Working in the USA

[Bennage]

Hi all,

 

I'm pondering over the option of going to live/work in the US with my good lady but have always been told that all tech work over there is "heavily unionised". I'm guessing that that just means that in order to get any work there, you need to be a member of the union. I'm also told that the join the/a union over there, it costs about $10,000 a year/the first year. Once that's done, you can work as much as you like.

 

Does anyone have any experience working over there? Are my thoughts above all rubbish and lies?

 

TIA,

 

b

[Grum]

Forget unions,your first problem is going to be getting a work visa. A good friend of mine recently married an American his visa process took about two years and although he now has a work visa it's only temporary and won't be permanent for another three years.

 

In order to get that visa his wife had to prove that her income was enough to be able to support both of them. Before you look at unions have a look in to work visas, how much they cost and how likely you are to get one, it's not impossible but it isn't easy or cheap.

[Jivemaster]

As several other threads here, unless you have skill that the Americans find essential to import, then you will have a long hard and expensive visa process. Then there will be the inevitable familiarisation with the USA codes, then the unions. Certainly not a cheap or easy process, expect several years of application process and several thousand moneys of payments and fees.

[kerry davies]

Grum is spot on and if you are thinking of Arizona forget it. They are introducing far stiffer regulation aimed at Latin immigration but catching everyone.

Take a look at Saturdays Guardian article about US immigrant workers at; http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/may/07/experience-I-was-deported it is a slightly strange case but gives an idea of where they are coming from these days.

 

It can be done but there are so many hoops since 9/11 that "thinking of going to live/work there" means you probably have several years of planning and organising ahead of you unless a US company has head-hunted you.

[Jivemaster]

Also you need a contingency fund against having a spat with your lady (you don't actually say that you are formally legally married it may well matter). A friend where I used to work in London was a USA citizen and very competent and popular BUT his first visa depended on him being supported by his girlfriend. When they had a spat HE had to be out of the UK by midnight or he would not be allowed into the UK again even in transit. He simply didn't come into work one day and e got a call from him in the States later that day explaining!

[kerry davies]

For some stupid reason whenever I copy the link to the Grauniad, the BR spellchecker automatically replaces a lower case I-was-deported with an upper case -I-was because it follows a dash.

Tried it three times now and it changes it every time, please help this technotwit!

 

http://www.guardian....ted?INTCMP=SRCH

 

 

See it's done it again up there! Rant.

 

 

Moderation: Fixed. I maintain the Guardian should be a little more more forgiving of case sensitivity, especially when it's correct!

[Jivemaster]

Even if you meet the Federal requirements there will also be State requirements to meet. Be very sure where you are going to live and sort out compliance with ALL the regs before you start thinking about emigrating. Don't assume that the regs will be static during your application process either!

[Micken]

It would be good to hear from peoples experience or any problems of getting tech work over there and kind of bring this on topic and answer the original posters question (as this isn't an immigration form!) assuming all the paperwork is correct to legally live and work in the U.S, what is then job specific problems that may be faced?, what are differences people may have never thought of ect..?

 

As I for one can move over tomorrow and start work the next day should I want to. So it would be good to know what unexpected things or industry challenges to expect!

[mark_s]

I'm interested in hearing about working in North America too, as I'm emigrating to Canada next April! Obviously not the same place, but as far as I can tell the industry works in much the same way in both countries.

[Bryson]

Which bit of Canada, Mark?

 

I can pass on my experience of Canada (well, Vancouver) but I imagine the situation varies from City to City and country to country.

 

The big theatres in Vancouver are firmly unionised. In fact, IATSE Local 118 is very old-fashioned in it's approach and the decent jobs at the largest theatres are closed to all but the "top" union guys.

 

That said, there's a thriving small theatre community running smaller venues (400 seats or less) and also university theatres that do a lot of work, and while some of those are technically "union" they're not IATSE (they tend to be CUPE) and so non-union membership isn't really a barrier to entry. There's also a lot of "events" work floating around and while some of that is IATSE, the branch that deals with that type of work (local 891) are much more modern in their approach.

 

The tricky part is getting yourself "known" in the town you move to. Be prepared to a: Not work at all for 3 months and b: Do a lower job than you're used to for a while. I'm the Technical Director at one of the non-union houses, a job I managed to secure about 6 months after getting here. Before that, I spent 3 months unemployed and 3 more months working as a jobbing tech while I found a job that "fit". I don't think that I would have got this job if I hadn't laid a solid groundwork of getting my name around.

 

You'll also need that as an adjustment period to the terminology and procedures. Learn to say "leko" and "wireless mic" and supress your disdain for Edison plugs and Twistloks. ;)

[mark_s]

Most probably eastern Ontario - my partner is from Brockville, about an hour south of Ottawa. She's keen on being near home, so we'll probably eventually end up in Toronto or the surrounding area for work purposes. Having said that, she's not insisting on it, so we might end up further out west. I quite like the look and sound of Alberta, but the union branches in both Edmonton and Calgary seem to be quite 'old-fashioned' as you put it - at least that's the feeling I get from glancing at the website and reading the material about joining.

[DRG]

Hi all,

 

I'm pondering over the option of going to live/work in the US with my good lady but have always been told that all tech work over there is "heavily unionised". I'm guessing that that just means that in order to get any work there, you need to be a member of the union. I'm also told that the join the/a union over there, it costs about $10,000 a year/the first year. Once that's done, you can work as much as you like.

 

Does anyone have any experience working over there? Are my thoughts above all rubbish and lies?

 

TIA,

 

b

Unless you are/married to an American, or have a close relative (parent/child usually) that is you have zero chance of getting a Green Card.

