“I thought my summers were terrible when I was a little kid,” says Hilliard Baker, Jr. “Because I had to go to work.” His school vacations were largely spent toiling alongside his father, Hilliard Baker, Sr., on jobs for his dad’s shop, HB Plumbing and Heating. When he was eight years old, Baker remembers that […]
When Mike Lydon was about twelve years old, he began accompanying his father, who was a welding teacher, to work on Saturdays at the Local 12 Training Center. Many decades later, Lydon is following in his dad’s footsteps. With the region’s construction industry booming and demand growing for union plumbers, Local 12’s Training Center has […]
“I’m so grateful for what [Local 12] has given me and the life it’s going to give me.” That’s what apprentice, Olivia Levangie, told WBZ TV-4 reporter Chris McKinnon for a segment about the union’s efforts to recruit women. Also appearing in the piece is Barry Keady, Local 12 business agent, who says that this […]
There is a flurry of activity at TD Garden, and it’s not just the Stanley Cup playoffs and Backstreet Boys concerts. There are towers and buildings being erected alongside and above the sports and entertainment arena on the site of the old Boston Garden as well as an expansion of the venue itself. Collectively known […]
In addition to Fenway Park, the Citgo sign, and other landmarks, motorists driving along the Mass Pike near Kenmore Square have a new sight to behold: the Fenway Center. Perched alongside the interstate, it’s pretty hard to miss the 15- and 9-story towers that began to go vertical in early 2019. But the buildings only […]
THE SWIFTLY EVOLVING SEAPORT DISTRICT WILL BECOME EVEN MORE BUSTLING WHEN THE OMNI BOSTON HOTEL AT THE SEAPORT OPENS IN 2021. Now under construction, it will bring an additional 1,055 guest rooms to the neighborhood. The 21-story, 218-foottall project will be among the city’s five largest hotels. The Omni Seaport is budgeted at $550 million. […]
WHEN A NATURAL GAS DISASTER CAUSED EXPLOSIONS and fires throughout Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover in September 2018, GBPCA contractors and Local 12 plumbers were among the first to mobilize for the recovery efforts. Some 1,200 mechanics fanned out across the communities and helped restore service to about 8,500 Columbia Gas customers. At first, the […]
In July, the Greater Boston Plumbing Contractors Association hired Andrew DeAngelo for the new director of public affairs position. His responsibilities will concentrate on external matters with a focus on legislative issues and community outreach. Representing GBPCA contractors and the plumbing industry, DeAngelo will be dealing with regulatory initiatives and pending legislation such as paid […]
In 2001, when he was 18 years old, Steve Ferro joined Local 12. The industry and the economy at large were booming. He immediately began working for GBPCA contractor E.M. Duggan as an apprentice and remained there until he got his journeyman license in 2006 and beyond. Still in his 20s, he became a foreman […]
