Northwest labor press., February 15, 2019, Page 8, Image 8

PAGE 8 | February 15, 2019 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
ON THE JOB with Plasterers Local 82
“If I don’t do my job right, it could
cost people their lives,” says Ryan
Weed. “That’s the bottom line.”
Weed, 40, is a fireproofing spe-
cialist, a member of Plasterers Lo-
cal 82, and a Tier 2 foreman for
Norkote, a company based in
Everett, Washington, that special-
izes in fireproofing coatings and
spray-on acoustical and thermal
insulation.
“In a fire, they turn off the ele-
vators,” Weed said. “When you’re
50 floors up, you need time to get
down those stairs. If I don’t do my
job right, a floor could collapse
and take a bunch of people out be-
cause they didn’t have time to get
out of the building.”
For Weed, doing the job right
requires a deep understanding of
materials and the right way to ap-
ply them. In a high-rise building,
steel beams and columns don’t
burn, of course, but they can heat
up, lose their rigidity, and become
unable to support their load.
That’s why building codes require
that fireproofing insulation be ap-
plied to the structural steel com-
ponents of steel-frame structures.
Weed’s crew sprays on products
like Cafco Blaze-Shield HP, a
powder of mineral wool with ce-
ment and aluminum sulfate to
speed the setting time. Properly
applied to decking, steel beams,
and columns, it can provide up to
four hours of fire resistance.
When the work is done, an in-
spector comes out to take samples
and test for density, thickness, co-
hesion and adhesion.
You might think plasterers
would mostly be working in plas-
ter, but today, fireproofing makes
up half of Plasterers Local 82’s
work.
Weed got his start on the
nonunion side of the industry in
1997, but says he got smart in
2000 and joined the union.
“If you pay a guy more money
and take better care of him, you’re
going to get better people. The
quality of guys you’re going to
have in a union – nine times out
of ten — they’re going to be bet-
ter”
—Don McIntosh
At Portland’s Providence Park soccer
stadium, Norkote foreman Ryan
Weed (above) runs a fireproofing
crew. Stacked up behind him is the
product that will prevent the struc-
tural steel from weakening in the
event of fire: Cafco Blaze-Shield HP,
made by Isolatek. Made of rockwool
and cement, Blaze is very itchy, so for
protection, crew member Epi Serrano
(left) wears a properly fitted N95 par-
ticulate mask and a Tyvek suit. The
two Plasterers union members are as-
sisted by hod carrier Mark Smith of
Laborers Local 737, who operates the
remote-controled mixing machine
(above to the left of Weed). The ma-
chine uses two augers to force the
product through the hose. Applied di-
rectly to decking, steel beams,
columns, it’s rated to shield them
from fire for up to four hours.
What do plasterers do?
Less expensive drywall replaced labor-intensive lath and plaster
more than a generation ago, but roughly 100 members of Port-
land-based Plasterers Local 82 continue to make a living in fire-
proofing and in high-end corners of the construction industry.
In Oregon wine country, they’re in high demand for old-world-
style buildings like Domaine Serene in Dayton, above, where
they applied plaster veneers, installed ornamental features like
cornices, and even put up stucco for the exterior walls. You’ll also
find members of Local 82 in some of Portland’s older neighbor-
hoods, doing restoration work in homes where owners value
quality (and can afford to pay for it). Plasterers are also needed
when a building’s architecture calls for unusual shapes, or needs
special interior surfaces like acoustic plasters. The Allison Inn and
Spa is a good example of both. The $45 million LEED Gold-certi-
fied luxury resort in Newberg features an industry-award-win-
ning spiral staircase (below) with angled surfaces that required
the skilled hands of Lake Oswego-based Harver Company to
construct. And when you’re paying $435 a night to stay there,
you expect some peace and quiet; Harver employees also did
the spa interiors, which meant applying $300-a-bucket sound-
absorbing plaster over panels made of wool and recycled glass.
It’s a good living. Under Local 82’s contract, a journeyman plas-
terer makes a minimum of $35.79 an hour plus $16.58 an hour
in health, pension, and training benefits. (Fireproofing, which
can be extra difficult and dirty work, pays a $2 an hour pre-
mium.)