SAGINAW – Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 85 brought in a parking lot-full of plumbing, heating and green industry demonstration equipment to give visitors an idea of what goes on in an industry whose work is vital to public safety and health – but is usually out of sight, and out of mind.

In addition to the permanent training center which is adjacent to Local 85’s union hall, six tractor-trailers were driven in with fixtures and working demonstrations to showcase what pipe trades workers do for a living. Highlighted in the Sept. 14-16 event were areas like medical gas training, plumbing service, green awareness, welding, rigging, fire protection, solar, geo-thermal and instrumentation.

Word of the event went out to the public via a television commercial, the Internet and a newspaper ad. In attendance were the general public, contractors, owners and high school and college-age students who might be interested in a career.

“Our purpose was to share with the world everything that our workforce has to offer, and the people who we wanted to see and hear that message were here,” said Local 85 Business Manager Robert Anderson. “We stress accountability and value to our customers by having the proper training, the right equipment, the right attitude and the ability to do the job right the first time.” He said more than 300 visitors attended.

“I think holding these kinds of events provide an eye-opener for the general public,” said Scott Brink, Business Representative and Training Coordinator for Local 85. “Since a lot of what we do is under floors or behind walls, a lot of people have no idea what goes on with plumbing and heating systems, and these displays do a great job of showing how things work. And for anyone who might be interested in this line of work, I think we can show them this is more than a job, it’s a career.”

Brink said it took quite a bit of coordination and “pestering” to make sure that all six trailers made it to the Local 85 parking lot for the three-day event. The United Association-sponsored trailers are transported around the U.S. and Canada, acting as public relations agents for the union pipe trades. The trailers are also used for practical purposes, such as providing an additional 16 welding booths to a local training center gearing up training for a large project.

Pointing out a cutout of a water heater on one of the trailers, and pumps and chillers that act as permanent teaching tools for apprentices, Local 85 instructor Tim Danielak said “people walk around and really get a good idea of everything we do.”

Pat Northrup, a Local 85 medical gas instructor, said he “tries to impress on my classes that what we do is a matter of life and death. People have died because of dirty lines or cross connections.”

Doug Bowen, a Local 85 retiree who works as a welding instructor for the Saginaw Career Complex, said, long-term, job forecasters see a severe shortage of welders in the U.S. “For me it’s about promoting unions, and promoting welding and pipe fitting,” he said. “For years we’ve heard that college is the only thing for kids to do after high school, but that’s not for everyone. If you get in a trade, you might not get a diploma, but you do get a good career path.”

Anderson said part of his message to visitors was that the trailers would soon leave Local 85’s parking lot – but that there’s nothing in the mobile displays that can’t be replicated by the facilities under the roof or on the grounds of the local union’s training center.

“Ultimately our workforce needs to be accountable to our contractors, and the owners, who are our customers,” Anderson said. “Big owners in our area like Dow Corning, Hemlock Semiconductor and Consumers Energy could choose to build and locate wherever they want. This is a business and we’re selling our skills, safety and value. I think this open house and what we do on the job every day let our end users know we’re committed to them.”

VISITORS TO a plumbing demonstration trailer at the Local 85 open house are led by instructor Jack Ferchua.