Engineers News - April 2015

They may come from all over, but they are San Francisco Proud.
They are working on one of the largest transit projects under
construction in the Western United States, and they know it.
Local 3 members are making history, as they work for main
contractor Webcor and subcontractors Shimmick, Skanska, Balfour
Beatty, Malcolm, California Concrete Pumping and many others,
during the demolition and construction of the Transbay Transit
Center.
Since the project’s beginning in 2008, 429 Local 3 operators
have worked or are working on the $4.6 billion transportation
center, which looks like something from a futuristic sci-fi film
in the glossy brochures that depict it. As operators use their
specialized skillset to build this infrastructure icon, they are just
plain proud.
“How could you not [be proud]?” asked 35-year member/
Crane Operator Jay Huerta, when discussing his work on the
high-profile job. “There’s a sense of pride – a lot of pride – that
we’ve built big projects,” he said. He also explained that in the
process of working long hours in close quarters with each other,
there’s a sense of community among the members.
“We built something together,” he said.
Teamwork is the name of the game onsite as operators work
together in the middle of the project on the long temporary
trestle that extends south of Mission Street from Second to
Beale streets. Once completed, the Transbay Transit Center
will connect eight Bay Area counties and eventually tap into
Southern California with High-Speed Rail. To achieve this goal,
massive structural-steel construction is happening with the help
of Skanska’s Crane Operator Garth Ungerman and his Oiler (and
wife) Terri Ungerman.
Crane Operator Glenn Marr, with Balfour Beatty, is also
positioned on the trestle and helping the project move forward.
He hails from Copperopolis (Stockton District 30) but stays in a
trailer in Pleasant Hill.
“I’m in it for the long haul,” he said about his union construction
career, which began in 2005. He has remained steadily employed
on this job and has no complaints.
When the Transbay Transit Center is open for business, Caltrain
and California’s world-renowned High-Speed Rail will come
through below where operators are currently working, and once
the trestle is removed, bus ramps will be constructed. Right now,
the train box is ready!
With steel beams exposed and Ironworkers shimmying up and
down dizzying heights, it’s hard to imagine that in 2018 or sooner,
a train will stop here and people will mill around buying coffee
and tickets for the ride.
Our operators currently ride several elevators to get to different
levels of the project, and many of their elevator operators are
Oiler Terri Ungerman provides
support to Skanska Crane
Operator Garth Ungerman,
who is also her husband.
Apprentice Robert Litchfield
works for Balfour Beatty
and has been getting good
experience on the 80-ton
Grove crane.
Crane Operator Steve
Lorimor works for Shimmick
Construction.
Anvil Builders Elevator Operator
Rickey Holmes plans to retire in
a few years and is a local San
Franciscan.
Third-step Apprentice Andy
Pereira works for Shimmick
Construction.
Shimmick Crane Operator Jay
Huerta.
Elevator Operator Dave Mitchell
has become a good listener in
his current role, and besides
elevators, he has operated
cranes and forklifts throughout
his 20-year construction career
in the Bay Area.
Operator Tom Abarca provides
some delicate work, as he
digs the footings for the
98-foot-long columns that will
be part of the Transbay Transit
Center’s bus ramps.
California Concrete Pump Operator Jose Moran pours out the
bottom slab for the Transbay Transit Center project.
16 | Engineers News