The Burnout Collective
We're tired af. We're sick of this sh*t. And we're guessing you are too. Welcome to The Burnout Collective podcast—a place for broken, burnt out brains to talk it out. Join us and our guests as we Do Our Best(tm) to break the burnout cycle.
We podcast live on Twitch every Thursday at 5pm PT. New episodes are released the following Tuesday anywhere you get your podcast fix.
The Burnout Collective
The one where a barn falls on Rachel
"Are You Tired of Being Paid Less Than You're Worth?" or How Rachel Ended Up an Electrician Apprentice
This week, we're joined by Rachel Cannon, Rebecca's sister, who has had one heck of a career journey. She graduated during a recession, worked as a bicycle tour guide, switched majors, and picked up plenty of peculiar internships—like putting snails in jars at the Smithsonian. Rachel eventually found her calling in the trades as an electrician apprentice.
We chat about how unpaid internships only benefit the rich, how kids shouldn't be able to take out thousands of dollars in loans for college, and how it took many burly men 45 minutes to pull Rachel out from under a barn that collapsed on her once.
Rachel also gives us a crash course in unions and labor rights, the benefits of union work, and how freakin' awesome it is to have transparency and fair wages. Despite often being the only woman on the job site, she emphasizes practical boundaries and enjoys the mental health benefits of a physically active job.
Unions are like condoms. If someone tells you you don't need one, you probably do.
You can find Rachel on:
Bluesky: @rachelthecannon
Mentioned in this episode:
- IBEW local 280 - International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
Have a suggestion for our next episode? A burnout story to share? Send us a text!
The Burnout Collective Podcast is hosted by Jamie Young and Rebecca McCracken. We’ve had every ounce of inspiration sucked out by years of startups and hustle culture, and we’re trying to reclaim our creativity. Join us and our guests as we explore how to restart and reenergize our brains. Every Thursday at 5pm PT, we stream live on twitch.tv/TheBurnoutCollective.
Join our Discord community: discord.gg/ZwBjbmVfAF
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Music track: Snap Your Fingers by Aylex
Source: https://freetouse.com/music
So so wait when do you get to be like a journeyman a journey woman if you will
Audio 1.03:A journey person, please, Jamie.
Audio 1.05:Damn. She got your ass,
Audio 1.04:ass
I am Jamie. And I'm Rebecca. Welcome to the Burnout Collective.
Audio 1.05:Hello?
Audio 1.02:Hello. Welcome in. Welcome in. Today we have with us
Audio 1.03:Hello
Audio 1.02:I'm so sorry. As a, as a younger sibling myself, I always hated it so much when people always like, that's so and so's sister. But this is
Audio 1.05:Mm-hmm.
Audio 1.02:she's much better than Rebecca, so we love that.
Audio 1.03:true
Audio 1.02:Is Rachel, our guest. And, she
Audio 1.05:She is my sister. Honestly, thank you for joining us. Do you just want us, you wanna start off sort of like where you were, take us through your journey to where you are now.
Audio 1.03:so I like a lot of millennials in an our group. Graduated in 2010, so this was when the job market had tanked. and I was living Washington dc I went to American University.'cause as we were all, many of us told in high school like, oh, hey, you need to go to a college you're smart and you need to take out student loans and make it happen. and so I went to this college and I didn't know what I wanted to do the entire time. I changed my major three times at least. But I graduated in 2010 with a degree in international studies and communication and a minor in creative writing. And so I applied to something like 40 or 50 jobs, for admin assistant roles or stuff that was supposed to be entry level. But, I didn't get a single one of them. I didn't even get, I think I called back one interview and I didn't know how to dress for interviews or anything. So, I didn't get any of those jobs. But fortunately during college I had picked up a part-time job as a bicycle tour guide in downtown dc. And so when I graduated they were like, how about you be a manager for$15 an hour plus occasional tips? And I was like, sure, that sounds like best money I could be making at the time. so
Audio 1.02:get in tips, typically? What was like typical tips? Do you remember?
Audio 1.03:I don't know, because I didn't count them. I just shoved them in my pockets. And then when I did laundry, every time I did laundry, I made a
Audio 1.02:She's not a Taurus. She is not Taurus. Go on.
Audio 1.05:No, we would know,
Audio 1.03:The tips were pretty substantial. Also. I was like 65, 70 hours a week, but I wasn't eligible for overtime'cause it job. So
Audio 1.05:Oh my God.
Audio 1.03:anyway. Yeah. so I was made feel at time like, oh, perhaps if you can't find a job, you should probably go to grad school because you can just write out the recession and get a graduate degree. And so with very little, contrary to. What I wound up doing, I was like, I'm gonna major anthropology and sociology and I'm gonna become a professor. Had I taken any anthrop classes undergrad? No. that was what I was gonna do. And so I took out a lot of loans and, two semesters in academia was like, are we allowed to cuss on this podcast?
Audio 1.05:Fuck yeah.
Audio 1.03:Okay I was
Audio 1.02:You've heard us. Please,
Audio 1.03:I just wanted to make sure. I was like, this is bullshit. I hate all of this. I don't, this is basically just like white man's burden repackaged the 20th, 21st century don't deal with any of this. And so I switched to the very useful degree of museum studies, which was a really fun time.
Audio 1.05:You need to tell them about my favorite internship that you ever did, ever in Alaska during this.
Audio 1.03:yeah. Okay. So all of, so here's the bullshit thing about DC internships of them are unpaid. And was broke'cause I was living off student loans. And so I found a paid internship in Alaska of all places. And I, it was at the Hammer Museum because by the time I did this
Audio 1.02:The Hammer Museum.
Audio 1.03:It's a museum about hammers. If you go to Google Street View and you look for Hans Alaska Hammer Museum, you can pull it up and there's a sign on the roof that says the Hammer Museum that made out hammers. And then there's a giant hammer the owner built right in front of the museum.
Audio 1.05:Okay, so just FYI, I told Jamie you had an internship at the Hammer Museum, except I got it wrong and said fork, so.
Audio 1.03:Museum
Audio 1.02:even remember you me that
Audio 1.03:I got paid$150 week, at that time I was better than free. they, they gave I had time. I don't remember a lot of
Audio 1.02:Oh, they paid for housing for you?
Audio 1.03:I stayed with the, one of the board person because there, there was a board. I stayed in his house.
Audio 1.02:Oh,
Audio 1.03:Yeah. anyway, I, I did that. I could really go into a lot of, I put snails and jars for 300 hours. that was another internship that I had. did that for free dead snails and jars. that was at,
Audio 1.05:For the, oh, for the Smithsonian.
Audio 1.03:People are always like, did you
Audio 1.02:Rebecca would never put nails jars. She would never
Audio 1.03:No, she would not. She would die. go well
Audio 1.05:I would die.
Audio 1.03:But they were all
Audio 1.05:And they were, are we talking like little cute snails or like the really gross ones?
Audio 1.03:freshwater snails. They were little, like
Audio 1.05:Okay, that's fine.
