{"id":39802,"date":"2024-06-06T12:21:39","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T16:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=39802"},"modified":"2024-06-06T12:21:39","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T16:21:39","slug":"carpenters-local-union-291-is-working-to-ensure-those-in-the-trade-are-well-trained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2024\/06\/carpenters-local-union-291-is-working-to-ensure-those-in-the-trade-are-well-trained\/","title":{"rendered":"Carpenters Local Union 291 Is Working To Ensure Those In The Trade Are Well Trained"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
New York State Assemblywoman Carrie Warner visits a group of high school students interested in learning about a career in the carpentry trade.
Courtesy of Carpenters Local Union 291<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Susan Elise Campbell<\/p>\n

Carpenters Local Union 291 is not rapidly growing but has the potential to, according to its president, James Margiotta. Skilled union carpenters can make a six-figure income with benefits, and no vocational school education or even a high school diploma is required, he said. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMembership has been at the status quo the better part of the past 20 years,\u201d said Margiotta, who has been a member of Local 291 for 25 years and in several of its elected positions for 11 years.<\/p>\n

There are 1,600 members currently in 14 counties encompassing the Capital Region and North Country of New York. There are surges in membership at times but Margiotta said the union is \u201cstaying afloat because of a two-fold issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne reason growth isn\u2019t as good as it could be is the ability to find skilled people that could command the wages that we negotiate for members,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere has also been an issue of finding younger people interested in starting this kind of career in the carpentry trade,\u201d said Margiotta.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span>Blue collar work was not something that schools or parents were pushing young people toward for a period of time, he said. College was.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut there has been a change in that mind-set in the last five years or so, and it\u2019s gaining momentum,\u201d Margiotta said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the 140 years Carpenters Local 291 has existed, members have seen other changes and not just in attitudes about the trade. At one time the union required members to complete high school, but that is no longer the case, according to Margiotta. The union provides all training and education.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are big projects coming up throughout New York spurred through work force development programs,\u201d he said. \u201cThe schools are starting to say, this is a good option for you to get involved in the trades.\u201d<\/p>\n

Margiotta said society in general has not promoted carpentry as a job because \u201cit\u2019s not glamorous.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYears ago there were advertisements on TV about how unions were good and good for you, but this went away,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd there are no labor studies or labor history courses in high school now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Margiotta grew up in a union household and \u201cknew the value\u201d of unions, whereas the parents of younger people today are not as versed in what unions can offer, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not as saturated as it used to be, when pensions were a thing,\u201d he said. \u201cPensions barely exist now unless you work for the state or you are in a union.\u201d<\/p>\n

Margiotta commented that a 401(k) plan is not the same as a pension plan. A corporate employer may match some part of a worker\u2019s 401(k) contribution but distributions from the plan are not guaranteed for life, as a pension plan in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe value of those certain things may be something the family household doesn\u2019t know enough about to value them,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up my father said, you always have to have a pension,\u201d said Margiotta. \u201cIf you are not going to have your own successful business, then you need to have a pension because no one else is going to care more about you than you or the organization you work with.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially since COVID have people begun to understand they can make a viable living with benefits above and beyond the weekly paycheck,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They are realizing that a career in the carpentry trade can be lucrative, especially when health and future retirement income are added in, he said.<\/p>\n

Margiotta said the union has changed the way apprentices are compensated. It has increased the percentage of a journeyman\u2019s wage paid to apprentices so that the starting wage is more competitive.<\/p>\n

As a result, Carpenters Local 291 is currently doing well with recruitment among young people. But Margiotta said the issue with growth now is that there is \u201ca lot of competition in the open shop side of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some projects that should be prevailing wage, but are not,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are checks and balances involved on a public project, but you do see tax fraud on some of the private projects\u201d where union workers are not hired.<\/p>\n

When a construction company, or any kind of company, pays in cash under the table, they are driving down their tax liability and therefore the worker\u2019s wage. Margiotta said the state \u201cdoes not put a lot of money or effort into policing that sort of a thing, which is a shame, because everybody suffers for it and it becomes difficult for reputable contractors to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n

The construction firms with which Carpenters Local 291 has collective bargaining agreements to work only with them and are \u201cbound to the rules.\u201d This means a safer job site, an attractive wage, and projects that can continue all year over several years, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe represent our members,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Any construction job entails some risk. Carpenters work at heights and in confined, loud or dirty environments. Margiotta said every apprentice and every member is safety trained and receives \u201cthe best training the industry has to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

At any given time, 10 percent of membership are in the apprentice program. Margiotta said there are on average 140 or 150 apprentices coming through the training school in Albany and that Local 291 has \u201cthe ability to secure any younger people who want to come to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

New ones are entering the field organically and through social media, Margiotta said. He also said there has been great success reaching out to underprivileged or underserved parts of the communities they represent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Carpenters Local 291 is\u00a0part of North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, which represents over 30,000 fellow members in New York and New England. The website www.carpenterslu291.com says, \u201cWith our extensive training, productivity, political activism and organizing efforts our mission is to achieve an ever increasing market share in our industry.\u201d Furthermore, it promotes \u201ca safe and sustainable standard of living for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visit that site to learn more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Susan Elise Campbell Carpenters Local Union 291 is not rapidly growing but has the potential to, according to its president, James Margiotta. Skilled union carpenters can make a six-figure income with benefits, and no vocational school education or even a high school diploma is required, he said. \u00a0 \u201cMembership has been at the status […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":39803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-building-trades"],"yoast_head":"\r\nCarpenters Local Union 291 Is Working To Ensure Those In The Trade Are Well Trained - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2024\/06\/carpenters-local-union-291-is-working-to-ensure-those-in-the-trade-are-well-trained\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Carpenters Local Union 291 Is Working To Ensure Those In The Trade Are Well Trained - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Susan Elise Campbell Carpenters Local Union 291 is not rapidly growing but has the potential to, according to its president, James Margiotta. Skilled union carpenters can make a six-figure income with benefits, and no vocational school education or even a high school diploma is required, he said. \u00a0 \u201cMembership has been at the status […]\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2024\/06\/carpenters-local-union-291-is-working-to-ensure-those-in-the-trade-are-well-trained\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-06T16:21:39+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/06\/carpenters-union-h.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"717\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2024\/06\/carpenters-local-union-291-is-working-to-ensure-those-in-the-trade-are-well-trained\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2024\/06\/carpenters-local-union-291-is-working-to-ensure-those-in-the-trade-are-well-trained\/\",\"name\":\"Carpenters Local Union 291 Is Working To Ensure Those In The Trade Are Well Trained - Saratoga Business Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2024\/06\/carpenters-local-union-291-is-working-to-ensure-those-in-the-trade-are-well-trained\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2024\/06\/carpenters-local-union-291-is-working-to-ensure-those-in-the-trade-are-well-trained\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/06\/carpenters-union-h.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-06T16:21:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-06T16:21:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2024\/06\/carpenters-local-union-291-is-working-to-ensure-those-in-the-trade-are-well-trained\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2024\/06\/carpenters-local-union-291-is-working-to-ensure-those-in-the-trade-are-well-trained\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2024\/06\/carpenters-local-union-291-is-working-to-ensure-those-in-the-trade-are-well-trained\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/06\/carpenters-union-h.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/06\/carpenters-union-h.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":717,\"caption\":\"New York State Assemblywoman Carrie Warner visits a group of high school students interested in learning about a career in the carpentry trade. 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