• Posted: June 4, 2021
• Apprentice, Apprenticeship Program, better careers, Business Agent, EJATT, Electrician, IBEW Local 134, YouTube video

 

Daniel Zaragoza was one of the lucky few who knew that college wasn’t for him before spending the time and money on traditional higher education. Though knowledge of the trades wasn’t common where he grew up in the Marquette Park neighborhood of Chicago, Daniel’s father’s friend, a plumber, steered him to the trades.

After considering both the electrical and plumbers unions, Daniel started the apprenticeship program when he was just 19 — the youngest in his class. 

After graduating from the apprenticeship program, Daniel’s first job out of school was working for Continental Electric where he worked for several years. While at Continental Electric, some of his most memorable jobs were working on Northwestern Hospital and Lakeside Tech. Lakeside Tech was one of Chicago’s first data centers in the old R.R. Donnelley building where Daniel enjoyed the ability to meet people from all over the country. 

Daniel then continued his work in the field until 2013, then going to work for the Chicago Park District for a couple of years before becoming a Business Agent with the IBEW Local 134 in 2017. After Daniel’s number of experiences, there’s one thing he enjoys most about being a Business Agent.

“It’s really rewarding when you bring non-union workers into the union world. To hear their story six months to a year later about how much better their lives are, that’s really rewarding.”

Coming from a Mexican-American father and an Irish mother, Daniel views himself as fortunate to be steered in the direction of the trades and knows that more work should be done so kids know about the opportunities that exist outside of traditional education. But he acknowledges that some progress is being made in reaching kids in the neighborhood where he grew up. 

“It makes me feel good. I’m glad to see that our trade is becoming a little more diverse.”

From Daniel’s perspective, one of the benefits of a more diverse group of tradespeople is that people may feel more comfortable talking to someone who’s come from the same background that they have, someone who knows where they’re coming from. At the same time, he acknowledges that one of the benefits of working in the trades is equal pay, no matter a person’s age, gender, or ethnic background.

“One of the good things about the trades is when you go through the apprenticeship, everybody’s the same. You learn the same thing, you get the same pay scale, you get the same benefit, whether you’re a woman, Mexican American, or African American, everybody makes the same money. Everybody gets the same chance.”

The opportunity to join the union was one that Daniel took and never looked back and the electrical industry is better for it.