Every day, almost 120,000 people fly into and out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. That number is likely to go up in a metro area that is growing by 150 new people every day, and it will take significant growth in infrastructure to keep up.
That is the work Ames Construction and members of the Southern Regional Council of Carpenters are doing in Charlotte, expanding an airport taxiway to improve traffic flow and capacity.
The work is more intricate than it seems. At first glance, one may think it is simply a case of laying more concrete/asphalt to add on to the existing taxiway. In reality, in order to properly expand the safety infrastructure, the project connects two pieces of the runway with a tunnel underneath, supported by industrial-grade concrete.
The project must be strong enough to support the weight of a modern jetliner, but also have a high enough clearance underneath to safely allow the travel of safety and support vehicles. The project includes excavating approximately 200,000 yards, building the forms for 20-foot-tall walls, and finishing with a perfectly graded, underground tunnel. It’s intricate work, but Ames Construction and our SRCC members are experienced in the necessary planning and skills that go into a project like this.
“This is actually my first time working with the union, so I think it’s actually rather more coordinated to where somebody wants to get signed up, they get everything done,“ said Tyler Thomas, Project Engineer for Ames Construction.
“When we call and ask and say, ‘Hey, you know, we’re needing some guys,’ you guys have always been there and helped us supply some of those guys when we’re short-handed, or helped us kind of move guys around when we needed to, to help support all of our operations.”
The project has had a quick turnaround time, and that’s something Ames Construction and our members with Local 312 have been able to provide on this project. Ames, based out of Burnsville, Minnesota, is an employee-owned company and prides itself on not working “double-breasted”, the practice of hiring union in closed shop states, but non-union in right-to-work states.
Trevor Davis, Operations Manager covering structures for Ames’ Eastern office, understands the quality of union work and training firsthand, having started his career as a union member in Duluth, MN and worked his way up from there. One of the main advantages of working union is professionalism and training.
“I like to say that we’re a lot more professional with the union background. I think here at Ames, when we have people apply and they might apply for a superintendent position and they’re coming from a non-union, that’s probably our foreman level,” said Davis. “We’re definitely a step up with each level. If they’re applying for a foreman, they’re probably a lead guy, right? So I think the union training, the union background just gets a lot more professional people.”
The training that comes with a union workforce is also an advantage when working on megaprojects such as the Charlotte Airport, as practices and technologies are consistently changing.
“What’s really unique with this project and (has) really helped the project flow is we’ve had some very unique forming systems. It’s not just wood build forms (where) you’re nailing everything together, we have traveling form systems where you collapse it, roof comes down 70 feet long, you launch it down the next path, push it out, push it up, and you are turning 490 yards a week on one structure with a seven-man crew,” said Davis. “We like to put our time into our engineering, our design, get things right the first time, minimal tweaks, and then just take off running.”
At a time when construction is booming throughout the South, Ames is also working with the SRCC on other megaprojects in the infrastructure space, including repairing the damage done to Interstate 40 by Hurricane Helene, and work with the Department of Transportation in Charleston, SC.
“There’s way more work than people right now. The opportunities are endless, especially for us out here. If we see a guy with a lot of potential, gal with a lot of potential, sky’s the limit,” said Davis. “We promote from within. We want to work with folks and now it’s just an exceptional time to get in the trades.”
The relationship between the SRCC and Ames shows how a working relationship between a union workforce and a contractor does not just improve morale, it improves the quality and speed of the work as well, while investing in the next generation of skilled trades workers.
“We are union everywhere we go. You get the same product, you get the same professionalism, and I think that’s probably what sets us apart. We want our guys and gals to be able to retire and have good benefits and really enjoy the career that they chose.” said Davis.