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The Plumbing Career
When one thinks of the word career, they usually equate it with a length of time at work. As young people go into the workforce they begin their careers, and if they are lucky its when they are right out of school. That career will have that beginning and an end, which will be over at retirement. At Plumbers Local 12 the career is a life long journey. We celebrate those careers annually at our Service Awards Banquet.
Just last week over 80 Plumbers from Local 12 were recognized for their years of membership. The “youngest” of which were celebrating 30 years of service, myself included. But this year had a very special guest, Brother George Cataldo, who celebrated 70 years of membership. Brother Cataldo joined Local 12 in 1946!
George is part of that great generation that after World War 2 helped bring the standards of wages and benefits up so that at the end of a working career a worker could retire with dignity. When I talk to people that inquire about the union I often ask them “Don’t you want to get the most out of your career?”. When they say yes, I refer to men like George who will tell you his career is not over yet. Local 12 is the vehicle for any plumber to get the most out of their career. Health insurance, training, brotherhood and most importantly the ability to retire. George has been collecting a pension since 1988, and he’s not the oldest retiree!
We recently started a new tradition that has the most senior award recipient get up and reminisce about THEIR recollections of THEIR time in the business. George did not disappoint. He spoke about 1946 when the union operated out of an office with one creaky chair down on Essex St. downtown to an organization, that he is so proud of, that has grown to having its own building and beautiful training facility. “I can’t believe how far we have come as an organization, I am so happy!”
Our Service Awards Banquet also serves as our “Class Reunions”. All of us remember the day we started our apprenticeships or the day we came in as new journeyman into Local 12 and its a great night for everyone to catch up. Last week we had over 200 people in attendance.
Over the past few years we have opened our doors and have brought in many new members, apprentices and journeypeople alike, and I know that future memories are being created everyday as time marches forward and there will be plenty of Service Awards Banquets in the years to come. Congratulations All!
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Please check out the Plumbers Local 12 blog at TheplumbersUnion.wordpress.com And thanks for reading!
In With The New
2016-apprentice-class-rtfd
“Welcome Back” was the theme at the Local 12 apprentice orientation night last week at the Plumbers Union Hall. It was great to not only welcome the new apprentices but also welcome back all of the others as well. They came in after the having the summer off looking to pick up right where they left off. The program has almost 190 apprentices today.
These apprentices will follow many career tracks in the industry including, but not exclusively, commercial, service, and wood frame residential. Our training facility is equipped to train for anything the industry throws at us. Technology is coming at us like never before and although it looks like at times that things will become easier, there are advances in plumbing that continue to demand more education. We are prepared.
There is no organization in Massachusetts that trains for the challenging trade of plumbing like Local 12. Almost 500 people applied to the program this year and did so mostly because we provide a career path and not just a job. Local 12 provides benefits and retirement plans that although some of those in the picture above don’t really grasp yet, when they pass the thirty year mark it will become clear that as they grow in age as well as career, Local 12 will be there for them.
Welcome and Good Luck to our new Brothers and Sisters!
Out With The Old
On May 13th Plumbers Local 12 in Boston graduated their first apprentice class in two years. These new journeyman plumbers have raised the bar for what an apprentice class should be.
After five years of attending a program that started out at night and finished as a day program they sang the praises of their training. They also represented the changes that Local 12 has been championing. There were commercial, residential, and service apprentices graduating together.
Also in this class were three apprentices that competed in national apprentice competitions. One in Connecticut, one in Ann Arbor, Michigan,and one in Hollywood, Florida. These apprentices were so inclined to participate because of their confidence in the training they received at Local 12s training facility by our instructors.
One of the most important jobs that the plumbers union has is to provide the best trained apprentices and plumbers the industry has to offer. There is nothing else like this in regard to training in Massachusetts. Now with a special attention to all wood frame construction with 12R we are training to all aspects of the residential industry. Not that we weren’t before before but we are in it to win it.
We also have our focus on service as well. All apprentices take part in service training but the ones actually doing it train with the journeyman as well. That along with quarterly in service training with the vendors of the industry puts us head and shoulders above everyone else.
The day school also brought some unsolicited comments from the class. Class President Danny Palimeri spoke about how their personal relationships changed after they went to day school. “When we started at night we were acquaintances but once we started day school we all became very close.” For me that compliment was confirmation that day school is the way to go. “We were supportive of each other to make sure that everyone was getting whatever the teachers threw at us” said Danny.
Some that read this may not appreciate that trade training is that important, but when you put in five years and over eleven hundred hours of training this group of new journeymen will forever consider themselves Local 12 Class of 2016! Congratulations!
You Won’t Read About This!
Dateline 5/13/2016
Location IBEW 103 Union Hall Boston 
As I write this post I think about all of the kids across not only the Boston area, but across the country, attending awards nights getting scholarships that will help them with the costs of college. Creating many happy parents as well.
As parents we sit in these awards nights and wonder “where does all this money com from?” Imagine if you went to an award night where they gave out almost $590,000 in one setting. Well one happened today. Given the amazing amount of money given out you would think that maybe the press would be curious.
You see today was the 58th Annual Massachusetts AFL-CIO Scholarship Breakfast and indeed all of that money was given out to hundreds of children of union members. Through the hard work of the fundraising of its members their college “Dream” is a little bit more achievable.
