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The school year is beginning to smooth out after an influx of new students. This year
we have 35 new apprentices, the majority being PCC.
Three of our PCC instructors, Troy Garland, Vince Schneider, Jose Herrera, and Larry
Buranen, our brick instructor in Fresno recently attended instructor training at the
International Masonry Institute. Thanks to each of them for their dedication and commitment
to our apprenticeship programs.
On 5 October we had our first CPR/First Aid class at the Pleasanton Facility. The students
received a day of training in CPR and the Basic First Aid Course; treatment of broken bones,
bleeding, burns, and other medical emergencies such as seizures and heart attack. Apprentices
who completed the course are Arturo Alvarado, James Brumley, Justin Thayne, Ignacio Alcala,
Joseph Anderson, Francisco Avina, Victor Cerda, Walter Garcia, Aaron Howard, Jesus Lara,
Jose Mejia, Ramon Mejia, Hector Pineda, Francisco Sandoval, Ann Stanchina, Joe Uriarte. They
are now able to treat injuries with more confidence and possibly save lives if necessary, as
a result of their CPR/First Aid training. Congratulations to each of them.
This year we will have our Local Bricklaying Contest in Pleasanton. We plan to combine a
PCC Contest again this year. We also plan to have a competition for marble masons as they
will be included in the Western States Brick and Tile Contest, which this year will serve
as a qualifier to the International Contest. Each contest will incorporate a written and
hands on portion.
We are looking forward to another good year for the apprenticeship program.
School began on 7 September for all apprentices. We have 15 bricklayer apprentices attending
in Fresno, and 46 at the Pleasanton facility. Also at Pleasanton we have 79 PCC apprentices
and in San Francisco we have 32 marble finishers and 15 marble masons for a total of 187
apprentices registered and attending classes. The crowded conditions in Pleasanton will be
amplified if we have a wet winter.We are presently assigned two classrooms for our PCC and
Bricklayer apprentices. A rainy school day would mean 125 students in those two clasrooms.
We expect to certify 12 Bricklayers, 25 Pointer, Cleaner, Caulkers, 6 Marble Masons and
4 Marble Finishers during the course of this school year.
Teaching the bricklayers we have Larry Buranen in Fresno, and Michael Height, Greg Miranda
and Brent Kirkes in Pleasanton. The PCC apprentices are being taught by Troy Garland, Justin
Garland, Vince Schneider and Jose Herrera. Doug Pritchett and Chuck Woodard are teaching the
marble finishers and Steve Kantoniemi and Steve Byers are teaching the marble masons in San
Francisco.
The apprentice office accepts applicants each weekday between 8:30 and 11:30 am. If you know
of someone interested in becoming a bricklayer, have them contact the apprentice office. We
are facing an increasing shortage of craftsmen in this field. Our contractors, foremen and
fellow journeymen must develop a sincere interest and take an active role in training our
apprentices if we are to maintain our current workforce.
Recently Certified Journeypersons
Bricklayers PCC Congratulations to each of you for choosing a respected and rewarding craft.
I want to remind members that the Brick and PCC contracts will be up for negotiation
next year. We are already hearing from some contractors that work is slowing down and
from others that it’s still coming in. One thing for sure, the rising cost of Health &
Welfare will be a big issue at the negotiating table.
The average cost increase for building trade unions is 20%. If you put 20% on top of
our $3.75 H&W cost, we are looking at 75 cents just to maintain our H&W. We need to be
like the wise old squirrel putting nuts away for the hard times that may come during
negotiations.
On Monday the 14th of October we were asked by the building trades to show union support.
The project was in Emeryville. There was great support from all the trades. Around one
hundred union members were involved. What I found hard was when union members on the job
were asked to show solidarity and leave the project, some of them just stood around. I need
to ask you as members to think about why actions such as this picket take place and what a
good union member does when they show up at a job site that has a picket on it.
One of the reasons for pickets is to let the non-union know that we’re out there. To let
them know what unions are about. If you think the average non-union shop is offering the
same benefits unions are, think again. These people are working for sub standard wages,
nothing in comparison to union standards. We live in one of the highest cost of living
areas in the United States and it’s hard to keep up even as a union member with union wages
and benefits. Now consider how it would be if you were working for the non-union, you
wouldn’t stand a chance.
As a union officer I can’t tell you to honor a sanctioned union picket. If we look the
other way and don’t stand firm on unionism we all may be working for sub standard wages.
In the last four and a half years this local has had it’s fair share of pickets against
the non-union. We haven’t been able to hit all the projects. One reason is that some
projects are totally non-union from the start, so we’ve learned to pick our targets. We
also are left to man these pickets because all our members have been fully employed for
the last five years.
I want to commend Nick Thompson who was asked by the Boy Scouts of America to donate time
to build a BBQ at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds. Nick drew up the plans, presented them for
Michael Height’s approval, asked some of his fellow classmates to pitch in and two Saturdays
later they were done. Great job and way to go Nick and fellow classmates.
Patrick Green is a Boy Scout in Pleasanton. For his Eagle Project he decided to rebuild
a masonry barbecue pit at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. Lacking the necessary experience
Patrick contacted the BAC Local 3 Apprenticeship Office for suggestions and guidance.
Considering that the project was relatively small and would serve to benefit both Patrick
and the Alameda County community we accepted his invitation.
Nicholas Thompson began working with Patrick and his father, Jeff in August. Nick has been
in our apprenticeship program for about two years and welcomed the opportunity. He made
detailed drawings, figured materials, devised a material stock plan and solicited our brick
apprentices for additional volunteers to go out to the fairgrounds and build the brick
barbecue pit.
We began work on Saturday, 12 October and returned the following Saturday to complete the
project under the supervision of Brent Kirkes. Apprentices who contributed were Nicholas
Thompson, Jerry Turley, Ariel Melero, Calvin Chess, Jose Cabrera, Miguel Cabrera, Justin
Thayne, Freddie Vasquez, Jason Mower, James Losey and David Orozco. Thanks to each of them
for donating their time, talents and skills for a worthwhile project. Thanks also to the boy
scouts who pitched in as hodcarriers.
As the days get shorter and cooler those of us who work outside are more susceptible
to illness. It can make for a miserable day and sometimes leads to missed time from work.
This can cause problems for you; lost wages, lost benefits, and also chronic absenteeism may
cause you to lose a job.
Some healthcare professionals would have you believe colds are not caused by you getting cold
or wet. I disagree. By adhering to some basic guidelines you can greatly reduce your chances
of suffering colds, flu and the like.
Dress to maintain your normal body temperature (98.6 degrees). Dress in layers; as you heat
up take off, as you cool down put back on.
We lose most of our heat from our head; wear a hard hat liner on wet cold and windy days.
Don’t wear gloves; if your hands are cold it’s a signal to put on more clothes.
Keep good rain gear on hand; once you get wet your body will cool down much faster.
That nice cool breeze you enjoy on the ride home may be the source of that earache or head cold.
We can get sick from something we eat, drink, inhale or absorb through our skin. Pay attention
to what you eat and drink, wear a mask when working around chemicals or in dusty conditions.
Wash thoroughly if you come in contact with anything questionable.
If you follow these guidelines and still get sick, take 2 aspirins and drive on.
Zack Lambert
News From The Apprentice Office
Jeffrey Sparks
Jeffrey Woodard
Pete Fukuhara
Ariel Melero
Arturo Alvarado
Ben Galindo
Manuel Marquez
Michael Dobbins
Enrique Uriarte
From the President’s Desk
Greg Miranda
Apprentices Volunteer for Community Service Project
Back Page
Zack Lambert
Never miss a day of work