What exactly is Building Trades in the UA?

[MechanicallyInclined]

The Local where I'm working at now calls anything within the Pipe Trades - Building Trades. Not considering what my UA card says, out here I'm a "Building Trades Journeyman (Service-HVACR)". A Construction Plumber is a "Building Trades Journeyman (Construction-Plumbing)". In my home Local, Construction is referred to as Building Trades, not Building Trades (Construction) and Service is just Service, not Building Trades (Service). Sorry if I confused anybody because now I'm confused. which way is correct? Keep in mind the variants like "Building Trades Service HVACR Tech Journeyman" or maybe the words being rearranged.

[zw17]

I have found that each local has a different designation for some jobs.

Here we have MES techs and building trades journeyman. Other locals can have Equipment serviceman journeyman, pipifitter journeyman, steam fitter journeyman, and the list goes on and on...

As I understand it, as long as your card says journeyman you are allowed to work on any of the trades the UA covers.

[maxster]

here in NYC we're Metal Trades covering start-ups repairs HVAC and such steamfitters 638B .fitters that actually do the installations,riser piping, towers any thing that handles fluids..are the 638A steamfitters.now when you look at the contractors listing for 638 Steamfitters.... B is service fitters,and A is Building Trades forget about doing any thing you want under UA on a job it is well defined here.get caught with a 24" pipe wrench or B tank over your shoulder unannouced they will be calling the BA in...LUNCH BREAK and then there is this group... http://www.nyspipetrades.org/

[ChrisTechMech]

here in NYC we're Metal Trades covering start-ups repairs HVAC and such steamfitters 638B .fitters that actually do the installations,riser piping, towers any thing that handles fluids..are the 638A steamfitters.now when you look at the contractors listing for 638 Steamfitters.... B is service fitters,and A is Building Trades forget about doing any thing you want under UA on a job it is well defined here.get caught with a 24" pipe wrench or B tank over your shoulder unannouced they will be calling the BA in...LUNCH BREAK and then there is this group... http://www.nyspipetrades.org/

Wow. I'm sure there's some kind of reason, but that's just nuts. I think they need more rules. Maybe the A side should pee holding their left hand while B uses their right and every other week they switch. Our guys are like zw17, we're in the same local, MES (mechanical equipment service) techs can work up to a certain tonnage. Anything above that tonnage is covered by Building Trades. Once an MES apprentice graduates from the apprenticeship program he is a Service Man. At any point thereafter he may be able to "upgrade" to a Building Trades Journeyman once certain criteria are met. His card may say any number of things like Refrigeration Fitter, etc. He switches from MES to Building Trades with different benefits and everything. We just share a hall, BA, same window dues, maybe a couple other similarities, but everything else is different. Some, very few, guys choose to stay MES and don't want to upgrade. Yeah... a lot of rules here too with a few disagreements.

[MechanicallyInclined]

I have found that each local has a different designation for some jobs.

Here we have MES techs and building trades journeyman. Other locals can have Equipment serviceman journeyman, pipifitter journeyman, steam fitter journeyman, and the list goes on and on...

As I understand it, as long as your card says journeyman you are allowed to work on any of the trades the UA covers.

Does you MES top off at Service Craftman i.e. Serviceman or do you have an MES Jm? Some Locals refer to their HVACR Service as Mechanical Equipment Service. Like I said, it gets real confusing.
Technically in the Pipe Trades, Plumbing and HVACR can be both Construction and Service (Truck-based). All the other trades Pipefitting/Steamfitting, Pipe Welding, etc. are generally Construction.
As far as being cross-dispatched, how well would a Construction-Pipefitter Jm fare on an Svc-HVACR Tech Jm dispatch?

[ChrisTechMech]

Does you MES top off at Service Craftman i.e. Serviceman or do you have an MES Jm? Some Locals refer to their HVACR Service as Mechanical Equipment Service. Like I said, it gets real confusing.
Technically in the Pipe Trades, Plumbing and HVACR can be both Construction and Service (Truck-based). All the other trades Pipefitting/Steamfitting, Pipe Welding, etc. are generally Construction.
As far as being cross-dispatched, how well would a Construction-Pipefitter Jm fare on an Svc-HVACR Tech Jm dispatch?

Zw and I are in the same local. MES apprentice graduates after 5 years and is a Service Man. His company then recommends him (at their discression) for an upgrade. The hall has the tech take a JM test and pay money to be graded. If he passes, he then upgrades to Building Trades as a ____ (fill in the blank) JM. They have different designations for different techs. A lot of guys change companies if they're not upgraded quickly enough for the tech's patience. The typical time frame a guy waits to get referred for an upgrade is usually about 2 years as a Service Man. When he upgrades, he gets a couple dollars and a few other perks too.

[valdelocc]

I dont get why chiller guys make more money, all they do is bull work and half of them dont know how to fix another piece of equipment and there really isn't that much to chillers.

[MechanicallyInclined]

Maybe because they can be billed out at around 2.5 times their package cost and for 8 hrs. Example: Tucson BT Service Applied Jm/HVACR Tech cost $50/Hr., sell $125/Hr.

[maxster]

had a chiller guy help me one time on a new start-up 75 ton trane rooftop up on 8' steel with no trap installed...ran it up to cool new space.when i shut it down the condensate connection looked like a 3/4 water line dumping the condensate out....chiller guy asks" why is it leaking water like that" their harmless with there big tonnages and charges.always enjoyed the watch service on the weekends and walking in a chiller down from a friday repair

[allstar08]

I dont get why chiller guys make more money, all they do is bull work and half of them dont know how to fix another piece of equipment and there really isn't that much to chillers.

It is due to the cost of the chiller and what it serves. An average chiller costs $250K-$350K and a rebuild runs about $40K. Do you want a guy making $25hr or a guy making $50 an hour working on your machine? It is a specialized trade and in my opinion dying. The centravac is being pushed out by screws and turbocors. It won't be long until it is a turbocors.

[hvacapprentice5]

Being a building trades Apprentice do you still have a chance to work for Hvac-R contractor?

[ammoniadog]

Being a building trades Apprentice do you still have a chance to work for Hvac-R contractor?

Try reading through the first 44 posts to this thread. I think somewhere in there it mentions that it depends on what local you are in. By the way, what local are you in?

[hvacapprentice5]

Okay thanks i'm in Local 469 AZ