Some people work in offices. Lynelle Audrey Roberts works where the elements rule—cold, rain, and wildlife included.
“I’ve encountered otters that come up to us underneath the docks. They’re really curious,” she says. “I’ve encountered bears chasing moose on our projects. I’ve seen foxes coming up, curious. I even had a beaver go right through our spread…. Alaska’s pretty unique to the wildlife.”
A pile driver from Local 2520, Audrey started as a commercial fisherman in Bristol Bay before joining the Laborers Union in 1991. At 40, she became a pile driver, the oldest and only woman in her apprenticeship class. “I didn’t know. I was the only girl that was in my class as an apprentice. But being the oldest, I had a little bit more knowledge, – common sense.”
In her fifteen years as a Carpenter, she has seen more and more women entering the trades. “Females are getting received better in this position because we just, we show up and work… They are qualified, they’re trained, and they’re qualified to do the job.”
A job she remembers fondly was welding a dock in Cordova. “Cordova is a small fishing town. We were putting in a dock for Trident Seafoods. And I was called out as a welder. And it was my first job as a welder. And we’re in a boat welding. And so, it was shocking me, and I was getting shocked. And it was, yeah, it was fun.”
She knows Alaska’s work conditions aren’t for everyone “If somebody was coming up here to work in Alaska, I’d tell them to prepare for wind and rain and cold, dark. Be prepared for heat as well. Be prepared to work long hours, like 12 to 16-hour days because we just don’t have that window of opportunity to work because it’s just six to eight months of work that we get.”
For Audrey, the challenge is the reward. She’s built a career in one of the toughest environments, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Click here to view Audrey’s On the Spot.