Sheetmetal Workers International Association Local Union 104
Organized Labor
Justin Silva, Apprentice
My dad is a plumber and he got me in as a pre-apprentice. I love sheet metal work because it's more of a thinking trade. It is not just cut and dried. Everything has to fit and look nice and serve the purpose it is designed for. I like that every day is a different challenge. The hardest thing to learn is to get everything right the first time, and then how to do it with speed and efficiency.
Right now I'm working at a plasma machine. It does all the layout. It cuts every one of our fittings. A computerized program does all the math and all the angles. You type in the numbers of all the fittings and all the variables and the machine cuts them all out perfectly. When they are done, I put them on the table over there, and the guys take them and put them together.
What I like about this company is that we don't just work on one job. We get to work at every type of job in the shop. So you get to see a lot of different applications. I'm just leaning everything I can and looking forward to turning out.