Thread by @RickSmithShow

Marsha Nebel: It was almost 42 years to the day that I became an apprentice in the IBEW with Local 158 in Green Bay, WI. Growing up, there was never talk about my going to college, probably b/c I was a woman.
@IBEW

Marsha Nebel: My father taught me how to read blueprints & taught me to be an electrician. Unfortunately, my dad passed away the year after I became an apprentice. I worked at a local nuclear plant & had great opportunities there.
@IBEW

Marsha Nebel: I was the first woman in the electrical trade in my union (but not in WI). The night I got indentured, my dad told me I'd have to work twice as hard to look half as good as a man. That was 1980, & that hasn't changed since.
@IBEW

Rick: All the trades are actively seeking women to join the trades. They're trying to change.
Marsha Nebel: The trades are a great place for women--it's a great livelihood. Women have great hand dexterity & are good at multi-tasking, which is good in the trades.
@IBEW

Marsha Nebel: Not everyone is comfortable sitting behind a desk in a cubicle all day. Personally, I needed to be working with my hands.
@IBEW

Marsha Nebel: We fought for years to get in the doors to talk to guidance counselors & students about the trades, and it's only been the last few years we've been allowed in.
@IBEW

Marsha Nebel: Someone starting in the trades out of high school right now will have a really nice nest egg by the time they retire. We have excellent wages & benefits & pension in the IBEW.
@IBEW

Marsha Nebel: The things I've learned, the relationships I've made, & the variety of work I've done have made me grow as a person. It's been much better than working in an office for 40 years.
@IBEW