IMI/IMTEF

OH-KY ADC Connecting More People with Good-Paying Union Jobs

For many, a BAC apprenticeship is a ticket to the middle class. Take James Kerner. Before becoming an apprentice with BAC’s Ohio-Kentucky Administrative District Council (ADC), he was struggling to make a decent living. While he picked up construction work here and there, it wasn’t consistent. And he certainly wasn’t getting the money or benefits he needed to support himself.

Enter BAC’s OH-KY ADC Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) for the Northern Ohio Regional Training Center. Like other BAC apprenticeship programs across the country, the JATC wants to connect more people with a golden ticket to a middleclass career.

That’s why after closely reviewing its apprenticeship application requirements, the JATC decided to eliminate those that might prevent talented, hardworking people from applying—people who are enthusiastic about the trades, but just need to catch a break.

Kerner is one of many apprentices who will benefit from the program’s updated and straightforward application process. The new application is a simple form—and it doesn’t require would-be apprentices to have a high school diploma, GED, driver’s license, car or that they take a proficiency test to be considered. In short, the new application favors ability and interest, and removes barriers related to opportunity and access unavailable to many qualified individuals.

So, while Kerner doesn’t have a high school diploma, he does have a passion for the trades and an aptitude for restoration work. “I love the satisfaction of building something, taking something old and dilapidated, and making it new again. I’ve always taken pride in my work and I love at the end of the day, being able to point at a project and say, ‘I helped do that.’”

Kerner, who received a follow up immediately after applying for the program, was thrilled with the opportunity to follow his passion. “Within three days, I was going to work for Mid Kerner gets ready to head State Restoration,” a BAC signain for a day of work with Midstate Restoration. tory contractor, he says.

Ken Kudela, Director for the OH-KY ADC and the JATC co-chair, says Kerner’s experience reflects that of other hopeful apprentices. “If you come in and tell us you want to join, we’re going to do everything we can to get you working with a contractor and get you into the program.”

Kudela was instrumental in spearheading the charge to simplify the program’s application process, noting that the old application requirements are in no way prerequisites to being a good bricklayer, tile setter or restoration professional. “That’s what we’re here for—to train our apprentices and journeyworkers, and to help them become competent and successful.”

When he first joined the Union, Kudela recalls working with a number of bricklayers who didn’t have a high school education. “They were some of the best mechanics I worked with.”

Likewise, Kudela feels strongly that apprentices don’t need a driver’s license or car to reliably get to work or class on time, given the prevalence of alternatives like public transit and ridesharing. “We’re very conscious of where people are coming from when they travel to the training center and try to group students with peers from the same area and encourage them to carpool.”

Once they start working, apprentices have the financial freedom to start saving for a vehicle and investing in their futures in other ways. For example, through a partnership with Lorain County Community College, apprentices can get their GEDs.

IMI & IMTEF

Kerner hopes to pursue that option so he can take college courses someday. “I’d love down the line to start up my own company,” he says. “If you need something to look forward to and want a decent career, as long as you’re willing to put in the work, this is the place to be. There’s no other place you’ll get guaranteed pay raises as you progress in skill, and the work environment is great.” //

2 Job Corps Grads, BAC Local 3 Apprentices Give New Meaning to Perseverance

Nothing could stop Zachary Allen and Natalia Hernandez from becoming apprentices with BAC Local 3 New York—not even a global pandemic or the challenge of learning a new language. Both students recently graduated International Masonry Institute’s (IMI) programs at the Iroquois Job Corps Center and were accepted into BAC Local 3’s apprenticeship program.

Before Job Corps, Allen was making minimum wage working restaurant kitchen jobs. “I knew I wanted something better and to make a future for myself,” he says. After hearing about Job Corps from his girlfriend’s relative, he decided to give it a try.

Hernandez, on the other hand, found Job Corps after dropping out of high school, where she struggled to keep up with coursework because she didn’t know English. A native Spanish-speaker, she took advantage of Job Corps’ English Language Learning Program, developing professional working proficiency of English and earning her high school diploma in the process.

