Iron Workers Local 377

Organized Labor

Randy Lee, Journeyman Local 118
It's a great occupation. I'm second generation. My dad was in the trade for 45 years, and I'll probably be in the trade for at least 35. I like every aspect of the iron work: the erection of the steel, the welding, the bolting, everything. It is like creating a building with an erector set from the ground up. Every night, as you are leaving work, you can turn back and see what you did that day. At the end of however many months, you can see a building where there wasn't one before. It gives you a sense of pride. Then we go on to the next jobsite, and we do it over and over again, every day, year after year. I just love it. My wife teases me because I remember things by what job I was on that year. She'll be talking about something, and I'll say, "That was back in '89, when I built that prison down in Delano...." It's my life.