Ash Street Station a portal to construction jobs

Ashlee Murinko’s hand shoots up as soon as her teacher asks about double choker slings.

Murinko, 24, is eager to explain the advantages and disadvantages of different ways to rig loads on construction cranes. Her teacher, Will Persons, rolls his eyes good-naturedly and tries to get one of his other students to answer.

“Stability?” says Sean Devore, another student. Murinko nods and adds, “Load control.”

The two are taking classes at Ash Street Station, a new program designed to help people who have a long history of unemployment or a criminal record find jobs in the fast-growing construction sector. The program operates out of a refurbished brick building with expansive rooms and tall ceilings that give it the feel of a warehouse. Run by the Fulcrum Institute, which provides mediation services and other job-training programs, Ash Street opened its doors to students in March.

Persons is an instructor with the Inland Northwest chapter of Associated General Contractors, a group that serves as a sort of chamber of commerce for the construction industry. Persons leads students through a three-week course that includes classroom instruction of different sectors of the construction industry, as well as training at job sites. Classes are open enrollment, so students can join at any time, so long as they stay for the full three-week cycle.

By the end of the program, students are certified to operate a forklift, have a required safety card from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and have a good overview of possible careers in construction. Many students will also receive training from other Fulcrum programs on more general job skills like resume writing, communicating with co-workers and dressing for a job interview.

After training, students can apply for a job or apprenticeship. Eight students have graduated so far, and one has secured a job at a two-year construction project in Ellensburg at prevailing wage, said Mike Ankney, the director of apprenticeships at AGC. The others have pending applications with him for apprenticeships.

“The construction industry believes in second chances,” Ankney said. Criminal records are looked at and a past conviction may bar someone from working on specific jobs, depending on the contract, Ankney said. But most companies are willing to hire people with a criminal conviction.

Murinko, 24, was in her second week of class as Persons told the group about crane rigging. She’s had trouble finding a living-wage job after a brief stay in jail on a misdemeanor charge in 2012. She worked at Carl’s Jr., but found it hard to support her family on the low wages. Though she successfully got job offers in a few other places, employers always backed out after doing a background check, she said.

By entering the program, Murinko was hoping to get a job in HVAC – heating, ventilation and air conditioning – something her father has been able to make a good living at.

“I want anything that I can live off of and support my family,” she said.

She persuaded her boyfriend, Eric Williams, to come to class with her. The pair couldn’t find child care, so Persons let them bring their 6-month-old daughter, Exodus, to class. Dressed in pink, she sat quietly, so long as Murinko kept a steady stream of snacks coming.

“She’s the youngest student in class,” Murinko said, laughing.

Judith Gilmore runs the Ash Street Station program and said it got started out of a desire to train people for skilled jobs. The Fulcrum Institute operates a business roundtable list of local companies that are willing to consider applicants with a criminal record, but many of those jobs are in food service or other sectors with low pay.

“They’re jobs, but they’re not living-wage jobs,” she said.

Classes started at 8 a.m., and Gilmore said she worried at first that people who aren’t used to going to work might have trouble getting there on time. But the first time she walked in to class, she found the group had gotten there early. Students were making coffee and breakfast to share.

“Everybody was in their seat ready to go in the classroom at 10 to eight,” she said. “That gave me goosebumps.”

Fulcrum remodeled the Ash Street Station building with some government grants and local support last year, but the jobs program does not receive any government funding. It’s supported by revenue from renting out parts of the station to other businesses, including a small screen-printing shop and a lab for a local biologist. Fulcrum operates a thrift store in the front of the shop at 1925 N. Ash St. The building also has three apartments on the upper floor designed for low-income tenants.

Devore, the other student, joined because he wanted to get a job in underwater welding. He moved to Spokane from Arizona after a property management and handyman company he was running failed. He learned about Fulcrum while in court for a custody battle and said he joined so he could get the certifications Washington requires to work in construction trades.

“In this state, the more certificates you have, the better off you are,” he said.

Though she has another week of class, Murinko has already secured a five-year apprenticeship at a sheet metals company, where she’ll be able to focus on heating and cooling systems. She was nervous going in for the interview, but excited when she found out she got the job.

“I couldn’t stop smiling,” she said.