Apprenticeship Today

Local 3 Apprentices Take First Place
at Western States Contest

Twelve of our apprentices traveled to Las Vegas on 8 June to compete in the 2007 Western States Apprentice Brick, Tile, and Marble Contest. Congratulations to Local 13, NV. for hosting a memorable event. The Contest was composed of 26 Brick contestants, 7 Marble contestants and 16 Tile contestants. Apprentices from Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Colorado competed.

BAC Local 3 CA apprentice, Justin Jones was the first place winner in the Bricklayer competition and Bryan Pritchett, also a Local 3 apprentice won first place in the Marble Mason category. Congratulations to both of them for their outstanding performance.

Also representing local 3, were bricklayers, Joel Lopez, Daniel Voolstra, Jose Perez, Ryan Green, Allan Walls, Daniel Gonzalez, Kenneth Jones, Kristian Trotter, and Joshua Woodard, along with marble mason, Victor Zarza. Congratulations to each of them for representing our union and training program.

Next year the Western States Contest will be held in San Diego, and will be hosted by Brick Local 4 and Tile Local 18 of Southern California. Now is a good time for our apprentices to begin mentally preparing for next year’s event.

We will keep you posted as plans develop.

News from the Apprentice Office

New Trustees Appointed

Two new trustees have accepted positions on the BAC Local 3Apprentice Training Trust. Tom Spear and Al Knauer will join Dave Jackson and Gary Peifer to represent labor. Labor trustees are appointed by the president of the local union and management trustees are appointed by the contractors associations. The management trustees will remain unchanged, with Ron Bennett, Bob Filippi, Wayne Mika, and Horst Mittlestadt representing the contractors. We would like to thank, outgoing trustee, Dave Danner for his past service to the apprenticeship committee.

Travel Checks

We pay travel to apprentices living beyond a 35 mile radius from their respective school. Apprentices must receive full credit for classes attended to be eligible for travel reimbursement. Travel checks for the second half of the 2006/07 school year were mailed on May 30. If you did not receive a check and think you should have please contact the apprentice office.

Applications

We take applications at the apprentice Office in Oakland each week day between the hours of 8:30 am and 11:30 am. Applicants should bring their High School Diploma or equivalent. If you know of someone interested in joining one of our training programs, ask them to contact the Apprentice Office, 510-553-0991.

If you see a new apprentice on your jobsite, ask if he has registered with the Apprenticeship Office, if not, ask him to contact us.

Recently Certified Journeymen

Bricklayers

David Jones
Jarrod Tyler

PCC

Luis Castillo
Travis McManus
Jaime Mendoza
Francisco Pinto
Jaime Rodriquez
Rafael Santana

Congratulations for choosing a respected and rewarding craft.

Upcoming Contests

September 21-22, 2007

The final level of competition of the International Apprentice Contest will be held at the new IMI Training Center in Bowie, MD. The Awards Banquet will be held the following evening at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. This year’s event, will be made up of union apprentices registered in the crafts of Plaster, Cement, Tile, Marble, Terrazzo, PCC, Brick, and Stone.

Contestants advance to this final level of competition through local and regional contests. The Western States Apprentice Brick Tile and Marble Contest, held recently in Las Vegas, served to select contestants from the West Region. Apprentices representing Local 3 will be Justin Jones and Jose Barreras. Justin, who won both the Local 3 and Western States contests, is a bricklayer working with Masonry Design. Jose is a PCC working at Rainbow Waterproofing. Since no regional PCC contest was held, Jose’s selection was based on student achievement and employer evaluations. We wish them both the best of luck in this prestigious event.

The International Contest was last held in 2003.

September 15, 2007

The Masonry Skills Challenge Competition for apprentices and the Fastest Trowel on the Block Competition for journeymen bricklayers will get underway at 8:00 AM at the Basalite Plant in Dixon. This competition will be open to both union and non union bricklayers. Contest information was sent to NCMCA contractors. If you are interested in this event and have not seen the information, contact the Apprenticeship Office.

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Self Motivation

Initiative, drive, motivation, are beneficial to our self worth and self esteem. Self motivation is a direct result of our initiative and drive. Some, it seems, possess these traits naturally, while others have to continually work to develop them.

We are craftsmen by choice, this naturally gives us a true interest in what we do. As craftsmen, we play a vital role in building projects designed to outlive us. This is a great source of pride.

When some of the tasks, you take on, seem mundane or uninspiring, look at the larger picture, the overall project, your part in it, and work toward that goal to find your motivation. At times when you find that your energy and enthusiasm have waned, try discussing the project, or task at hand, with someone. This can, sometimes, help revitalize your enthusiasm. Think of the satisfaction of showing your work to someone else, a friend, or possibly your mentor. This can appeal to your pride and help bolster your motivation. When all else fails, there is always the fear factor. What will happen to you, if you don’t complete, on time, the task at hand? Will you be fired, laid off, or looked down on?

It doesn’t matter where you find motivation, it’s only important that you do. Remember, not to take yourself too seriously. Even though building is serious business, you have to be able to laugh. Enjoy your work.

Practice and develop self motivation.

Zack Lambert