You can’t miss Martin “Mo” Salberg. 

Mo is at every single union meeting. As an active member of the Campaign for a Secure Future, he’s often speaking on behalf of UA Local Union 393 at planning commission and city council meetings. He’s been a delegate to state and national UA conventions. He’s served on Santa Clara County’s Board of Plumbers Examiners and on the Local’s finance committee. During election season, you can find him walking precincts and phone banking for labor-friendly candidates. He assists with the medical gas program at the Pipe Trades Training Center. Mo is even a member of the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, which writes the plumbing code that protects the nation’s public health and safety.

“I’m involved because I appreciate everything the Local has given me,” he said. “So I like to support the leadership any way I can.”

Mo’s passion is infectious. At a recent San Jose Historic Landmarks Commission meeting, the city historians were in awe with his San Jose history and knowledge. Our members know him as a smart, level-headed guy who can carry on a conversation with anyone. Just last year, UA Local Union 393 awarded him the Fred Hirsch Volunteer of the Year Award, which was named after Mo’s inspiration to be politically active.

Mo is the second generation of his family to join UA Local Union 393 — but that’s only because there was no union when his grandfather was working in Santa Clara. When work ran dry in 1900, the Salbergs moved to San Antonio, Texas. A couple of years later, Mo’s grandfather received a letter that his former coworkers were organizing a new Local. But he stayed in Texas and raised Mo’s father in the Lone Star State. In 1938, the Salberg family finally moved back to the South Bay and reconnected with Local 393.

Mo was born in San Jose. When he was in 8th grade, he started going to work with his dad, a Local 393 member who would bring his son to union meetings. Every summer, Mo would drill holes through wood studs while his dad ran pipe. Then Mo would install backing for the pipe and strap the pipe to the backing.

“That was hard stuff,” Mo remembered, chuckling. “My dad told me, ‘Whatever you do, don’t become a plumber or become a crooked lawyer!’ I said, ‘Don’t worry Dad, I hate this plumbing stuff!”

In 1975, Mo graduated from the University of Santa Clara with a bachelor’s degree in Science of Commerce. But he eventually came back to plumbing after he realized that he liked working with his hands more than he liked working in an office. In 1980, Mo jumped into the plumbing training program with his dad as a mentor.

“When someone understands the system, he can impart so much knowledge to you — and save you a lot of hard knocks,” Mo said.

Mo witnessed first hand the rise of the Silicon Valley. He worked on gleaming high rises and office buildings downtown, as well as the Fairmont San Jose and Santa Clara Convention Center. During the dot-com boom, he worked on processed piping for companies like Intel and Hewlett-Packard.

“I thought process piping would never end — then it was gone like it was never here,” he said. “I was very fortunate to have my plumbing background.”

Currently, Mo is a job steward working for Kinetics Systems at Apple Campus 2, one of the biggest construction jobs in the country.

He continues to be a vocal voice in his community, fighting to protect the prevailing wage and increase our market share in the construction industry. “We have to reinvigorate and grow unions,” he said.

But it’s important to protect non-union workers too, said Mo. Big developers are bringing in non-union labor, forcing them to work for low wages without overtime or lunch breaks. We must stand together to end this exploitation.

“What I like about our organization is that it’s a true democracy,” he said. “Everybody gets to have their say. Everyone participates and gets to be part of the process.”