At Local Plumbers & Steamfitters Union, ‘People See They Have A Future’ Manager Says

BY PAUL POST

In the 1989 baseball classic, “Field of Dreams,” a mysterious voice tells character Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), “If you build it, they will come.”

These days, Kinsella might have a hard time finding the help he needs as a nationwide labor shortage continues to impact the building trades industry, a problem that’s especially acute in the Greater Capital Region.

“There’s not nearly enough bodies to fill the openings,” said Chris Dudley, a heavy equipment instructor at the WSWHE BOCES center in Hudson Falls. “All the big employers like DA Collins and Peckham Materials are really hurting for heavy equipment operators, truck drivers and laborers. State, county and town highway departments are reaching out to us, looking to hire kids directly out of high school. They’ve never had to do that before. Everybody’s really having issues.”

There are so few truck drivers that the state recently lowered the age for obtaining a Class A commercial drivers license from 21 to 18, allowing more young adults to drive tractor-trailers.

A recent U.S. Labor Department study says there were 7.6 million unfilled trades jobs and only 6.5 million people looking for work.

The problem stems from large numbers of Baby Boomers retiring out of the workforce, particularly during COVID, officials say. At the same time, school enrollments have steadily decreased the past few years and New York state in particular is faced with a declining population. More than 650,000 people have left for more economically friendly, warm weather states since 2020.

“The shortage has been bad for several years and is continuing to get worse as more businesses have suffered from the labor shortage post-COVID,” said Doug Ford, vice president of sales and purchasing at Ballston Spa-based Curtis Lumber Co. “It’s going to drive up costs and the building completion timeline. The biggest challenge is educating students, counselors and parents about the lucrative opportunities in trades. There are many misconceptions about our industry.”

The stereotype is one of long hours, doing physically hard work at relatively low pay. In reality, within 10 years a skilled equipment operator or electrician can make up to $100,000 per year or

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BY CHRISTINE GRAF

At a time when local contractors are struggling to fi nd qualified skilled trade workers, Local 773 Plumbers & Steamfitters has at least 40 qualified applicants anxious to join the union’s five-year apprenticeship program.

The union represents more than 450 plumbers, pipe fitters, steam fitters, refrigeration fitters, and service technicians in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties. The local headquarters is in Glens Falls.

“I am seeing no shortage, and I know that I can recruit the people I need because we pay a living wage,” said Mike Jarvis, business manager at Local 773. “People see that they will have a future with us. They know they will be treated right.”

Despite being overwhelmed with applicants, Local 773 has been able to accept just three people into the Glens Falls apprenticeship program so far this year. Jarvis expects that number to top out at six, with an additional three apprentices likely to be selected from another large applicant pool in Plattsburgh where the union has its second location, he said. Expanding its apprenticeship program will be possible only if the union is able to secure additional signatory union contractors.

In recent years, Jarvis and Brian Kill, business agent at Local 773, have been working to attract contractors from the residential and light commercial sectors.

“We realized we are missing a lot of market share within the residential and light commercial market space, so Brian and I sat down and came up with a wage rate and benefits package to fit the local economy,” said Jarvis.

“We spent a lot of time talking to contractors, and we came up with an agreement that would make the contractors competitive but would also offer benefits to their employees. The wage was geared more towards a fi rst year trainee, and the all-in package was less than that of a standard apprentice. Contractors loved it because it allowed them to still be competitive while paying employees what they were worth.”

Under that agreement, Local 773 workers were contracted to work on the apartments at Fowler Square in Queensbury where Albanybased BBL Construction was the contractor.

“It started off like a bang, but after they completed Fowler Square, I didn’t have jobs to send them to afterwards,” said Jarvis. “Now I’m working diligently with a lot of my contractors to try to get them to bid on more of