Preparing for Micron, carpenters’ union to expand Salina training center in $3.6 million project

SALINA, N.Y. — The North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters (NASRCC) says it is planning for a $3.6 million project to expand the union’s training center at 6920 Princeton Court in the town of Salina, as the region prepares for Micron Technology Inc.’s arrival.

The union plans to triple the space of the 6,000-square-foot facility to 18,000 square feet, per a NASRCC announcement.

The larger facility will feature 28-foot ceilings for scaffold training, lift training, rigging, high-wall concrete training, and clean-room training. Construction is expected to begin this summer.

NASRCC say the purpose behind the expansion is to prepare for the “development needs of the region, most notably” the arrival of the Micron (NASDAQ: MU) chip-manufacturing hub in the town of Clay.

The expanded facility will meet the needs of a “rapidly growing” regional construction industry that requires both traditional and modern skills, NASRCC said. The union already offers programs that it developed to prepare carpenters to build “clean rooms” required for chip manufacturing, it said.

NASRCC made the announcement during a series of open houses for area students to visit the training center and get hands-on experience learning what it takes to enter a career in the construction trades.

“The expansion of the NASRCC training facility, located just minutes from the site of the new Micron development, will allow us to meet the rapidly growing overall demand for qualified crafts workers as well as those specifically required in the tech economy,” Jim Mason, NASRCC Central New York team lead and president of Local 277, said in a statement. “Our nearly 3,000 strong local membership will continue to grow and be the best positioned to take on the development needs of our community.”