Rosie Stories: Competition as Solid as Concrete
OT Offers Technical Assistance to Washington Cement Mason Apprenticeship
Focus on Cement Mason Trade
 
 

Rosie Stories: Competition as Solid as Concrete

Apprentice cement mason Megan DeGidio proved she’s as solid as concrete during a two-day national competition in Las Vegas.  Apprentices from across the country competed during “The World of Concrete” conference.  Of the 51 competitors, Megan was the only female apprentice. 

Megan, a third year apprentice of Local 555 Cement Masons, trained for 2 and ½ months.  She worked every Saturday for 7 to 10 hours and for 4 hours on most Sundays.  She also trained in the evenings after working all day. “I can do so many things that I couldn’t have done three months ago; I’ll have those skills the rest of my life.”

“We had the greatest coach in the world.”  Brett Hinsley, who competed during his apprenticeship, taught Megan and the other apprentice who went to the competition, Ron Buck.  “Not only was he there to teach us, but he was also always cracking jokes and stuff to keep us going.”

“It was a great experience on so many levels.…The thing I enjoyed most is that my dad, who’s a contractor in Wisconsin, got to fly in to be with me.”

It was in part Megan’s experience working for her father that led her to the trades.  She worked for her father the summer before she moved to Portland; once here, she had a “horrible job for several years.”  Then she attended the Women in Trades Fair and saw the Mason’s booth. 

“I had been at my job for two years, making $8.10 an hour; there was a ten year cap out at $10.50.  I started my apprenticeship at $13-something.  [The apprenticeship] totally changed my life; I have a future in this field.”

More than just enjoying her increased wages and the opportunity for advancement, Megan clearly enjoys the work.  “At the end of the day, I can step back and see what I made.”

March, 2003
 

OT Offers Technical Assistance to 
Washington Cement Mason Apprenticeship

In early December, OT’s Executive Director, Connie Ashbrook, traveled to Seattle, Washington to provide technical assistance to the Western Washington Cement Mason Apprenticeship. OT is participating in the Department of Labor’s Technical Assistance Providers Bank that matches experts like Connie and apprenticeship programs who have requested help in recruiting and retaining women and minorities.

The Western Washington Cement Mason Apprenticeship trains workers for paving, highway, bridge, sidewalk, curb & gutter work, light commercial and large commercial buildings. Of 930 members of Cement Masons Local 528, 23 are women; that’s 2.5%, close to the national average.

Connie met with Mark Maher, Apprenticeship Coordinator/Training Director, and Jon Martin, Educational Director, at the Cement Masons Training Center in Seattle.  Connie noted, “One of the strengths of the program is its dedicated staff who lead a good orientation of new apprentices and make a good effort to connect apprentices in need to community resources.”

Connie and Mark led a focus group of 7 female cement masons.  The tradeswomen offered to recruit, mentor and support new apprentices. 

The tradeswomen also encouraged the program to use women role models to recruit in local high schools, to participate in Washington’s Women in Trades Fair and to reach out to community organizations for girls, like working on a masonry badge with the Girl Scouts.  The key: make female masons more visible.

January, 2003
 
 

Focus on Cement Mason Trade
 

Cement Mason maria, finishing a set of concrete stairs

Ever drive down a concrete street or walk down cement steps to a sidewalk?  Of course!  We all benefit from the work of cement masons.  The apprenticeship program for cement masons covers Oregon and SW Washington.  This is a union program in affiliation with Cement Masons Local 555. 

The Oregon and Southwest Washington Cement Mason Apprenticeship program takes 3 years and includes 6000 on-the-job hours.  In the first year apprentices also attend 144 hours of classes.  This begins with two weeks of classes during the winter that focus on safety, math, estimating, and other basics.  The remaining hours for the first year and all of the second and third year classes are held on Saturdays. 

Changes are planned, however, to do more classes in week-long blocks and reduce the emphasis on Saturday classes.  The timing of those changes will depend on when the Cement Mason apprenticeship program can move to their own training center.  Stay tuned for more details. 

There are 10 female journey level cement masons out of a pool of 480.  Currently there are two female apprentices out of 43.  They are actively seeking more women for their industry, and are working with us to recruit women as cement masons.  Thanks to Bill Wynn, Cement Mason Apprentice Coordinator, for being one of the WANTO 6 partners with Oregon Tradeswomen. 

Applicants that meet the minimum requirements must then attend an orientation session.  Applicants are interviewed and will then be scored and ranked based on set criteria. 

Apprentices in the Oregon and SW Washington program need to go out and seek their first job through Cement Masons Local 555.  Reports are, however, that this hasn't been a problem.  There are some basic tools and equipment that must be purchased such as work boots, rubber gloves and boots and floats.  A full list is provided and typical cost is about $200. 

This industry is very competitive, which often makes for large and fast paced cement pours and projects.  These kinds of jobs can be hard for apprentices because journey level workers are so busy.  Curb, gutter, and sidewalk work is seasonal and stops in winter.  But there is great job satisfaction for those interested in working hard and seeing a definite project at the end of the day. 

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