Local 8 Southeast

JOURNAL: ISSUE 3 - 2015

Shop Fireproofing Work Boosts BAC Market Share, Hours

Members of Local 8 SE at work.

Thirty-two Local 8 Southeast members employed by signatory contractor J.T.Thorpe & Son, Inc. or JTT (San Francisco; Los Angeles; Salt Lake City; Tucson, AZ; Baton Rouge; Maysville, KY; Chicago; Pittsburgh), the largest industrial refractory and fireproofing contractor in North America, to apply fireproofing material at the company’s new shop fireproofing facility in Baton Rouge.

While fireproofing work is typically performed on an industrial jobsite, shop applied fireproofing allows BAC members to perform the work without traveling to the jobsite. Fireproof building materials are prepared at the facility and then shipped to jobsites.

Local 8 bricklayer and cement mason Reginald Graves.

Says JTT President and COO Bryan Young, “Historically, the shop fireproofing market has been serviced primarily by non-union contractors. Over the last few years JTT has leveraged its field fireproofing experience to expand into the shop fireproofing market. This is a big fireproofing project and it is our first down in the Gulf area so we’re proud of that.”

JTT and Local 8 SE have established and maintained a great working relationship throughout the process, according to Young. “To ensure success on this project, JTT and BAC Local 8 worked closely together to train BAC members on shop fireproofing best practices. As a result, the project is being completed safely, with high quality and on schedule,” says Young. “We’ve been in business since 1906 and have a long-term relationship with the Bricklayers. They are a very safe, well trained and reliable workforce. Together we accomplish good things.”

Mason helper Christopher Lenoir of Local 8 SE.

BAC Secretary-Treasurer Henry Kramer echoed Young’s comments. “This project is a great example of how BAC and our signatory contractors can partner to expand work opportunities for existing members, and at the same time, give us an opportunity to recruit new craftworkers,” says Kramer. “Industrial shop fireproofing is a natural extension of work our members already perform in the field – there’s no reason that we shouldn’t be able to adapt to win more work like this for BAC members throughout North America.”

From left, Local 5 OK/AR/TX President Raymond Palacios and BAC South Regional Director Ed Navarro discuss the project with JTT Superintendent Joe Rodriguez, a member of Local 4 CA.

BAC members and the Executive Board in Baton Rouge, LA. Front row from left, Chris Hunt, James Drake, Joe Rodriguez, BAC Executive Vice President Gerard Scarano and President James Boland; second row from left, Larry Rogers, Christopher Lenoir, Joshua Favaron, Edward Collier (non-member), Johnny Walker, Corey Scott, and Emanuel Dunn; third row from left, Joshua Tolliver, Aaron Renick, Mark Stevenson, Reginald Graves, and Jordan Bob; back row from left, Eliezar Jimenez (non-member), Bobby Drake, Alfred Jones, and Mike Anderson.

To date, the work has generated 15,000 hours for Local 8 SE members with an additional 9,000 hours expected by completion of this phase in August. This emerging market for Local 8 SE members is an important new way to showcase the high level of BAC craftsmanship and commitment to safety they bring to their work. Equally important, it provides an opportunity for organizing and recruiting members in the South. Local 8 Field Representative Phillip Husband says, “This fireproof work is big for our membership where union density has been relatively low. It gives us the base to increase our membership in the South.”