William Ward interview conducted by Jaime Lopez, 2017-06-12

• Format: Audio
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accidents; Age and employment; Apprenticeship programs; Blue collar workers; Clubs; Collective bargaining; Corporations; Courtesy in the workplace; Education; Electric industry workers > New York (State) > New York > Interviews; Electricians > New York (State) > New York > Interviews; Employee morale; Employee ownership; Employees; Employees > Training of; Families; Handicraft; Hazing; Health insurance; Hobbies; Hours of labor; Humor in the workplace; Income; Industrial safety; Jargon (Terminology); Job satisfaction; Job security; Job stress; Joking; Labor contract; Labor unions; Layoff systems; Long Island City (New York, N.Y.), > event place; Manners and customs; Medical care; Mentoring; Night work; Non-formal education; Occupational retraining; Occupational training; Office politics; Oral tradition; Overtime; Performance standards; Professional associations; Promotions; Quality of products; Quality of work life; Right to labor; Social life and customs; Storytelling; Substance abuse; Supervisors; Technical education; Technology; Training needs; Unemployment; Vocational interests; Volunteers; Wages; Ward, William J., > 1966 > -Interviews; White collar workers; Work and family; Work environment; Work ethic; Work sharing; Workmanship; Youth

William "Billy" Ward was initiated into Local 3 in 1988, and after 29 years, he is currently the only NETA Level 4 Senior Certified Test Technician in the Local. Born in New York, he grew up in Washington Heights, and as a teenage moved to Riverdale, where he still resides. He speaks about his extended family, his Irish roots, his mother and father and how important they are in his life. He reflects on the lack of focus and direction he had in his youth, how he was initially denied when he first applied to Local 3, and how he took the rejection personally. He talks about a white collar job he had at Lehman Brothers, and how he turned down a raise and took a pay cut when entering the apprenticeship program as well as why he decided to pursue a more mechanical career involving outdoor work in a less restrictive environment. He shares stories about his apprenticeship, the people who influenced him, how he became interested in high voltage testing, the various levels of testing, and how he overcame barriers to reach Level 4. His talks about the technical aspects of his work, and how his favorite part of the job is troubleshooting electrical equipment in emergency situations--a process he compares to his experiences outside of work. He uses electrical jargon throughout the interview.