Walter subsequently applied and took the union’s entrance test. Although he was not accepted on his first attempt, his determination and desire to become an electrician motivated him to reapply. Approximately six months later, he was accepted into the program. For most of his career, he has worked for Sargent Electric Company, where he serves as an Electrical Foreman/Project Manager/TEGG© Service Technician. Among other responsibilities, he works on various service and maintenance projects that require independent thinking, adhering to blue prints, estimating and managing commercial electrical projects, arranging coordinated manpower and expediting long lead materials, along with other duties.

Among other locations, he has worked on Duquesne Light Company’s 31st Street Bridge Riser Project, the Omni William Penn Hotel Lobby Renovation and Health Club, and security projects for GAP and Old Navy. In addition to his work with Explorer’s Post 105, he serves as Executive Board Member of Local 5 and is a former Examining Board Member, Press Secretary and Sergeant of Arms with the union.

His advice for men and women who are accepted into any building trade union: “Don’t be late and don’t leave early, and never use weather as an excuse for not getting to the job site. If you have a solid work ethic, you can go far in this industry.”

When he’s not working, Water attends Mt. Ararat Baptist Church and volunteers his time on a number of community projects including Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, a non-profit agency that, among other activities, coordinates rehabilitating some 30 homes one day each year for people who can not afford or are physically unable to maintain their own homes. Given Walter’s involvement, it’s no surprise the program was formerly known as “Christmas in April.”

Walter J. Bentley II prepares to check the voltage and amperage on a break circuit panel.

Union Carpenters Help to Rebuild a Barn and Restore Faith

June 17, 2009 started off like many other days on the Briggs’ farm in Avella, Washington County--partly cloudy with a threat of afternoon showers and a full slate of chores needing done. As the day went on, however, the increasingly threatening skies would give way to one of the worst storms in recent history.

Late in the afternoon, Griff Briggs was finishing loading hay in the family’s recently constructed barn that would once again soon be home to a herd of dairy cows. Twice before, the Briggs’ barn along Washington Pike had been destroyed by an arsonist, most recently in February. Surely, the fate that had befallen the Briggs’ barn would not strike again, but Griff had an eerie feeling after watching the skies turn a deep black with winds picking up to ominous levels.

As he looked around, he noticed a stack of metal panels being picked up by the howling winds and tossed around the yard and across the highway like metal kites. Grabbing one of the panels, Griff turned only to see the wind whisk the panel from his hands and the entire barn begin to shift. Minutes later after running from the barn, a concrete wall collapsed where he had just been and the roof was torn off, leaving the structure for the third time in shambles.

For the second time in less than six months, hours upon hours of hard work had crumbled before his and his father’s eyes. A Silver Star and three time Purple Heart recipient from the Viet Nam war, 64-year old Bob Briggs believes in doing for yourself. A strong, proud man, Mr. Briggs would not ask for help, but a call to rally around Mr. Briggs went out from KDKA-TV reporter Mary Robb Jackson.

As if often the case, local union contractors and building trade unions responded, this time Mascaro Construction and the Greater Pennsylvania Regional Council of Carpenters. Fifteen apprentices, Assistant Apprenticeship Coordinator Richard Okraszewski, Council Representatives Steve Mazza, Mike Sepesy and Ken Umbel, and journeyman Stephen Fodor, all of the Carpenters, were joined by Mascaro Superintendent Michael Cooknick to help build a new barn for the Briggs’ family.

On site by 6:30 a.m. on a warm July Wednesday, the crew had the 40 by 70 foot frame structure nearly completed by the end of the day and Bob Briggs almost speechless.

“I was looking over here at this crew this morning and thinking, ‘It’s like things used to be in this country,’” he said. “There was that kind of community regard. I can’t say thank you enough.”

Among the apprentices who labored throughout the day were Jason Dubina, Joseph Hahn, Dan Heath, Keith Higginbotham, Jason Horowitz, Ryan Hulings, Josh Keyser, Kris Knerr, Trevor Kosko, James Krol, Frederick Loeb, John Marron, Justin Martin, Antonia Milone, and Tim Mosley.

Restoring barns and faith in mankind--all in a day’s work for skilled union carpenters.