Old Colony built in a minute and a half...sort of

The New England Carpenters Labor-Management Program is proud to provide an interesting look at the work of union contractors and carpenters at the Old Colony Housing Project in South Boston. The time lapse video, synchronized to music was shot over the course of a year, during the project's first phase. Suffolk Construction was the Construction Manager.

Union carpenters employed by Suffolk Construction and numerous subcontractors were proud to recently complete Phase One of the redevelopment of housing at Old Colony in South Boston. The project involved demolition of old buildings and construction of 116 energy efficient affordable apartment units as well as a 10,000 square-foot community center and other improvements and amenities. As the largest property managed by the Boston Housing Authority, demolition and construction was completed on a 15 acre occupied site containing 850 housing units. The project changes the face of a community and the lives of many who will live there.

Video of the three buildings in the piece was gathered over the course of a year, from December 2010 through December 2011 during almost weekly visits. Videographer Ellen Webber of the New England Carpenters Labor Management Program produced the video. It can be watched here

Retrieved from: http://www.nercc.org/blog/p/1687

Women Get Skills to Break Into Traditional Men’s Trades

Retrieved from: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/01/women-get-skills-to-break-into-traditional-mens-trades/

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Image credit: Scott Shulman/ABC

In the shadow of a Long Beach, Calif., power plant, a dozen women step into tool belts, don hard hats and learn  how to carry a bucket of cement up a flight of stairs to get a leg up on trades usually dominated by men.

According to a 2009 Department of Labor report, while gender equality has made headway in the executive ranks — a quarter of CEOs are women — less than 1 percent of 77,000 U.S. ironworkers and steelworkers are female.

Sherron Ballard, 55, used to be a real estate agent — now she wants to work in construction.

Ballard told ABC News that she was making the job switch for the higher income, which would help her raise her daughter.

She is participating in a grueling 10-week program by Women in Non Traditional Employment Roles, or Winter. The Los Angeles group, in its 15th year, trains women to become plumbers, electricians and ironworkers — well-paid, blue-collar occupations previously dominated by men.

At one California construction site, 250 men worked alongside two females.

Winter’s goal is to tip that balance. The women earn safety certificates, learn about timekeeping, what to wear on construction sites and how to handle discrimination.

“When they go out there for their first job, a lot of people are gonna look at them and say: ‘Why aren’t you home? What are you doing here? Are you sure you’re in the right place?’ And they need to learn how to brush it off and continue on with their work,” said Berta Campos, a program instructor. “I think we need more women in order for men to change their mind and we have to prove them wrong.”

“Women have to go out to work,” said Donna Williamson, who recently graduated from the program. “I have a child. I have to support him.”

Williamson, a 41-year-old single mother, used to make minimum wage selling skateboards in a bike shop. Now she’s an apprentice ironworker making $28 an hour, and her wages will are sure to increase as she progresses in her career.

“I used to drive around and I’d look at the guys on the beams, on the high-rises, and it’s one of those intriguing things,” she said. “There are not a whole lot of women in the construction field. At the end of the day, you are dirty, you are sweating, you don’t smell the greatest and that’s fine with me.”

“I love my job,” Williamson said. “If I can do it, they [women] can do it. And I’m only 5’2.”

Integrated Sciences Complex Webcam of the UMass Boston Integrated Sciences Complex (ISC)

Integrated Sciences Complex Webcam

This live webcam shows the footprint of the Integrated Sciences Complex (ISC), now under construction at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The ISC is located near the entrance of the university, adjacent to the Healey Library and Quinn Administration Building. Anticipated to open for classes in September 2013, the ISC will advance student and faculty access, engagement, and success with state-of-the-art research, teaching, and training laboratories.

Retrieved from: http://www.umb.edu/news_events_media/construction/isc_webcam/

Film: Raising the Roof- Home Jane

Have you watched this short video about an all-women property maintenance crew of tradeswomen? (http://blip.tv/visionontv/raising-the-roof-part-3-of-8-home-jane-759727)

Raising the Roof - Part 3 of 8 - Home Jane

a film by Anne-Marie Sweeney

This video was produced for JIVE at Oxford's Women Training (OWT)- a JIVE Partner at Oxford & Cherwell Valley College. JIVE is a program that runs mentoring and recruitment for getting women and girls engaged with non-traditional professions. According to Europe's analog of the EEOC, JIVE brings together regional and federal systems that support a diverse workforce such as: training centers, institutions of education, equal opportunity entities, and employers. JIVE has some transnational connections with Germany, France, Finland, and Denmark.

Can't see the link to the video? http://blip.tv/visionontv/raising-the-roof-part-3-of-8-home-jane-759727