Santa Rosa Training Specialist Steve Christani

New Santa Rosa Training Specialist Hired

Long time Local 38 plumbing and medical gas instructor Steve Christani has been hired as the first full-time training specialist based at the union’s Joseph P. Mazzola Training Center in Santa Rosa.

   “This is a real milestone for our training department,” said Training Director Steve Mazzola, in announcing the hiring. “Over the past 10 years we have almost doubled our apprentice numbers in the north bay. We continue to work hard to make sure that our Santa Rosa training center meets the expanding needs of our North Bay training program. We have always had an exceptional group of instructors but reaching the level where we can use a full-time training specialist in the north bay is a tribute to our organizing and continued growth.”

    “I’m excited to have Brother Christani join our Training Department team,” said Mazzola. “Throughout his tenure as a Local 38 instructor he has already proven to be a great asset for our department, and I’m delighted to have him play an even larger role in our program. He is a great asset.”

    “We have always had a great presence in the North Bay,” agreed Local 38 Business Manger Larry Mazzola, Jr., “But the past 10 years have seen a lot of growth in work north of the Golden Gate, and the continued expansion of the north bay portion of our training program has done a great job keeping up with that growing demand. I believe the establishment of a North Bay training specialist working full time at our training center is a reflection of the growth of that sector of the union, and a real reflection of the growth of union trades in the area.”

    Brother Christani joins the Local 38 Training Department full time staff after spending the last 13 years teaching med gas and 1st-5th period plumbing apprentices in the north bay. For the past 10 years he  has worked for Peterson Mechanical as a foreman and superintendent. Prior to joining Peterson he worked for numerous mechanical shops and even did a five year stint with the Sonoma County Water Agency.

    “I am really grateful and excited to have this opportunity,” said Brother Christani. “I can’t tell you how valuable my time as a Local 38 instructor has been to me personally and professionally. I have had the chance to work with and learn from some of the best technicians in the pipe trades, in addition to having the opportunity to pass that information on to a new generation of Local 38 members.

    Steve will continue to teach 1st-5th period plumbing apprentices, as well as providing med gas instruction in the North Bay. In addition, he will take on the duties of principal of the Santa Rosa school, including all the unusual responsibilities of administering a school under quarantine. 

    “Training Director Steve Mazzola and Curriculum Coordinator Liam Devlin and everyone in the Local 38 Training Department are really doing a great job with our training program, both the apprentice and supplemental journeylevel classes,”  Christani said. “I am proud and honored to have this chance to help build the future of Local 38. Training is the backbone of our union, and the primary thing that differentiates our members from our non-union counterparts, and I am delighted to be able to contribute.”

    A second generation Local 38 family, Steve graduated from the Local 38 apprentice program in 1977. He currently lives in Windsor with his wife Gini. He is the father of seven adult children.