After 10 years in the field, Brian Murphy recently transitioned to be Local 393’s Apprentice Training Center Coordinator. We thank outgoing coordinator Mark Likeness for his decade of service as well as his many years in the field. We wish him well in his retirement. Hats off to you Mark!

Brian enters into his new role after having not only spent a decade as a KDS Plumbing foreman, but as a teacher in the Training Center starting his first year out of apprenticeship. His current focus is on innovation and ensuring our members can keep pace with today’s technology.

“Anyone in the pipe trades will tell you that one of the best parts of our work is the constant challenge of problem solving,” said Brian. “One week there’s steel, and the next there’s concrete. You’re never stuck in one place, and you can see your work at the end of the day.

“Now that I’m in the office, I’m taking on new challenges and not standing still. I’m designing and adapting new curriculum so that it’s in line with the ever-changing technology. 

“When I was coming up, it was all about interpreting paper drawings. Today, everything is on tablets, and we’re looking at drawings in 3D. There’s a gap in our education, and my focus is on getting our apprentices fluent in technology. 

“There’s a lot of software. There’s Bluebeam, Plangrid, and ProCore to manage blueprints, and Cad or Revit to design piping in 3D.

“I’m learning as I go, as I did not get much experience in the field with 3D modeling or plan management software. It’s a huge learning curve and a constant challenge – just like in the field – and that’s what makes this new job so exciting.

“I might not be able to see what I’ve done at the end of the day, but after a few months, a year, or five years, I hope I’ll be able to leave a mark. I want to train our apprentices to be leaders – not just journeymen – but foremen and people willing to take the reins.”

Brian is also looking to advance the culture of unionism to build a stronger labor movement.

“Right now, apprentices have six hours of union heritage, which is not enough,” said Brian. “I want to add on an ‘end all, be all’ labor history requirement. I want folks to see the struggles and sacrifices that other men and women have made so that we can be here today, earning a good living with health and retirement benefits. That didn’t happen by accident, and we can easily lose our livelihood if we’re not vigilant.

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“I hope to inspire apprentices to become active in the union and take on a leadership role so that we can protect what we have and expand it so that other working people can have it too.

“I first got involved going to union meetings when I was a 2nd year apprentice, but veered away because I started a family. I got reconnected when I started teaching. I spent five years with the national UA Instructor Training Program, where I became an avid pin trader. That’s where my appreciation of the brotherhood was really born. I’ve gotten to know dozens of tradesmen across the country that I’m proud to say are my friends. I never would have met them if it weren’t for the union. It brings workers like us together under a common purpose: to advance the interests of working people and serve our community. I urge 393 members to get involved.”

When he’s not working in the Training Center or hanging out with his pin trade buddies, Brian and his wife Jennifer enjoy running. In fact, they trained for their first 5K when Jennifer was pregnant with their twin boys. She finished the race when she was eight months along. Like Brian, she’s determined and likes a challenge.

While Brian and Jennifer were training, he got union members to join in the fun and fitness, starting the 393 Running Club.

Brian has an open door policy, and welcomes 393 members to reach out at brian@pttc.edu if you’d like to learn more about the training program, union activities, the pin trade, or the running club. In the meantime, he hopes to catch up on sleep from twin babies. Welcome Brian Murphy and best of luck in your new role!