His Dad Was Inside the Towers on 9/11 (Almost). He Built the Freedom Tower. | Josh Nieves | 211

<p><em>What does it actually take to make it in the trades?</em></p><p><em>What is the industry getting wrong about the next generation coming up behind us?</em></p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, Ryan sits down with Josh Nieves, a New York City-raised IBEW Local 3 master electrician and the youngest card-carrying superintendent in the local&#39;s 15,000-member history. Josh&#39;s father, a Light Heavyweight Golden Glove champion turned signatory contractor, had maintenance contracts inside both World Trade Center towers on 9/11 and survived only because of a doctor&#39;s appointment that morning. Years later, at 24 years old, Josh got the call to be sub-foreman on the Freedom Tower while standing on top of the Empire State Building looking directly at the build.</p><p><br></p><p>Together, Josh and Ryan dig into what a real union meeting looks like when brotherhood is alive and well, the leadership gap that&#39;s quietly eroding organized labor from the inside, why Josh sold his brand new house to buy a 160-acre farm in search of purpose, how he built a coaching practice and workforce development career from a single LinkedIn post, and what every contractor needs to hear about recruiting the next generation.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Topics covered:</strong></p><ul><li>The Freedom Tower call that came in while Josh was standing on the Empire State Building</li><li>What an IBEW Local 3 union meeting felt like at 18: &quot;a scene out of Goodfellas&quot;</li><li>The CBA gut check Josh ran with 80 field leaders, and what it revealed about union leadership today</li><li>Why the skills gap is really a leadership gap and what the difference looks like in practice</li><li>The boxing analogy every aspiring leader in the trades needs to hear</li><li>Why &quot;construction workers don&#39;t want another pizza party&quot;, and what they actually want</li><li>How to flip the recruiting question from &quot;why should I hire you?&quot; to &quot;why should I come work for you?&quot;</li><li>Mental health in the trades and why the industry can&#39;t keep sitting back</li></ul><p><br></p><p>✌️<strong>SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE </strong>✌️ </p><p><br></p><p>📱<strong>FOLLOW THE PODCAST ON SOCIAL MEDIA</strong>📱</p><p>Instagram:  <a href="https://www.instagram.com/powerlinepodcast/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠@powerlinepodcast⁠⁠</a></p><p>TikTok:  <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@powerlinepodcast" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠@powerlinepodcast⁠⁠</a></p><p>YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@powerlinepodcast" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠@powerlinepodcast⁠⁠</a></p><p>LinkedIn:  <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/powerline-podcast" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠Powerline Podcast⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p>Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/p/Powerline-Podcast-100093231781499/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠@Powerline-Podcast⁠⁠</a></p><p>X:  <a href="https://x.com/PowerlinePodcst" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠@PowerlinePodcst⁠⁠</a></p><p><br></p><p>⚡️<strong>GUEST: JOSH NIEVES</strong>⚡️</p><p>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshnieves/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠Josh Nieves⁠</a></p><p>Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/joshnieves_/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠@joshnieves_</a></p><p><br></p><p>🎙️<strong>HOST: RYAN LUCAS</strong>🎙️</p><p>Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ryanwlucas/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠@ryanwlucas⁠⁠</a> </p><p>TikTok: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanwlucas" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠@ryanwlucas⁠⁠</a></p><p>LinkedIn: <a href="https://ca.linkedin.com/in/ryanwlucas44" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠Ryan Lucas⁠⁠</a></p><p><br></p><p>💥<strong>INQUIRIES OR GUEST SUGGESTION</strong>💥</p><p>Email: <a href="mailto:powerlinepodcast@quantaservices.com" target="_blank" re