"Before joining the IBEW, I worked for the federal government as a wildland firefighter. It was hard work for little pay. After 10 years, I was barely making $20/hour. The cost of living is very high in California, so I relied on working close to 800 hours of overtime each year. That was very hard for my family as I was gone a lot. During slow years, the overtime wasn't there and we struggled a lot financially, which led to many fights and almost a divorce.

My wife's brother works for PG&E and is an IBEW member. He talked to me about the benefits the union provides and how it offers great work-life balance. He said that I can be as busy as I want to be, that there would be opportunities for overtime, but I wouldn't have to take it to survive financially. There would be vacation time and more time to spend with my family.

PG&E started a program for wildfire operations, the Safety Infrastructure Protection Team, after the devastating Camp fire in 2018. I took my chances, applied and got hired in 2020. Our team drives PG&E fire engines that carry 300 gallons of water, fire tools and EMS gear. Because we're EMTs, we get called as support on remote jobsites and for fire watch during welding operations. On large wildfires, we work ahead of the fire, clearing vegetation around power poles and spraying them with fire retardant to give them a higher survival rate.

I've only been an IBEW member for three years, but I've already made a lot of lifelong friends in the Brotherhood. One thing I noticed is that, with the IBEW logo being so visible, I can strike up a conversation with anyone that's got one. Now I'm friends with a bunch of linemen. My neighbor is a gas guy. I took my daughter to swim class, and there was a member from Hawaii there. It's easy to build community in the Brotherhood.

Getting hired with union benefits was the best thing that happened to me other than getting married and having three kids. I am now able to support my family without having to rely on overtime. I'm home on the weekends and at normal hours during the week. I was able to buy a house, and my wife and I are planning a trip to Disneyland with the kids. Before, our big summer event would be a day trip to the Sacramento Zoo on a Tuesday or Wednesday — the only days I could go. Recently, we took a two-week trip to Colorado and had a great time there. Now I truly work to live, not the other way around."