{"id":17117,"date":"2015-06-18T14:00:37","date_gmt":"2015-06-18T18:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/06\/union-construction-workers-doing-well-in-north-country-region-union-head-says.html"},"modified":"2015-06-18T14:00:37","modified_gmt":"2015-06-18T18:00:37","slug":"union-construction-workers-doing-well-in-north-country-region-union-head-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/06\/union-construction-workers-doing-well-in-north-country-region-union-head-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Union Construction Workers Doing Well In North Country Region, Union Head Says"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\"construction-wm.jpg\"\n<\/div>\n
Construction projects like this one are keeping people in the building trades busy. A regional union official says wages are high and the industry is currently strong\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY JILL NAGY AND R.J. DELUKE<\/p>\n

Construction workers in the region are
\nfinding plenty of work and modest increases in
\nwages as the business recovers from a “rough
\nwinter,” according to Jeff Stark, president
\nof the Greater Capital Region Building and
\nConstruction Trades Council, an AFL-CIO
\nunion representing some 22,000 workers.<\/p>\n

Most of the trades, he said, are at or near full
\nemployment.
\n“We’re pretty content,” Stark said. “Who
\ndoesn’t want good wages and benefits?”<\/p>\n

He estimated that union workers earn 20-
\n30 percent more than non-union workers and
\nenjoy health insurance, retirement benefits
\nand other types of insurance jointly paid for
\nby the union and employers.
\n“Right now, we are doing pretty well,” he
\nsaid.
\nAnother major union in the region, Plumbers
\nand Steamfitters, Local 773 based at Tech
\nMeadows business park near Northway Exit
\n18, is also experiencing good times.<\/p>\n

Scott Martel, local business agent, said his
\nunion workers have been very busy in the last
\nfew years, mostly due to GlobalFoundaries in
\nMalta and all the construction activity that
\ncontinues to go on there.
\n“We have 2,000 plumbers and pipefitters on
\nthat job alone,” he said.<\/p>\n

For employers, the extra money paid in
\nwages and benefits means more efficient and
\nbetter-trained workers who end up costing
\ncontractors less in the long run, according
\nto Stark.
\n“We build more efficiently and we’re better
\nat it,” he said. “We don’t let a guy on the job
\nwithout skills.”<\/p>\n

He said union workers spend four or five
\nyears as apprentices in a formal program of
\ninstruction and mentoring by skilled journeymen
\nand are required to pass a series
\nof exams before they are ready to work on
\ntheir own. He noted that the council’s apprenticeship
\nprogram is recognized by both the state Department of Labor and the state
\nEducation Department and compares it to a
\ncollege education.
\n“We are a leader in the industry,” he said.<\/p>\n

Graduates of the union’s apprenticeship
\nprogram are well prepared and well equipped
\nwith the tools of their trades, he noted. “It
\ncomes down to efficiency.”
\nOn the other side, the union works with
\n“contractors who are extraordinarily good at
\nwhat they do. They pay their bills. They obey
\nthe law,” Stark said.<\/p>\n

The union contracts separately with different
\nemployers. In particular, they negotiate
\nwages. Wages, according to Stark, depend
\nupon how much work a contractor has and
\nhow much money they are making. “Right now,
\nthey are making money,” he commented. They
\nalso negotiate the amount of contributions to
\nvarious benefit program and how those funds
\nwill be allocated.<\/p>\n

Another benefit for employers who use union labor, Stark said, is “if they call the
\nunion hall when things are tight, they are
\nassured of finding workers.”
\nHe estimated that 90 percent of the construction
\nin the greater capital region is done
\nby union employees.<\/p>\n

The union represents workers in 14 building
\ntrades in a geographical area stretching
\nfrom Columbia and Green Counties in the
\nsouth up through Washington and Warren
\nCounties. Membership has been growing
\n“modestly” for the last decade, according to
\nStark.<\/p>\n

While he boasts of the efficiency of the
\nunion workers, Stark also points out that “this
\nis the only job in the world where the better
\nand faster you work, the quicker you work
\nyourself out of a job.”<\/p>\n

Martel said that while GlobalFoundries has
\nbeen the biggest boost for his union, things
\noutside that microchip fabrication plant are looking up.
\n“The economy hasn’t been that great for
\na few years, but lately we’re seeing signs of
\nimprovement,” he said.<\/p>\n

Schools are starting to do expansions and
\nrenovations, state offices are beginning to
\nstart capital programs. “Those are a lot of the
\nplaces where we get work,” he noted. “It’s going
\nto be a busier summer than the last few.”
\nMartel said there is no shortage of workers
\nfor the plumbing industry.<\/p>\n

“It’s gotten better in the last two or three
\nyears. We’re very visible here at our new location,”
\nhe said, referring to the office and training
\nfacility that was built just a few years ago.<\/p>\n

His union also works with BOCES programs,
\nhigh schools and trade groups “getting
\nthe word out about the trades.”<\/p>\n

Martel said work for plumbers and pipefitters
\nis much more technical now, especially
\nwhen dealing with industries, such as microchip
\nmanufacturing, that require such a high
\ndegree of cleanliness.
\n“Piping systems have changed a great deal.
\nMost of it calls for high purity and has very
\nspecific procedures, much different that a
\nwater treatment plant or an office complex.
\nThere is specific protocol and safety procedures
\ninvolved, Martel said.<\/p>\n

The facility includes a “clean room”
\ntraining space where workers learn those
\nprocedures, which involve not only special
\ntechniques, but wearing a special anticontamination
\nwardrobe.
\nMartel said worker safety is still the top
\njob priority.
\n“We want our workers to leave work the
\nway they went in. No injuries.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Construction projects like this one are keeping people in the building trades busy. A regional union official says wages are high and the industry is currently strong BY JILL NAGY AND R.J. DELUKE Construction workers in the region are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[66,74],"yoast_head":"\r\nUnion Construction Workers Doing Well In North Country Region, Union Head Says - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/06\/union-construction-workers-doing-well-in-north-country-region-union-head-says\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Union Construction Workers Doing Well In North Country Region, Union Head Says - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Construction projects like this one are keeping people in the building trades busy. 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