Creating Equal Opportunities for All
JOURNAL: ISSUE 1 - 2016
Editor’s Note: Apprentices are the lifeblood of our Union and the industry. For decades, BAC has been focusing on the value of developing a skilled workforce for tomorrow through its quality training programs. That’s why the BAC Executive Board asked editors of the Journal to revive the “Apprentice Profile” section featuring an apprentice whose craft skills, hard work, and commitment to the Union demonstrate that our future is in good hands, the “Best Hands in the Business.”
APPRENTICE PROFILE:
Martha Urbina
Local 8 Southeast
Local 8 Southeast member Martha Urbina was born in Nicaragua in 1975 and moved to the United States at the age of 15 when an older sister living in Miami sponsored her immigration. Upon completion of high school, Sister Urbina began working full time with her family at a bakery in Miami before she moved to Orlando in 2001 where she met a friend who told her about the Union. “I applied for the fiberglass apprenticeship program and immediately got accepted,” says Urbina. “BAC gave me an opportunity to learn and advance myself in the field. I was able to apply what I learned from my fiberglass training classes to the Disney projects that I am currently working on. I cannot thank my Union enough for all they have provided and all they have taught me in the trades.”
Local 8 SE fiberglass mason Martha Urbina, right, and Field Representative Mike Bontempo on the jobsite.
While Sister Urbina is the only woman among the 17 apprentices employed by Buena Vista Construction Company (BVCC) on the Disney projects in Florida, she says that she enjoys working with all her BAC Brothers, “In addition to gender, we are all from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We learn from each other, we help each other, and we make a great work environment.”
Mike Bontempo, Field Representative of Local 8 SE, represents BAC members working on Disney projects in Florida including the Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, the new Avatar, and Star Wars attractions which generate approximately 150,000 work hours annually for BAC members. “Martha does sanding and refurbishing fiberglass for these projects. Her craft skills improve day by day,” Bontempo comments. “Recently she has advanced to 85% of the journey-level rate. She is a team player who loves working collaboratively with other craftworkers.”
“It is this kind of team spirit that shines in every aspect of our work – from training classrooms to jobsites – that binds us together as a Union. Working with our signatory contractors and instructors, we are able to not only create equal opportunities for all, but build the best hands in the business,” says Local 8 SE President Jay Smith.
Through a relatively new training program in the South, fiberglass training has gained momentum in the past few years. “As Fiberglass mechanics we are able to work with some of the most innovative minds and advanced products in the industry,” says Local 8 Fiberglass Instructor Chris Gould, who has had the opportunity to work on many exciting projects throughout his 10-year BAC career, including the expansion of Magic Kingdom’s Fantasy Land, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, the new Lion King theater at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and many rehabs throughout all of Disney’s parks and resorts. “As the instructor of the fiberglass program, I am inspired to work with all apprentices and journeyworkers who wish to cross-train. Together we are building the best training program in the field.”
Sister Urbina received her U.S. citizenship in 2007 at a ceremony held at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Her experience with the Union has naturally transformed her to a BAC ambassador. “I always tell my family and friends about the family-sustaining wages and benefits that our Union negotiates for us. Because of the Union, I will soon be in a position to bring my mate to the U.S. where we can raise our children together.” And speaking of her future career, Urbina stays quite open and positive. “I will continue learning all I can to advance in my field and career. Besides fiberglass, I am willing to learn other crafts too.”
From left, Local 8 SE apprentices Aaron Romero, Francisco Ferrer, Martha Urbina, journeyworker Anderson Molina, apprentices Clovison Williams and Jaime Linares Gordillo on the jobsite of Disney’s Contemporary Resort, where they are refurbishing the fiberglass on the slides leading to the pools.