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 Astoria Condominium Project in Irvine
Photos by Slobodan Dimitrov
Story by Roy San Filippo
Drywall finishers from IUPAT District Council 36 are currently working on the Astoria condominium project in Irvine. When complete, Astoria's two luxury towers with approximately 240 units will rise above the 43 acre Central Park West project that features winding paths and quiet parks. The project is located only minutes from John Wayne Airport and the San Diego (1-405) Freeway.
The Astoria will also feature resort-style landscaping, a spa and oversized pool. Other amenities will include a business center, a wine storage room and fully furnished community room with fitness center.
According to Bill Dunleavy, District Council 36 Field Representative the IUPAT drywall finishers working for Superior Wall Systems have been on the project since August of last year and are expected to complete their work this August. Rod Schrader is the superintendent for Superior. When the job is done, they will have completed an estimated 2 million sq-ft of drywall finish work on the project. A high-end luxury condo project requires skilled union labor, according to IUPAT Business Representative Dan Benter. "The families that will be buying these units will be paying top-dollar and they will expect the highest quality product and that is what they are going to get." said Benter. He stressed the importance of using craftsman who specialize in their trade to get the job done right. "In the finishing trades, 90% of what we do is visible so it has to be done correctly or the customer isn't going to be happy. You really need a skilled craftsman—not a jack of all trades—for this kind of work."
Benter stressed that providing union labor and union trained workers pays off. "That saying, 'good work is never cheap and cheap work is never good' is definitely true for our industry. When owners use our union signatories they expect to receive the highest quality work. A well-trained workforce such as ours is going to make our contractors money, and is going to add value to the project because of the high-quality of the product and because our craftsman work so productively and efficiently."
Ten drywall apprentices have worked on the Astoria where they have had the opportunity to train with journeyman with 30 years of experience in the industry.
"We are training our future workforce," Benter said. "Our apprentices will receive extensive on the job training in addition to their classroom time before becoming Journeyman."
"This is a huge project so our apprentices here will get training on a lot of board footage applying the highest level of finish in the industry," said Dunleavy.
"The IUPAT is the drywall finishers union. We've been training drywall finishers for generations and we need to continue to do that," added Benter.
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Kenny Carlson
Journeyman 31 Years
I didn’t go to college and because of this trade I am able to make a good living. You could certainly do a lot worse. I know people who went to college who aren’t doing as well as I am right now. As a union taper, you make good wages, benefits and a pension—especially in the our last few contracts. The nonunion side of this industry doesn’t make very much.
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Marco Quevedo
First Period Apprentice. 4 Months
My apprenticeship training has been great. I’ve only been in the program for four months and I’ve already been certified in driving a forklift, boom lift and scissor lift, plus I’m being paid to train. I was in school before and it cost me $13,000.
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Rafael Chavez
Journeyman 5 years
The apprenticeship program taught me how to use tools properly for this trade. A lot of the finishers who travel here from other states don’t even know how to use the tools. With the tools you are able to be work faster and get the job done on time. I’m just glad to be union. If I wasn’t in the union, I’d be in pretty bad shape right now with the way prices are rising.
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Patrick Dunleavey
Foreman 30 years
This has been a good project and things have been going smoothly. We’ve basically been one of the only trades on floor which makes it a lot easier; it’s harder when you have to work around the other trades. It that regard this project reminds me of the old days. Over the last ten years they’ve gotten away from that in the industry and they have all the trades working on the same floor. It’s supposed to make things faster, but I don’t think it does. If you want to be successful in the trades the best advice I can give it to show up, work hard and pay attention. Take Marco for example. He’s here every day, he wants to learn the trade and he’s a hard worker. I’ll teach him everything I can about this trade.
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Don McShane
Journeyman 18 years
I like the hard work that is involved in this trade. I like to stay busy and move around. We also get to see the finished product which is rewarding. This is a fast-paced craft. Anyone who wants to succeed in this trade needs to be ready to work hard. |
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