The compensations of working union aren't limited to salary and benefits. They aren't even limited to the job. Belonging to a brotherhood also means being part of a community that shares the best in life far from work.

For many IBEW members that includes hunting and fishing. Brotherhood Outdoors is an award-winning television program that celebrates the workingmen and women who carry a gun or a fishing pole along with their union card.

Each week, a tradesman is chosen for his combination of skill at his craft, love of hunting and fishing and commitment to serving his community and the environment. Each is taken on a hunting or fishing expedition with a shot at a milestone trophy. Brotherhood Outdoors is on the Sportsman Channel every Sunday at 11 a.m. ET and a new season starts on Jan. 6.

"For many of our members, hunting and fishing is one of the great rewards for working at hard jobs and doing them well," IBEW International President Edwin Hill, a member of the board of the Union Sportsmen Association, which produces Brotherhood Outdoors. "I'm proud that there are more IBEW members in the ranks of USA than any other union and I'm happy to see attention and honor paid to some of the bright lights of the union movement today."

The third episode, airing Jan. 20, for example, tells the story of retired Kansas City, Mo., Local 124 member Leroy Shull. After retiring to Florida, Shull founded Fishing for Freedom, an annual charity angling competition for professional anglers and wounded veterans. (Fishing for Freedom was also profiled in the Dec. 2011 Electrical Worker.)

Over the course of the season, there is a bow hunt for whitetail deer in Illinois, a bowfishing trip chasing Asian carp and a black bear hunt on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Brotherhood Outdoors is always accepting applications to appear on the show. Nominate yourself, or give the producers a heads up about someone you think deserves to be thanked for their commitment to unions, hunting or fishing and conservation. You can apply at www.unionsportsmen.org.

And to find out more about Fishing for Freedom, head over to www.FishingforFreedom.us.