In the video above, John Roberts, area manager for Texas and Oklahoma, and Victorino Sanchez, assistant area manager for Texas and Oklahoma, talk about current and upcoming work opportunities for members.
To view the entire conversation, click play above. A summary of the conversation is below, and you can watch segments by clicking the links.
Current and upcoming carpentry work – Part 1 and Part 2
- The International Gateway Bridge project in Brownsville, Texas, is a $380 million upcoming project with a unique project labor agreement.
- Project labor agreements are in place for construction of new barracks at Lackland Air Force Base in Bexar County, Texas, and Fort Bliss in El Paso.
- A project at Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant will require more scaffold carpenters.
- Several major contractors are aggressively bidding work in the San Antonio and Austin areas that requires interior-systems carpenters.
- The self-perform division of Beck has been awarded more than 20 years of work at Texas Christian University and a Hard Rock resort in Lake Texoma, along the Texas-Oklahoma border. The resort project will require framing, drywall, and interior systems work.
Recently completed, current and upcoming millwright work
- A large project at ExxonMobil in Baytown, Texas, with 150-200 millwrights involved, recently wrapped up. Exxon Mobil Baytown is one of the biggest refineries in the country.
- A compressor overhaul at Motiva’s Port Arthur, Texas, refinery is finishing strong.
- An exciting upcoming project is a big expansion at Toyota in San Antonio, Texas. It will require more than 100 millwrights and is a long-term project.
Training needed to qualify for upcoming work
- Different projects and types of work require different training, so reach out to your local training center’s coordinator or your business representative to let them know what you want to do. They will walk you through the process step by step.
- In general, it’s a good idea to have current certifications in: mobile elevated work platforms, OSHA 10 and OSHA 30, fall protection, and scaffold user.
- If you want to work in nuclear facilities, a background check and drug screening are required. You don’t have to have a clean background but must be forthcoming about everything in your background, Sanchez said. NANTel training, which is available online, is necessary as well.
Praise for carpenters and millwrights at paper mill project
- Nearing completion is the Graphic Packaging International project in Waco, Texas, with contractor CR Meyer.
- “In speaking with the folks there at CR Meyer, they are just extremely satisfied with what the Central South Carpenters have been able to do with our skill, our professionalism and our ability to put the right people in the right place to make the job successful,” Roberts said. “So that’s a good pat on the back for our members who went out and did the hard work.”
Career opportunities to tell your friends and family about
- The shift towards contractors self-performing work in Texas and Oklahoma will increase the need for more trained carpenters and millwrights in the coming years.
- The trades offer good pay, benefits, and a career ladder, making them an attractive option for those seeking stable employment. Many other careers, including those requiring college degrees, don’t provide such job security or benefits.