Ironworkers Local 6 Business Manager Tom Halligan joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the wind farms coming to the Buffalo, N.Y. area thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the work opportunities they will bring to his membership.
Local 6 represents about 500 Ironworkers in the Buffalo, N.Y. area.
Working alongside operating engineers, ironworkers are instrumental in constructing wind farm towers, Halligan said. There are a variety of complex logistics involved in constructing the towers, including the establishment of cranes to do the construction, which are assembled by the ironworkers, he said. It’s hard work that involves 12 to 16 hour days, installing as many as 100 wind towers on a wind farm, he added.
Halligan also detailed numerous other projects happening in Local 6’s jurisdiction, including the construction of a new $1.4 billion stadium for the Buffalo Bills.
He also talked about the apprenticeship programs of Local 6’s affiliated Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (JATC). While the program has slowed down since the pandemic, he expects it to grow significantly over the next several years, thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the new stadium and various other projects coming to the area.