Sacramento Valley Union Labor Bulletin

Owned and Published by the Sacramento Central Labor Council and the Sacramento-Sierra’s Building & Construction Trades Council, official councils of the AFL-CIO

In June, members of BAC 3 (above) began the restoration work on the 9/11 monument at Cal Expo. Other Locals also volunteered on the project during the summer.
LABOR BULLETINSLIDER

Union craftworkers restore Cal Expo’s 9/11 Memorial for 25th anniversary

Labor Bulletin

By Sheri Williams

As the Sacramento region came together at Cal Expo to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the memorial at the center of the observance stood fully restored. That was the result of a summer-long volunteer effort by union apprentices, instructors and Building Trades members from across the Sacramento area.

More than two decades of exposure to the Sacramento Valley’s punishing summers and winter rains had left their mark on the site. In early June, several local unions joined forces to rehabilitate the memorial before the milestone ceremony.

The most extensive work fell to the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) Local 3. BAC crews repaired and polished the memorial’s stonework, including the Pentagon memorial, re-grouted joints throughout the plaza, and completed a comprehensive restoration of the site.

Rather than treat the project as routine maintenance, the local made it a centerpiece of its training program. BAC Local 3 deployed two apprentice classes, drawn from its Terrazzo program and its Point, Clean and Caulk (PCC) program. Business Agent Lenny Paredes and Josh Height, the local’s coordinator of apprenticeship and training, organized the effort. Terrazzo Instructor Jorge Lopez and PCC Instructor Jose Herrera directed the crews on site.

The Terrazzo apprentices were Joseph Dinsdale, Alfredo Jimenez, Aaron Lopez, Justin Pereira, Denis Rivera Santos, Jonathan Suarez, Devin Sisson, and Wily Tizoc-Valdez.

The PCC apprentices were Carlos Alonzo Espinosa, Frank Melo, Fabio Menjivar Tejada, Lucas Orellana Hernandez, Noel Perez, Hector Reyes, Ubaldo Zamora Jr., and Arnoldo Zuniga Serrano.

For many of these apprentices, the assignment carried a significance that extended well beyond technical instruction. Most were young children, or not yet born, on September 11, 2001. The project gave them a rare opportunity to refine their craft on a monument built from the physical remnants of the World Trade Center, preserving a tribute to lives lost in an event they know primarily through history.

BAC Local 3 was far from alone. Valdez Painting, owned by Gino and Veronica Valdez, refinished the memorial’s perimeter fence and the carillon bell tower. The work was performed by members of Painters Local 487: Gustavo Bernal, Miguel Caro, Lowell Homan, Leon Jones, and Rafael Santana.

Trojan Mechanical, owned by Will and Kristie Bertacchi, modernized the site’s audiovisual capabilities. The company donated and installed a new 85-inch television and soundbar to display the videos and slideshows presented at the memorial. The installation was carried out by UA Local 447 members Will Bertacchi and Kevin Holbrook.

In acknowledgment of their service, each volunteer received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from the office of Rep. Doris Matsui.

The Cal Expo September 11 Memorial Plaza is a permanent outdoor exhibit on the state fairgrounds, constructed from 125,000 pounds of wreckage recovered at Ground Zero in New York City. Its origins trace to Cal Expo board member Larry Davis. A year after the attacks, he personally acquired the World Trade Center debris, donated it, and arranged for its transport to California by rail. Among the salvaged material was a massive steel I-beam that had once served as a horizontal support in the North Tower. That beam remains the memorial’s centerpiece.

Private contributions have since expanded the plaza considerably. Its elements now include a fountain crowned by a 5,180-pound rotating granite sphere inscribed with the name of every victim, reflections evoking the Twin Towers, and a 50-foot carillon bell tower housing 23 bells. Separate memorials honor American Airlines Flight 77, which struck the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers resisted the hijackers. The plaza is open to the public during the California State Fair and on each anniversary of the attacks.

Restored to its original dignity, the memorial is prepared to convey its enduring charge to another generation of visitors: Never Forget.