Ironworkers from Newfoundland : Walking Iron (1986) - The Fifth Estate
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- Опубліковано 22 чер 2017
- Hana Gartner interviews high steel workers in New York City who have roots in Newfoundland. Gartner follows workers as they work on the third World Trade Centre tower and speaks with retired ironworkers who were some of the first to make the move from Newfoundland to the Big Apple.
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About the fifth estate : For four decades The Fifth Estate has been Canada's premier investigative documentary program. Hosts Bob McKeown, Gillian Findlay and Mark Kelley continue a tradition of provocative and fearless journalism. the fifth estate brings in-depth investigations that matter to Canadians - delivering a dazzling parade of political leaders, controversial characters and ordinary people whose lives were touched by triumph or tragedy.
Mega respect for these guys. Hard work is in their blood.
Drinking a 160z Bud on lunch break on the iron. Those were the good old days. To all my union brothers, stay safe out there.
i thought thatwas cool you wouldnt see that nowadays ...
Amen to that brother
Yeah, I usually drink 25 oz buds at lunch.
I want to be an ironworker but i have no family in it. Can i still be an ironworker?
Edgar Marquez yes
I don’t think you could find a more manly job then an ironworker. These guys have balls of steel.
A lot different these days,safety has changed a lot!
Balls of iron
I agree
A miner .
Where the iron begins 👍
Try “Steeplejack”
$40,000 a year in 1986 is the equivalent of $94,000 in 2020. Those dudes were making a killing, but they were also risking there life making that sweet money everyday they punched yhere time card.
true but 90k per year living on long island ain't that much
YOU must really come from a low life family if you think 40k is making a killing.....and is sweet money......
@@jadezee6316 Bet you wouldn't last a day up there. You're the low-life.
And Jade how much you make pumping gas and trolling UA-cam
@@jadezee6316 Low life family ? You really are just a pig ignorant idiot !
I started ironworking in the early 84 at 20 years old and did it until I was 48 .. I’m beat up, I fell 29 feet and loved it until I was about 35 .. lol ✌️
Slammin beers and smokin joints fer lunch then back up on the Iron.... Man.... CRAZY DAYS!!!!! LONG LIVE THE
IRONWORKERS!!!!!
We still do that but its frowned upon 😂
Yeah but they don't live very long do they. They fall off the damned structure
@@Brigidz most got squashed. Na honestly you cant fall. When you flying high.
It's not the fall just the stop...
and Carpenters! Local 2078!
Newfoundlanders were there for us when the WTC went up, and when it came down. Brave, big-hearted and generous people.
The very best people there is period.
100% I always said if you can’t get along with a Newfie there’s something wrong with you
I’ve been a farmer all my life. Hard work. I’d be proud to by these hardworking guys a beer.
Buy*
So you stand near or close to their beer? Youd be "by" it??
@@kyledrywallpuncherpro135 By beer I withstand fear - of heights.
B'y
Look like working in the farm never taught you no grammar
The Irish lilt coming through in their accent is unreal 🇮🇪
My grandfather was an iron worker all his life. Miss him dearly. 😔
real men
I am a local 40 retired ironworker who worked on wtc7 with those great men when I retired I was making more than 2ook a year 🥰
U deserved more!!!
and to think, it was all wiped out on 9-11....sad....
I know YOU know that mere fires didn’t bring your tower down. Someone rigged it to blow.
@@conzmoleman controlled underground nukes
i think there is far more support for the use of thermite. but i remain agnostic and open to other possibilities. the most important thing is that qualified engineers have proven the NIST explanation is impossible and their investigation was fraudulent. we need a new independent and international commission to seek truth and obtain justice.
As a NYC construction worker I greatly appreciate this video, thank you!
As a watermelon farmer who owns a pet snake I agree!
Greasy, thank you for your service .
That’s insane. I’ll never complain about my job ever again. Real hard working men.
16:55 Those men were heros.And 15 years later "Grandpas building" was destroyed and many lost their lives. I still remember that sad moment and where i was,when it happened. My sincere condolences and comfort to all who lost someone at 9/11 2001. R.I.P
Makes you sick to you’re stomach when we found out the towers was an INSIDE JOB! The Bush family are pieces of 💩
Different breed of human right here! Im a scaffolder by trade (it scares the life out of me) and even I take my hat off to these guys. You gotta have some HUGE balls for this, good balance, crazy work ethic and a good sense of humour!
I WENT FROM SCAFFOLD AND HYDROMOBILE ERECTOR TO IRONWORKER.I THOUGHT THE SAME THING YOU DO AND JUMPED RIGHT INTO IT.WISH I WOULD OF DONE IT WAY SOONER
It’s pretty hard to go up there with HUGE balls.
Yea mostly white
People don't realize how hard or dangerous this type of work is much respect to these guys when your on even a16 story building it's nerve racking
My grandpa was an ironworker for 21 years and never knew it was like this... Absolutely insane. Brings a new found respect for the man.