Audio 1.03:no, and it is funny'cause people ask like it's some big prestigious thing like, did you work for the And I'm like, I sure did. Do you wanna know what I did? know, I put snails and jars for for a year. yeah, I got out of and, it was 2014 and I got a job at a bike shop because that was the only thing that I could find. And finally, after a lot of time applying with my brand new shiny master's degree, I got a job working guest services at a well-known museum in downtown DC that shall remain nameless if I can keep it nameless. and that was a very crowded museum. It was a for-profit museum time I started working there and I spent a lot of time just like. Shuttling crowds in and out and yelling at people and trying to make sure that the visitor experience was good and, and yelling at my staff. Were having cell phones on and having a radio on while trying to deal with guests. And it was, it was, it was a It was a lot. the people I worked with were amazing, will say that. But the guests nightmares. made that job horrible yes.
Audio 1.05:Did you wake up every day and look at your Master's degree and go, yes.
Audio 1.03:the the of
Audio 1.02:that knife, you're just turning that knife in her.
Audio 1.03:no, I know. And it was like, it was one of those things where it was the manager my department, I think he was really degree, but all the people that I actually worked with, they were like, you don't need a degree to do this job. And I'm like, I know. I am so aware. And they were all better at that job than me
Audio 1.02:You're like, shut the fuck up, everybody. stop it out.
Audio 1.03:I was like, I don't like the center of attention. I, I too mousy. I, I don't, I'm a terrible manager because people would come to me with their problems and I'd be like, oh my God, really? Yes, of course you can have the day off. Paid no problem. I was not a good just really not at all. I was working and I saw a nice man who worked for the exhibits department painting a display, in the lobby. And during grad school I had had a job where I was installing bicycle racks around DC and so like using power tools and drilling into concrete and like putting the things you lock bicycles to in the ground. so I knew I liked painting and I knew I liked power tools. And I saw this man working on an exhibit and I said, Hey, if you ever need help building exhibits, would you please let me know? I have so much experience using a hammer drill. And so I started working a second job, at that museum and coming in early in the mornings and helping the exhibit guy like clean the exhibits because we were opening a new museum. And so then during this whole process, I wound up taking on a third job as the project manager for the, all the curators and the museum
Audio 1.02:that was your third mistake
Audio 1.03:I I've, I've made so many and all of them
Audio 1.05:At, hold on.
Audio 1.03:were expensive.
Audio 1.05:We have to tell you the rule. We have to tell you the rule. What's the rule, Jamie? We don't what? We don't work for free. We don't work for free.
Audio 1.03:I, and you know what? You're so right. And I really wish that somebody would've taken me and shaken me by and been like,
Audio 1.02:we all wish that when we were that age Yeah
Audio 1.05:Oh yeah.
Audio 1.03:I was like 26. Like I had
Audio 1.02:Rebecca Like never was never
Audio 1.03:Never. Not once. Working for startups, they never take you, ever.
Audio 1.05:they 100% like got three full jobs outta you. That's crazy.
Audio 1.03:No, and I was, I was at the time getting paid like 45, 40$7,000 year. I'm very open about all the money I was making because it's not So it's
Audio 1.05:Not to mention it's a for-profit, and so then you're not even eligible for, loan forgiveness or anything.
Audio 1.03:did, they did transition to a nonprofit while I was like in the first couple
Audio 1.05:Ooh, all
Audio 1.03:museum started off as like a cash cow for this, this who owns it. but so I, I wound up doing the exhibits thing and I really love that. And the guy that I worked with, he taught me how to use the saws and to build little put artifacts on. They sent me off to mount making camps so I could learn how outta brass, to hold artifacts on the wall. and I loved it so much and I loved working with my hands and I loved being behind the scenes and I loved not having to talk to a single goddamn day Like it was the best job. I was so happy. and so. I spent seven days a week helping them open up that new museum. And then by the time the new museum opened, I said, Hey, I would like a raise. And they went, Hmm. We're not sure about that. So it took them three months to decide that I dec I needed like a little bump then Covid happened.
Audio 1.02:It was like 3 2 They're like here's 2
Audio 1.03:The museum had no budget.'cause we had just spent like billions of dollars on a new building. We were all getting taken advantage of right and left. The whole, the whole nonprofit everybody is getting taken advantage Our parents did the best to support me that they could. And I was on a scholarship for undergrad at grad school, like I was on my own. and I about nobody should ever give 20 something year olds a hundred thousand plus dollars loans. that's not a good idea.
Audio 1.05:No, they give 17 year olds loans for college, like actual children. It's,
Audio 1.03:it's a
Audio 1.05:I.
Audio 1.03:So, yeah. so anyway, story short, but there, there's no making this short. so I, okay, so Covid happened March, 2020 and then. Rather than fire all of us, the COO of our museum, who actually is like, she's a, she was a badass. she did a decent job doing what she did. she gave everybody, she lowered our salaries by a certain percentage, and the people were at the top got the highest percentage off of their salaries. But mine was still like a significant enough amount where like I really couldn't afford anything. And I was living in like somebody's moldy basement in Tacoma Park, I think I reached a point between the pandemic and not seeing my friends and everybody just had like various meltdowns and various life. And I know I'm alone in this, but I was like, fuck this, I'm done. And so I applied for a job across the country in Bend, Oregon, at another museum that shall remain nameless. and I moved all the way across the country, worked this job, and was like, wow. All of the same problems are here, except they're worse.
Audio 1.02:Oh
Audio 1.03:Just the leadership was out to lunch. I, I liked my job, but my boss was just, did not give a fuck. I was hired as exhibit preparator, which was a job that like technically was qualified for, but I had no guidance as the, how the museum functioned. So I was
Audio 1.05:Prepare. Prepare her.
Audio 1.03:Yeah. Usually that's somebody who takes care of artifacts and all the mount making and all
Audio 1.02:think it's preparator
Audio 1.03:like preparator tur if you're French but it's typically is somebody who takes care of the artifacts and prepares them for display in the, in the exhibits. But I also had a job as like an exhibit technician. So doing all the building and the lighting the dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah with my boss who didn't care.
Audio 1.05:So two jobs. Two more jobs, two jobs
Audio 1.02:So bosses that like don't care And it's like how are these in these leadership roles when they don't give a shit
Audio 1.03:the, the job market in Bend is not great. So if you have a college degree and you're in bend, like Mm, good luck. tough out
Audio 1.02:Good Good luck to you Rachel
Audio 1.03:Yeah Thank you. Thank you. So, so I quit that job too, and the reason I quit that job is because, and this is where we were getting to, I promise, is I applied to, an apprenticeship with the International of Electrical Workers. I'm, I'm driving my little, like my partner calls it my little baby race car around. And I hear this radio commercial that was like, are you tired of being paid less than your worth? And I said, yes, yes, I am. To the radio display. and it was like, then consider applying to the IBAW, which is the local electric electrical union. and I was not the target audience for these ads. The target audience for these ads are non-union electricians. and they were like, you could make more money with us and a pension and have healthcare and a 401k. And I was like, boy, that sounds really great. if I applied to and so I did well, this is a lark. They're never gonna want me. There's no fucking way I'm getting into this. I'm a, at that point I was like a 3-year-old female, and I'm like, they're not gonna fucking hire me. but
Audio 1.05:if I recall someone was dazzling, was the exact word that I remember.
