SunZia Transmission

The short version for a brother deciding tonight: SunZia is announcing $104 a day per diem, the line runs under an IBEW project labor agreement the IBEW International President signed himself, and it's a 580-mile, 525-kV HVDC line across New Mexico and Arizona — outside-construction line work. One honest flag up top: this one's late in its build, so confirm the hiring window before you roll. Here's the real read. Is it really Union? Straight IBEW. The transmission line was built under a PLA signed between the IBEW, developer Pattern Energy, and Quanta Services, and the IBEW called it the largest outside-branch PLA in decades. IBEW International President Kenneth Cooper put his name on it. Linemen from Albuquerque Local 611 and Phoenix Local 769 worked it; at peak, close to 600 IBEW members on the line. The U.S. Department of the Interior confirmed at the groundbreaking that the project was committed to union labor. Verified union, IBEW outside construction. What it pays The announced per diem is $104/day — "announced," not confirmed from the ground. Line work pays its own way; get your rate in writing from the local before you roll. Worked it? Drop the real number in the dryshack below. The honest flag — confirm the hiring window FIRST Brother, read this before you drive: SunZia's transmission line reportedly reached commercial operation around May 2026. That means the big construction push may be winding down or done on the transmission portion. Before you treat this as an active call, phone IBEW Local 769 (Mark Cunningham) or Local 611 and confirm there's still manning. We label it verified union because the PLA is real and documented — but we won't pretend it's hiring hard if it's not. Always honest, even when it costs us a job listing. Where to stay This is remote desert Southwest — central New Mexico to south-central Arizona, rural counties, not a city job. Lodging means small towns, man-camps, or RV along the route (think Corona NM, Socorro, the AZ desert). The road-crew lodging and RV intel matters MORE here than on the metro jobs. Brothers who've run this line — your camp and RV-spot tips in the comments are gold. Best eats nearby Out here, it's small-town diners and whatever's near the right-of-way. Not a food-scene job — it's a make-your-own and gas-station-coffee job. Brothers, share the decent spots you found along the route. Is the contractor fair? How's safety? Line work has its own hazards, and only brothers who've run it know the real story. We don't print a contractor's reputation off a press release. So: IBEW brothers who worked SunZia, drop it in the dryshack. Was the line contractor straight? How was the safety culture on the towers and the HVDC work? Your word carries because you've been on it. Protect the work — the free Print Shop UnionBoomer.com has a free Print Shop built into the Dry Shack. Any union member can fire off pro-union letters — to elected officials, non-union shops, or brothers on open-shop jobs nearby — letter campaigns at scale to protect and grow union membership. Costs you nothing. The grid build-out is just getting started nationally; transmission is where a lot of union line work is headed. The letters keep that work union as it comes. Make America Union Again — one letter, one brother at a time. The long-haul read SunZia itself may be winding down, but it's the template for what's coming — the clean-energy grid build means more big transmission PLAs ahead. If SunZia's manning is thin, ask your local what's next; the line work is moving. IBEW brothers on SunZia — is it still hiring, what's the real per diem, and was the contractor straight? Drop your intel in the dryshack below. And fire off a letter from the free Print Shop to a brother on a non-union job nearby. Boots on the ground.