Ironworkers Local 378, the union that has “built the skyline of the Bay Area,” is celebrating 100 years of building structures and careers in the region, according to Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia’s office.
On Wednesday, the union whose handiwork has included the Richmond San Rafael Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, Carquinez Bridge and Bay Bridge, will be honored with a Contra Costa County Resolution sponsored by Supervisor Gioia. The resolution will be presented at a ceremony set for 1:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Dead Fish restaurant in Crockett, “with the union-built Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge as a fitting backdrop,” according to Gioia’s office.
On Feb. 22, 1921, Local 177 split and became Local 377 San Francisco and Local 378 Oakland, Gioia’s office said. Local 378 has been rather productive.
“Virtually every high-rise building, stadium, arena, bridge, hospital and school from pre-K to graduate school was built with the skills, sweat and blood of Local 378,” Gioia’s office said.
Local 378’s handiwork includes building of the Carquinez Bridge in 1927; the Benicia to Martinez Southern Pacific Railway bridge in 1930; the Bay Bridge in 1936; the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937; the Richmond San Rafael Bridge in 1956; the George Miller Memorial Bridge (Benicia Bridge) in 1963; the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge (Carquinez Bridge) in 2003; and the Eastern section of the Bay Bridge, which opened in 2013.
While doing this work, Local 378 provides well-paying jobs, skills-based training and works for “family-supporting” pay and benefits through collective bargaining with contractors, Gioia’s office said.