Audio 1.03:hear how I got into the apprenticeship?
Audio 1.05:Absolutely.
Audio 1.03:I'm sitting waiting in the, in the, the hall, which is the hall is the, the, home of the, the local, that you have in And I was ner home kings. I was nervously waiting. this guy was like, are you applying to the program? And I said, yes. He was like, you're a chick, you'll be fine. I was like, Kay. you know what? Honestly, if that was an advantage, I'll fucking take it because white men
Audio 1.05:It is the one. You get one advantage. Fine. Great. Take
Audio 1.03:don't hear white men being like, oh, they probably only let me in'cause I'm a white man. Like, how often do you hear that? So I was like, cool. But, also I aced the aptitude test'cause you have to take a test that proves that you know how to, how to do reading and math. And I got a, like I got every, I just smashed it the goddamn park if I do say so myself. And then the interview committee, At this point, you'll recall I have had 50 something interviews in my life for jobs that I don't care about. I actually care about this one, like I wanna get in, but I've had so many interviews that like, you can't phase me with anything anymore. And so it was like a committee of electricians that were sitting in there and they were all waiting for me. And I was in my like, little button down and my like little work just I had no nervousness at all. None at all. And I was like, I know I can do this. And so I think I maybe worked the room a little bit and I made them laugh. and I found out later I scored a 98 on there and somebody need her in field.
Audio 1.02:fuck yeah
Audio 1.05:A 98
Audio 1.03:a 98 out of a hundred.
Audio 1.05:you had, you had two points less'cause of that vagina.
Audio 1.03:probably That's okay
Audio 1.05:points off.
Audio 1.03:it turns out that the man who's actually our training director, he found out I was from DC and they wanted to know all about this museum that I worked at. And so he was like, I took my kids there. And I was like, that's amazing. So if you find something to connect with people in the interview you got it in the bag, For people who aren't super familiar with how trades unions work, which I, there's so much to know. Like we could have a podcast on like how trades unions work, but, you are part of the IBEW, but then your local is wherever you happen to just work at like your home local, it's where you do your apprenticeship. IBW members, once they go through the apprenticeship and they're a journeyman, so they have their electrical license, can travel around to different locals in the country. So that's the idea I.
Audio 1.02:Cool
Audio 1.05:I'd love to go more'cause I'm, I am guessing a lot of people who are either listening or watching are not super familiar with unions and sort of why, aside from the pension, one of the things you mentioned was just like making sure you had better work conditions and that you were getting a specific amount and like are actually taken care of. And I'd love for you to go in more detail about what the union does for you as a worker.
Audio 1.03:Absolutely. actually, the, biggest reason that I applied was because even before you apply, anybody can look up the wage scale of how much people in my local or any local make. And so you know that as a first coming, a first year incoming apprentice, you're gonna this much second year this much, and they lay it all out for you. So on the job site, you feel very comfortable talking about how much you make because it's not a big secret like everybody knows. And the, by the second term. of the apprenticeship, I was gonna be making the same that I was making at the museum after what amounted to a 10 year of paid and jobs. So that was a no brainer for me, where it was like, I can
Audio 1.05:That's crazy.
Audio 1.03:right? I can only move back from here. and then on top of that, so, so, so with the union you have power of collective bargaining. And so when you go in and you apply for a job normally in the private sector, or yeah, I guess the private sector, you, you have to sit there and be like, I am worth this and this and this and this, and you should much. And then back and forth. With the IBEW specifically, that process happens with a committee of people from the IBEW, which represents the workers and nika, which is the National Electrical Contractors Association. And they represent all of, like the businesses, right? So every year a meeting and they get together and they look at, cost of living increases. They look at the job market, they look at things that the IBW thinks their workers are gonna need, and they say, we want this much. And then Nikki comes back and they, they negotiate and then every year they come out with a raise. thus far it's been every year since I've been in the union, which is
Audio 1.05:So, so they advocate for more pay for you
Audio 1.03:Mm-hmm. And
Audio 1.05:and to make sure everyone is fairly paid.
Audio 1.03:And then what happens is they'll agree on like a, a lump rate. So like, okay, so over time we're gonna make. An extra, this much money, like$3 and 54 cents this year. And then what they do that back to the membership. And at the union meetings, we then vote on how we're gonna allocate those funds. And the things that you put that funding towards that, say it's$3 and 54 cents, is you could say, okay, we want$1 on our, on our check, so we'll see an extra dollar on the paycheck. We want$1 to one of our pensions, another dollar to another of pensions, and 50 cents towards our flex plan. the membership ultimately decides on what they do with that money because we pay our dues. And so we have our, our, our dues that we, it's like 50 something dollars a month. and goes towards that bargaining process as, as well as like us being guaranteed jobs where we're at, sort So, as union member, I am represented
Audio 1.05:Hold on. The other really important thing too that I wanna touch on, which again blew my mind, is that the part about guaranteed work, but when you are laid off, you actually are still able to like collect and you're taken care of that way too.
Audio 1.03:Yes. Yeah, so I, I kind of misspoke when I said guaranteed just, it acts kinda like a big temp agency there are certain who have agreed to only union. And so there's a big pool of workers that they can draw from. And so say a big data center, which is happens where I live, and they need 130 electricians, they can draw everybody from that local who needs a job as well as travelers from outside. So you, you get priority for the work that's in your local if you are a member of that
Audio 1.05:Mm-hmm.
Audio 1.03:what I'm sorry.
Audio 1.05:Oh, just like when, like when you aren't working, you're still able to collect unemployment and then you can say I'm in the union, so you don't have to prove like
Audio 1.02:yeah you get
Audio 1.05:the job
Audio 1.02:get to bypass paperwork like that's the best part
Audio 1.03:It's great. Yeah. And I don't have to do much. I don't really have to do any paperwork in my current job because I'm or a supervisor. I'm just an apprentice and it's great. But anyway, so yes, if you get laid off, which fun fact I did today, you go and file for unemployment as you normally do. And I Oregon and so unemployment benefits are actually good here. and normally, yeah, normally with unemployment you have to fill out all the you applied to and everything. And as member of the union, you can just click a box that says, I'm a of a closed book union and I'm not allowed to look for work outside of this particular system that I'm in. And then you don't to fill anything else And you collect a check and then, yeah, and then you an apprentice wait for a call for the training center. call you and be like, Hey, guess what? You're gonna go work for Joe Schmoe's electrical, doing apartments tomorrow. And you're So I'm waiting on that call right now. As a journeyman, it's different. As a journeyman you have more, mean, say in your own life. Like you can decide where you're gonna go work as an apprentice. They're like, your job. And you're like, sounds good
Audio 1.02:So so wait when do you get to be like a journeyman a journey woman if you will
Audio 1.03:A journey person, please, Jamie.
Audio 1.02:Yeah Fair Fair
Audio 1.05:damn. She got your ass,
Audio 1.04:ass
Audio 1.05:sorry.
