{"id":111674,"date":"2025-12-28T22:18:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T22:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/111674\/"},"modified":"2025-12-28T22:18:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T22:18:16","slug":"marin-city-housing-rehabilitation-opens-door-to-trade-union-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/111674\/","title":{"rendered":"Marin City housing rehabilitation opens door to trade union jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tasharah<\/p>\n

Tasharah Benjamin takes a measurement as Tatiana Williams watches during construction training at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n

\"Construction<\/p>\n

Construction trainees work in an apartment at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A construction trainee sands a wall inside one of the apartments being renovated at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n

\"Shemika<\/p>\n

Shemika Green and retired plumber Eddie Jackson chat in an apartment undergoing renovation at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n

\"Trainee<\/p>\n

Trainee Jason Iles installs a washing machine outlet box in an apartment undergoing renovation at at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n

\"Electrical<\/p>\n

Electrical wires in an exposed wall at an apartment under renovation at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n

\"Trainee<\/p>\n

Trainee Sanaa Green grabs tools off a table in an apartment being renovated at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n

\"Construction<\/p>\n

Construction supplies lie on the floor of an apartment being renovated at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n

\"Instructor<\/p>\n

Instructor Andrey Sotnikov and trainee Sanaa Green renovate an apartment at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n

\"Trainee<\/p>\n

Trainee Hershey Cherry sands a wall in an apartment being renovated at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 10<\/p>\n

Tasharah Benjamin takes a measurement as Tatiana Williams watches during construction training at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Alan Dep\/Marin Independent Journal)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Tasharah Benjamin studied the exposed wood studs and positioned a square steel electrical outlet box.<\/p>\n

Benjamin, 43, was surrounded by a half-dozen other trainees in a vacant apartment at Golden Gate Village in Marin City, where they were remodeling the kitchen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s our line here?\u201d said Barbara Cox, a veteran union electrician and instructor. \u201cLet\u2019s use our measuring instruments to see what close means.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still not in the middle,\u201d said Benjamin, who quickly pulled out a tape measure, pad and pen, and did some math. She adjusted the placement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d said Cox, approvingly. \u201cYou know what to do now, carry on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjamin was one of 21 trainees in a 12-week program run by Tradeswomen Inc., a nonprofit organization that helps workers embark on construction careers.<\/p>\n

Golden Gate Village, the county\u2019s largest public housing project and the only one designed for families, will begin massive top-to-bottom renovations next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI live in the community,\u201d said Juanita Douglas, executive director of Tradeswomen. \u201cOnce we realized this revitalization program was coming, I thought the local community should be allowed to work on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Douglas applied and received a grant from Burbank Housing, the Marin Housing Authority redevelopment partner, to offer the pre-apprenticeship training her organization pioneered in 1979. Her team surveyed Marin City residents and received a strong response, including from an unusually high percentage of women.<\/p>\n

In rapid succession, they held public meetings, scheduled interviews, screened applicants and selected a class of 25 \u2014 including Marin City residents like Benjamin. They lined up instructors and supplies for three days a week of hands-on construction training and numerous presentations from union officials and others on the other days.<\/p>\n

The topics included workplace safety, math and other technical refreshers, building codes, sexual harassment, financial literacy and career development.<\/p>\n

In early November, the program began. Trainees chose one of three tracks \u2014 electrical, plumbing or carpentry \u2014 that are gateways into 28 union trades.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is literally a pre-apprenticeship training program, preparing them to go into construction trades,\u201d said Douglas, who was a commercial carpenter and land surveyor. \u201cWe direct them, work with them and help them and show them exactly how to enter the construction trades. That\u2019s what we do every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing,\u201d said Benjamin, who is 43 and on the electrician track. \u201cI\u2019m learning new skills. I\u2019m super excited about it, and I can\u2019t believe how easy it\u2019s sticking to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI always had a passion for it, to become an electrician, but I never thought about actually going into the trade,\u201d she said during a break. \u201cI love math and if you\u2019re good with math, you can be good at this. And Barb is the best teacher I\u2019ve had in a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Standing next to her was Kimberly Robinson, who is 42 and who enrolled in the program along with three of her sons \u2014 ages 23, 21 and 20 \u2014 and a nephew.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a single mother of six, and we\u2019re talking about having opportunity in this community, something we can do, something hands-on that we can take from here,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m hoping to get more work. I\u2019m also hoping for my boys to be put to work redoing these units for the revitalization.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a nearby three-bedroom apartment, Sanaa Green, 19, and Hershey Cherry, 60, were in the corner of its gutted downstairs following floor plans.<\/p>\n

They were starting to frame and build a wall around a 4-inch sewage pipe with Audrey Sotnikov, a carpentry track instructor who was also serving as the site\u2019s foreman and general contractor. Their laser lights blocked off the base of where they were about to put up studs and drywall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went from stilettos to steel toes,\u201d said Cherry, who previously worked in corporate offices and is rebuilding her life after enduring a brain aneurysm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is so different for me, but I\u2019m loving it,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd how I got into it was I was at dinner \u2014 just a conversation with my neighbor, who started this program and said, are you in?\u201d<\/p>\n

Green, whose mother, Shemika Green, is the site\u2019s project manager for Tradeswomen Inc., is a former Santa Rosa Junior College theater major who focused on building sets and sound design.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m learning a lot about wood placement, how to use tools safely, a lot of new stuff,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m learning a lot about tools, cutting and drilling \u2014 especially about safety and stuff with the blades.\u201d<\/p>\n

Douglas, who said she typically places more than three-fourths of trainees in jobs or union apprenticeship tracks, said the most important qualities being taught are punctuality, discipline, following instructions and learning what is taught with confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to be able to follow all we\u2019re teaching them,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then they can work in any of the 28 union trades.\u201d<\/p>\n

Green also said the program has taught her technical skills and \u201ca lot about myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a very patient person, but it\u2019s definitely taught me a little bit of self-discipline and to slow down when I\u2019m moving too fast,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s also taught me how to keep myself calm when there\u2019s frustration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cherry praised Sotnikov, their instructor, who has worked in construction in San Francisco since 2010.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the best. He takes his time and breaks it down,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I stay with his crew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Douglas said being middle-aged \u2014 like some of the older trainees \u2014 was not a barrier to construction work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s construction jobs out there that don\u2019t require as much physical activity, and your body adapts, depending on how you take care of it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The training concludes in late January, Shemika Green said. She said there have been many inquiries about offering the program again in the new year.<\/p>\n

In early January, eight independent contractors seeking to hire crews will come to Marin City for a mixer to meet trainees, she said. Burbank Housing\u2019s contractor covering the Golden Gate Village renovations is also interested in hiring, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something I did in Oakland for six years, but this community has never ever had opportunities like this,\u201d Douglas said.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable how well it\u2019s blossomed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tasharah Benjamin takes a measurement as Tatiana Williams watches during construction training at Golden Gate Village in Marin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111675,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[7,12827,1011,1286,181,23,8529,992,12828,100,180,993,266,101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-111674","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-golden-gate-village","10":"tag-housing","11":"tag-jobs","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-local-news","14":"tag-marin-city","15":"tag-marin-county","16":"tag-marin-housing-authority","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-newsletter","19":"tag-north-bay","20":"tag-northern-california","21":"tag-san-francisco","22":"tag-san-francisco-headlines","23":"tag-san-francisco-news","24":"tag-sf","25":"tag-sf-headlines","26":"tag-sf-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}