The University of Iron
Ironworkers
Apprenticeship Program
Local 377 and 378
Organized Labor
Jan 2009
Seven hundred apprentices from all over the greater bay area, men and women, are currently enrolled in the program. When they are finished, they will be some of the best trained iron workers in the field. Zampa walks over to a neatly stacked, color-coded, pile of 200-pound rebar on the outside of the building. “They get to work with the real thing,” he says with a smile, and then points out a variety of metal skeleton structures. “They get to practice putting them up and taking them down.” He points to a large metal I-beam fastened with a dozen large bolts. “They get to do the exact same thing here as they do on the job; the only difference is on the job site, they are several stories up. Some guys worry about working elevated, but we show them how to work safely. We get guys who at first couldn't get up on the iron, but by the end of the week we can’t get them down. We start them off low, with the iron on the ground, until they gain confidence, and then show them they can do the same thing on the iron high up, as long as they are tied-off.”