Audio 1.03:the, initialism for, journeymen is actually jw. It's like journey worker is the idea. put that in, in Facebook post, people be like, do you mean Jehovah's Witness?
Audio 1.02:Oh God Yeah Don't do Yeah don't no
Audio 1.05:do they tell you how long it's gonna be? Like when you are, when you're like, Hey, you're going to work? Or is it just like you have to wait, kind of like subs where they get a call every day? Or is it like, for this amount of time you're working, at this place?
Audio 1.03:it's, it's more the sec first, where they're like, I don't know how long it's gonna be, that's why I go to meetings because at the union meetings, they talk about all the work that's coming up. And so I have a pretty good idea of if I get laid off, if there job for me. And they publish the outta work so know how long is, you how are in front of And that is the one irritating thing is there is nothing you can get ahead on list. you are in your place online and you will wait for a job. a little socialist in that sense, but I'm, I'm with that. I feel like the fairness is the worth it,
Audio 1.05:Yeah. Honestly, I was surprised too at the dues for$57, like for all that protection and all the stuff that they do for you. I would pay double, honestly. That's great.
Audio 1.03:Thank Thank a lot of, yeah, and a lot of union busting, like one of biggest techniques is like, they take your money. well, okay, yeah, but like, you get something for it. It's invested for you. You don't have to argue for your own wages. and this is why national right to Work is bad. But before we get into that, to answer your question, Jamie, so you, in my state, and in most states, you have to have 8,000 on the job training hours, which is four or five years, unless while, then it could be longer. And then you have 10 terms of schooling at 80 hours each. So 800 hours of schooling on top of that. And that's where they teach you like how transformers work or how generators work or how not to set yourself on fire. yeah. they're they're
Audio 1.02:on fire
Audio 1.03:unless you, unless you really want The other day, oh I felt so
Audio 1.02:on fire and get away with it
Audio 1.03:no, I didn't quite, but I had a water heater, which is, it's two hot wires and the conduit that's around them had like bit into the wires, which I didn't realize.'cause when you tighten it down, it like cis in and it cut open one of the wires. And so one of the plumbers turned on the breaker and the thing just went. But the plumber was fine. And I fixed it, but I still felt
Audio 1.02:he is fine He's fine
Audio 1.03:He, came to find me and he was was that supposed to explode? And I was like, yeah, uhhuh
Audio 1.05:the
Audio 1.03:fires
Audio 1.02:don't know what you're talking about What exploded
Audio 1.03:are we, yeah, but, but that is actually things about, the union. And I've talked to, journeymen who have worked in the non-union side, and they say that with the union side of things, there is more of an emphasis on safety. and so even though they might be paying us a little bit more for a job, they're paying less for like what they call fingers in the ditch, which is, yeah, so, so like the idea
Audio 1.02:ditch coincidentally was my nickname in college
Audio 1.03:nice Yeah. So, so the idea is less people that get hurt on a job, the less expensive the job is. it's if they're paying out a ton of money in insurance settlements, then the job is gonna be more expensive. So if you pay your workers more of an emphasis on safety, like the job gonna cost less ultimately. And so that's one of the arguments for like, why people should hire union. We have mandatory OSHA training, which is the most boring fucking thing in the world, but like it's important. Um
Audio 1.05:Mm-hmm.
Audio 1.03:and things, things like, don't put two hot wires together with a conduit'cause they'll explode. Like I knew that, I just didn't know that it had happened. So
Audio 1.02:you knew that You just you just it for yourself firsthand
Audio 1.03:I did.
Audio 1.05:and you get overtime too, right?
Audio 1.03:Yes. when I, so, and they also do overtime per day? For,
Audio 1.02:Rebecca's like local union right now She's like well
Audio 1.03:for, Because a lot jobs, it's, or more a week with ours, work more than eight in a day. So if I work 9.5 hours one day and seven the next day, I still get overtime for an hour and a half. Mm-hmm. For now.
Audio 1.02:Ash said I thought this was funny The best saying I've heard is this Unions are like condoms If someone tells you that you don't need one you definitely do
Audio 1.03:Yeah. I love that. I love that Definitely. They got a bad rap in the eighties with Reagan, and there was a lot of anti-union busting and things like
Audio 1.05:Propaganda. Propaganda. Propaganda.
Audio 1.02:it what it Yeah
Audio 1.03:Yeah. And, and now, I think most Americans are like, 70% of'em were like, yeah, unions are great. We should definitely support people who are making us our coffee or working at the grocery store. but unfortunately that's not the way that our leadership is necessarily shaking out. So,
Audio 1.05:Oh, they hate just, just like condoms. They're like, Ew. They make us feel weird. We don't like'em.
Audio 1.03:yes.
Audio 1.02:really I really just don't like wearing them I don't like wearing
Audio 1.05:Just doesn't feel the same as when I can exploit people.
Audio 1.02:exploit That perfect perfect word for that Good job
Audio 1.03:Then you don't have the consequences'cause you don't care'cause you're sitting in your mansion I'm, I'm pro anybody unionizing and the IBW is we'll, we'll take, we'll take anybody. there were steel workers who wanted over in Eugene and my local was like, we'll, we'll take you on. Even though not electrical workers, they found some to do it.
Audio 1.02:Oh that's cool
Audio 1.05:that was the thing you said yesterday. You were like, there's no veneer of like loyalty. Which is very interesting because a lot of like desk jobs tend to be like, where are you also, you're gonna go and it's kinda like this forced loyalty, but with you it sounds like that's not there at all and, and people are free to move around as they need to do.
Audio 1.03:a, big fat whore is what I am and actually, what happened, what happened yesterday is a pretty because the contractor that I was for, the shop that I'm working for, they're, they're good guys. Like they've, they've tried to keep me busy with work. they've done their best, but you just sometimes reach a point where they didn't get any jobs. And so the supervisor called me and he was like, Hey, You could wait for a job and collect unemployment and continue to be employed with us, but we can't pay you right now. Or you could just take a layoff and go see if there's another project needs work. And I was, I happened to know there are a lot of jobs that are coming up and that are gonna need workers. And so it makes way more sense for to go on the books as, as they on the books means, you're on the out of work list. and so he wasn't like, oh, but don't leave us. And I, which is amazing'cause I, the every single museum that I've worked for, especially the one in DC was like, oh, but you're leaving us. It's like, it's like you owe them. Like you never owe your employer anything. And I know you guys know that, but like, I just wish they would tell children or teenagers that like, you owe
Audio 1.02:I I wish that we like truly knew that like early in our careers you know
Audio 1.03:Right. And then, and then you can't get guilt tripped into staying.'cause it doesn't sense for me to just like sit around and not get paid when I could, company needs an apprentice and I can go
Audio 1.05:Jamie and I have talked about, like, it starts at school where it's like you get the best attendance award and you know, if you're there every day. And then I, I don't know if it's changed, but growing up at our high school, when, when the kids went to trade school, they literally got sent in the short bus and people would talk super derisively about like, the trades go. Like that's where all the burnouts go. when actually they are now gainfully employed, have their own fucking plumbing companies or electrical companies, and are making more money than any of us. And I wish, and instead it was like, go to school. That's where you get it. But, actually trade school versus college, you, I can't see so far I haven't been, you haven't shown me any of the downsides. you're protected, you have a union, you're making more money.
