The operation of drilling equipment to drill case ends for buildings, water wells, or other holes of various kinds has always been considered part of Local 150’s craft jurisdiction.  Since 2001, Local 150 has focused on organizing the previously non-union construction materials testing/drilling industry.  Construction project owners, developers, government agencies, general contractors, instruction managers, architects and engineers typically retain the services of construction materials testing/drilling companies throughout the different phases of a construction project.  Initially, before ground is even broken, a driller and driller helper will operate a drill rig to take soil and other samples in order to determine what sort of problems engineers will encounter in designing a building.  Once construction has begun, a field technician will test various materials such as concrete, construction steel, masonry and asphalt in order to insure that they meet engineering specifications.  Field technicians also include inspecting footings, rechecking the bearing strength of soil, soil compaction, floor or flatness, vapor emissions and the like.

In the last 5 years, Local 150 has organized over 35 employers and approximately 600 employees in the construction materials testing/drilling industries.  When this organizing campaign started, it was common for employees on non-union testing firms to make between $10.00 and $14.00 an hour.  Their health insurance was weak; retirement benefits were mostly non-existent.  Today most construction materials testing employees working under Local 150 contracts earn over $20.00 per hour.  They enjoy better than average employer paid health care and employers contribute on their behalf to a defined benefit pension plan.  Equally important, employee wage scales are tied to the levels of proficiency employee demonstrate in their ability to conduct construction materials tests.  Industry regulatory groups like the American Concrete Institute (ACI) train and test industry employees, and then certify them as proficient in their ability to conduct various materials tests.  The more certifications employees acquire, the more money they make under Local 150 contracts.  In short, Local 150 and signatory contractors in the construction materials testing/drilling industry have helped turn the materials testing jobs into careers.