Over A Thousand Vie For Plumbers Union Apprenticeship

Over a thousand New Yorkers filled the streets of Queens this weekend in the hopes of receiving a coveted plumbers union apprenticeship.

People waited for up to three days just for a shot at an application. One would-be plumber who spoke to NY1 waited "on line for 72 hours since Friday."

While the apprenticeship requires 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and takes five years to complete, one can net as much as $90,000 a year as a unionized plumber, making it a seemingly well-paid safe bet in these uncertain economic times.

Despite the large turnout, the Local #1 Plumbers Union plans on only accepting a hundred or so people into the program.