Local electrical associations

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

cknight

Member
Location
manteo NC
Just wondering. Do the majority of you all have local electrical contractors association? We don't. If so how is participation? Seems like a good thing to me but doesn't seem to be well received in my area.
 
Last time I was a member of one of those organizations I was a journeyman and my boss paid membership fees. We used to go to CEU classes they would organize was one of the things we got out of it.

Can be good for a group with something in common to come together, they can lobby law makers, present a unified front for or against something the inspection department wants to do, etc. Sort of also means that members will be potential officers of the organization or on different committees at times and not everyone wants to put in that extra effort.
 
I am a member of the NCAEC-- NC Association of Electrical Contractors. We meet once a month at the local fire station and we have anywhere from 15-20 regulars.... We take 2 months off in the summer (July and August)

NCAEC.org

Terry Cromer runs the organization and there are chapters throughout the state. Looks like the closest to you is Morehead- Carteret County division. See divisions here http://ncaec.org/about-us/ncaec-north-carolina-divisions/

Nothing is close to Manteo---haha
 
petersonra said:
Among other things it has potential for issues with collusion between contractors.
Click to expand...

What?

Do you have any examples of this?
I was in the IEC for 30 years...we have apprenticeship training, continuing education. CEU classes, fishing tournaments, picnics, business seminars, vendor memberships...etc. etc

We would communicate when someone needs manpower help to loan out men or help out using men when someone hit a slump.

All of these members were friends and associates.......AND my competition.......zero collusion
 
I am one of four intructors that give seminars to a local electrical contractor association. They have dinners once a month where they can pick up an hour credit towards their CEU's requirements. There is generally also a presentation from a local supply house touting a new technology or product. They address issues that have come up or ask technical question, it appears to me to be very helpful and popular enough that they have 3 chapters and generally twenty some to forty some people at each dinner.
 
RICK NAPIER said:
I am one of four intructors that give seminars to a local electrical contractor association. They have dinners once a month where they can pick up an hour credit towards their CEU's requirements. There is generally also a presentation from a local supply house touting a new technology or product. They address issues that have come up or ask technical question, it appears to me to be very helpful and popular enough that they have 3 chapters and generally twenty some to forty some people at each dinner.
Click to expand...

I was my company's rep to the Passaic County Electrical Contractors' Association for a little while. When they found out I wasn't the actual licensee, they politely asked me to stop coming around. Kind of unfriendly, if you ask me, but their sand box, their rules.
 
As a union signatory I have the option of joining my local NECA chapter (National Electrical Contractors Association). Currently I am not a member, but they handle all the union related payments so I'm at the office at least once a month and hear about the goings-on. The local union also holds a get together for all the smaller contractors once a quarter or so. We get presentations, insight into upcoming jobs, and a chance to share information about our operations. All these people are competitors, but we still share info.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
I am a member of the NCAEC-- NC Association of Electrical Contractors. We meet once a month at the local fire station and we have anywhere from 15-20 regulars.... We take 2 months off in the summer (July and August)

NCAEC.org

Terry Cromer runs the organization and there are chapters throughout the state. Looks like the closest to you is Morehead- Carteret County division. See divisions here http://ncaec.org/about-us/ncaec-north-carolina-divisions/

Nothing is close to Manteo---haha
Click to expand...

Yes several years ago I joined the morehead city one. That's where I got the idea. Seems like it was a good opportunity to learn. We have local home builders associations. I was a member of that for years. I think I will look more into this.
And yes we are all to busy working too. But once a month in the evenings to learn and better yourself and your trade would be good.
Thanks for all the input.
 
gadfly56 said:
I was my company's rep to the Passaic County Electrical Contractors' Association for a little while. When they found out I wasn't the actual licensee, they politely asked me to stop coming around. Kind of unfriendly, if you ask me, but their sand box, their rules.
Click to expand...
Sorry about that. We didn't mean to appear unfriendly but our charter and rules are specific. You must have an electrical license and a business permit to be a regular member. You can be an associate member and come to our meetings but you can't vote on any issues. You would have to pay the same annual fee as a regular member. However, if the license holder sends an employee to get the CEU credit, I'm sure you can understand the problem with that.
 
kwired said:
Can be good for a group with something in common to come together, they can lobby law makers, present a unified front for or against something the inspection department wants to do, etc. Sort of also means that members will be potential officers of the organization or on different committees at times and not everyone wants to put in that extra effort.
Click to expand...
One of the main reasons our association was organized was to lobby against Atlantic Electric (a POCO). They wanted to have the ability to do electrical work inside commercial and residential buildings. Imagine this - one license - 1000+ employees. Us small guys can't compete with that level of employment and marketing. Long and short of it - they do not do any electrical work inside premises.

As far as our meetings go, most of the guys show up once a month for a buffet dinner and 2 hour CEU. We currently have about 40 members and about 25-30 members show up at each meeting. In addition, the association provides a venue where we can share ideas and talk about issues we experience. In general, we usually don't bump heads with each other over jobs. Being a one-man shop myself I often run into situations where I need an extra hand or I'm under pressure to get the job done in a short amount of time. Being a member of the association I can often ask another member to help me on a job and I will either pay him for the day or swap time with him on one of his jobs. Works out great for me.
 
goldstar said:
Sorry about that. We didn't mean to appear unfriendly but our charter and rules are specific. You must have an electrical license and a business permit to be a regular member. You can be an associate member and come to our meetings but you can't vote on any issues. You would have to pay the same annual fee as a regular member. However, if the license holder sends an employee to get the CEU credit, I'm sure you can understand the problem with that.
Click to expand...
I guess if you want to be specific enough on membership requirements you can limit to just the business owners. I would think in many cases it would be desirable for all electrical workers to be eligible to be in such an organization though.

Even outside such organizations you can't send your journeyman to a CEU session and get credit toward your own CEU requirements if you aren't present.
 
goldstar said:
Sorry about that. We didn't mean to appear unfriendly but our charter and rules are specific. You must have an electrical license and a business permit to be a regular member. You can be an associate member and come to our meetings but you can't vote on any issues. You would have to pay the same annual fee as a regular member. However, if the license holder sends an employee to get the CEU credit, I'm sure you can understand the problem with that.
Click to expand...

Not a problem, really. My boss, who was the licensee, should have known better. His intent, I believe, was for me to keep an ear out for anything that would be of interest to our company as he had other fish to fry.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top