The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades’ Regional Training Center in Portland celebrated more than a dozen new journeymen at a Nov. 16 graduation.
The graduates include nine painters who graduated from the apprenticeship program since August 2023 and four traffic control painters who graduated in 2023, plus two more painters expected to complete the program in the next few months.
“There’ve been hundreds of apprentices who came through here and journeyed out. You are part of that history now,” Local 10 Business Representative Scott Oldham told graduates. “When you’re making a good name for yourself, you’re making a good name for the union as well.”
Graduate Angel Cuellar Guevara said he got into the industry because of his parents, who are both union painters. Some days on the job are stressful, but others are really enjoyable, he said. “You get to see great buildings (and) meet a lot of great people out here,” Cuellar Guevara said.
“It’s been a long journey,” he said of graduating.
Hartley told graduates that change is the only constant, as they’ve seen through their years in the apprenticeship program.
“The industry is going to change. The political environment is going to change. Things come up,” said Regional Training Center Director Jed Hartley. “But if you guys focus on the right things every day, which is getting up, supporting each other and your team members, you’re going to be successful.”
