Nobody Taps It Better
Chicago
“Proud to be AFSCME” would have been a fitting banner at the American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) national pipetapping competition held here in June. Teams of AFSCME members from Honolulu and Louisville, Ky., brought home top prizes.
The four-member Honolulu team entered this year’s contest as returning national champions. Two are members of Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA)/ AFSCME Local 152; two are from United Public Workers (UPW)/AFSCME Local 646.
Each contest, whether held at the regional, national or international level, is based on how fast a team can install the pipelines with no water leaks. Using a tapping machine, the tappers drill a hole in a 6” cast iron water main and set a valve in that hole. While two members are doing this, a third member is preparing the copper line connecting the valve at the water main to another curb stop valve and then to the valve at the meter servicing the home. The fourth member of the team is allowed to coach but cannot touch the equipment.
Honolulu’s team, composed of HGEA members Gary Fernandez and Daryl Hiromoto and UPW members Kawika Ing and Mark Luberts, retained their national championship with a time of 1:07.35 minutes. In October, they will represent the United States in London at an international competition; they will compete again next year at the nationals in Denver.
Although “The Louisville Pure Tappers of Local 1683 (Council 988),” may sound like a dance troupe, this fast-paced and highly skilled team of AFSCME women “taps” and installs new home water service pipelines for fun and wins contests along the way.
The Pure Tappers, Michelle Durham, Katie Farrow, Jayne Guidry and Cecilia Saurer, with a time of 2 minutes, 41 seconds, captured third place. They competed against three other women’s teams from Nevada, Connecticut and Oregon. But because there were not five women’s teams as specified in the regulations, they were technically competing against men’s teams as well.
It’s good to remind ourselves that AFSCME is the union of champions. Nobody does it better.
