PAGE 16 | December 16, 2016 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
A ‘barn raising’
at Painters &
Tapers
Training
Center
Jim Phelps (right), apprenticeship coordinator for the Painters & Tapers Training Center, talks to Kurt Moore, project
manager for Schommer and Sons Construction, as apprentice drywall finishers work in the background.
A
three-day “barn raising”
has taken the Painters &
Tapers Regional Training Cen-
ter to a whole new level.
The 7,440 square-foot train-
ing center located at 135th and
NE Whitaker Way in Portland
has been an open one-room
warehouse since the Painters
and Drywall Finishers joint ap-
Patricia Gadd, a Level II drywall finisher apprentice and member of Painters
and Drywall Finishers Local 10, cuts a metal corner. Gadd works for Harver
Company.
prenticeship training commit-
tees purchased the building six
years ago. Their Phase II plan
was to create classrooms, of-
fices, and support space on the
mezzanine level, which is sepa-
rated from the noisy, hands-on
training section of the training
center below.
So, for three days — from
Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 —17 appren-
tice drywall finishers worked
alongside seven journeyman
drywall hangers from four signa-
tory contractors to complete the
plan. The apprentices got hands-
on experience with all types of
finishes—from basic warehouse
taping, to a high-end smooth
wall finish. Phelps and instruc-
tor Dave Gray were always
nearby to answer questions and
offer advice.
from
O PERATING E NGINEERS L OCAL 701
Business Manager: Jimbo Anderson
President: Darren Glebe
Vice President: Darrel Hickman
Recording Secretary: Lonny Land
Treasurer: Kim Johanson
Conductor: Nolan Dave Carter
Guard: Kenneth Clair
Manny Rodriguez of Performance Contracting (PCI) hangs drywall in a new
classroom at the Regional Training Center in Northeast Portland.
“This was a perfect project
for our Level 2 and 3 block class
training,” said Apprenticeship
Coordinator Jim Phelps. Phelps
introduced block training earlier
this year to take the place of
night classes.
Each apprentice got class
hour credit for their work.
A week later, painter appren-
tices painted all the
walls and ceilings, and
they too received class
credit for their work.
“It’s not a mock-up
project,” said Phelps.
“These apprentices can
look back and take
ownership in their
training center.”
The project is slated
for completion by mid-
January. Schommer &
Sons is the general con-
tractor. Companies that
contributed to the proj-
ect were:
District 1 Rep: Clark Mattox
District 2 Rep: Chris Perry
District 3 Rep: Ron Preston
District 4 Rep: Raymond Akers
District 5 Rep: Richard Lauderbach
District 5 at-large rep: Dylan McComiskey
Auditors: Jeremy Ewing, Melinda Wilson,Jeff Blakeley
Trustees: Jeff McRobbie and Nate Stokes
• Western Partitions Inc.
• Performance Contracting Inc.
• KNEZ Building Materials
• CertainTeed
• Intercorp
• Anning Johnson
• Harlen’s Drywall
David Adams, a Level III drywall fin-
isher apprentice and member of Lo-
cal 10, applies a first coat of mud.
Adams works for Western Partitions.