Audio 1.03:Yeah, a hundred percent. And I, I, yes, I don't, I don't disagree and. Yeah. Also, my health insurance is included in my work. So every hour that work, I get$10 towards my health insurance. And then if I work 140 hours a week, which is slightly less full-time, I get health
Audio 1.02:Under 40 a You mean Month
Audio 1.03:140. Sorry, a hundred, 140 a month. Yeah.
Audio 1.02:I was like all right Time to talk about burnout ladies and gentlemen
Audio 1.03:and, and rebecca you're com You're totally right. I participate in some outreach programs that our, our training center puts schoolers and, counselors and teachers so that they know about these programs.'cause it's not just electrical. the plumbers have a great union too. The steam fitters, the boiler makers. and we, we have these programs so that
Audio 1.05:I don't know. Hold on. You gotta explain what those two last ones are.
Audio 1.03:the steam fitters and the boiler makers will the steam, you know what, I, I actually don't necessarily know myself.
Audio 1.05:Okay.
Audio 1.02:How dare Rebecca How dare you embarrass her
Audio 1.03:no, no, no, no. You're
Audio 1.05:I know. I don't know what they are. I've never heard of the first one.
Audio 1.03:it's a tradesperson who constructs, assembles, maintains repairs heavy metal structures like boilers and pressure vessels. It can also refer to a drink liquor, usually whiskey served alongside beer. and steam, steam fitters do, it's, it's another pipe trade. Whether they
Audio 1.05:oh, okay. Got it. Got it.
Audio 1.03:systems.
Audio 1.02:Oh steam fitter Isn't the drink one I thought it like I go up to a bar and I'm like bartender gimme a
Audio 1.03:should You know order a steam fitter and see what happens. I'd curious. They'll just plunk like a nice lesbian with good arms on the table and be like there you go
Audio 1.02:Yes
Audio 1.03:So
Audio 1.02:Or they're or they go I don't want any trouble I don't want any trouble And just take money outta the cash register and give it to me
Audio 1.03:to you.
Audio 1.05:yeah, the L-G-B-T-Q representation you were telling us was like
Audio 1.03:Mm-hmm.
Audio 1.05:crazy progressive and just super inclusive, which. Again, it's delightful to hear.
Audio 1.03:Yes and I will not. Okay. So it's heavily dependent on where you're at. So where I'm at, that's not necessarily the case. I am oftentimes the only female on a job site, and I do not talk about my sexuality at all,'cause none of their goddamn business. But, but, but, a lot of places where unions are stronger, so not surprisingly, cities, coastal areas, so places like Portland New York City and Los Angeles and San Francisco. when you go to these, we have, we have conferences and meetings every year. So you go and you talk about being a woman in trades or being a person in the trades and, talk about issues facing your particular category of person. And it's not just the women. They also have the electrical Workers Minority Caucus in the IBW and, what's it called? One that's specifically geared towards young people, but. The one that they have every year. It's called Tradeswomen Build Nations. That's for all, all trades represented. So unionized trades, for female identifying persons. And you walk into a room full of women who are in the female identifying persons, sorry, who are in the trade. And I swear to God, like 50 to 65% of that room is queer in, in some way. And you don't necessarily, you don't need to ask him and be like, so are you queer? You just know.
Audio 1.05:Yeah,
Audio 1.02:how that go over
Audio 1.05:out of their
Audio 1.03:what yeah, the
Audio 1.05:Yeah, they'd have the bandanas sticking outta their pocket in different colors.
Audio 1.03:the trucker hats. And then they're all hooking up after the plenary sessions and their hotel rooms. so it's just, and, and then actually, I went to a really excellent, breakout session at the last Tradeswoman donations to at. It was for LGBTQ plus communities, and they had the most colorful panel of people I have ever seen, including two trans women who were electrical workers, both of whom had, whom had blue hair. And then
Audio 1.05:What?
Audio 1.03:I, I, I I know. See Jamie, you would fit in the, with the blue hairs.
Audio 1.02:with blue hairs
Audio 1.03:and then like this, lady
Audio 1.02:Don't make it a slur Geez Sorry
Audio 1.03:oh,
Audio 1.05:look at that blue hair over there.
Audio 1.03:so actually my co some of my coworkers who are more conservatively minded have used that as a those blue
Audio 1.02:Oh my God
Audio 1.03:blue hair.
Audio 1.05:Oh,
Audio 1.03:like, of
Audio 1.05:Reclaim that word, Jamie. Reclaim it. Make it yours again. Jesus.
Audio 1.02:My
Audio 1.03:But
Audio 1.02:one of them blue
Audio 1.03:I wanted hairs
Audio 1.05:what's up? My blue hair.
Audio 1.03:It was a really uplifting session and it he hearing all these people talk about their stories and like women who were and coming up through the trades in the And, one of them helps lead an organization called Pride at Work, which I donate to monthly that supports, I guess queer people at, in all box of work. So it was great. a huge, a huge representation for that sort of thing. And even in my local, which is more like I said, rurally, conservatively minded, they do have all these mandatory, like DEIA classes, in, in our schooling, right? And so even if the guys who are listening to these don't agree with what's being said, they ain't allowed to say shit. So there's that.
Audio 1.05:They just mutter about it in the truck on their way home
Audio 1.03:and, and to, to be fair, like most of the guys I work with are actually, and are and, and am in school with, are excellent. Like the only troubles I've ever had are from like old crotchety men. From way back the that I
Audio 1.02:off all the old crotchety men We'll be fine
Audio 1.03:yeah, yeah, the guys who I work with who were like, honestly, 55 and younger are fine. So there's that. By fine, I mean, we can have frank discussions about things that we vehemently disagree with each other about.
Audio 1.05:You, you have more patience than I do.
Audio 1.03:eh,
Audio 1.05:What has your mental health been like now that you're you've been in this for a while, so just, you talked, you kind of gave this briefly where it's I am not a manager of guest services, and you were just so happy not talking to people. Like, where are you now mentally? do you like your job? Do you feel invigorated?
Audio 1.03:What day is it?
Audio 1.05:Okay.
Audio 1.03:I, I'm not, I'm not a very indoorsy person. I like being indoors, but working in inside an office all day in front of a computer makes me incredibly antsy. And so when I am working outside or I'm just moving around all day, I, my mental health is so much better. I routinely would get 15 to 20,000 steps a day at my last job. And it just I like to be moving and that helps so much. there are certain things. it's not, it's not all sunshine and roses. There are certain tasks that I do where they're menial and they're dumb and you stand still for them and they take
Audio 1.05:Hold on. Are they any dumber than snails and jars, though? That's kind of like, that's like the,
Audio 1.03:and I, and you know what? I had to be earning a master's for that shit. So,
Audio 1.02:It blows my
Audio 1.05:that's true.
Audio 1.03:so, things like fire where you're basically like shooting fireproof putty into holes that you've drilled. it's not the most thrilling thing in the world, but, you listen to podcasts and you get on with your day. but I would say that my mental health has been, has been good.
