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 By Richard Bermack
Contributing Writer and Photographer
At the Sheet Metal Training Center in San Francisco, across the hall from a room with rows of yellow wooden drafting tables circa 1950s, another classroom is filled with AutoCAD computers and a video projector. “Some things have changed a lot and others are still the same,” explains Frank Cuneo, the training coordinator for Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 104. “We still use traditional drafting tools for basic layout, incidental patterns and sketching, and we use AutoCAD and other specialized software for detailing ductwork and complex layouts.”
Downstairs in a shop class, large soldering irons line the wall. Cuneo points to a hand-cranked turning machine for forming seams to join circular metal duct work, a machine that is identical to those made during colonial times. At another training facility, plasma and laser pattern cutters are driven by computers. “Skills like soldering sheet metal seams and making weather tight connections are the same today as ever, but computers have made a big difference in the ways a lot of things are cut and fabricated,” said Cuneo.
 One of the unique things about the trade is that workers start with a flat piece of sheet metal, much as they have for centuries. The training center teaches apprentices how to fabricate that flat sheet of metal into a three-dimensional object and then install it at a jobsite. They also train apprentices in the service aspect of the trade, including preventative maintenance, testing and balancing HVAC systems, trouble shooting, and system repair. All this requires a lot of one-to-one communication with customers, so good public relations skills are a program requirement. Another aspect of the trade is architectural work, which involves creating metal roofs and ornamental designs.
Green technology plays a large part in the trade. Cuneo recalls the early days of solar, in the 1970s, when systems were designed around passive and active air heating systems. With the emphasis on energy conservation, there is an increased demand for testing heating systems and keeping them working efficiently. The program is constantly trying to keep up with industry trends.
“It is a joint venture between the union workers and employers,” Cuneo explains. “In recent years, our employers and the union have been working together to improve the training program. We have come to realize that we are partners. We train workers to deliver what employers need, and they realize the importance of the union and union workers in maintaining the standards of the trade.”
The sheet metal apprentice program is a five-year program, consisting of 214 hours of classes a year and full-time work with a Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 104 Contractor. The San Francisco Training Center is one of five Local 104 training centers, including centers in San Jose, San Leandro, Burlingame, and Petaluma. The program has about 800 apprentices and turns out 125 journeyworkers each year.
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 Frank Cuneo
Program Coordinator
Our apprentices cover a wide range of experiences. Some are good at book learning and have college degrees; others grew up in tough neighborhoods with degrees from the school of hard knocks.
Most of our instructors are pretty good at helping people along. We get to give one-to-one remedial help. That is not to say that we can spend enough time to replace everything they should have learned. There are limits to what we can do. But it’s rewarding to see somebody who might have gotten lost in society turn themselves around and give their life meaning.
Occasionally I’ll visit the prisons and explain what the trades have to offer. Unfortunately most people coming out of prison end up going back. But we have successes. I’m thinking of a guy in his fourth year as a sheet metal worker. I first met him in San Quentin and explained the apprenticeship program. He joined when he got out and stayed with it. Now he uses his spare time to help other people who are trying to change their lives. He is a very positive guy. It’s too bad that he’s the exception. But that’s the reason to keep trying. Working with someone like that recharges your batteries.
We also have some women and a lot of minorities in the program. That diversity really gives the program stability, because a big part of the trade is learning to work with other people. Companies are realizing the importance of maintaining good relations with their customers and workers, so they value people who can work with other people and understand their needs, people who know how to resolve problems by sitting down and talking instead of fighting with people. |
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 Scott Broder
Lead Instructor
What’s the best part of the job? Watching the students when the light bulb comes on. These days you just keep throwing a lot of information their way. When I was an apprentice, it was just one thing at a time. The students these days are into multi-tasking. They can be texting with three different people on the computer while they’re listening to music and doing their homework. And they accomplish those things. They are so used to being constantly bombarded at a fast pace that you have to throw information at them at the same pace they are used to.
