Local Union 635 member Chantelle (CC) Chase was trying to earn a living working at a bakery in Fairbanks, Alaska. As a baker, her pay had peaked at just thirteen dollars per hour without benefits. She’d never tried carpentry before but had some experience working in agriculture and environmental conservation, so she was no stranger to hard, hands-on labor. She later came across a Union Carpenter job advertisement, applied and joined the Apprenticeship shortly after.
She relocated to Idaho in 2018 and since 2020, she’s worked on and off for Micron in Boise. She says that the CHIPS and Science Act has offered her job security as investments in technological infrastructure continue to reshape the landscape of the construction industry in Idaho.