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Job Description

Cover roofs with materials to make them waterproof. Composition shingles, wood and slate shingles, tar paper, asphalt and gravel are some of the materials used. In composition roofing, sheets of asphalt and felt are covered with a coating of tar or pitch, which is then covered with tar, pitch and gravel to protect the roofing materials from the weather.

Work Scope

Installers of all types of roofing, ranging from: commercial to built up (one-to-four-ply), hotwork pitch, asphalt, gypsum plank work, residential shingles and torched-on, one-ply rubber roofing.

Major Projects Associated With

* HSBC Arena
* Roswell Park Cancer Institute
* Dunn Tire Park
* Buffalo-Niagara International Airport
* Seneca Niagara Casino

Union Message

"We take the time to train our people to do the job right the first time. We offer our members a five-year apprenticeship program that continually upgrades their on-the-job skills."
-John J. Bernas, Business Agent
Community and Charitable Involvements

* Restoration of the Rivera Theatre
* Dollars Against Diabetes
* The Martin Luther King Center
* Erie County Sheriffs SWAT Team Range

Union Slogan

"Union Roofers Are Always on Top of Things"

Apprentice Information

Working Conditions

Requires workers to be on their feet most of the day. One frequently lifts and carries buckets of hot tar, shingles and rolls of roofing paper weighing up to 90 pounds. Workers also climb on ladders to reach for and handle tools, equipment and materials. There is also exposure to vapors and odors while melting, pouring and spreading tar, and hazards of burns from kettles and tar.

Apprenticeship Training Period

6,000 hours or approximately three years of on-the-job training.
Related Instruction and Method

144 hours of classroom instruction per year. Classes usually are given two nights a week after work, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., during the Fall and Spring semesters. Classes are also given for 35 hours per week for two weeks during the seasonal layoff period in February of each year.

Qualifications

Must be 18 years old, have a minimum eighth grade education with a transcript required, must have a valid New York State drivers license, sign an affidavit to attest to physical ability to work and must be a resident of either Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans or Wyoming counties for at least one year.

Probationary Period

30 days.

Tools

Apprentice must purchase $150 to $200 worth of tools.

Current Journeyman Rate

$22.00 per hour.
Apprentice Wage Progression Schedule

0-999 hours - 50% of Journeyman level rate.
1,000 - 1,999 hours - 55% of Journeyman level rate.
2,000 - 2,999 hours - 60% of Journeyman level rate.
3,000 - 3,999 hours - 70% of Journeyman level rate.
4,000 - 4,999 hours - 80% of Journeyman level rate.
5,000 - 5,999 hours - 90% of Journeyman level rate.

Estimated Annual Earning

Approximately $28,600 based upon 1,300 hours at current Journeyman level rate*
* Estimates are based upon average hours worked, which may vary from year to year.

Fringe Benefits

Health and pension. Benefit eligibility is based upon rules for each specific fund.

Union Dues

Initiation fee - $700
Membership fee - $35
Working dues - 2% of gross earnings not to exceed 40 hours per week.
Recruitment for Next Class

To be determined

Contact:
Michael A. Pagano, Business Manager
Roofers Local #74
Telephone (716) 897-0424

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