Meet the Community

Ed Arevalo is a third-year apprentice from Carpenters Local 291 in Albany. Before becoming a carpentry apprentice, Arevalo joined the U.S. Marine Corps at the age of 17. He held positions including infantry rifleman, automatic rifleman, grenadier, team leader and assistant squad leader, in addition to serving two overseas deployments.

A few years later, Arevalo pursued the traditional college pathway but by his sophomore year, he was seeking something different. He researched the trades, found more information about the Carpenters union, and took the steps to join the organization. He was attracted to the pay, benefits, training, community, and the sense of pride that came with the Brotherhood.

Brother Arevalo was born in Mexico, raised in California, and has settled in upstate New York. He shares that the union has positively impacted his life by giving him “the ability to meet different people from around my Local and from every state, as well as having a strong, supportive community.”

Pictured is Brother Arevalo working at the Pattersonville Travel Plaza for LeChase Construction in upstate New York.