IMI/IMTEF

BAC Members Advance Their Careers as Certified Welders at the International Training Center

At the BAC/IMI International Training Center, members are learning a new aspect of the trade and advancing their careers as certified welders. Though they come from different parts of the country and even different crafts, they have one thing in common: the drive to increase their work opportunities and value to contractors by learning a specialized skill like welding.

Take Tyler Fairweather, BAC Local 1 Washington/Alaska journeyworker bricklayer. “I wanted to have this under my belt to make myself more valuable to the company,” he says. Fairweather, a bricklayer by trade, works for the family business, Fairweather Masonry. He knew having a certified welder on the crew would allow them to bid more work — work that’s currently getting subbed out, like precast.

Tirhas Gebrus, PCC apprentice, also from Local 1, will put her welding skills to use when she travels back to Seattle to continue work on the I-5 with signatory contractor United Professional Caulking & Restoration, Inc. (UNIPRO).

“I love this class,” she says, noting Welding Instructor Kay Whigan’s skill. “Kay, from day one, has been a great teacher. He’s very nice and such a professional and is always right beside us showing us how it’s done.”

Gebrus loves her job and appreciates the opportunity to learn and grow with the crew. “I couldn’t be with a better company,” she says. “They’re very inclusive and very fair. All you have to do is show up with a good attitude, ready to work.” She credits Wayne Belcher, co-owner of the minority women-owned business, for fostering such a welcoming environment.

Gebrus got her start in the trade through ANEW, a local pre-apprenticeship program that connects women with good-paying union construction and manufacturing jobs.

Fellow apprentice and classmate Logan Yerger, from BAC Local 5 Pennsylvania, got his start a little differently. While he was still in high school learning masonry at Berks Career and Technology Center, he approached a bricklayer working on a retail project in his neighborhood. That bricklayer just happened to be Randy Eberly, a Field Representative for his Local. Forming that

Though they come from different parts of the country and even different crafts, they have one thing in common: the drive to increase their work opportunities and value to contractors by learning a specialized skill like welding.”

From left to right: Gebrus, Jean-Mistilien, Yerger, and Fairweather after a day in the welding shop at the BAC/IMI International Training Center.

connection helped get him into the union upon graduating.

“Being in the union, to me, means opportunity and being set with a good career for life. Honestly, the union was my end goal,” he says. “I never thought I’d get here so soon.”

Yerger is preemptively seeking certification to open up more job opportunities in the future. “I wanted to make myself more wellrounded, so that if brick and block work slows down in my area, I can do welding,” he says. “I want to get as many certifications as I can.”

Andre Jean-Mistilien, refractory bricklayer apprentice from BAC Local 8 Southeast, shares the same mentality. For him, welding will be the first of many certifications and advanced training to come. In fact, he looks forward to learning blueprint reading and taking IMI’s foreperson certification — important steps on his ultimate career goal to open his own union shop.

Jean-Mistilien made a career change during the pandemic after years working as a chef. He was inspired by his father, who’s worked in the masonry field for 30 years. The high pay didn’t hurt, either.

“I like the teamwork in the field. It’s like a family,” he says.

Jean-Mistilien has found that same familial bond at the training center. “Kay is the type of person who will stay right by your side to make sure you get it right. He’s not going anywhere until you do.”

As for the International Training Center? All the students loved seeing and experiencing the grandscale of the 25-acre campus. “I’m really impressed,” says Gebrus. “I’ve never seen something like this. It lives up to the hype.”

The BAC/IMI International Training Center is open for training on demand and offers both virtual and hybrid programming (part online, part in-person). For a complete list of the latest offerings, visit imtef.org/training. //

IMI & IMTEF

Masonry Remains Affordable as Construction Material Costs Skyrocket

Across the country, construction material costs continue to escalate as masonry product prices remain stable. In light of price surges, the International Masonry Institute (IMI) is working hand-in-hand with design professionals and owners to help them take advantage of BAC-installed materials, which continue to be affordable, efficient, and timeless building options.

From April 2020 to April 2021, lumber and plywood prices surged 85.7%, and steel mill products 67%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Indexes (PPI). In the same time frame, concrete block and brick saw only a 4.2% increase, while brick and structural clay tile rose just 3.8%.

