"For about 25 years, I worked in the transportation industry. I started out as a teenager just out of school loading trucks and worked my way up. I had various positions routing freight from the Atlanta area, which kept me very busy. Toward the end, I was a freight broker working all hours of the day and night for a set salary. I had reached a ceiling in this position and didn't see much opportunity for financial or personal improvement or growth.

This, of course, was a nonunion office position that rarely got more than 3% increases based on company performance and budgets. There was no sense of a finish line, little job satisfaction, absolutely no bargaining power. It felt like a trap of sorts, a dead end.

I had been aware of the IBEW ever since I was in high school. In fact, I had a couple of friends there who had graduated and joined the IBEW to pursue electrical careers. I considered it, but for whatever reason thought it wasn't for me at the time. In hindsight, I know this was a huge missed opportunity. Luckily, one of my friends from childhood, Josh Keane, helped me get started and is now my brother at Local 613. With that support, I knew there could be a different sort of life for me.

Once I reached my wit's end with the mistreatments of nonunion work, I came to the midlife realization (potentially, a midlife crisis) that we're only here once and for a short time, so we should do everything we can to make the best of this life. I decided at 45 years old to do what I should've done at 18. I spoke with one of the larger contractors in Atlanta and was hired into the construction wireman/construction electrician program and joined a few months later. This was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Now that I'm here, the day-and-night difference between now and my nonunion days continues to amaze me. I've got benefits, support and overall brotherhood. I had a few health issues that were absolutely devastating, and my care came not only from insurance but also from my local, which offered a short-term benefit.

I never experienced anything remotely close to it nonunion. My wife and kids have noticed a difference in the way I carry myself and how proud I am to be an IBEW brother. This is where I'll stay until retirement. I'm so thankful for the IBEW and all of the good things that come from being a member."