Samantha lives in Springfield, attended Putnam Vocational High School in Carpentry, and recently became a journey-level carpenter. She struggled initially in finding steady work because she didn’t have a car and couldn’t easily travel for jobs outside of Springfield. She did a mixture of odd jobs when she wasn’t able to travel for carpentry work and, as a result, she had unstable housing. Since getting stable work through UMass Amherst and then MGM, she has bought a truck and has been working steadily.
Being a union carpenter has helped me gain skills that I can use at work and in my own community and home. I’ve been active in my community and am paying my training forward by helping others coming in to this field and talking to young people about opportunities through working union construction.
Journey-level Carpenter, member since 2013