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The North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters (NASRCC) and the North Atlantic States Carpenters Training Fund (NASCTF) has announced a planned $3.6 million investment to expand the union’s training center in Salina, New York. The Syracuse-area facility will triple its shop training space from 6,000 square feet to 18,000 square feet. It will include 28-foot ceilings and an overhead crane, allowing training in scaffolding, rigging, high concrete forms and turbine work.

The investment is being made to meet the expected demand for crafts workers being fueled by the $120 billion, 20-year Micron chip manufacturing facility, removal and relocation of I-81 in Syracuse and the overall expansion of the metro area resulting from both.

“In addition to demographic changes in our industry, there will be massive development of everything within 40 minutes of Syracuse, from manufacturing and corporate development to entertainment, housing, infrastructure and retail,” said Local 277 Business Manager Jim Mason. “We’re already aggressively recruiting and training for it.”

NASCTF Executive Director Tom Fischer said the facility “will allow us to meet the overall demand from our contractors for qualified crafts workers as well as those specifically required in the tech economy.” He said the training center is already running “clean room” training developed by the UBC to provide members with the skills needed for projects like the Micron project.

“Our union looks for opportunities and makes decisive commitments to take advantage of them,” said NASRCC Executive Secretary-Treasurer Joe Byrne. “We also take pride in preparing individual workers and our partner employers to meet the needs of our industry and to exceed its expectations. We’re extremely excited about the role we’ll play in the future of this area.”

The Micron project, which is covered by a project labor agreement, is expected to need as many as 1,700 carpenters on site. Preliminary work will begin later this year, with carpenters getting on site in early 2024. One significant supplier for Micron has already made a commitment to building its own manufacturing facility in the area. Relocating I81 will include construction of a dozen bridges and unlock significant redevelopment in the city.

The union and training fund expects to incorporate and continue use of the training facility affiliated with Millwrights Local 1163 in nearby Liverpool and provide “cross-training” for members in multiple trades at both facilities.