I am not actually in the union yet, I applied in early January and will be taking the test in a couple weeks. I wanted to run some questions by you guys and see if there's anyone actually here and get some confusion I have cleared up.
How many different "Locals" are there? Is there an official listing somewhere?
From what I understand, these Locals are divided up based on assigned territory. Are there turf wars? Are they common? Do they ever involve actual confrontation or just filing paperwork?
Contractors are supposed to hire Union plumbers. Do they not do that sometimes? Do you track down a contractor that lives near you and submit a resume? Or do they go to the union hall and you get assigned by the union? Do you get work year round or is it seasonal?
If you can think of anything someone applying might want or need to know, please add that. My family is all farmers, lawyers and doctors, so I don't really know anything about how unions work.