I am happy to say that just my union, Plumbers Local 12, was able to give out over 30,000 dollars to our deserving college bound children. These amazing hard working students are headed to community colleges right up to ivy league institutions.
This is just another way that unions give back. As being part of the solution to give access to college we are helping to keep the middle class dream alive. I think we can all agree that the college dream is becoming harder to achieve because of the crushing debt that these young men and woman are being saddled with.
For many of the proud tradesman and tradeswoman in attendance today college was never part of their plan but being able to send their children to college, the dream of having their next generation do a bit better is very rewarding. Totally Amazing Morning.
They just do commercial……
If you look on a clear day from a high spot on the Massachusetts – New Hampshire border or from the west on a hill in Worcester County or from a high spot near Foxboro you can see the great Boston skyline.
From many a plumbers perspective that are not members, thats where most of the members of Plumbers Local 12 work. Building or servicing large commercial projects. We know thats not true. But there is something really great happening in the Local. A place for residential plumbers.
What I mean by residential plumbers is the men and woman that are out in the suburbs everyday building those local skylines, thinking that Local 12 has nothing for them. As the building boom continues through out the Greater Boston area plumbers and apprentices need to know there is a place here for you.
Yes, if you are contractor you can access the same types of benefits that you may have thought were unattainable for your loyal workers. For the plumbers and apprentices there is the access to the benefits and free training that the Local has always provided. The one thing that we all have in common is that plumbing is our Career. Lets make the most of it together.
We have created a new division that makes this affordable. For Real. Its all about cost and we know that what we have done is in line with whats going on in all parts of eastern Massachusetts.
I can’t tell you how excited I am about this opportunity and I want to encourage any sole proprietor, small shop, developer or any one interested to call the office and get the correct information.
Our business development representatives will be all over eastern Massachusetts visiting job sites this spring and summer spreading the word so we look forward to talking with you.
Remember, plumbing is our career, making the best of it includes being able to provide health insurance for our families and retirement benefits for ourselves. We look forward to talking to you.
Where is the shortage of new plumbers?
As I write this blog applications to Plumbers Local 12’s apprenticeship program have just concluded. This year we have over four hundred applicants vying for approximately thirty positions. This flies in the face of what I hear is a shortage of people people entering the plumbing business in Massachusetts.
Maybe there is a difference between a job in plumbing and a career in plumbing. Local 12 has always given all applicants an interview and one thing we hear from them is that people are looking for a career. A place where they will be able to get health insurance and accrue retirement benefits during and after their career is done.
Maybe its the training that Local 12 provides apprentices as well as journeymen throughout their careers that provide them them many opportunities to work for the different contractors while maintaining the highest pay and best benefits in the industry.
Local 12 is a proud membership organization that wants its members to succeed all during their careers as plumbers. With at least sixty percent of Americans with almost no savings (according to an article in Boston Agent Magazine by Tom Ricci) these applicants have figured out that union benefits are a good thing and applying to the union training program is the way to go. No wonder over four hundred people have applied.
Plumbers Local 12 is about careers not jobs.
IF YOU ARE A PLUMBER, JOIN US
Join us, thats my messege for anyone working in the plumbing industry in the greater metropolitan Boston area. Many people make New Years resolutions and they make them to better themselves. In Massachusetts plumbing is a career. So whatever career anyone chooses their goal is to get the best out of a thirty or forty year run. You’re career in plumbing should not be any different.
Career goals for anyone include getting the best wages, top notch health insurance, and the best retirement benefits you can and rightfully so. Plumbers Local 12 offers all of this.
Many in the plumbing industry for some reason either don’t believe this or they think that that work they do doesn’t fit with Local 12. This is not true. If you are a service plumber, commercial plumber, or a residential plumber you are welcome. We do it all.
If you are looking to get the most of a long hard plumbing career then just call or come in and see us. Get the facts. 617-288-6200
Harry Brett
SERVICE,SERVICE,SERVICE
One of the most exciting things happening at Plumbers and Gasfitters Local 12 these days is the Service Division. We have partnered with our parent organization the United Association to become the Eighth city in the country to implement the Plumbers911.com program.
Local 12 is celebrating our 125th anniversary this year and in those years we have helped build and service the plumbing in the greater Boston area. What is new now is that because we are organized we have partnered with our contractors to bring our expert customer service and skills together under the PLUMBERS911Boston.com group.
Plumbers911boston.com is a group of contractors that will answer all calls that come through the website and our service area is basically anywhere in eastern Massachusetts. Our plumbers/mechanics and apprentices bring years of training and experience that provide value to residential and commercial customers alike.
All Plumbers911boston.com mechanics are drug tested, background checked, and are extremely proud to wear the Plumbers911 logo. A special point of interest is that I mentioned residential service. Many think that our organization only builds commercial projects. Not True. The members of our organization have always done residential service.
Our members train in our Boston state of the art training facility. Not just subject specific but periodic in service training as well. This is where the customer realizes the value in using a plumbers911boston.com contractor. There is almost nothing our Plumbers can’t do. Along with our service area is also the 24/7 response. Our exceptional group of contractors are committed to making sure that when you go to http://www.plumbers911boston.com you will get the best service provided by the most trained and experienced mechanics in the area.
If you have a plumbing issue there is only one place to go http://www.plumbers911boston.com
Pipes and Wrenches 