"Before joining the IBEW, I worked for 11 years as a nonunion electrician, mainly on commercial and institutional projects. I spent my last two years of high school in vocational school studying industrial electricity, and I received my journeyman electrician's license in 2001.

My father was a maintenance employee for a government facility, and they needed an electrical contractor to conduct some repairs. The electricians who performed the job were IBEW members, and one of them was an NJATC instructor. He asked my father if he knew of anyone interested in joining, as they had an upcoming opening for apprenticeships. My father called me with this information, and I contacted them the next day.

A lot of times in my nonunion work, we'd come across IBEW contractors, and they seemed to have a better handle on projects. They were a lot more knowledgeable and better trained. Competency goes a long way. And the other aspect was that when I started talking to them, I learned they had good benefits and the pay was better. It was like playing minor league baseball and IBEW was stepping up into the majors.

Even though I was a licensed journeyman electrician, I willingly signed up for the IBEW apprenticeship. I was eager to learn as much as possible and to prove to myself that my skill set could never be questioned.

I completed my apprenticeship in 2017, and I can now say that the difference between the IBEW and working nonunion is night and day. The IBEW, in addition to first-rate training, provides so much more in terms of benefits and pay. In fact, the difference in pay isn't even comparable: I bring home literally double what I made in my nonunion days.

There were no advantages to being nonunion: no retirement, no health insurance and a dog-eat-dog mentality among co-workers because everyone was scared and suspicious of one another. That's not the case as an IBEW member. Here, people look out for one another and you aren't just a number or a spoke in the wheel.

And it's important to remember that I had no prior connections with the IBEW. Not only did I complete my training, but I also received the Outstanding Apprentice Award the year I graduated. So anyone can come here and prosper.

Our success and our future depend not only on our younger members, but also engaging all prospective members, like myself when I was nonunion. We can catch these people outside of their jobs and get down to brass tacks about who we are and why we're a better choice."