Christmas comes early

will come back sixfold for the local communities.”

Laborers Local 185 – which used to have a location in Yuba City – is in Sacramento. Since the spillway incident, the union has supplied laborers to do everything from pouring concrete and putting up fencing to drilling and blasting in Oroville.

Recent estimates indicate that more than $400 million will be spent on fixing the damaged spillway and its surrounding areas by the time construction is said and done, which could take a few years.

While the big contractors – Dutra, Syblon Reid and Kiewit – are expected to get the lion’s share of the money used to repair the spillway, laborers and machinery operators that are part of local unions are making good money in the process.

Flem said union workers are making prevailing wages, with laborers averaging a little more than $50 an hour and operators making closer to $80 an hour.

“It’s been a boon out there. Guys are working six to seven days a week and anything over eight hours is overtime. There are two pensions, vacation pay and really good health benefits, too,” Flem

said.

When the initial erosion on the spillway occurred, Laborers Local 185 was already contracted with Syblon Reid, which was working at the reservoir on the powerhouse, Flem said. When Kiewit was awarded the reconstruction contract in early June, the need for local laborers grew even more.

“I would say we are probably going to do another quarter million man hours between June 1 and November,” Flem said. “We will have anywhere between 120 to 170 laborers working up in Oroville at a given time, and that’s just with Kiewit.”

Union workers with Laborers Local 185 will also assist Dutra and Syblon Reid in the repairs.

Another local union – Operating Engineers Local 3 – has also seen a spike in work due to the Oroville situation. District Representative Ron Roman said his union represents and supplies the equipment operators, mechanics and surveyors for much of the construction repairs.

“What it means for us – the local operating engineers – is that many of our operators are working a lot of hours, and that’s a good thing. It’s hours for our members, which is a boost for everything because when guys work locally, the money stays home,” Roman said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Roman said at least 135 union workers have been dispatched to assist Kiewit. On top of that, he said hundreds more will also assist in repairs with the other big companies moving forward.

For unions like Laborers Local 185, much of the repair work will go to workers from Yuba-Sutter and other surrounding communities.

“That’s one thing we really push for is having local people doing the local jobs,” Flem said. “I used to live in the Yuba-Sutter area, so I know there are a lot of people that needed this work. It’s nice that these workers from the YubaSutter area can essentially work in their backyards.”

Roman said the influx in construction activity at Oroville has been huge for businesses near the damaged spillway, as well as surrounded communities.

“Try and find a hotel room, or a trailer spot in Oroville right now. You probably cannot because it’s full of workers up there,” Roman said. “It’s something most people don’t think about, but all the restaurants and hotels are seeing a spike in business. I live in Gridley, and you’d be hardpressed to find an area to park a trailer there, too.”

Roman said approximately 85 percent of the equipment operators, mechanics and surveyors his union supplies to do the construction work are all local guys – within about a 40- to 50-mile radius of where the repairs are being done.

Those workers are virtually guaranteed a steady paying gig for at least the next two years, he said.

“I think it will be longer than that. The contract that Kiewit has with the Department of Water Resources says that they will need to have a working spillway in place by Nov. 1 of this year, but that doesn’t mean the work ends,” Roman said. “That just means they need a structure that can spill water, but work will continue around that area for several years.”

Roman said Operating Engineers Local 3 has a big enough workforce to cover its needs throughout the rest of construction, but Flem said his union is heavily recruiting for additional laborers.

“We are always looking for people, and we will take anyone that wants to work,” Flem said.

Depending on a person’s work experience, they will either start as journeyman or an apprentice.

“At our local hall, we hold an orientation every Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30 a.m. We show people a video and have a representative talk a little about what we expect, then there is a question and answer portion,” Flem said. “If they have construction experience and proof of at least 4,000 hours of similar work under their belt, they can start as a journeyman. If not, we start them out as an apprentice.”

Flem said Yuba-Sutter residents interested in being a laborer are encouraged to attend one of the orientation meetings, located at 1320 National Drive, Sacramento. More information can be found at www.laborerslocal185.org.

“People that want to work and are clean – meaning they can pass a drug test – the work is there for them. It’s virtually a 100 percent approval rating. But it’s hard work. It might seem easy on paper, but when you’re standing there all those hours, it’s incredible difficult,” Flem said.