What Type of Work Does the Apprentice Perform?

Many people have painted their bedroom or kitchen. This is what they might think that we do as union painters. Although this is true, this is really a very small part of our work. The Painters District Council #2 Apprenticeship Program trains men and women in many diverse tasks and different trades. The painting work that we perform covers things like painting beautiful murals on church ceilings as well as painting bridges on the road ways. We apply wallpaper, gold leaf, install glass, and finish drywall. We polish and shine metals, put the stripes on the highways, and letter the signs and billboards. Below you will find a description of some of the major areas of our craft that you may work in.

DRYWALL FINISHING:
Some people call this area of our craft "taping" but it is correctly termed drywall finishing. This process involves filling the joints between drywall wallboards. When accomplished correctly, the wall or ceiling will appear to be one continuous surface instead of many pieces of wallboard butted together. The work is performed with knives or trowels utilizing semi-liquid jointcompound.




Apprentices at work finishing drywall in one of the training shops

PAINTING:
The painting aspect of our craft is very diverse. Many different materials and techniques must be learned to be proficient in this area of our craft. Paint may be brushed, rolled and sprayed in many different ways and under many different conditions.


Decorative painting utilizing paints and
gold leaf at Union Station in St. Louis, Mo.


A ground storage tank being
abrasive blasted and painted

Painting can involve work like the above examples and everything in-between.

GLAZING:
Glazing is the manufacture and installation of the frames and curtain wall that hold glass and the installation of the glass itself. As a glazier, you would also install the knobs, panic bars, and other hardware on glass doors. Welding and glass cutting is also taught in apprentice classes. Galziers install all glass from mirrors in bathrooms to the exterior of glass high-rise skyscrapers and everything in between.


The glass, frames, and hardware are all installed by glaziers.
PAVEMENT MARKERS:
Pavement markers are also called stripers because one of their jobs is to paint the stripes on the highways. They also stripe parking lots, aisle way lines on factory floors, airport runways, and basketball courts. Being struck by automobiles is one of the dangers of this part of our craft. If you are driving in a highway construction zone, please slow down to the posted speed limit.


Highway and airport striping equipment


Parking lot striping equipment

WALLCOVERINGS:
The installation of wallpaper, vinyl wall coverings, fabrics and even carpeting on walls is part of the craft.


Apprentices learn to install wall coverings.

The crafts that are part of the Painters District Council #2 Apprenticeship Program are very diverse and highly skilled. If this type of work is something that you are interested in, come and join us.

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