WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Pictured above, International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 17 Business Manager Bill Fekete (on the left) and James Smolinski, Jr. - who serves as Administrative Manager for Local 17’s Apprenticeship Training Fund, are extremely pleased - you might even say, “Beaming with pride,” over a record-breaking number of Apprentices currently in the Building Trades Union’s Training Program.  And with the future looking bright when it comes to a great number of major construction projects either currently underway or coming up, Local 17’s Membership appears to be guaranteed a great amount of work in the years to come.  (Combination Photo - Fekete & Smolinski/WNYLaborToday.com/Training Photos Courtesy of Local 17)

(LAKE VIEW, NEW YORK) – Those Labor Leaders charged with running International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 17 are pretty happy these days when it comes to their Apprenticeship Training Program, which has grown into the largest roster ever of Members who are learning their Trade and sharpening their skills on a number of Western New York Projects.

“We’re ‘beaming with pride,’” Local 17 Business Manager Bill Fekete told WNYLaborToday.com of the record-breaking number of Apprentices (51) currently in his Building Trades Union’s Training Program.  “‘I can’t say enough about our (Training) Staff and our program.’  ‘It’s running like a well-oiled machine and we have to keep building on our success - but it just keeps getting better and better.’”

“‘It’s our largest number - ever,’” said James Smolinski, Jr. - who serves as Administrative Manager for Local 17’s Apprenticeship Training Fund. “And ‘everyone is out working,’ including a lot of Equipment Operators and Oilers.  ‘I’m proud of them all because their jobs are tough.’”

A goal of 40 total participants (10 in each year of the four-year Apprenticeship) had been set, but because of a bevy of major and long-term construction projects - including the new Buffalo Bills Stadium in Orchard Park (Pictured Below/WNYLaborToday.com Photo, where 10 Local 17 Apprentices are currently working) and several windmill projects across the region, for example, it would appear Members of Local 17 will be kept quite busy for years and years to come.

Currently there are 14 Members in the first year of their Apprenticeship Training, with another 17 in year two, 12 in year three and eight in the fourth and final year.

“We are ‘grateful for the work and the good fortune we have,’” Fekete said.  “But this (increasing the number of Local 17 Apprentices) ‘was planned because we are building the next generation of our workforce and workplaces.’”

The skill of a trained IUOE Craftsman or Craftswoman is the basic natural resource of the Construction Industry, so says a passage in Local 17’s Apprenticeship Training Standards and Selection Procedures Handbook. 

The Training Program - which has been approved by the New York State Department of Labor, is designed to provide a minimum of 5,000 hours of performance-based/skilled training under which Apprentices can achieve the status of Skilled Craftsman or Craftswoman and provide Apprentices with (a variety) of training that otherwise may take more years to achieve, the Handbook also states.

Local 17 currently has 1,800 Members, including 1,200 who are active.

Retirements have ramped up the need for additional Apprenticeships to replace those seasoned and highly skilled Trades Workers, Local 17 Representatives tell WNYLaborToday.com.

“We have Members retiring yearly and we’re drawing interested applicants from our efforts through Social Media - where we’ve gotten (7,000-plus hits), career fairs and our yearly (Western New York) Construction Career Days (which draws more than 1,000 area high school students to the Union’s sprawling 400-acre Training Facility in Lake View, located just south of Buffalo where they are introduced to a variety of Unionized Building Trades Unions and receive hands-on exposure to some of the machinery and modern technology they may one day be using),” Local 17 Training Coordinator Jonathan Robertson explained.

Carlos Calhoun -a 38-year-old Apprentice who resides in the City of Buffalo, told WNYLaborToday.com had been “always been interested” in getting in Local 17 and then took the time to “Google” them to get the particulars on the Union’s Apprenticeship Training Program.

“A buddy of mine told me to put in an application.  I was accepted in April (after taking a test and being interviewed),” said Calhoun, a Crane Oiler.  “I turned down the opportunity to become a Fireman (in the City of Buffalo) for Local (17).  ‘And it has been great - challenging, but fun.’  ‘I keep my eyes and ears open and I’m taking in as much as I can.’  I’ve operated a (110) and (240) ton cranes.  This was ‘brand new to me because I had no’ experience.  ‘It was pretty cool.’  I was ‘nervous and excited, almost in disbelief, but I’m just blessed.’  ‘There are a lot more skills that I need to learn and I’m making a good living.’”

According to Smolinski, the total hourly package for a First-Year Apprentice is $66.30 (including $32 an hour in wages) and that rises to $69.06 an hour in an Apprentice’s fourth year.

“There’s ‘a lot of steady work out there, for the next five, six, seven years and we need to man that equipment,’” said Smolinski, who’s quoted in Local 17’s Apprenticeship Training Standards and Selection Procedures Handbook as saying: “If you have a passion for this business and demonstrate a desire to learn, your Instructors and Brother or Sister Journey Workers will help you achieve great success and a rewarding career.  Your attitude is everything.  Set your goals high, the possibilities are endless.”

Third-year Local 17 Apprentice Lauren March, 27, from Buffalo, is realizing her possibilities.

“It’s ‘been one of the greatest opportunities that I’ve ever been given,’” said March, who had previously been driving a dump truck for a local company. “My Father’s friends were in Local (17) and told me to try it.  ‘I had nothing to lose.’  ‘I had tried college and hated it.’  ‘It wasn’t for me.’  ‘I love driving, but wanted to drive something bigger.’  This experience ‘has been incredible because I had no exposure of this (kind of) equipment.’  As a Woman, this Union ‘has always been incredible’ (to me).  ‘I’ve never had a bad experience’ from my Male Co-Workers.  ‘They are welcoming.’  ‘I’ve been spreading the word (to other Women too) because Local 17 has truly been life-changing.’  ‘Everyone is so full of support.’  ‘They’ve always got my back.’”

Local 17 Business Manager Fekete said the feedback he’s received from the Building Trades Union’s local contractors - who are employing the Union’s Apprentices on a variety of projects, has been phenomenal: “It’s the ‘best four-year group of Apprentices that we’ve had in a long time.’  ‘In fact, you can see the overall attitude of our contractors has changed too’ (by the quality of Apprentices being sent to them).  ‘And we are very proud of the diversity within our ranks, particularly on the female side.’  ‘They are the bomb.’”

Those Members in Local 17’s Apprenticeship Training Program range in age from 18/19 to 45, including some who have entered the program after serving time in the military.

“It’s ‘fun to see what they can do and it is amazing when they realize how much they have to learn,’” Local 17 Training Coordinator Robertson said.  “But ‘we’re turning them into good’ Operators.” 

Smolinski, who joined Local 17 in 1987 and became the Union’s Training Coordinator in the late 90s, added: “We ‘fit in as much as we can’ - from cranes to forklifts to backhoes to off-road haulers to operating skid steers to oiling duties to the new GPS technology.  ‘They have to learn to transfer all they’ve learned (at the Training Facility in Lakeview) out into the field, everything in the business that you can handle.’  Oilers, for example, ‘have to know more about the crane that the Operator does.’  ‘Nobody’s standing around.’  Like they say, ‘The cream rises to the top and we’ve got a lot of cream.”

 WNYLaborToday.com Editor's Note: For More Information On IUOE Local 17 & Its Apprenticeship Training Program, Visit: International Union of Operating Engineers – Local 17 (iuoe-17.com)