“I always wanted to be part of a union. After working as a foreman in concrete construction, I started work on a nonunion job, and one of the brothers who was in the union talked to me about what membership could do for me.

He told me about the benefits, the pay and the fact that I wouldn’t have to go to the boss to ask for a raise — that raises would come with every contract.

Learning these things led me to join Local 11. As an apprentice in the training program, I got a classroom education, along with hands-on trade experience and a paycheck. My union membership has allowed me to save money, support my family, and offer better opportunities than I had to my two daughters and son.

Now, when I work with apprentices, I tell them what I was told: ‘Don’t worry about the money — it will come on its own.’ We don’t have to ask for a raise, the money comes in automatically, and you can count on it.

My experience as a foreman helped me learn to talk to anybody, and I’ve learned that talking to everyone with respect is the way to get the best knowledge. Maybe for these reasons, Mitch Klein (former business representative at Local 11) saw something in me. I like to go to the union meetings, and he saw me being active, participating in the meetings. So he asked me if I was interested in being a steward, and I said, ‘Yeah, of course.’

As shop steward, I’m the representative between the union and the union workers. I make sure the shop, the company that we work for, honors our agreement. And if any of our brothers and sisters have questions about the union — about meetings, our retirement, our benefits, about our tools we need to bring to work — I’m there to answer them.

Recently a brother joined our crew, and it was his first time at our jobsite. He has been in the union for a long time, so he has a lot of hours and is ready to retire. However, he traveled outside Local 11 for work, and he was under the impression that those hours worked outside his local wouldn’t show up in his work history, affecting his retirement plans.

I told him, ‘I don’t think that’s completely accurate,’ and I knew it right away. I had checked my hours a while back on a website that shows your history of work from your union start date to the present. We looked together at the site and found his history, and those traveler hours were showing.

He was really happy, and I was, too, for knowing the answer. I’m very glad to help because it helps me to be prepared for my retirement. I’m learning as I go.”