IBEW Drug testing

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
Sorry to Necro, but I'm curious how this worked out.

I dont smoke much anymore, but I keep piss on me every day just in case. Been in a year, haven't been tested yet, so I'm being cautious until I know what the order of operations is as far as field testing is concerned.
What do your coworkers say?
Allz I know is if they tested people in my trade, there wouldn’t be any walls to run elctrical into. Lol
 

Tolerance Break

Well-Known Member
What do your coworkers say?
Allz I know is if they tested people in my trade, there wouldn’t be any walls to run elctrical into. Lol
In my year in the trade, I have met 5 other people who grow weed, and at least 10 who have admitted to smoking at varying levels of frequency.

I have only once got to the drug testing talk with a JW, and he says he has never been tested by the hall in 10 years in the local. I've met others who get tested twice a year, but we never get to the nitty gritty. I've talked with a few other first years, and maybe I'm just paranoid, but none of them seem to be as concerned about the process as I am.

I can relax with adequate data, and right now I have little to none. I'm not all too worried about getting caught, I just want confirmation my methodology works for peace of mind.
 

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
In my year in the trade, I have met 5 other people who grow weed, and at least 10 who have admitted to smoking at varying levels of frequency.

I have only once got to the drug testing talk with a JW, and he says he has never been tested by the hall in 10 years in the local. I've met others who get tested twice a year, but we never get to the nitty gritty. I've talked with a few other first years, and maybe I'm just paranoid, but none of them seem to be as concerned about the process as I am.

I can relax with adequate data, and right now I have little to none. I'm not all too worried about getting caught, I just want confirmation my methodology works for peace of mind.
Glad you ended up getting in.
Are you working on commercial jobsites? If so, if you did get tested and failed, fuck em. Get back on the board and accept the next job. You wouldn’t get black balled or anything. You’re in the union trades.
 

Movement13

Well-Known Member
Just be mindful as an apprentice how longs the job going to last. If you get sent to a gov job u might get tested. But you’ll know beforehand they do background check first. If your a j dub do whatever tf you want
 

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
Just be mindful as an apprentice how longs the job going to last. If you get sent to a gov job u might get tested. But you’ll know beforehand they do background check first. If your a j dub do whatever tf you want
That’s actually kinda funny you mention govt jobs.
The only job they threatened to test me/us on was a govt job, worked on quite a few. Retired Union drywall-lather here out of a lathers local.
 

Tolerance Break

Well-Known Member
Glad you ended up getting in.
Are you working on commercial jobsites? If so, if you did get tested and failed, fuck em. Get back on the board and accept the next job. You wouldn’t get black balled or anything. You’re in the union trades.
I only took one drug test when I first got into the union. Haven't taken a single drug test since.

I got in because I know people, and I don't take that lightly. There are hundreds of people who are waiting for the call, hell, I work with a kid who's been a pre apprentice for 4 years and is only starting school this coming year. If I got caught, I think I would be just fine, but I won't get caught. If that means sobriety, so be it, but I'd rather just be another sparky with fake piss strapped on, but one who's cognizant, not brazen.
 

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
I only took one drug test when I first got into the union. Haven't taken a single drug test since.

I got in because I know people, and I don't take that lightly. There are hundreds of people who are waiting for the call, hell, I work with a kid who's been a pre apprentice for 4 years and is only starting school this coming year. If I got caught, I think I would be just fine, but I won't get caught. If that means sobriety, so be it, but I'd rather just be another sparky with fake piss strapped on, but one who's cognizant, not brazen.
I got in in ‘91 when work was super slow and you had to know somebody in the Bay Area and thank god I never had to worry about drugs lol.
 

Tolerance Break

Well-Known Member
Just be mindful as an apprentice how longs the job going to last. If you get sent to a gov job u might get tested. But you’ll know beforehand they do background check first. If your a j dub do whatever tf you want
I try to keep on the up and up, but I'm on the bottom end of the totem pole in a big shop. I've been on jobsites for months and had months where I'm on jobs for a week or two at a time. Haven't been tested since I got in over a year ago.
 

Aeroknow

Well-Known Member
I only took one drug test when I first got into the union. Haven't taken a single drug test since.

I got in because I know people, and I don't take that lightly. There are hundreds of people who are waiting for the call, hell, I work with a kid who's been a pre apprentice for 4 years and is only starting school this coming year. If I got caught, I think I would be just fine, but I won't get caught. If that means sobriety, so be it, but I'd rather just be another sparky with fake piss strapped on, but one who's cognizant, not brazen.
Oh and btw, i know for a fact they do that to the plumbers and pipe fitters here when just signing up too. They prob do to the tin knockers too. But that’s just when you sign up at your local union.
 

Tolerance Break

Well-Known Member
Oh and btw, i know for a fact they do that to the plumbers and pipe fitters here when just signing up too. They prob do to the tin knockers too. But that’s just when you sign up at your local union.
Oh yeah, it's a pre requisite for most jobs worth having in this part of the country
 
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