Audio 1.02:Please uh out the the Burnout Collective anywhere that you listen to your podcasts
Audio 1.03:It's, And, and guys help, honestly, I do. I listen to podcasts work, and I'm not just saying this, but I guys on
Audio 1.05:I would listen to us at work, honestly.
Audio 1.03:it's, nice to reminded. I'm like, oh, there's like other women out there with jobs just because I don't get to see any women in the work workplace, ever. So it's just, I don't know. I like what you guys do.
Audio 1.05:Do you feel uncomfortable at all? Like when you're out there, when you are the only girl? Like
Audio 1.03:Not anymore.
Audio 1.05:safe. Okay,
Audio 1.03:No. If they've, honestly, I think I make them more uncomfortable than they make me
Audio 1.05:perfect. Keep it that way. Become ungovernable.
Audio 1.02:needs to be A hundred
Audio 1.03:yeah, because they're good guys and they don't wanna be
Audio 1.05:They're walking. They're walking to the trucks with their Wolverine pink claws.
Audio 1.03:there's, there's, well, no, and like, I was, I was back one day, and this was right after I had come back from an injury and I, I guess I was limping. I didn't realize it, I was carrying this huge tote and this one guy like ran up behind me and he was like, let me carry that for you. And so there are times when you're like, don't treat me like a girl, but you're also like, I really
Audio 1.02:thank God
Audio 1.03:Thank you Right. you
Audio 1.02:I like that every day of my I fucking got this I don't need help
Audio 1.03:yeah. And so I, I do appreciate those moments, like another guy who won't eat in the lunch trailer when I'm there,
Audio 1.05:Oh, that's because his wife doesn't let him be alone with other women. without another
Audio 1.03:that thing. That is a There are guys I work like tell their wives about me
Audio 1.02:what
Audio 1.03:and it's like, wait, no, I know, I know, I know. it's it's few and far between many I swear to God, like most of them just bitch about their wives. that's their primary occupation is drinking and bitching about their wives. And I'm like, your life is you.
Audio 1.02:Oh my God
Audio 1.05:But Ash wants to know it was uncomfortable to start with, like finding. Yeah, I can imagine.
Audio 1.03:and, and also because I am not, I am not a country girl and where I live is very rural and these guys are all, they really like cars. They like guns, they like and off-roading and stuff. That is, is fine. And I'm sure I would like it if I knew how to do any of it, but I'm I like playing the piano and I doing art and books. Eh, so like, we don't, we don't often have things to talk about. So I I just listen to them talk about cars, and I try to learn stuff every once in a I'm so, I don't, I I really hate cars
Audio 1.05:I couldn't, your patience level is fantastic'cause I would just get so annoyed.
Audio 1.03:I think it comes from, I've always felt that it, much as I say I don't like people, that's not really true because every person that I encounter, I'm like, they're like a book. And you, they have all these different chapters and all these different stories, and there's so much to every person that you meet
Audio 1.02:That's exactly how I feel and I just watched Rebecca roll her eyes so hard
Audio 1.03:I know, and I, I know. I'm like, Rebecca does
Audio 1.05:I am sorry. The taurus. taurus Snap judgment is,
Audio 1.03:You what? I've known you for 36 years. It's cool. I knew you weren't gonna agree me, but true. And actually this is why I wanted anthropology is because people are and so head, and this is, I also really dates and interviews for the same reason. Because you never run out of things about because you, I just met this person, I need to know everything about them.
Audio 1.02:Oh God
Audio 1.03:So that helps sometimes
Audio 1.02:about
Audio 1.05:true. We will do that.
Audio 1.03:but you have to keep it socially acceptable
Audio 1.05:the first time I went to Robert's apartment, I just immediately started digging through his closet and all of his drawers and being like, what is this? What are these pictures? Who is
Audio 1.02:Rachel would you ever first time you went to a partner's place when you were dating
Audio 1.03:Not the first was on a, in a relationship that was on the rocks
Audio 1.02:I've just never done that period
Audio 1.03:Oh I've done it once and I felt so bad. I've genuinely never done it again.
Audio 1.05:Oh no, he was right there. No, he was literally right there and I'm like, tell me who
Audio 1.04:is this?
Audio 1.05:What are you doing? Oh, yeah, no, he was literally right there and I was just at like, who is this? In this picture? Is your mom dead? like just,
Audio 1.03:do you of that I don't, I don't, I don't think I, I don't think I could do that. I could not do that.
Audio 1.02:your
Audio 1.05:I mean, I think it's like just ripped that bandaid off and I needed to know if he was a serial killer, so,
Audio 1.03:I, I support it. I'm not judging. I just, I, I like putting myself in your position of doing that. It makes me feel so deeply uncomfortable on so many levels, but maybe you that, like give a fuck
Audio 1.05:Oh no, I love it. I love going through people's
Audio 1.02:doesn't have that Give a fuck
Audio 1.03:I know, I know. I
Audio 1.02:give a fucks
Audio 1.03:fucks to give.
Audio 1.05:No, that's what you have to start in strong, like a new person you start to work with. What is your religious trauma? Are your parents divorced? Yeah. You
Audio 1.02:I know
Audio 1.03:the wild thing
Audio 1.02:I do wanna know that
Audio 1.03:and there is so much of it and, and so many of these guys, and I don't know if it's because I'm a girl, but they will tell you everything immediately. And want me to like them, and they, they
Audio 1.05:it's'cause my stupid wife doesn't listen to me. I can't talk like this at home.
Audio 1.03:ki he feel bad for them. You're like, I'm sorry for whatever you're going through. not everything about you great and I definitely wouldn't fucking marry you. But it's like they need someone to talk to. And so I was talking to one of my, my
Audio 1.05:Hold on a minute. You know who's fucking therapist? Go to therapy.
Audio 1.03:Okay. And so I will say I have learned the hard way to put up boundaries. Like I have learned this the hard way because inevitably I start telling them things about myself, and then those things always come back to bite me because these men gossip like fucking middle schoolers, you would not believe. Like they have no filters and they just say everything. So if they know stuff about you, they're gonna share it with everybody else. And then suddenly everybody knows your business. And it's not
Audio 1.05:This is why you, they can't be in leadership. They're too emotional. I mean, that's why they shouldn't lead.
Audio 1.03:It's, it's, and
Audio 1.02:I I also just so many men like it's gotta be like a high percentage of men Treat a lot of women a lot of partners as therapists or mothers
Audio 1.05:Mm-hmm.
Audio 1.03:yeah,
Audio 1.02:Don't do that Don't be that guy
Audio 1.05:You have to be mommy wife.
Audio 1.02:says I think sometimes guys automatically see women as safe places to share emotions with other men not being safe And yes they should go to therapy not burden the women in their lives Yep Patriarchy
Audio 1.05:Yeah.
