Organized Labor

Gregory Justin

9 years, Marble Finisher
You get to work with some very exceptional people doing precision work. This is one place where you are judged by your ability and not by your color.
How did I get into the field? I was working two jobs during the week and another part-time over the weekend to support my wife and two children, until I worked myself into the emergency room and ended up in the respiratory section. I just couldn’t keep it up. So I wrote to the California Department of Labor and they sent me a big pamphlet listing different types of crafts and apprenticeship programs.
I love it. Remember when you were a kid and you played in the dirt, and your mother would say, “Come in the house?” Now I can play in the dirt and get paid for it. The union is a big part of what makes it all possible. They’ve created the opportunity for an individual to change his life and to be able to make enough money to buy a house and pay for his kids’ education.

Laurie Harris

21 years, Bricklayer and Forema

We’re taking out three courses of bricks along the perimeter of the building above the concrete eyebrow and putting in a new membrane, flashing, and weep system. That way water that gets into the wall will be able to seep out, without penetrating the inside of the building. The walls of the building are so rigid that it cracked because there were no expansion joints or room for movement. So every 30 feet we’re cutting control joints in the facade as well.
I’ve been in restoration for the last 13 years, restoring the old masonry facades of high-rises in San Francisco. This one is a newer building for us, because it’s only about 50 years old. Most of our clients have 80- to 100-year-old buildings. It’s more interesting than working on the new commercial buildings like what I was doing before. The old buildings have more details in the brick. You get to work with terracotta, rebuild arches, and cast pieces with molds. I learn something every day.

Walter Kurtz

11 years, Bricklayer

My father was in the trade. He saw me sitting around the house, so he brought me out to a job. Now I do everything: brick, stone, and block.
I like to lay brick on small projects because it’s a little more easy-going than commercial job sites with all the forklifts and everything else going on. I like the calmness.
Bricklaying has been good to me, and the union benefits have helped my family. I can travel anywhere and get work, as long as there is a union, that is.
The union jobs are a lot safer. They make sure the scaffolding is set up right and all the other safety measures are in place. I came out here from Phoenix, where the union isn’t as strong. I’ve seen guys get hurt. I worked on one job where someone died because a brace wasn’t hooked up. Once you join the union, you don’t want to leave.

Pete Kruckewitt

30 years, Marble Mason Foreman

I love problem solving and being creative. You show up and they give you a boxful of stones and a bunch of plans, and you figure out how to make it work and make everybody happy.
On this job we’re working on a cathedral for the archdiocese. I was raised Catholic, so working on a church is a real treat. These are pieces of granite cut like bricks. When you are working with stone, you have to be exact. Once you screw up, that’s it for that stone, and it’s not like you can stop at the hardware store on the way home and get another one.
My father was a marble mason, and he started taking me to jobs when I was 5 years old. The trade hasn’t changed much since his time. I’m sure if he were alive today, he could walk right onto the job and tell me how I wasn’t doing it right.

Rick Banuelos

20 years, Tile Setter and Foreman

I’m a foreman on this job site. As foreman, you have a lot of responsibility and you have to deal with a lot of personalities, a lot of attitude, and a lot of testosterone. You have to remember who you’re dealing with or you will step on toes. Some guys you have to be firm with; other guys, if you do that they get upset and might even square up with you. You have to be able to manage everyone, and keep the job on schedule, and ensure quality work. I love it.
But I like working with my hands as well. When I’m done with this job, I might set tile for a few weeks. I just love the feel of the tile going down and seeing a finished product.

Brian Johnson

Pointer Caulker Cleaner, 10 years

I started in 1998, at the West Building on Montgomery. A friend of mine and my sister were going for the job. When they learned that they had to hang three stories up in the air, that discouraged them, but I didn’t mind. I used to do tree work, but then I got a bad back, and had no benefits.
We do mainly restoration work, taking out old mortar joints, putting in new mortar joints, a lot of restoration and cleaning. There is always something new to learn. I like the camaraderie and learning different skills in the trade.

 

Darryl Vegas

21 years, Marble Mason

I was working with computers, and one day my uncle told me about a job where I could make some quick money. Once I tried it, I’ve done it ever since. I love the work. We get to build things out of marble and granite. Every stone is different. I like doing the old school stuff. I got to work on the marble floors of the Sheraton Palace during the renovation. That was a cool job. This is a pretty cool job too. This is one of the last companies to work with marble

 

 

Edgar Ceballos

7 years, Marble Finisher

I like working on big things like marble floors. I started in Mexico working with bricks. Everything was different there. We didn’t have all the nice tools we get to use here.

 

 

 

 

Hernan Gonzalez

2 years, Tile Finisher

I just became a journeyman tile finisher last week. I’ve been doing this for almost two years. Right now, I’m installing sound proofing and getting everything ready for them to set the tile. I like working with my hands, and it’s also mentally challenging. You’ve got to think ahead, and your measurements have to be exact.

 

 

 

Rock McKinley

28 years, Bricklayer and Foreman

I started as an apprentice in Dallas, Texas, 28 years ago and have been doing it ever since. I like the challenge of running a job. It’s a pain in the ass working with people, but when you’re done, you think, “Wow, my big old crew built that. We built that!” I was one of the foremen on the Oakland City Hall rebuild. We did the clock tower and put in the clock surrounds with all the fancy shapes and architecture. That job had character; it was cool.

 

 

Ricky Saelee

10 years, Marble Finisher

I get the stone, put it on the dolly, and wheel it to the prep table to do the finishing work. I inspect the stones to make sure there are no fractures and get them ready for the installers. On this job we’re drilling holes for the anchors. I’m one of the only Laotian marble finishers in California, along with my cousin. We’re working as hard as we can to become masons.