Tag: training

When Fire Hits, Whats in the Smoke

June 28th, 2017 6:30 PM

As I sat in my office this afternoon in Dorchester I could hear fire truck after fire truck going by the office on Massachusetts Ave. Knowing that something was going on we found out there was a major fire at a project under construction in the 1900 block of Dorchester Ave.

Hearing that the fire had reached 6 alarms in a short time I could only think that I was in that building just over a week ago. Members of Plumbers Local 12 have been on that job for about a year and thankfully were not on the site today. The building was just about finished.

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Impressive gas meter installation at Ashmont Tire Project

As I started to get pictures of the fire texted to me I thought about the smoke that I was looking at. I was thankful to see our friend Boston Fire Commissioner Joe Finn saying that it was a job for them fighting the fire from the outside of the building. As of 6:25 pm thankfully there has been no injuries reported

As the firefighters fought the blaze from the high ladders I also thought about all of the PVC that had been installed in the building. When that product burns it turns into cyanide gas. Under more perfect conditions if the sprinkler system was working in an occupied building the fire may have been contained to its original source area.

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View of the gas piping from the parking garage at job at the Ashmont Tire project

However in this case where the building is burning out of control with no sprinklers the firefighters/neighbors are getting some dose of hazardous material sent their way. Speaking with the leadership of the firefighters union we agree on the terrible toll that cancer has taken on their ranks.

In a state like Massachusetts we should not be looking to increase materials like PVC, in any way shape or form in building construction, not just because of the fact that the firefighters are exposed to the smoke, but to the chemical exposure to the plumbers and other tradesman that have to install these materials for a living.

It’s really too bad that the fire happened at this site today because it was another great plumbing job done by the E M Duggan Company and reflected the great workmanship of the men and women of Plumbers Local 12.

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Plumbing is Great Industry in MA

I just left the annual Massachusetts PHCC trade show in Marlboro MA. This show continues to showcase what a great industry we have here. Plumbers and apprentices from across the state come to interact with the suppliers of basically anything that has to do with the business.

This year we, Plumbers Local 12 was the proud sponsor of the very popular code seminar put on by the Massachusetts State Plumbing Board. At least 700 people filled the conference room to exchange ideas, concerns, and to get clarification on a host of issues. Chairman Paul Kennedy did a great job answering or getting the right person to answer whatever the audience timg_2980hrew at them

The important take away is the fact that a strong license and a strong code is the key to keeping the plumbing industry here a great business not only for the license holders but the consumers as well.

Congratulations to all at the MAPHCC on another great show.

 

 

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Plumbers Local 12 Recognizes National Apprenticeship Week

This week, November 14th through 20th 2016 is National Apprenticeship Week. At Plumbers Local 12 in Boston every week is apprenticeship week. There is no better trained plumbers in eastern Massachusetts than the ones at Local 12.

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Layout class led by Instructor Darren MacDonald

Just this week in our day school program we have first year, second year, and third year apprentices doing everything from academic classes to shop classes. Classes from Use and Care of tools, Plumbing Code as well training in the latest layout and co ordination technologies have been going on every day.

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Local 12 Instructor Gregg Peterson, teaching Use and Care of Tools

Plumbers Local 12 has almost 200 apprentices in our apprenticeship program working in shops that range in size from 2 employees to some that have in excess of 300 plumbers and apprentices. It is imperative that we supply the most highly skilled and well rounded mechanics in the industry to support our contractors.

Apprenticeship is a proven method of skills training that goes back hundreds of years. The plumbing trade is no different. Our apprentices do 1200 hours of training in our program almost double what the Massachusetts laws require for training. “All of this training pays off for us because when an apprentice does an apprenticeship here they are embarking on a journey that will require them to be the best” says Rick Carter Local 12 Training Director.

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First year apprentices brazing in the shop, led by Instructor Joe Kyne

“Plumbing is a career” says Harry Brett, Business Manager of the Boston Plumbers Union, “we do not provide jobs we provide careers and a rock solid foundation is the success to that career”. So as the nation recognizes Apprenticeship Week we at Local 12 live it every week and are committed to continue the fine tradition of Apprenticeship.

 

 

 

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In With The New

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2016-apprentices

“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.

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Welcome back to all of the Local 12 apprentices

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!

 

 

 

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Out With The Old

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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.

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Class President Danny Palimeri addresses over 200 people that attended the graduation at Venezia Restaurant in Dorchester, MA. 

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!

 

 

 

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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.

 

 

 

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