Category Archives: Building Trades

By Maureen Werther

People in the building and trades industry—union leaders, business owners and educators—continue to say there is an ongoing need to recruit new people for the welding, HVAC, building construction, plumbing, electrical and other trades. 

At a recent meeting of BOCES counselors and business owners at the offices of Bonacio Construction, Sonny Bonacio talked about the need for skilled labor industry-wide. Bonacio Construction, formed in 1988, is a major residential and commercial builder in the Capital Region.

“It’s been a challenge for the last 15-20 years getting plumbers, roofers, framers. We’ve noticed in our own company there are way too many people who are in their 40s and 50s and not enough in the 20- and 30-year-old range,” said Bonacio.

By Maureen Werther

Lee Keirstead, project manager for Stone Bridge Iron and Steel, Inc. in Gansevoort, is the new president of Northeast Subcontractors Association (NESCA). 

NESCA is a nonprofit trade association based in Albany. It represents nearly 500 subcontracting companies, specialty contractors and suppliers of construction material and equipment, making it the largest subcontractor group in the country. Its members include both union and open-shop companies.

NESCA’s goal is to serve the needs of commercial, industrial and institutional subcontractors, specialty contracts and material suppliers in the Capital District, Hudson Valley, the North Country and west into Binghamton. It works on issues affecting its members and it provides education, advocacy and networking opportunities to its members.

By Maureen Werther

For the 450 members of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 773, the outlook regarding the future of jobs is good. Its state-of-the-art training center in Queensbury continues to prepare journeymen for the fast-growing list of jobs in and around the region, union officials said.

Located at 37 Luzerne Road in Queensbury,  the team of expert instructors and support staff at Local 773 serves seven counties that span from Saratoga County to the Canadian border. They provide qualified pipefitters, welders, plumbers, HVAC workers and fire-suppression experts to industries ranging from commercial and light industrial to high-tech companies such as GlobalFoundries.

The $5-million facility was built in response to the rapid increase in apprenticeships the union experienced seven years ago, officials said. It was located on Bluebird Road in South Glens Falls but was no longer able to accommodate the union’s growing membership.

“Our members decided to invest in growing,” said Nelson Charron, marketing representative for Local 773 and longtime member of the union.

Masonry contractors in Upstate New York have formed a new organization to assist in marketing their trade.

The Upstate Masonry Institute (UMI) is the contractors’ new outreach division with the mission to advocate, educate and promote use of masonry in construction projects that span from the Capital Region to Syracuse in the west and up to the U.S-Canadian border.

Upstate Masonry Institute was designed and is dedicated to improve the overall utilization of masonry materials of all types in the Upstate New York area in commercial, industrial and institutional construction projects, officials for the new organization said.

“UMI is here to represent the masonry industry by educating the developers, owners, architects, engineers and contractors involved in the success of masonry construction applications, providing the knowledge and means of increasing efficiency and productivity in masonry, and advocating the increased use of brick, block and stone,” the group said in a news release.

This office at 3 Hunter Brook Lane in Queensbury is one of two locations operated by Orthopedic & Spine Physical Therapy PC, which has been in business for 20 years. Courtesy Orthopedic & Spine Physical Therapy The Timber Framers...

Members of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 773 are finding more work in the area. ©2016 Saratoga Photographer.com by Susan E. Campbell After nearly three years of anticipation, local union officials say the economy upstate may be on the verge...

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CLA SITE recently upgraded the main lodge and amphitheater at Camp Walden in Diamond Point. The company also completed a waterfront improvement project for the camp. Courtesy CLA SITE By MAureen werther CLA SITE Landscape Architecture, Engineering & Planning...

New York state has made $59 million available to construct, rehabilitate, and improve the homes of income-eligible families. "Every New Yorker deserves a safe, affordable and decent place to call home and with this funding we are taking one...