San Francisco High School Interns 2010
Organized Labor
The San Francisco School District Intern Program: Year Two
Last year a project labor agreement with contractors renovating San Francisco schools created a program to introduce high school students to the building trades by placing student interns at job sites. The program was so popular that this year, the number of placements more than doubled. Last year, 12 students from the San Francisco Unified School District participated in the program; this year there were 32.
Gus Amador, the program's instructor was excited not only about the increased numbers, but also about the improved quality of the placements. “We all learned from last year, and this year the employers provided a learning experience with a lot more substance,” Amador explained. Last year the placements were mainly at school sites; this year they were all over the city. For example, an intern placed at Webcor Builders' sustainability division was introduced to green building projects and the LEED system for rating and evaluating projects for their environmental sustainability. Another intern was placed at the trans-bay terminal.
Next year Amador hopes to improve the program further. His only concern is that the program not get too big too fast. “I want to stress quality over quantity,” he states.
On the Job Site visited interns at the Aptos Middle School, on a project by McCarthy Builders Inc., at the offices of Eternal General Contractors, and at the offices of Webcor Builders.