Danger and excitement. Much of an ironworker's time is spent high off the
ground balancing on narrow beams as they construct buildings, bridges and
other large metal structures. They risk life and limb to create our homes,
offices and freeways.
"There's never a dull moment, that's for sure," says ironworker Zen Baryluk.
"You have to be alert at all times. It's very dangerous up there -- whether
it's for yourself, your partner or individuals beside or near you.
"It could be a life-or-death situation and you have to treat it that way.
But there's plenty of laughs, too. After all, all work and no play is pretty
boring. But there's a time and place for it. The safety of individuals and
yourself comes first."
Judy Colbert knows the danger -- the Illinois ironworker is lucky to be
alive. She survived a nasty fall that ended her career. "I fell 22 feet and
didn't die. I was very lucky. I didn't even break my skin but I tore my rotator
cuff and had surgery to repair it."
Colbert was hired on that job as a column welder. "I'd welded with wire
before but not with the type they were using on this job -- really big wire
that you had to run really hot," she says.
"I was partnered up with a guy named Frankie. He was my boss on my previous
two jobs and taught me to weld with wire. After every column was welded, the
welding inspector came by and did his thing, and all my columns passed."
Then came the fall. Colbert isn't expecting to return to ironworking because
her overhead movements are restricted. There is no such thing as "light duty"
for ironworkers.
"This trade enabled me to care for my two children and provide for them,"
Colbert says. "Because of our benefit setup I was also able to buy a house,
which I don't think I would ever do otherwise. We're fortunate to have very
good insurance that helped out, especially when the kids were younger."
Bill Talbert was attracted to ironwork by the excitement. "My dad was a
bridge painter and got me a job working with him when I finished high school,"
he says.
"One summer we were working on a bridge that was still under construction
and I had the opportunity to watch the ironworkers up close. I was amazed
with their grace and ability to do something that not just anyone would or
could do.
"I fell in love with the trade and knew that someday I was going to be
an ironworker. I took the apprentice school test twice before I finally made
it. There were a lot of young men with the same idea and the competition was
fierce. I've never regretted the effort."
Talbert loves connecting work. "Connectors are the guys who actually put
the first bolts in a piece of iron when it's hung. It requires a great deal
of nerve and ability. Connectors are the elite of the raising gang."
A long career in high places hasn't clouded the memory of Paul Ricksecker.
He vividly recalls the excitement of his first multi-storey job.
"It was a 10-storey bank in Detroit, Michigan," says the Ohio ironworker.
"The [union] hall sent out about six of us. The job needed men for the detail
gangs for things like stuffing bolts, tightening connections and laying the
deck. I'll never forget it."
Variety is a way of life for ironworkers. "One day you might be working
on the ground and the next day you might be 50 or 60 feet up," adds Ricksecker.
"So you have to diversify. If it rained a lot and the ground is muddy,
you want to be in the air. But if it just snowed or is icy, you'd rather be
on the ground."
Ricksecker's work has taken him to four states -- his native Ohio, as well
as Michigan, Indiana and Florida. He's a foreman who takes continuing education
classes like welding, blueprints and fall protection.
"Like most trades, it's forever changing, so you have to always keep yourself
updated. And if you don't like hard, demanding work that's an ongoing challenge,
then my trade isn't for you."