Audio 1.03:Yeah. And I, again, like I, I'm pretty, I'm pretty naive, just like inherently. And so, like, it took me a minute to learn this, that I don't have to be that person. And if, if I get to know these guys one-on-one, then sure, like I'll listen to them. But I've told them now, now I have told them that if they come to me with my first piece of then dump her off the cuff. Like I don't have to. I'm dump her. I don't care. Lemme move on with my day because I need to go back to work. I'm here to work. I'm not here to be your goddamn therapist. And it's taken me a long time to build that up though, right? Like at first I was like, oh, of course I'll listen to your problems because I should respect you because you're a journeyman. And now I'm like, fuck off. Like I need to work it. It's taken me a minute.
Audio 1.05:Healthy boundaries at work. Look at you. Very good.
Audio 1.03:I know. I'm working on it. So
Audio 1.02:doing great
Audio 1.05:No, that's great. No, genuinely. That was great.
Audio 1.03:Thanks. And I, I really, I liked my last crew too. they were just, they were good guys. we had great conversations. None of us were on same page politically, but like we talked about it and we got through the day together and we would go out and have pizza and beer after work. So
Audio 1.02:I
Audio 1.05:All right,
Audio 1.02:did wanna ask cause I have never heard the story from you I wanna hear the barn story us maybe a little background Tell us the story if you're comfortable
Audio 1.05:Rachel Cannon, Barnes survivor.
Audio 1.03:Okay. How much preamble do you want for this?
Audio 1.05:Do it. Just do it
Audio 1.04:all
Audio 1.02:a whole story a whole dramatic story Let's go take a drink
Audio 1.03:work my storytelling skills. Okay. I am not a country girl and to rural Oregon to, to buy a house with my partner who I'd known for all of four months. And we have an acre and a half, neither one of us fucking idea how to manage an acre and So we had this shitty old pull like four ponderosa pine trees in the ground with a roof and some siding around it. That was, crappy to say the least. And pieces of it were falling down. And so I had the bright idea of what if we took this eyesore down, just tore all this, the, the siding off, and we turned it into a nice chicken coop our chickens and like a greenhouse structure. So it turns out that when you put just straight ass. Trees in the ground when the soil is very acidic and they're sitting there for probably 27 years or so. The wood is no longer structurally sound I'm out there one day and I said to Caleb, Hey, we should pour concrete footings for this to shore up this structure. And he was like, okay, I'll go to the hardware store and I'll get some bags of concrete. And I'm like clearing out the remnants of what used to be the chicken coop.'cause we had temporarily rehomed the chicken so we could do this project, right? I hear a, I stopped and I went, oh, that's probably And. I hear err and I went, boys, boys. And I was like, trying to sho shove the dogs away, like get them out of the way. And I started to run and then ran as the barn fell this onto me. I ran in exactly the wrong direction. and this whole fucking thing just teeter totters down right on top of me. and it landed with a corner of it under a burn barrel and tilted down like this, right? And I am right next to the burn barrel. And so that was the only thing that kept that fucking roof that probably weighed well over a thousand pounds just from smashing me. Right? my first thought was after all the dusty cleared was, motherfucker, this is gonna be expensive, God dammit. And my second thought was, where the hell are my dogs? So I like I had just this much to look out underneath, like the, the, the roof. And I saw our Pomeranian huh, what's going is exciting. And then our other dog was like, oh, what's happening? And so okay, the dogs are alive. Cool
Audio 1.02:are safe
Audio 1.03:And like, and when shit like this happens, you're just kind of in like a state of okay, handle I'm in.
Audio 1.05:No, barns don't fall on people.
Audio 1.03:I don't remember exactly happened but
Audio 1.02:had any experience with this Rebecca She has percent time had this The barn fell on
Audio 1.03:It's you statistically speaking, you are correct. A hundred percent of the time the barn falls on people. I thought, okay, I can't afford an ambulance I can probably crawl out, like I got space. And so I start to move, but I'm laying on my side and the hip that was under me was like, Nope. The screams. I have Scrum, it was, it more than anything I've ever felt in my entire life. And so I kept trying and I couldn't move and I was just, I started yelling and I was like, somebody please help, please help. I don't know, dunno what, no one can hear me.'cause there was a fucking barn on top of me. So sometime during this I text my, instructor for my schooling.'cause I have my phone on me and I was like, I won't be in class tomorrow. Number one.
Audio 1.02:first thing you do with phone
Audio 1.03:It was in the cycle somewhere. And I called my sister and I was like, okay, so first of all, I'm fine. Second of all, you need to call mom and dad
Audio 1.05:No, no, no, no, no, no. The first time you called and I just heard you screaming and I heard men's voices and then you hung
Audio 1.03:okay. So I called
Audio 1.02:Oh my God
Audio 1.03:1 1 Okay. That's good to
Audio 1.05:and I thought she was getting fucking, I don't even know, but
Audio 1.03:Okay,
Audio 1.05:yeah,
Audio 1.03:So, okay, so I did call 9 1 1 before I called you. This is good to know. I did not know that. so I called 9 1 1 and the operator stayed on the phone with me and she was like, just hang out. Like people will come. And a whole crew of 15 people, men, tall men, burly men in fireman suits, came to our yard as our dogs are oh, hi. I heard them say the dogs are friendly. And then they spent about 45 minutes trying to figure out how to get out from underneath this barn. This
Audio 1.02:selfies while she's under the barn with the hot bur men Mm-hmm
Audio 1.03:yeah. I thought about it and was like, that's tacky. Like I can't do you also have remember that time, like my partner who is a straight male, was at the hardware store and I tried to call him twice and he didn't pick up his
Audio 1.02:Oh my God
Audio 1.03:So he gets home from not picking up his phone. I texted him nine one one, get your ass home help. just get home. And so he comes home and he, he doesn't the ambulances there. And so he comes home to a bunch of men, like trying to get me from out, from underneath the barn. And he couldn't do anything'cause they were like, you can't help just go sit, go sit in your car, go sit away. And they spent 45 minutes arguing over how to get me out. And at some, at one point they were like, what if we like chainsaw this piece of wood? And I was like, that is seven inches from my head. Please do not take a chainsaw. Seven inches from my head. and eventually they decided to like basically, do the ice rescue thing where you like get on your stomach and you pull somebody out and then you have another person holding onto that person's feet. And so they had to drag me out on the hip. That was dislocated. And don't know if you've ever dislocated anything. Yeah, I can spare you the
Audio 1.02:not
Audio 1.03:but it hurt a lot. And then they had to
Audio 1.05:A lot.
Audio 1.03:Very, like I I'm not a screamer. I'm not a screamer, I'm not emotional. I I screamed from my toes many times. they put me very carefully onto a stretcher and then I heard one of them say, give her fentanyl. And I was like, I don't want fentanyl. Fentanyl. No, it's bad.
Audio 1.05:Yes.
Audio 1.03:of it at this point anyway.'cause I'm still in shock and trying to process whatever's happening. I'm really glad they gave me the fenal. And
Audio 1.02:glad they gave you the fentanyl too
Audio 1.03:yeah. And then on the way out ride was a half an hour to the hospital'cause I live in the middle of goddamn nowhere. and they got the ambulance stuck at a certain point'cause they had rolled into some soft dirt and so it took em a little bit to figure out how to get the ambulance out of the dirt.
