iron work and welding in Virginia (Norfolk, Richmond: low crime, public school, quality of life)

[nrose85]

Hello. I'm looking into Virginia, as well as a couple different states as a possibility to relocate in a couple years. I realize they're all completely different, so that's why I like talking to people that are actually from there. I know Virginia is a "right to work " state, but being from the west coast, I'm not entirely sure what that means. (I know the Google definition, but would like to hear how it actually affects people that live and work in Virginia). Does Virginia use lots of union workers? That would probably help determine where we move. Other things of importance are good hospitals specializing in neurosurgery, safety and low crime, good schools and relatively low cost of living. I currently live in Oregon and am not real interested in sending my daughter to school here. I've also seen the housing market and costs in general just really blow up in the last year. Thanks for giving me some input on things 😃

[Gardner222]

Right to Work in Va just means your employer can't force you to join a union. Be sure to get a contract from your Va employer
that indicates what your employee rights are. Unions arent big here.
Va has a superior public school system. The richer kids get better schools of course but the poor have a good system.We dont
let our kids go hungry. Va as a state is a richer state. Stay away from northern Va, look at Richmond, Roanoke area. Big hospitals
in those cities. Good luck in your search!

[VA Yankee]

If your looking for a strong union presence Virginia would not be your choice. As the other poster mentioned there is no closed shop (mandatory union membership) but that also means there is no collective bargaining by the union. Some industries do have unions but their influence is limited. We are a right to work state and overall I think better off than many states north of here where the unions have them in a strangle hold.

Healthcare is excellent and a good quality of life can be found throughout the state although some may determine that Northern VA can be cost prohibitive.

[nrose85]

Thanks! The thing was, husband has applied in to the Portland, Oregon iron workers union. Once he gets in and becomes a journeyman, we were hoping we could move to a better state and have work. He's a really hard worker and gets jobs on his own easily though. We just thought it would be easier through a union. Can anybody tell me about what a welder/fabricator makes in the Richmond and Roanoke areas? I've looked a little online and it seems the pay is relatively high.

[sregorat3]

Don't know about union jobs, but Lynchburg would have more fabrication, welding, steelwork than Roanoke. Also, Richmond and Tidewater have a higher proportion of those type of jobs. All of those areas have strong medical services, as well.

[nrose85]

Thanks �� I wasn't familiar with tidewater, but I looked it up and is it just the eastern part of the state? I know that Norfolk has a union for iron workers, but don't know how active they are. I also have not heard the best things about that area. Is there lots of crime there?

[Pyroninja42]

I imagine there'd be plenty of work for him in Hampton Roads, where there are TONS of shipyards and drydocks.