A career in the construction trades provides craftsmen and women with many exceptional advantages like a decent, livable wage, continued education opportunities, and a tuition free education. But those pluses don’t amount to much without two critical benefits: healthcare and long-term job security.
From the first day in your apprenticeship, you’ll have access to incredible health care benefits. No one plans on getting sick or injured, but it happens. Having dependable health care coverage is one way to ensure that you’re protecting your health and the health of your family, as well as protecting your finances.
You may be healthy now, but the onset of a sudden or severe illness or a traumatic event can leave you with staggering medical bills. Without health care coverage, the inability to pay high medical bills can ruin your credit history and set you back for years. In fact, the inability to pay medical bills is one of the most common reasons people file for personal bankruptcy.
Over 90 percent of union craftspeople have job-related health coverage (versus 68 percent of non-union workers). But what good is job-related health care if you don’t feel secure in your employment. If you constantly have to worry about an unstable or inconsistent workplace and losing your job, having benefits tied to that work won’t help you.
As a union worker, you don’t have to put up with contradictory bosses, erratic decisions, or co-worker harassment. You can still be fired for substandard work performance, but you don’t have to tip-toe around in fear or be at the mercy of poor managers. Because administering the provisions of a union contract requires a certain level of expertise, you tend to get better, more efficient bosses. Meaning, you can feel secure in your employment and don’t have to worry about losing your job constantly and your benefits.
There are a lot of reasons to become a skilled craftsperson, but those reasons don’t amount to much unless you’re secure in your employment and can care for yourself and your family with health insurance.
Don’t wait to CONSTRUCT YOUR FUTURE and start to build the life you deserve.