Tonight I’m teaching the code class. There is so much different equipment and a lot of it proprietary, that they can’t address it all in the code. Instead, the code may specify to install according to manufacturer’s listing. So we have to teach students how to read instructions and understand the installation guide. They can’t just memorize it. Instead, we teach them how to understand the intent of the code, how to utilize the resources that exist, and how to use their judgment. |
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 David Rivera
Apprentice
My dad was a carpenter, and I worked as a union carpenter for 16 years. But then he told me sheet metal was a better side of construction. I enjoy it. It’s more technical, you get to learn things like CAD, and it offers more chances to move up. There’s a lot of math to learn, but you’ve just got to apply yourself. I work for a small shop in the city, and we do a lot of architectural. I can drive by some of the jobs we did and see the big pipes on the side of the building and say, “I did that.”
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 Anna Tostanoski
Apprentice
My father was a sheet metal worker, so I took the test as a fluke. When they called me back, I needed a job, so I took it.
You’re learning a skill that people can’t take away from you. It’s one of the last skilled trades where you actually fabricate, install and then go out and maintain the product. You do it all. I like to solder and weld. Soldering is another skill few other people have. I think sheet metal work is something very special.
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 Ricardo Byrne
Apprentice
It’s been educational, the versatility of what you do. I’ve worked on everything from industrial clean rooms to hospital labs to residential heating furnaces. Right now I’m working in the Presidio. We’re renovating the old Naval Hospital. It’s pretty cool when you look at something when it’s done and how different it is. We’re making art out of San Francisco. We’re making the city a beautiful place. |
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 Richard Schaefer
Apprentice
We’re not like plumbers who pick things up off a shelf. We start out with the raw materials and make something out of it. We need a lot of information. I studied architecture at one point, but in architecture you design something and someone else installs and changes it. Here, we get to design and build things. Architects think in terms of symbols. We take the symbols and make them real.
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 Danny Campbell
Instructor
Today we are teaching an introduction to AutoCAD. It’s a little intimidating to some people at first, but it’s not hard to learn. Just like anything else, it’s a tool to help us be more productive sheet metal workers. As you can see, we’ve got some people who really take initiative. They have already delved into the program waiting for the class to start. |
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 Tommy Pasco
Apprentice
So far, so good. I enjoy the job and just hope the economy turns around. My field is making fittings, and I’m learning more about drafting and how to lay jobs out. Once you get the picture of how all the lines go together, you can visualize it, and it gets easier. |
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 Titus Lest
Apprentice
You just pay attention to the stuff you don’t know and learn from the different people you work with. I learn something from everyone. You work with people from the other trades, so you get to learn about the other trades too.
I love the work. It’s not the same old, same old, every day. And the benefits really help with my family. I got three kids, four, five and six years old. |
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 Gaunic Trehan
Apprentice
I like working with my hands, learning how to put things together. I worked in a grocery store for 10 years, and my friends kept pushing me to do this. Finally I took the opportunity, and it’s been great. I’d recommend it to anyone, to go back to school and learn something new. What I like most is the team effort. We help each other out, sharing what we each know best. I help them with math. Both my parents worked for the post office. |
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 Henry Fields
Apprentice
I like the physicality, like carrying big loads up and down a ladder. I was an accounting major in college and I hated it. My father, grandfather, and uncle are all sheet metal workers.
I like the way we put in equipment and can then see how it works. We work a lot with the other trades, and it’s a real sense of accomplishment, everyone working together on the job site building something.
The hardest thing for me is getting to class. The hours are hard. I’m on night shift and have to go to work after class. But I’ve been with the same company for a while, so I can help people from class get jobs by giving them recommendations. |
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 Sam Hernandez
Apprentice
It’s like family. You get to meet a lot of people and learn a lot about the trade. Good benefits, good retirement. My uncle and cousin got me interested in the trade. It’s been great. One day maybe I’ll be a foreman.
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 Dennis Colloraffi
Apprentice
It’s pretty interesting. I can see how AutoCAD is a helpful tool for laying out ductwork and design. It’s a lot of fun getting to do something on the computer. It’s a little different, reminds me of Asteroids. |
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