Over 500 job seekers lined up in the below freezing temperatures to apply for 50 apprenticeships in the painters, drywallers, and decorators union in Queens. The full-time positions pay $17.20 per hour and are part of a three year program. In addition to good pay and stability, the positions offer benefits, something desperately sought by the large numbers of unemployed in New York City. Many of the job seekers spent the night in line to be one of the five hundred.
See "Hundreds Brave Cold For Chance At Union Job In Queens", CBS News, January 9, 2014