By Jeff Tucker, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.
Oct. 18--Colorado's building and trades unions cheered a better-than-expected turnout at last week's Xcel Energy job fair, held in advance of the utility's power plant expansion.
The event was designed to fill the local unions' ranks and as many as 500 entry-level construction jobs for Xcel's expansion, set to begin in earnest in January. Another 500 construction jobs are expected to go to experienced construction workers.
Friday's job fair drew about 1,250 people over the course of the afternoon, some 300 of whom lined up ahead of time outside of the Pueblo Convention Center, said Dan Toussaint, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 12 in Pueblo.
"Everybody I talked to was very happy with the way things turned out," Toussaint said.
Toussaint said that some trades are poring over as many as 350 applications this week.
If there was any sense of disappointment, it may have come from the evening session.
While many high school students attended, the numbers were lower than expected, possibly due to that night's annual Bell Game featuring the Central and Centennial high school football teams.
"I completely forgot that the Bell Game was that night," Toussaint said.
Still, the overall turnout was encouraging, he said. There were plenty of men and women, young and old, who put in applications.
It will now be up to the unions to decide which applicants qualify for apprenticeships, he said.
The promise of one steady, single job through an apprenticeship is a significant selling point for the unions, who are looking to replenish ranks that are growing increasingly gray, Hall has said.
The $1.35 billion expansion project is expected to last four years.
Most apprenticeships last as long, or slightly longer, meaning that apprentices who start work on the plant and stick with it will finish the job as journeymen.
Journeymen wages for many of the trades top $20 an hour and in most cases benefits are paid.
Toussaint said there were a number of people at the fair who had done this type of work before but had never been affiliated with a union.
On Friday, Hall said the unions were hoping to get at least 500 eligible applicants out of the fair.
Toussaint said Monday the unions shouldn't have any problem filling that number.
The project could bring as many as 1,000 construction jobs to the city, many of which may be filled by locals.
The unions will probably hold another job fair this winter, Toussaint said.
He said they are hoping to hold a fair in February.
Site preparation for the project is currently under way. Construction on the 750-megawatt coal-fired generator is anticipated to start in January and finish in 2009.
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Copyright (c) 2005, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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