Unless you have a special skill that a company really needs (and can prove that to the authorities), and the company is prepared to sponsor you, you have zero chance of getting a Green Card.

Last I heard, most British folk are currently excluded from the "Green Card Lottery" they do (I think if you're from Northern Ireland you can enter), so zero chance of Green Card there.

Getting a Green Card can take a long time, and isn't cheap. I married an American and it took the best part of 2 years to get my Visa. I was working away from home (on ships), so that was part of the reason. I have heard of lucky people getting their Visa's in 6 months.

 

If you have a certain amount of money to invest in the US, and can provide jobs for people in the US, as well as supporting yourself and your dependents, there is a different type of Visa you can get, which will let you work in that specific business (no side work for you or dependents). If you do have this money, I'd suggest getting a fast food franchise, you'll likely make a lot more. Trouble with that Visa is, it does not give you (or family born outside US) a Green Card. If you fail to meet requirements (business goes bad) they'll deport you (even if you've been there 20 years). If you have kids that are not born in the US, then they have no right to stay once they reach 18. They would usually have to get the same type of Visa to remain.

 

As for Union's, IATSE is the big one (but there are others, depending on state and venue). Some state's/venues have heavy union influence (like the guy employed to make the tea, is the only one who can make the tea), others not so much. I know an Irish guy (Green Card through marriage) who managed to get into an IATSE Chapter in California. He got in by getting lucky and meeting the right contact. Often it's that way, family, or someone dies.

[Micken]

Again...for the second time.

 

Can we try and keep this on topic, as it would be an interesting read of what to expect if working in America/ getting in with the unions ect..

 

We don't know if the OP has the documents to live and work in the U.S, even if they don't surely its not up to a technical form to tell them. If we try and keep this on topic of industry related experiance/advice it would be greatly appreciated, espically for someone like myself who has a social security number and a National Insurance number as well as a UK & US passport currently valid allowing me to work here in the UK or the U.S whenever I please

 

It just seems to me like most have gone off the path of answering the questions asked and telling the OP they have no chance of gaining work, where they could very well be in the same situation as myself and have all this in place/ or researching that matter in a more speacilsed area and asking about the type of work here on this form.

 

It's very frustrating reading people jump down a persons throat on stuff they havn't asked or mentioned about and avoiding the original topic. In my opnion this thread should be deleted to start again or the questions asked should start to be answered.

[Bryson]

We'll leave it as the green card stuff may be relevant to future readers of the post - but let's call time on the imigration angle:

 

Assume he has his immigration ducks in a row; all further immigration nags will be treated as OT.

 

Thanks

 

 

Mark: Toronto certainly has plenty of non-union houses. I'm less sure about Calgary and Edmonton. Edmonto is fecking cold, I know that much. Why would you move west but not go far enough? ;)

[AndrewR]

I got asked to throw in my 2p (now 2 cent) worth.

 

All this varies by state and I can only speak about what I know in California.

 

Hi all,

 

I'm pondering over the option of going to live/work in the US with my good lady but have always been told that all tech work over there is "heavily unionised".

 

Mostly yes. It varies, but any decent size venue is going to be union. Closed shop as we used to have in the UK. You find a fair few smaller venues are non-union though. Again, it varies city to city and state to state, but there is non-union theatre work out there. Just remember that it pays less.

 

I'm guessing that that just means that in order to get any work there, you need to be a member of the union.

 

To get the best work, yes. But its not essential. That said there are huge advantages to being in the Union, far more than compared to the UK.

Which leads me to:

 

I'm also told that the join the/a union over there, it costs about $10,000 a year/the first year. Once that's done, you can work as much as you like.

 

Again, it varies.

Here's a quick roundup:

 

Biggest immediate difference is that the union sends you out on jobs. When a theatre needs someone they call the unions hiring hall and they send the people at the top of the list (unless you get a good enough rep to get asked for by name).

 

Your union dues cover your health insurance and other stuff. That alone is worth the membership (don't forget that this is 'murica, the land whos healthcare plan is 'be rich, or don't get sick'). Rates vary but 10k sounds very very high. I know at least one guy who is working a long term non-union job (management position so not covered by the union) and still pays his union dues.

The union also provides training and is the main route into licences and certification.

 

There are different 'ranks' for want of a better word, expect to take 3 years to reach 'journeyman' level which is probably where you would expect to be.

Ranks effect rates of pay and seniority on the hiring hall list, amongst other things.

 

The biggest problem you might have is that the unions tend to be overstocked right now (due to the recession) and so there's not a huge amount of work to go around. Its not a requirement, but if you do want to join the union its very helpful to have a sponsor. Its also great if you have some unusual skills.

 

The union is a big old fashioned thing, but does have some huge advantages, remember this is a totally different animal to BECTU.

 

If you decide to go non-union then you will have to look a little harder (There's only 1 major company in my city that's non-union). Live music venues follow a very similar pattern to theatres re, size vs unionisation. You can always look through the craigslist for the city you are considering and look in the crew gigs section, that might give you an idea of the kind of work that might be avalible.

 

Does anyone have any experience working over there? Are my thoughts above all rubbish and lies?

 

TIA,

 

b

 

I think things have been a little exaggerated. I'll leave you with these thoughts.

Expect to be unemployed for 3-6 months easily. Expect to be underemployed for another 3 months. Don't be surprised if you take a paycut for the first 3 years. Don't forget that the top end of pay here for theatre work is far higher than in the UK.

 

My experience of unions in the UK was not stellar, but I'm joining the union here without any hesitation, its not a fast process though.

 

If you decide to emigrate, having a local established tech to provide advice is very very helpful.

 

If people do want to hash out the visa side of things then we should start a thread elsewhere so I can bore you about it (its not that complex though).