LOCAL UNION WORKER WINS INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Plumber Andrew Hall brings home gold after week-long contest
Just five years after he began his plumbing career, an East Central Illinois resident has been named one of the best in the industry, winning an international competition.
Andrew Hall, a member of United Association Local 149, won the union’s International Apprentice Contest, earning the honor after a week of multiple written tests, hands-on projects and interviews with international leaders. He had previously won the local, state and district competitions, open to more than 50,000 apprentices.
At last week’s competition in Ann Arbor, Mich., he bested the work of six other finalists from the U.S., Canada and Australia – the first international title in Local 149 history.
“When they called my name, it was loud and everyone was clapping, so I thought maybe I heard it wrong – then I was in disbelief,” he said. “The guys I competed against were the best of the best and we all got along so well, nobody would’ve been mad if someone else won. But it wasn’t about beating anyone out, what we went through together was really the rewarding part. I mean, it still hasn’t really hit me that I won.”
Hall is in his fifth year with Local 149 and graduated from the union’s apprentice training program in June. In each of those years, apprentices spend 240 hours in class and 1,700 hours on the job, earning the right to become journeymen. The Montrose native and Dieterich High School graduate spent his career at United Mechanical in Champaign before beginning a path earlier this year as a traveling plumber, selecting to work at various construction sites across the country.
At the international competition, Hall and the other finalists spent five days competing in both classroom and hands-on tests, answering hundreds of questions that were both written and posed to them by the union’s top training officials. They were also tasked with solving complicated plumbing projects and scenarios. All finalists received a silver ring for advancing and Hall will now get a gold ring, set to be delivered later this year.
As a traveling plumber, Hall and his wife, Shelly, are living with their five-month-old daughter, Ronny Louella, in Indiana, where he is working for two more weeks. They will then spend time with family here before hauling their camper to Oregon for several months of work on a major construction project there – an area he’s excited to explore.
“Shelly has been at every competition and been my biggest supporter through all of this,” he said. “It puts everything it in perspective that if you’re scared of everything in life, you never really get to experience anything. You just need to take that leap.”