Union leases building from city

A local plumbers and pipefitters union leased a Downtown Albuquerque building from the city at a discounted rate in exchange for offering apprenticeship readiness programs to vulnerable populations.

The UA Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 412 signed a five-year lease with the city of Albuquerque to rent the old REMCO Bolt property on 3rd Street and Mountain NW. The property includes 4,000 square feet of office space and a more than 18,000 square-foot warehouse.

The lease can be extended for additional five-year terms, according to city documents.

“At Local 412 we have a vision to be more than the usual union. Local 412 is a cornerstone of our community, a community partner and we provide gold standard training to our members, great careers for members and benefits for their families,” Local 412 Business Manager Courtenay Eichhorst said in a statement. “We take the service to our members even further, if their community suffers, they suffer, so we strive to use what we know best, great jobs in the skilled trades, to uplift the communities where we live, work and build.”

The program will train local plumbers, pipefitters, HVAC technicians and welders.

The union’s proposed monthly rent starts at $8,818.30 and will increase each year. The union will pay $3,000 per month the first year and provide $5,818.30 per month in in-kind services.

Those services include offering three six-week apprenticeship readiness programs throughout the year that shall have 10 participants per program. The program has to include a 120-hour apprenticeship preparation curriculum, a facilitator, CPR and first-aid training, among other requirements. The program is aimed at getting vulnerable people into a job pipeline by working toward a 5-year apprenticeship program that has a starting salary of $19.68 an hour.

The lease calls on the union to work with the New Mexico Re-Entry Center, Crossroads for Eomen, Fathers Building Futures, the Barrett House and other community organizations to recruit people for the apprenticeship readiness program.

The union also has to provide building and ground maintenance, security, cameras and lighting for the property.

The city council approved the lease agreement.

“Working with the union is a great thing to help more people get connected to good paying jobs,” said Carol Pierce, the director of Health, Housing and Homelessness for the city. “There are a lot of service providers nearby and we know that strong jobs programs can help people find pathways out of homelessness.”