trade union

It took a semester for Cameron Dumond to learn college wasn't for him. And now, as a Journeyman Plumber, he is doing better than most of his friends with degrees. In this episode he discusses some wild jobs during residential service, his escapades during the Texas freeze of 2021, the differences between earning a Texas and Oklahoma plumbing license, and the infamous dollhouse all Texans must tackle to become a plumber.

Nils Rasmusson is the content creator behind LRN2DIY, a successful YouTube Channel with over 700k subscribers. As a father of four, Nils discusses the importance of any skilled trade as a valuable asset to (at the very least) fall back on, as well as the necessity for homeowners to have a basic understanding of the mechanics for upkeep on their homes.

When the twin towers were hit on 9/11, Andrew Brown was an IT geek who found himself racing through checkpoints in his friend's truck, heading towards ground zero. It was there that he understood the vital importance of tradesmen. Two weeks later, he quit his job and now owns ToolFetch.com, an e-commerce website with over 150,000 products across 7 different categories.

Robert Renfro was broke, out of work, but still had a growing family to feed. Out of necessity, he drove to Austin, TX and became an apprentice and a journeyman on the same day. Now with 8 children, eighteen grandchildren, and 40 years of plumbing under his belt, Robert discusses the sacrifices he made to earn a high six-figure salary, and how young plumbers can get on the fast-track to earning a comparable wage.

Dustin Stelzer is a master electrician and the founder of YouTube channels JOURNEY 2 MASTER and ELECTRICIAN U. In this episode, he discusses how social media heightened his ability to communicate, and the ways in which it grew his many trades-based businesses.

Josh Campbell, owner of Rescue Air & Plumbing, details how his penchant for learning, and his never-ending pursuit of happiness, helped him evolve from a master electrician to the owner of a multi-million dollar residential services business. From the recent acquisition of Roger Wakefield's Texas Green Plumbing, to his massive expansion servicing over 60,000 customers, Jeff Campbell is showing no signs of slowing any time soon.

Dubbed "The Home Service Expert," Tommy Mello started a modest garage door business which has expanded to 18 states and exceeds $200 Million in revenue. He's written two books (Home Service Millionaire and Elevate), one of which details his meteoric rise from $50,000 in debt to $30 Million in seven years. In this episode he discusses the importance of a leader's ability to delegate, their willingness to learn from the experts, as well as being approachable and visible for every employee.

Laura Giudice tried her hand at college twice before finding stability and success as an apprentice plumber. She discusses what she has learned from the older generations, what it's like working union in Canada—not only as a new, green tradesman—but as one of the few females on any job site.

Passed over for promotions time and time again, Brent Gentling (@BYOTools) risked it all when he left the security and stability of his construction job at the height of COVID to pursue content creation. He now operates the successful, burgeoning brand of Bring Your Own Tools across multiple social media platforms.

Are Australian trade unions losing their teeth? Union membership has been in sharp decline for decades. In 1976 just over half of Australia workers were members of a union but by 2018 that figure had dropped to just over 14 per cent.With the rapid increase in the number of people in casual and gig work, unions should be more important than ever. We investigate what has led to this dramatic drop, in particular amongst younger workers. And hear what unions need to do to modernize and adapt to remain relevant in the future.GUESTS:Anthony Forsyth is a professor of workplace law at RMIT, and author of “The Future of Unions and Worker Representation: The Digital Picket Line” which will be published in 2022. Sally McManus is the Secretary of the ACTU. PRODUCERS: Kara Jensen-Mackinnon and Maria Tickle