV Drivers, Ledcor, Kiewit, etc.) actually have more workers up in the oil sands, even the camp jobs. There's mixed sites and also sites that are strictly non-union (CNRL Horizon and most in the Conklin area) and sites that are union (Syncrude, Suncor base plant, etc.)

I've worked both and both have their own pro's and con's, I recommend doing what is best FOR YOU, especially in terms of work advancement.

Agreed, i have also worked non-Union and the jobs are still better than in trade jobs in most of the world.
The offer most of the same benefits as working Union except the rates of pay are lower.
In Genereal though CLAC companies are dragging wage rates down in the Oil Sands.

Yes this has already happened, back in 09' some of the unions signed the "Kearl Lake Agreement" with Imperial Oil at their Kearl Lake site in order to secure work for union members, basically they lost their double time on weekends, they did this because they couldn't compete with CLAC companies. I'm not sure if this is standard on all sites now but its bullshit anyway, I"m pretty sure the oil companies can pay the union rates and it won't hurt their bottom line.

Imperial Oil (Exxon) also built a lot of the mods for that project in Korea to save money and planned on shipping them through the USA and up to Alberta, I had to laugh when this happened because it cost them millions, good job dickheads: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/busine....html?_r=0