2010 So Far

Not a lot happens with our little family and when it does, the news is dismal unfortunately. Scott was laid off from his project with Cache Valley Electric. The project was wrapping up and the company did not have anymore jobs starting for a few months. Being that Scott is a fifth year apprentice and getting paid almost journeyman wages, it was easy to see why the company would let him go and keep on the first and second year apprentices at much lower wages. I have to admit that I am incredibly frustrated with his union right now; they appear to keep hiring new apprentices when there is nowhere near enough work for everybody. He has contacted the union and placed his name on the out-of-work list, but we have found out that they do not assign people to open projects in order as we initially thought. No, the contractors can request certain levels of apprentices or journeymen, so in an economy like this one, I worry that more of the cheaper apprentices will be selected as a cost-saving measure for the contractors. I guess all we can do is wait and see. On a more brighter note, Scott has been very motivated around the house and is getting things done, which is more than I can say for me right now!

My job with Castle is going very well and I am enjoying it very much. I work in a very relaxed and flexible atmosphere and there is definitely room to grow. The one thing that I really like about this company is that they truly do promote internally first, which is something that my last company really didn't do. In fact, they didn't even advertise open positions, they would just hire friends of certain employees. So, after I feel like I've acclimated myself with the general operations of the different departments, I may pursue other positions within the company. My boss has actually encouraged me to do so.