Job Corps also helped connect Allen with a reliable career to secure his future. “I got everything I needed in the Job Corps—my license, an education and a union apprenticeship,” he says.

Allen, who became the first person in his family to purchase a home, says he was “entranced” by bricklaying the minute he toured the shop at Iroquois. “I like knowing that I’m giving back to my community and society. I take a lot of pride in the work we do. I would love to start my own union company, take on apprentices, and help them in their careers.”

Hernandez, a restoration apprentice, continues to be inspired by the support and guidance she receives from her fellow BAC members. “I never get bored, and I’m learning a lot in the apprenticeship program. I’ve got to show people that women can do this, too.”

Robert Kelichner, IMI Job Corps instructor, credits BAC Local 3 NY’s apprenticeship program for helping connect Job Corps students like Allen and Hernandez with these opportunities. “Zachary had the drive from day one and proved himself throughout the pandemic. I couldn’t speak highly enough about him. And Natalia has a great future,” says Kelichner, who adds that he is proud to have her as one of the first Job Corps students from his center pursuing restoration work with BAC Local 3 NY.

With the support of their Local, apprenticeship program and employers, there is no doubt Allen and Hernandez will find fulfilling lifelong careers in Allen and Hernandez proudly show off mockups they worked on at BAC Local 3 NY’s union masonry. // Training Center.

IMI’s Webinar Series Inspires More Union Masonry and Tile, Helping to Win Projects

Since the start of the pandemic, the International Masonry Institute’s (IMI) webinar series has reached more than 16,000 architecture, engineering and construction professionals. The goal: help educate and inspire the industry to use more union masonry and tile.

But it doesn’t stop at inspiration—in fact, that’s often just the start. Building designers frequently reach out to IMI for project support after attending a webinar because they know they can count on the expertise of its technical directors.

Take Brian Trimble, IMI Director of Industry Development and Technical Services, who recently presented on a perforated brick screen walls. “It’s kind of a niche topic that not a lot of people have expertise on,” says Trimble, who has consulted on myriad projects involving screen walls since the webinar, including Pennsylvania State University’s Engineering Building West, recently awarded to BAC signatory contractor Harris Masonry.

IMI Director Tom Elliott also generated important project leads from IMI’s webinars. Eric Pros, Director of Design at DS Architecture and President of the American Institute of Architects Akron, reached out to Elliott after seeing a project in one of IMI’s webinars that used special shaped brick to create a projecting façade. It inspired Pros to try something similar for a project he was designing—the Lakewood Fire Station #2 in Ohio.

With the help of Ken Kudela, Director for the Ohio Kentucky Administrative District Council and apprentices at the Northern Ohio Regional Training Center, Elliott created mockups to create a proof-of-concept for the design. The station will use angled brick to create a dimensional number 2 as a feature wall on the building’s exterior.

Pros saw the combined expertise of IMI and BAC’s skilled craftworkers in action, which helped the project get awarded to BAC signatory contractor United Masonry. “I can’t wait for the first time people see it on Detroit road. I think it’s going to look really sharp and be a great way to pay tribute to all those who serve at Station #2. Thank you, and all your apprentices for your hard work on this.”

BAC signatory contractors also are benefitting from the webinar programs. For example, Greg Hess, President and CEO of Caretti Masonry, discovered new workforce development opportunities on a recent IMI webinar about terra cotta repair and restoration. Soon, his employees will be taking a new terra cotta repair and rebuild course offered as a part of IMI’s Historic Masonry Preservation Certificate Program (HMPC), with hands-on training provided by the International Masonry Training and Education Foundation.

The course will help them prepare for an upcoming Homeland Security project in Puerto Rico— the San Juan Custom House, a two-story Spanish Colonial Revival listed on the National Register of Historic Places known for its ornate terra cotta.

These are just a few of many exciting projects that IMI is currently supporting. Bringing together IMI’s technical expertise with highly skilled and trained BAC craftworkers and contractors is the key to winning more union masonry projects. //

Completed mock-up for Fire Station #2 at the Northern Ohio Regional Training Center.