Join a union, assemble a wind turbine

From the sixth-floor windows of Windscape, a wind energy education center, 73 acres of industrial waterfront on the bay are visible. This land, known as the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT), has transformed dramatically over the last two years, from a series of derelict, antiquated structures in decay into large new buildings, open clean space and very tall cranes rising on the edge of the water.

On March 14, Windscape was filled with more than a dozen trade union representatives, wind energy companies and local nonprofits working to connect New Yorkers, especially Sunset Park residents, to employment opportunities that are rapidly becoming part of the waterfront landscape of South Brooklyn.

The SBMT is the home of the Empire Wind project, which will consist of 54 wind turbines fixed off the coast of New York that will send enough electricity to power 500,000 homes through a series of underwater cables. These cables, which are already in place, will travel from the turbines at sea underground into a building at the SBMT and then feed electricity into a Con Edison facility in Gowanus.

Equinor, formerly known as Statoil, is a Norwegian energy company that built its business in oil and gas, while also becoming a major player in offshore wind. It is working with many subcontractors and local unions to create this renewable energy project, which is expected to begin delivering power by 2027.

The turbines will be shipped to the SBMT, where they will be assembled, loaded onto ships and installed.

Ernie Espinosa, 24, who recently worked in residential renovations, took a three-month HVAC program at a local nonprofit called Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT), earning six certificates. Espinosa will graduate from the OBT program in a week. He had the chance to meet with different trade unions and learn what they look for in apprenticeship candidates.

Espinosa came to OBT to get his GED after dropping out of school and working dead-end jobs, a staff member at OBT explained. Now he is learning about the skills he will need in the trades.

“I spoke to everyone,” Espinosa said. He learned that a lot of industries are hiring, but there are “a lot of exams before they will hire you,” and he learned that the apprenticeships are three to five years. “Good pay, good benefits, which is a plus.”

Learning on the job is what Espinosa says works best for him. “I learn better hands on. So if I can get a good instructor who's willing to actually take time to teach me, I could get everything quicker and faster. Plus it’s fun, it’s exciting.”

Chaperoning a large group of young people was Evelyn Ortiz, co-CEO of Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow.

“The only way we can get our people access to these jobs is if they’re trained and ready,” Ortiz said, describing the technical training classes her students are enrolled in. “The community is changing. How do we continue to give the community access to the opportunities that are available, making sure that they don’t get displaced?”

Speaking about OBT’s partnership with Equinor, Ortiz said, “They are teaching us what’s the work that’s happening on the ground, really doing a lot of career inspiration with our young people because what they (the students) don’t know, they won’t want.”

In the last two years, more than 4,000 people have worked on the Empire Wind project, about 100 of them residents of South Brooklyn, according to David Schoetz, a spokesperson for Equinor.

This project is seen as an entry point to working in the trade unions, Schoetz explained. There will be hundreds more jobs building this facility and about 100 jobs once it is fully operational.

Anastasia Grishkevich, a Sunset Park resident, had just returned from her first session welding on the offshore substation, located about 15 miles off Jones Beach. She is transported by helicopter to the offshore site and works 12-hour shifts, seven days a week for three weeks, then returns to Sunset Park to rest.

Grishkevich was representing Iron Workers Local 40 and 361 and talking with people who were interested in the union’s apprentice program.

“Here we’re talking to people who are interested in joining the union or telling them a little bit about what we do, giving them some information about our apprenticeship.”

The union apprenticeship program opens every two years. Next year will begin a new session. At the event, they were explaining the work and how the union functions, while giving prospective applicants the chance to speak with union members.

“You see the enthusiasm and people willing to learn and people willing to try something new. You tell them about the heights and they’re like, ‘Oh my goodness.’” She encouraged them to apply for the apprenticeship. “Definitely give it a shot, try it out.”