Organized Labor

Operating Engineers Local 3 Excavates the Central Subway Tunnel

By Richard Bermack, Contributing Writer and Photographer

Two years ago, during the height of the recession, so many members of District Council 16 were out of work that the Council was having trouble funding its health and welfare programs. Today, there is so much work that Glaziers is recruiting people from all over the United States, including Las Vegas, Seattle, Texas, and even Atlanta, to fill the jobs. And in six months they expect to need even more workers.

Building the Trades

Prop B, Progressives, and Old Wealth

By Michael Theriault, Secretary-Treasurer
Proposition B and the project at 8 Washington, for which we have worked so long and hard, lost badly in this month’s election. Their opponents will claim that height on the waterfront was the primary objection of voters. A district-by-district examination of the results suggests both a more complex story and a criticism of the “Progressive” movement’s San Francisco form.
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Top Stories

John O’Connell High Program Teaches Kids Crafts and Careers

Tuesday, December 3, 2013
The Tech 21classroom is a living lab with professional-grade tools. Students at John O’Connell High School now have the opportunity to get hands-on training in construction and a clear career pathway into the union trades. Through a new shop class that is part of the school district’s Tech 21 program, kids will have the chance to learn the multi-craft core curriculum of the Building Trades. The program is part of the Project Labor Agreement between the San Francisco Unified School District and the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council for projects under the 2011 Bond Measure A.
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California Pacific Medical Center Starts New Campus

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Ground Broken At Cathedral Hill Site

By Paul Burton Contributing Writer

After years of negotiation and delay, ground has been broken at the site of the long-planned California Pacific Medical Center’s (CPMC) Cathedral Hill hospital. The project includes a 304-bed facility at the mid-city location and a new 120-bed hospital at St. Luke’s campus in the Mission.

Dormant Construction Project Sees New Life

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

535 Mission Street Actively Progressing

After lying silent for years because of the financial meltdown, the site at 535 Mission is once again buzzing with activity as construction crews work to complete the once-plagued project.

BAC Local 3 Wins Regional Bricklayer Contest

Friday, November 15, 2013
Members of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers once again competed in the Regional Bricklayer 500 Contest that took place on October 21, 2013.
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Construction Hiring Up for 2013

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Winter Brings Slight Slowdown

By Michael Messina

Hiring in the construction industry in the San Francisco Bay Area has trended upwards in 2013. New buildings continue to spring from the ground and cranes mark the cityscape.

According to Beacon Economics, based in San Rafael, about 95,000 construction workers are currently employed in the Bay Area. That’s 16,000 more than what was reported for 2010 when the industry was still struggling with the effects of the recession. The new year brought a much needed respite with cranes popping up all over the city and 2013 was off to the races with men and women lacing up their work boots again.

Concrete Pour of Transbay Transit Center Foundation Begins

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Celebration Highlights Revitalization of South of Market Area

By Paul Burton Contributing Writer

The concrete is flowing. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Mayor Edwin M. Lee, Supervisor and Transbay Joint Powers Authority Chair Jane Kim and San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council Secretary-Treasurer Mike Theriault joined the TJPA’s leadership in a celebration of the first pour of the Transbay Transit Center Foundation on September 5. TJPA Executive Director Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan called the event a “milestone” in the future of the City’s evolving skyline.

Trades Headlines

Livermore OKs New Airport Construction

Nov. 27

The measures will allow the city to make agreements with companies on building a new administration building and a gourmet restaurant at the site.

Bullet Train Snag Could Affect Transbay Terminal

Nov. 27

With or without a high-speed-rail line, officials have said the underground station is going to be built.

Apple Wastes No Time, Construction Of Cupertino ‘Spaceship’ Campus Underway

Nov. 26

Hundreds of workers are on the job contained by large, green sound walls that are as big as entire blocks.

Making San Francisco Accessible to More Than the Tech Elite

Nov. 26

Should someone be responsible for making sure San Francisco is an easier place for more people to live? That has been a topic of lively debate.

Warriors Arena Transit Blueprint: America's Cup

Nov. 20

City officials are looking at a string of development projects along the city's eastern shoreline, including the Giants' plan for a $1.6 billion new neighborhood across McCovey Cove from AT&T Park and the Warriors' $1 billion arena-hotel-condominium project.