Welcome Shannon Port, a first-year commercial painting apprentice in Local 6! Her favorite part about her trade is that the union provides her with a future.

Growing up with a father who’s a retired union member, she saw how his work supported her entire family.

Before her apprenticeship and before COVID, she worked as a bartender, doing estate cleanouts, and as a hair stylist, which helped her understand color theory, a skill that now serves her in her work as a painter. She now has a career that’s not “feast or famine.”

Her apprenticeship provides her with a positive outlook for her future and family. Her potential to grow as a DC 57 member is something that she doubts she could get anywhere else.

What would Shannon tell someone interested in DC 57? “They should do it, they shouldn’t hesitate. I’m super pumped to be here.”