Audio 1.05:Oh God.
Audio 1.03:I get to the hospital eventually and they, I've never done ketamine for fun, but I, I, I now know what ketamine is like and it is something so
Audio 1.02:and boy is it something
Audio 1.03:so, like, I don't even know where to like end the story at, but basically like
Audio 1.02:barn survivor It It hurt a lot
Audio 1.03:it hurt a
Audio 1.05:I think the actual breaking of your fucking hip, it did break. It wasn't just dislocated. You broke
Audio 1.03:did. Yeah. And so because it, it snapped with such force, it, the acetabular region, which back of your pelvis, broken two
Audio 1.02:Love that
Audio 1.03:And so I, I was out for three months. I was not allowed to go anywhere or do three months, which I am not good at sitting still. So I was outta And I will say that the, my major takeaway from this story is that shit happens and you just deal with it. that's, as we get older, shit just fucking happens. People die, barns fall on Like people get cancer. You could lose your job, whatever it is. And it sucks and you can talk about it and you can process it, but like all you can really do is continue to move forward. Otherwise you just fall over and die. I don't mean that to be
Audio 1.05:And don't talk to Rachel about it at work. She doesn't wanna hear it, don't talk to her about it at work, about anything. Whatever shit has happened to you. I don't want you working.
Audio 1.03:I think after, after this happened to me, I've heard from guys who are like, oh yeah, like I went off running one time and I like broke my leg in 17 places and I was outta work for four months. my partner's dad was telling me about a time when he did really traumatic to it It they really, people just get hurt lot. They just, yeah. It happens. And so now I have my story, I guess I don't recommend it for anybody.
Audio 1.02:Hey at least you have your fun fact When you meet new people you know
Audio 1.03:Right?
Audio 1.05:Mm-hmm.
Audio 1.02:an entire barn fell on me and I lived
Audio 1.03:Yeah, yeah, totally. So, I, oh, oh, so rather than constructing a new coop I had spent$400 on material for, I had a broken fucking hip. My partner was like, I'm not building a fucking chicken, chicken cuppa. We were like, okay. So we found somebody to take the chickens as animals, not as to eat, just,
Audio 1.02:Okay She saw my face She's
Audio 1.03:So I was like, they didn't, I don't think they ate chickens, but it ate my business. So
Audio 1.02:I just remember been to oh I guess I've been to Portland a few times now but the first time I ever went to Portland I was just doing a lot of like touristy things and a lot of different hikes and stuff I remember coming down from a hike I don't remember what it was and it was just like like the trail started and ended in this little neighborhood I'm walking through the neighborhood and the house like immediately to my left I just look and there's just like three chickens in the backyard just and I was like
Audio 1.03:just hanging out.
Audio 1.02:I'm in Portland
Audio 1.03:We, we also had chickens. Their names were lemon, cello, hookers, and blackjack.
Audio 1.02:Those
Audio 1.03:no I'm sorry. We had two chickens at the time of this barn falling incident because one of them got eaten by the neighbor's cat. This is, this is why I think people are like, I'm gonna move for the country and forget all my problems. No, you're not. No you're not. Because you have to keep livestock alive Yeah. And you can't just take them in your house and cuddle them and make them yours. You can, but those people are crazy. So I don't know people who are like, I just wanna move and I want acreage and I want land. No, you don't stay in your apartment. It's so much easier. Like, I know it's expensive, but you don't have to have a barn on you or like figure out what to do
Audio 1.02:Let this warning stopping renting Don't a barn might on
Audio 1.05:i. Well, honestly, thank you so much. Like this has been truly, again, this is something we don't talk about or know about at all, honestly, and
Audio 1.03:Barn
Audio 1.05:is a ton of great information. Yes.
Audio 1.02:everything
Audio 1.03:Okay. Yeah. And it's system, but I think that collective bargaining thing and, and the ability to talk about wages at work without this like bullshit of, we don't talk to about how much we're
Audio 1.05:Yeah. Pay transparency is almost non-existent. We've had it once, I've had it once. I don't know if had it more than time at the startup we were at. We had, but that's'cause we had a great HR person. but I've never had it anywhere else and have been actively discouraged from talking about how much I make.
Audio 1.02:Yeah
Audio 1.03:For me it's always been like, I don't. Make enough like, have anybody care about Like who, who the fuck cares that I make 48,000 a year? Although I was in a position at one point where I was hiring as I, I was helping hire two people who made$60,000 a year. So I, I had the final say on who we hired, who made$12,000 a year more than I did.
Audio 1.02:That's insane
Audio 1.03:And I up for myself and I really wish that I would have,
Audio 1.05:no, this is great. And I, I think honestly, I plan to just poke on the internet. I, I find it fascinating and I love, I, I love you telling us everything. Like I know you could probably talk about this for hours.
Audio 1.03:could,
Audio 1.05:I have lots of questions.
Audio 1.03:and
Audio 1.02:we'll just
Audio 1.05:No, this is wonderful. Yeah, no, thank you so
Audio 1.02:cosmic in chat here said anytime I get told not to talk about how much I make I immediately tell everyone I see Yeah that's how I feel I
Audio 1.03:I was gonna say, I'm also, within our local, I'm also the recording secretary for our Sisters committee, so I guess if anybody has questions about things like that or they wanna know about unionized trades, I'm always happy to help people drink the Kool-Aid. I Kool-Aid. It's delicious. that's all. Yeah. Yeah. and I would also encourage people that, like when, if you're reading the news and see some of this bullshit about like national right to work. Or how people are anti-union or how they're trying to rewrite the laws in really sneaky ways that are bad for American workers. read up on those things like if you have time, do that research so that you can talk openly about them. So if you meet somebody who's like, well, I don't agree with unions, you can actually be like, well, let me tell you. I that that's really important for people to know as Americans and as
Audio 1.05:We will put your email in the, show notes genuinely, thank you so much. I, I can't wait to have you back and hear more about this. I, I think it's important to get this info out'cause I didn't know anything about it and I don't think a lot of people know a lot about it.
Audio 1.03:It's a deep hole. It's a deep, and there's a lot of holes to go down right now, so thank you for taking, thank you so much for having me, and it was really lovely to talk to the both I love what you do and I'm, I'm so happy that you're doing this and filling this niche for who just need to scream and not to avoid void into like
Audio 1.05:Why not? Stop, stop.
Audio 1.02:Also like Rachel and I figured out like how similar we are and like now we're also gonna be friends. Thank you so much. I'm so glad I got to
Audio 1.05:No, thank you. Thank you.
Audio 1.02:get to
Audio 1.03:Yeah you
Audio 1.05:All right, well we will see you guys next Thursday.
Audio 1.02:Yeah. See you next week. Thank you everybody. Thank you for being here.
The Burnout Collective is hosted by me, Jamie Young, and me, Rebecca McCracken. You can find all our episodes plus show notes@burnoutcollective.com. Follow the discord link on our website to join the Burnout community. You can also find us on TikTok and Instagram. If you're interested in being a guest on a future episode or have questions or feedback, you can email us at podcast@burnoutcollective.com.
