50 Years!

We were recently privileged to honor the incredible Brother Brad Amaral for an amazing 50 years of service for District Council 16 as a commercial painter. Mr. B joined the trades in 1976 after being told about the union by one of his friends. He jokingly explained how he thought the guy wanted him to be an artist, but in his words, “I told him I can’t even draw a stick figure”. After working for a few shops, he eventually landed with Kaiser Permanente, where he quickly moved up the ranks because of his ambition and exceptional work ethic. He became the superintendent for the Painters & Tapers from 1983-2006, a position he held for 23 years until his retirement. From decades on the job at Kaiser to cruising the open road on his motorcycle, Brad Amaral proves that true union pride never slows down. After 50 years with Local 3, he’s still going strong—both on and off the clock. Congratulations to Brother Brad Amaral, we appreciate your commitment and dedication to DC16.

Joe Sanders, Tommy Sandoval, Sam Krahnke, Rich Morales and I hosted our first ever “Informational Meeting” on Saturday March 28. During this meeting, we spoke to the membership about topics such as the Multiplier, New Increases, Certifications, Market Recovery, Pension and Vesting Requirements. Did you know that to be eligible to receive your pension you must first be “vested”. Vesting is the process of earning full ownership of employer-provided benefits. To become vested in your Painters or Tapers Pension you must accumulate 5 full credits. Credits are earned based on the number of hours worked during the calendar year. Here is the breakdown. 

0-399hrs= 0 credits 

400-699hrs= ½ credit 

700-999hrs= ¾ credit 

1000+hrs= 1 credit

Make sure to check our website often to get more information like this. If you have any questions, you can reach out to your Business Representative, and we will get the answer to you in a timely manner. And please share this information with your brothers and sisters on your jobsite. Visit the Bay Area Painters and Tapers Pension Trust Fund website and create an account at https://bayareapainterstrust.org/ to check your hours and see if you are vested.