Western New York's Largest Supplier of Reclaimed & Surplus Building Material

Featured Apprentice: Marcus

Our final feature on our most recent class of apprentices… Marcus is the younger brother of Cliff, one of ReUse Action’s full time employees.  Marcus came to us late, having worked a few weeks as an apprentice for Empire Building Diagnostics, the demolition group doing work on the upper floors of the hotel, but we’ve gotten to know him well. In the past 5+ years, Marcus has been through a lot—Hurricane Katrina wiped out all that was familiar, his child was born, he moved to Buffalo, etc. On many occasions he’s expressed his interest in finding a stable lifestyle, atmosphere … Read more

Featured Apprentice: Naya

Like gardening and weeding, de-tiling and sorting tiles are some of the best ways to get to know someone because of the hours spent with a repetitive task in good company.  Naya and I first bonded while sitting in a room sorting tiles as she told me her experiences as a black woman in construction.  Like Iris from our last group of apprentices (who just got a job at the snack shack, hooray!), Naya is the only woman in the current group. When I asked her why she was in construction and what she wanted to get out of it, … Read more

Featured Apprentice: Robert

I first met Robert several years ago, but now have had the pleasure to get to know him over the course of 15 weeks at the Hotel.  Fondly referred to as “google” by the crew, Robert is an amazing source of knowledge and meticulous to the core.  Because of his memory and his matter of fact attitude, the crew often turns to Robert to find out answers to the questions that come up in their conversations.  They also rely on him as master time keeper since both Michael and I are notorious workaholics and need to be told when it … Read more

Featured Apprentice: Kashawn

When filling out an application at CPG the other day, Kashawn turned to me and asked me what qualities he had and what he was good at. Yes, he has muscle and can lift just as consistently as the other crew members, but those are not the qualities that first strike me.  I replied: 1.”Your ability to see something’s wrong before it happens,” for it is often Kashawn who sees when a tub won’t fit through a doorway or if the pallet jack is cutting a corner too hard. 2. “You consistently show up to work.” This is one of … Read more

Featured Apprentice: Darell

Unlike Vern who is a big guy and at times seems to possess a superhuman strength, Darell is of smaller build.  Yet the crew calls Darell “Superman,” because what Darell doesn’t have in size, he makes up for in attitude.  There is no task too big, no tub too heavy, no pile of tile too high, and it amazes me how Darell’s faith in his ability to overcome and to get a task done makes him such a star apprentice. Here’s what Amanda, our green demo project manager, has to say about Darell: “Over the past couple of weeks I … Read more

Featured Apprentice: Vernon – Seeking Employment Opportunities

We’ve had three months of wrestling tubs, delicately sorting tiles and holding up traffic as we carted materials out of the building on a pallet jack, and now our time is finally ending at the Lafayette Hotel.  We’ve also reached the end of nine weeks with our current apprentice group, and while it’s sad we’ll no longer see them everyday, we’re happy they’re moving on in pursuit of full time employment. Since the very beginning when we took on our first apprentice group from the Outsource Center, part of our commitment to our apprentices has been to do everything in … Read more

Women in the trades

Working in an industry where females comprise only 3% of the workforce can be rough, especially in a blue-collar town like Buffalo.  I see behavior and overhear conversations everyday that show me society’s stereotypical female and male roles are very much alive and kicking. Yelled from below while reroofing my aunt’s porch: “All women crew?  Where’s your man to do that?” From a foreman on another crew: “A girl in charge today?  You’re too pretty to get dirty!  You should be in a nice office somewhere, not here supervising dirty boys! This is 2011.  And yet, as a woman in … Read more

Their Next Step . . . Apprentices in Action!

“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more luck I have.” — Thomas Jefferson Our first apprenticeship class, that spent over five weeks facilitating a huge salvage effort of tubs, sinks, ceramic tile, doors, and molding, is proving that diligence and hard work pay off when pursuing job placements in the City of Buffalo. Since our last report a couple weeks back, seven of our nine apprentices have secured jobs locally. Many will be continuing work at the Hotel Lafayette starting this coming Tuesday, as they move on to the demolition phase of … Read more