Summertime is crunch time for school construction projects By Matt Chando Photos: Mike Plunkett
When most people think of summer, an absence from school comes to mind. The normally bustling hallways and classrooms melt away for several months while vacations are taken, barbeques hosted, and batteries recharged. Yet for South Jersey’s trade union members, the dynamic is different. Summertime means a full-on sprint to complete
any one of the many school construction jobs crammed into the months of June, July and August. “When it comes to school jobs, things are moving,” Plumbers & Pipefitters UA Local 322 business representative Fred Green said. “When you take a school job, you’re ready to work because it’s definitely not easy. Believe me, nobody is worried about a hard day’s work, though. They’re eager to get the
job done. Our members are always up to the challenge.” Local 322 has more than 20 active school projects currently. While some deadlines, like those for colleges such as Rowan University and Richard Stockton College, stretch beyond the traditional summer months, the vast majority of work for Local 322 and other local unions have a hard late-August target to ensure area schools can reopen on time. “The biggest challenge for summer construction is
The new student center at Rowan College at Burlington County nears completion.
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the timeframe for actual work,” said Drew Sole, Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds for Glassboro Public School District, which has several active jobs this summer. “The timeframe is very limited for the amount of work that is anticipated. Most teachers would like to be able to get into their classrooms by the third week of August and school runs through the second week of June. Continued on p. 44