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Apprentices Prepare for Local Contest |
News from the Apprentice Office
On March 19th our Pleasanton and Fresno bricklayer apprentices received their project drawings for our local
contest which is scheduled for April 30th, allowing the apprentices six weeks to become familiar with and
practice building their project. This year the project is a brick pier laid in running bond with a paved cap.
The contestants will be allowed five hours to complete the project which consists of 177 bricks and 6 blocks.
We expect to have 26 contestants competing this year with the top finishers advancing to the Western States
Bricklaying Contest in Honolulu on June 24th. The always difficult job of judging, goes to Bernie Gotzhein,
from Pinole, Bob McDaniel, from Coarsegold, and Chris Lagos, from Sacramento. All are qualified journeyman
bricklayers who volunteered for this task. We appreciate their support of our apprenticeship program.
The contest will take place at our school in Pleasanton, located at 2350 Santa Rita Rd., beginning at 8:45 am.
Preparation for the contest began on April 2nd, when the work area was cleared of the apprentice’s training
projects, allowing us that space to set up the contest workstations.
The Pointer, Cleaner, Caulkers will also have their contest on April 30th. Eight contestants will be selected
to compete in the two part contest. The combined scores of the tuckpointing and caulking segments will
determine how the apprentices place. In the event of a tie the winner will be decided by a proficiency
test in knot tying.
The contest is a good time to come out and support our future craftsmen as they exhibit their talent, skills,
and training.
Our Marble Mason apprentice class is down to four apprentices, all of whom are in their final period of
apprenticeship. We expect the four of them to be certified this summer. In order to continue replacing
our older workers we need to maintain six to eight marble mason apprentices in our training program.
The marble masons have a three year training program with an initial entry level of 70% of the journeyman
wage rate. Incremental increases of 5% occur every six months as long as the apprentice meets the requirements
for school and work hours. A good many of our apprentice marble masons come from the marble finishers with
occasional crossovers from other BAC 3 crafts. Those interested in becoming a marble mason apprentice should
speak with your foreman or contractor and upon their approval, contact the apprentice office and we will get
you properly registered in our program.
PCC
New indentures in the PCC craft have slowed considerably compared to previous years. We have only two new
PCC apprentices in our program this year. Since 1999 our number of PCC journeymen has increased by more
than 60% primarily through apprenticeship. We expect to certify another 18 journeymen within the next six
months bringing the total count to approximately one hundred seventy PCC journeymen. It appears that we
have satisfied the immediate need for more journeymen, however we must continue our commitment to training in
order to avoid the situation of the late nineties when we had a serious shortage of qualified Pointer, Cleaner,
Caulkers.
Troy Garland has been our lead PCC instructor since 1996, when we opened the school in Pleasanton. Troy
and his staff have made tremendous strides in developing a well rounded comprehensive training program for
our PCC apprentices. Much thanks to Troy, and his instructors, Justin Garland, Vincent Schneider, Bill O’Connell,
and Jose Herrera for their commitment to the PCC industry.
Hard Hats and Safety Glasses
On March 19th we implemented a new policy. Hard hats and safety glasses are now required to be worn while
in the hands-on work areas at all of our training facilities, San Francisco, Pleasanton, and Fresno. This
new policy follows the Carpenters lead, who own the Pleasanton Training Center where our Bricklayers and Pointer,
Cleaner, Caulkers train. To keep things fair and equal, and because we felt that it was in the best interest of
the apprentices, as well as the contractors who employ them, we decided to implement the policy at all of our
training sites.
We will keep a limited number of hard hats and safety glasses on hand as loaners for the occasional forgetful
apprentice, and also for guest who visit our training sites.
Recently Certified Journeymen
Bricklayers
Marble Finisher
Marble Mason
Congratulations to each of you for choosing a respected and rewarding craft.
Commitment to Craftsmanship
Throughout history the presence of masonry has made a strong statement with respect to creativity, permanence,
and craftsmanship. Masonry has a way of communicating, by reflecting the character of the builders, and
the times they lived in. It determines the character of our cities across the country and around the world.
As present day craftsmen, we are responsible to uphold these high professional standards that provide quality
and value to our chosen craft.
Apprentices are fortunate to have the opportunity to work on some prestigious projects with accomplished craftsmen
dedicated to sharing their skills. As you immerse yourself in the masonry craft and go about your day to day
duties on the jobsite, do so with a desire to strive for perfection and continuous self improvement. The
journeymen will notice and spend more time teaching you the finer points of our craft. Few masonry projects
are outlived by the masons who put them together piece by piece. The work you do will be reflective of you
and your time for generations to come.
A true Craftsman exhibits an uncompromising standard of consistency and quality, striving for a profit for
the contractor, but always working with a dedicated commitment to craftsmanship.
Zack Lambert
News from the Apprenticeship Office
Marble Masons
Our last scheduled class date for this school year is May 14th. We will mail out the schedule for next
year as soon as we confirm the dates. This should allow you time to arrange your weekend activities around
the class schedule.
Justin Bertrand
Patrick Coyne
Carmelo Garcia
Ron Weiss
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Zack Lambert