Supply chain disruption caused by the pandemic, coupled with tariffs on imported construction materials like steel, have contributed to the rising material prices.

One of the reasons that masonry remains affordable is that it’s produced locally — and therefore, readily available for U.S. construction projects. Further, 93% of rebar used on domestic construction projects is sourced in the U.S. and made primarily from recycled material.

Here are some of the advantages of structural masonry in comparison with structural steel that IMI promotes to encourage more architecture, engineering, and construction professionals to use concrete masonry:

CMU ATTRIBUTES:

+Locally produced

+Locally available stock

+No fabrication drawings

+No tariffs

+Simple foundations

+Lateral resistance available

STRUCTURAL STEEL ATTRIBUTES:

+Mostly imported

+Long lead time

+Fabrication drawings and review

+Tariffs

+Complex foundations

+Expensive moment frame

All these benefits mean that CMU is not only significantly more affordable but can get off the ground much more efficiently than structural steel. A CMU foundation can be laid while steel fabrication drawings are still under review.

Plus, structural masonry coalitions led by IMI across the country offer free engineering services to firms to make it easy for them to choose CMU on projects.

To ensure BAC signatory contractors and craftworkers have as many work opportunities as possible, IMI also educates AEC professionals on a wide variety of loadbearing systems, including single-wythe CMU and structural clay brick, cavity walls, proprietary systems like Insultech, hybrid structures, and prefabricated elements.

Through all these efforts, IMI holds up BAC craftworkers and contractors as the most qualified, well-trained, and suited professionals to install structural masonry. At the end of the day, that contributes to more union masonry workhours. //

BAC Local 1 OR/WA/ID/MT Excels at Fostering Successful Job Corps Grads

From apprentices just getting their start to long-time journeyworkers, BAC Local 1 Oregon/ Washington/Idaho/Montana is a great landing place for successful Job Corps graduates.

That includes people like Xavier Wilson, PCC apprentice and Curlew Job Corps grad. As a first year, he’s already worked on exciting projects like the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Puget Sound Plaza, a 21-story skyscraper.

Before Job Corps, Wilsen made minimum wage working at fast food restaurants. “Coming from Job Corps and getting into the union? That was massive,” he says. “The second I did bricklaying, I fell in love. All my good habits were formed at Job Corps. I pretty much owe that program everything.”

Wilsen earned his GED at Job Corps — much like fellow Angell Job Corps graduate David Vongkoth, a 24-year member with expertise in both bricklaying and restoration. Over his career, Vongkoth has run jobs as a foreperson and worked on memorable projects like Hazel Dell Towne Center and a host of schools, senior living facilities, shopping centers, condos, and more.

“Job Corps made me the man I am today. It allowed me to focus on what I wanted to do with my life. When you pick up something you love, you’re driven to be the best you can be, and I found that at Job Corps.”

Wilsen’s classmate, Robert “Bubba” Brown, also found his passion and focus through the program. Brown says after getting kicked out of school, he found

himself sleeping on the floor of a friend’s house, working at Office Max. That’s when he realized something had to change, and he enrolled in Job Corps.

“It’s a great gig for people who are ready to make a life change. That’s how I became a success,” he says. And indeed, he has. Brown recalls a memorable job he worked on — a water park with slides and a lazy river. When it opened, he took his twin boys, then 8, and as they were standing in line, his son turned to the child behind them and said, “my dad built this.” It was a moment of pride for Brown, much like when he got to return to his alma maters to build new middle and high schools.

BAC Local 1 President Matthew Eleazer credits the quality of IMI’s Job Corps instructors with his Local’s recruitment success. “We select Job Corps instructors that are excellent at their craft, good union men or women, who want to teach and are willing to pass the trade on to the next generation,” he says.

The trade provides family-sustaining careers to so many, like Brown. “I’ve invested myself into this trade and it’s given me back so much. I was able to provide for my twin boys, and last year, I bought a house. I’ve travelled and met people from all over. And the people I work with, I consider them family.”

“Job Corps is a free tool that employs our craftspeople and gives us the opportunity to mold and train pre-apprentices to have the skills we need for them to be successful,” says Eleazer. “If you’re not utilizing Job Corps, you’re doing a disservice to your Local.” //

Robert “Bubba” Brown, Job Corps grad and 25-year BAC member, stops to show off his work.