We do a lot of murals, we did a flower mural.
We did a cloud mural.
I love art.
So the fact that I can incorporate two things that I love is just amazing to me.
We need women. Construction needs, we need more, more women.
My name is Zandra John.
I'm 28 years old.
I'm from Flatbush, Brooklyn, and I work for Local 7 as a tile setter.
This year, I look forward to making $65,000 to $70,000 with overtime.
I fell in love with building, I was about four years old.
My dad came home, he had like little pieces of wood and we built a dollhouse together.
We even built some little couches, little chairs, little tables.
So that's when I really first fell in love with construction.
My mom, she didn't want me to be in construction.
Before I got into tile-setting, I was a teacher's assistant.
I was going to school to become a teacher.
I love kids so much, but I felt like something was missing.
Like I wasn't really doing what I wanted to do.
I knew $12 would not pay off my loans, it would not help me pay tuition.
It really wouldn't do much but just help me get by.
So I was like, you know what, Zee? It's time.
So I just went on the Internet.
I Googled "women in construction," and that's when I found NEW.
That was really the start of a whole nother journey for me, because I will do the TA in
the daytime and I would just leave there and go straight to NEW.
Pre-apprenticeship, you get timed every day.
In tile, it's about speed, who's fast, who's fast and who's good.
So they always made sure that we would finish at a certain time.
So when we get in the field, we'll be ready forpeople that rush.
My first job, I was so, so nervous.
I was nervous because I had to get on the hoist and the hoist was going to the 26th
floor. I wasn't really that comfortable with being in the hoist because it's outside and
it was a little bit scary for me.
But after the first few days, it wasn't that bad.
When you're an apprentice, that's really the first job they give you, is to be like a
helper. Because in tile, we have a mechanic, we have the apprentice and we have a helper.
Alright. Going from $12 an hour to $32 an hour, it's
huge, a huge difference for me.
I can save more. I can help my mom more.
And also recently I've been thinking about saving for my car.
It's only gonna be more, the more you work, the more you make.
When I become a journeyman, my main thing is reallyto just help the apprentices,
especially if it's girls because, me coming in, I see that they don't give us that much
help. Being a female in construction, there's not many of us.
So it was like nerve-racking and exciting at the same time.
Like, yeah, I'm here.
But also, I know you're mad I'm here, but I'm happy I'm here.
But I know you're upset I'm here. Normal day, I wake up at 5:45.
I work in Manhattan.
It takes me about 40 minutes to get to work.
I come in about 6:45, I start work around 7,
7:10. When I get in, I get into work, I go to my gang boss, get my tools.
Go to my foreman ask him, "What am I doing today?" When I'm done setting up my
mechanic, then I do my task.
Either I'm tiling or I'm grouting or I'm mixing mud.
First year or two you be like you're a helper.
Helper make thinset. Helper grouts, helper cuts tiles, stuff like that.
I get my tile together, I get my grinder, make sure I have my water, make sure my wet
saw is on. If I'm going high, I got my scaffold.
So usually for the whole day it's just me, my scaffold, my tiles, my water.
And I finish my bathroom or half my bathroom.
Wrap up around 2:30, 3:00.
And if you have overtime, which is great, I love overtime.
Regular day is 7 to 3, overtime usually 3:30 to 5,
6 o'clock. They were kind of tough on me my first day.
I'm not going to lie. Being the only woman onthe job, sometimes it can get weird
because like the guys are scared to say good morning.
So they would just stare at you a little bit.
Sometimes guys make little comments like, "Oh, what made you want to get into
construction?" Shouldn't you be doing this?
Shouldn't you be at home?"
I'm like, "Shouldn't you be at home?" It's already difficult being a woman in
construction, but also you know, being a Black woman in construction, it's very
difficult because there's a lot of racist people.
They would draw things in the bathroom, they will put Trump stuff
or n-word stuff.
Or they would draw a picture, they would draw a monkey picture, things like that.
They even had, when I was at LaGuardia, they hadNazi stuff in the bathroom.
Some people really, really go out of their way just to make you feel like uncomfortable
and I don't understand why. Some guys want to make you feel uncomfortable, like, "You don't
belong here. I'm going to make sure you come to work and you feel like you don't want to
be here." But no, I do want to be here.
So I'm going to show you that I belong here and that I want to be here.
I met my mentor my first day.
I met a great guy in my union.
And since that first day of work, he's been there for me.
Due to the pandemic I lost hours in my apprenticeship.
Right now I'm at 50%.
I should be a little higher, but I will be at 100% soon where I'll be a journeywoman
making all the cash. Cha-ching!
The period of time where I felt depressed because I wasn't working,
it was hard to pull myself out of that because I was just home every day.
I met some amazing guys in the union.
Even when I'm not working. They lift me up.
They talk to me. They ask me if I'm OK, do I need anything?
And honestly, my mom, she helped me a lot.
She'd be like "Zee, it's OK."
Because my brother, he's in construction as well.
So he would call me, he would tell me, like, "Zee,it's gonna be OK.
Do you need money? Do you anything?
So, I really had a lot of people behind me.
After the depression.
Like I got more courage.
Sometimes I get anxiety calling people I don't know.
So I really I had I was depressed and I had anxiety.
So I'm like, "Oh, my God, how am I even going to get back to work if I'm not even
trying?" And I just got some courage one day, I'm like, you know what?
Let me just go to the meeting.
I'm going to make some phone calls.
And even if I don't get back to work soon, at least I tried and I know that I tried.
We as women are strong enough to do anything, anything that men can do, just go for it.
Don't let anyone say you can't do it.
You're not supposed to?
No. We're supposed to.
We're supposed to be here. They need us here.
So anything you want to do in the field, tile,ironwork, anything, go, go for it.
You can do it and you will do it.
And you will be in the field, and they will bejealous. That's it.