When she started her apprenticeship, Samantha Bentley was working in an office that paid around $12 per hour and afforded her limited benefits. To start her career as an electrician, Bentley took a dollar pay cut and moved into a field primarily occupied by men.      

Now just starting her 4^th year of apprenticeship, at 24, Bentley receives $20.85 per hour and receives full benefits for the work she does for Power City Electric. The benefits Bentley has earned through the apprenticeship program stretch beyond wages, terms and conditions, however. Because of Bentley’s involvement with IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 73 she was introduced to an aspect of life that she had not previously considered.  

Through her union affiliation, Bentley has traveled to Olympia twice as part of the Alliance organized Olympia Day, gone to Washington D.C. for a conference focused on women in the trades and moved into her community to raise awareness about labor unions through the Labor to Neighbor campaign. All of these activities helped Bentley begin to exercise a part of herself that she has previously not known how to engage in; they encouraged her to become a public person.

“[The Alliance] has opened my eyes to things that are going on and to the fact that getting involved can make a difference,” Bentley said.

Bentley has also participated in two assemblies organized by the Alliance, one which attempted to gain support from Mayor Verner for SustainableWorks and a Leadership Institute. According to Bentley, the Institute helped her become more comfortable in talking to people, developing strategies to set up meetings, getting involved and building relationships in various areas of her life.

No longer is Bentley plagued with credit card debt or medical bills, and now she can experience financial independence.  

Apprenticeship has always been an opportunity for financially disadvantaged people to overcome odds, apply themselves, and become financially responsible, explained Todd Turner, the Electrical Apprenticeship Coordinator for IBEW Local 73. 

“We have several low income single parents that receive great benefits by choosing to be part of an apprenticeship program. The program, above providing a better wage and benefits, is a family in itself that helps support each member,” Turner said.

However, Bentley’s experience in apprenticeship has meant more than earning a wage. It has meant that she is one of many women beginning to creep into a male dominated class of work. According to Turner, several women are currently going through the electrical apprenticeship program right now.

Being in a trade, Bentley has realized how important it is for young people, especially women, to discover what apprenticeship is at a younger age. One way this interest gets expressed is through a program called Pizza, Pop and Powertools.  Bentley has participated in the program for the last three years, helping to expose young women to the trades and the opportunities of an apprenticeship.  

“[Pizza, Pop and Powertools] gives the construction trades a chance to tell young women that if this is something you want to do, there is the opportunity for you to do it,” Bentley said.

Even for men, apprenticeship does not often get brought up relatively early, according to Turner.   

“A lot of people don’t know about apprenticeship; it wasn’t the first thing in my mind,” Turner said.