Organized Labor

Wrapping it up and Putting it in a Bag

By Richard Bermack
Contributing Writer and Photographer

Last year, a Project Labor Agreement with contractors renovating San Francisco schools created a program to introduce high school students to the building trades by placing student interns at job sites. The program was so popular that this year, the number of placements more than doubled.

By Richard Bermack
Contributing Writer and Photographer

The work of Laborers Local 67 is environmental remediation. They remove or contain asbestos, lead, mold, and other toxic materials. They start by securing their work space to prevent containments from leaking into the environment, sealing off the workspace with plastic sheeting. They sometimes wrap plastic around entire buildings.

By Richard Bermack
Contributing Writer and Photographer

Sprinkler fitters install systems that protect lives and property by putting out fires, activating alarms, and notifying the fire department. The systems they install must work in a variety of environments and circumstances. The systems not only Why, after all these years, are only 2 percent of workers in the building trades women, and what to do about it, were the major issues raised at this year’s Women Building California conference in Oakland. The same topic may have been raised each year, but this year promises to be different. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis sent one of her top guns, Patricia Shiu, director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, to deliver a message: The federal government is here to help.

By Richard Bermack
Contributing Writer and Photographer

On top of a new terminal building at the San Francisco International Airport, roofers cut out triangular pieces from sheets of brown insulating material.

By Richard Bermack
Contributing Writer and Photographer

Sprinkler fitters install systems that protect lives and property by putting out fires, activating alarms, and notifying the fire department. The systems they install must work in a variety of environments and circumstances. The systems not only have to protect finished buildings, but they have to protect the buildings during construction, when they are most vulnerable to fire.