Become A Member

We are looking for apprentices and experienced painters, drywall finishers, glaziers and sign and display workers to join our team.

There are many advantages to becoming a member of DC 6 including:

  • Great wages
  • Excellent full-family health insurance 
  • A great retirement plan
  • No-cost education and training program
  • Ability to work with your hands
  • Work outdoors or indoors
  • A lifelong career
  • Ability to be creative and use problem solving skills

Ready to start the process?

Wages and Fringe Benefits

Our journeymen are highly skilled and highly trained in their trade. They display excellent craftsmanship and do their work correctly the first time. As such, they have been rewarded through the collective bargaining process between their Local and the signatory contractors and earn some of the highest hourly wages in their geographical area. These wages are in addition to great medical insurance and a secure retirement plan, as members qualify for full retirement benefits at age 55 with 30 years of credited service. Few other career pathways can match the wages and benefits DC 6 has gained through collective bargaining with our signatory contractors. Not only is the total wage package hard to beat, but it also sets members down the path to live a middle-class lifestyle.

Experienced painters, drywall finishers, glaziers and sign and display workers

Individuals who have experience as non-union painting industry workers will benefit by becoming a member of DC 6.

We are actively looking for men and women who have experience in one of the following trades:

  • Industrial and commercial painting
  • Painter-Decorator
  • Drywall finishing
  • Glazier
  • Sign and Display

In addition to the top wages and benefits, experienced painting industry workers can take advantage of the training offered by the Finishing Trades Institute of Ohio Region. The FTIOR offers no-cost journeyman upgrade training to help members of DC 6 improve or increase their skillset in order to make them more employable. Additionally, journeymen can also take classes to gain certain certifications required by certain jobsites.

Begin a career as an apprentice

Men and women who have little or no industry experience can become a member of DC 6. As an apprentice, they receive industry-leading training to help make them a highly skilled and highly trained journeyman in their specific craft. You can begin a career in the following crafts:

Painter-Decorators prepare the surfaces of buildings and other structures and then apply paint by means of brushes, rollers or sprayers. They work with varnish, enamels, lacquer and other materials. They may also paint interior rooms or cover walls with paper, fabrics, vinyl or other materials (paperhanger). Painters must be able to mix paints, as well as do sandblasting and water blasting work. Some painting projects require an artistic touch for the restoration of historic buildings.

Painters work both indoors and outdoors. Outside work is done in relatively mild weather. In some jobs, especially maintenance and redecoration of offices and buildings, a painter may be required to work evenings or weekends. Work is seasonal; however, new materials and methods tend to give more steady employment throughout the year. The work involves standing, bending, climbing and working with arms over the head much of the time.

Industrial painters prepare surfaces of bridges, tanks and other structures using abrasive blasting and then apply coatings by means of sprayers, brushes or rollers. They work with various blast medias and other materials and apply special coatings. Industrial painters must be able to mix paints, as well as do sandblasting and water blasting.

Industrial painters work outside in relatively mild weather. Work is seasonal and physically demanding. Most work is seven days a week and out-of-town for the season. New materials and methods tend to give more steady employment throughout the season. The work involves standing, bending, climbing and working with arms over the head much of the time.

Drywall finishers prepare unfinished interior drywall panels for painting by taping and finishing joints and imperfections. Using the wide, flat tip of a special trowel, drywall finishers spread joint compound into and along each side of the joint between two hung drywall panels and use a tape to cover the seams between panels, resulting in a uniform and almost perfect surface.

Drywall finishers work indoors, in an enclosed environment. The work involves standing, bending, climbing, lifting and working with arms over the head or outstretched much of the time.

Glaziers cut and install all types and sizes of glass, such as plate glass of all kinds and thickness, clear and heat absorbing window glass, obscure glass, mirrors, leaded glass panels and insulating glass units. They also fabricate and install curtain walls, aluminum entrances, store front, skylights and revolving doors. They install all types of door hardware and fit and install plastic and porcelain panels in metal and wood frames.

Glaziers work both indoors and outdoors, depending on the job. Window fabricating and some installations are done indoors. However, glaziers do much of their work outdoors or in unheated areas. Glaziers do a great deal of standing, lifting and carrying, with some work at heights.

Apprentices learn their trade through the earn while you learn model. This means they work and earn a living wage for themselves and their families, along with excellent health insurance and retirement benefits. As they progress through the registered apprenticeship program, they earn scheduled pay increases reflective of their increased skillset.

In many instances, an apprentice who tops out as a journeyman earns a higher wage and better benefits than a first-year college graduate. The earn while you learn model is a great way to avoid taking on thousands of dollars of student debt and even gives apprentices the ability to receive college credits through the Finishing Trades Institute of Ohio Region registered apprenticeship program at little or no cost to them.

While working for the Local’s signatory contractors, apprentices learn the tricks of the trade from skilled and experienced journeymen. Not only do the journeymen teach apprentices how to perform their work, but they help them learn how to work efficiently, complete quality work on time and do it right the first time.

Besides on-the-job training, apprentices also receive mandatory classroom instruction.

Held at one of the FTIOR’s state-of-the-art training facilities, classes are led by accredited professionals, who have spent years in the trade and are now dedicated to preparing the next generation of IUPAT members.

Begin the Apprenticeship Process

Become A Member Today

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