Northern Kentucky union pledges to help fill construction worker void

Breanna Barker knew college wasn’t for her. She's too much of an adrenaline junkie.

“I love doing the scary stuff,” she said.

Barker is an apprentice at Ironworkers Local 44, where she often works 60 or 70 feet up in the air. From a new soccer facility at the University of Cincinnati to changes at Great American Tower, none of this would be possible without construction workers like Barker. The problem is there's a shortage of these workers across the country .

That shortage is hitting Cincinnati, too.

"There's definitely a lot less applicants than there were 10 years ago,” said Dave Baker, the business manager for Ironworkers Local 44.

Baker helps run an apprenticeship program for the union. It’s a program designed to take advantage of what he calls a "huge opportunity" for our region.

“You can finance a new bridge,” he said. “But if no one is willing to show up there to put the bridge up, it's not going to get done."

He's talking about the Brent Spence Bridge. And it's why he's working harder than ever to get more people into the business.

Because in a warehouse in Hebron, these are the workers that will build Cincinnati's future. It's why apprentices are competing — welding, tying knots and climbing up a pole past the top of the roof — to see if they're ready for the opportunity.

Provided/Jarrod Tiemeier

Sarah Vaughan is a welder, always working behind a mask. But she wanted to do more.

She wanted to build the city where she lives.

"I like to take my daughters around and say, 'I worked on that one. I worked on that,'” she said.

Both Vaughan and Barker are excited about the new Brent Spence Bridge. They hope they get to work on it.

"You’re leaving a legacy behind,” Barker said. "People that you know will drive on that every day."

Madison Schmidt

The union leader said that the project will likely bring 150 jobs to Local 44. And hundreds more for other construction workers in the area.

“This job is community changing,” Baker said. “It's amazing.”

Then, he laughs. Because he’s said similar things before.

“I got here in 1997, and they said we were going to build that bridge,” he said. “And now I’m here 25 years later waiting to build that bridge still."

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To find out more information about the apprenticeship program, visit Local 44’s website at ironworkers44.com.