Our second apprentice highlight in honor of National Apprentice Day is Sammy McGuire. 

Sammy has been part of the Local for Four years and is a very active member. He participates in VAC and became a member of the Locals Executive Board serving as Vice President. Sammy started as a commercial painter for the first few years in the Union before making the switch to Industrial. We asked Sammy some questions and this is what he had to say. 

What inspired you to pursue a career in the trades?

“What inspired me to get in the trade was when I was in juvenile hall at 16 years old. I was doing my research on the best jobs that someone with my past could get.”

What’s your favorite project so far & why?

“My favorite project was 783 headworks where I was on the paint crew I was able to spray the channels that hold our poop water and to some people it wouldn’t mean much but to me I took pride in it because I grew up around the corner from this wastewater facility I’ve seen it my whole life.” 

What skills do you feel are essential to be successful in your trade? And what skills have you acquired since getting into the union?

“The skills that’s essential are paying attention to details an working efficiently and always producing quality work. I learned to be disciplined organized and learned how to build containment spray how to operate industrial equipment and a 100 feet plus boom lifts.”

What do you enjoy most about your trade?

“What I enjoy about being an Industrial Painter is every day can be different. One day you can be sandblasting. The next day you can be spraying and then you can also be building containment and then you could also be working out of 100 foot boom lift. I believe that I really chose a good trade. And it’s not even so much that I chose it. My business rep Joe Sanders asked me about it, and I told him I’ll try it out when work was getting slow about four years later, I’m still in going strong.”