Not to forget the Fitzgeralds of Conception Bay, Newfoundland. My husband's grandfather was one of the men who put the American flag atop the Empire State Building upon its completion.
Wow! Thanks for sharing that. I went to the top a few times of Empire State Building. Very breezy 🙂
Had a Special welcome to the East Coast and to me Brunch for my then wife at the World Trade Center in 1989
@@kingdoc3262 Yup, went to New York City in 2018 and visited the Empire State Building. It felt so wonderful being in a building that my husband's grandfather helped to build almost a century ago. AMAZING. And WHAT A BUILDING IT IS. It is so beautiful, with marble and brass, and just unbelievable structure and design. Ya, I was in AWE. Loved it!!
The days when you could drink a beer and holla at a pretty lady, now it’s called addiction and sexual harassment. The good ole days are truly missed!
daz6704: TBH it didn't look like the ladies walking by liked the hollering, they seemed to just put up with it as an annoyance. Though yeah today they'd be screaming sexual harassment.
@@jefflewis4 Yeah but deep down I'll bet they got some satisfaction out of it, knowing the men thought them worthy of it.
@@henerymag no actually talk to a women about that they don't like it
@@JustJanitor yes they find it embarrassing, but women like to know men like them, normal one's anyway haha.
Well said!
All these guys Are what 60 to 70 years old now,,just hard to believe time goes so fast ,,it be neat to see what all the guys look like today if still alive..
Who cares?
@@Veggamattic you do apparently!!
@@getrdunok That went over your head I see.
@@Veggamattic my name got ya ,,yep it did so go over my head LMAO good one !! Happy new years bud ,taker easy
@martin joseph lol
You don't know how proud you feel to say I helped build that bridge or building . It's a hard job for hard men. You got to be a special kind of person to spend your day's doing this kind of work. It's a proud trade .
I’m a construction manager and have mad respect for iron workers, all workers really.
Ray Corbett’s a hero for those catch nets being put into place not only saves workers saves people on the ground from falling debris well mostly
"Ooooh, we are lucky, darn near lost a 400 dollar hand cart!"
- B L A Z Z I N G S A D D L E S
Weird watching this and knowing fifteen years later these towers came down like they did. Fascinating doc though
Chris Dooley yeah all that work wasted . Not to mention the lives😟
Roman T some good insurance money it came down for
It would make an interesting interview of men that worked on building it - their views on it coming down and the new one that replaced it.
This is building 3 the one they said they never done a controlled demo on but it sure looked like it
The American Government are fuckers aren't they huh!?
A bunch of good old Canadian boys. From Newfoundland to New York what a different world. I'm a roofer but I don't know if I could work up that high. But I'm sure you get used to it just like everything else. You wouldn't have much choice if you wanted to keep your family fed. In the video when that guy said after a night out and you take that first step I know exactly what he's talking about. After a night of drinking it like the ground bounces back at you but it does wear off and the day goes on.
A rare breed for sure, god bless them and keep them safe, (local 11 ironworkers)
Yea rare breed all white guys
Loved doing ironwork. It was by far the hardest , most rewarding job I’ve ever had. I never worried about falling . It’s the other people who get you hurt. My boss nearly got me killed and got me hurt very bad. We were standing a four story concrete panel. We went to lunch and returned. He had the 3rd story kicker brace put up before getting the panel level. The 3rd story panel brace fell and hit me on my right side of the head , smashed my hand and shoulder. I came back to and was on one knee. After ten minutes I thought I was ready to go back to work. Not knowing I needed 25 stitches on my face. Ended up having 3 major surgeries. Despite all that I’m still working although I’m getting close to not being able to do it anymore.
Respect
Respect from Ireland 🇮🇪
Im sorry to hear that. Out of curiosity, what comes next in life if being able to work goes south?
@@jrh2883 that is why you need to invest
Some dudes never learn.
Grandpa came from Conception Harbor in the twenties; he and my father and 2 uncles and some cousins worked on almost every important building in NYC til about the early 2000's I have a piece of steel cut into shape of WTC from the site that dad's local 40 brothers brought to his funeral in 2003- RIP and love. Some hard drinking Irish cowboys with some great stories.
My anxiety when it comes to Heights, is kicking in a little bit while watching this LOL
Love old documentaries.
As an Ironworker now this is a great video. Kind of bittersweet though because there's tons of stuff on here that would NEVER fly today.
No more beer, no more cat calling, integration, bi monthly sensitivity training, and more levels of beaucracy. I doubt any of them would want to stick around.
@@dachicagoan8185I'm pretty sure beer cause most of the accidents up there, so maybe that's a good idea that beer is not part of it anymore
@@videogamenoob100I imagine the wind up there had to be very strong gusts also
What a great video. Family, hard work, dedication, history and Pride.
It’s hard to find people with all these qualities now a days. Those men who worked on all those buildings had nerves of steel. They showed up for work knowing it might be there last but worked hard anyways to provide for their loved ones.
Sure they drank beer on there break time but they knew their limits and I’m sure it steadied their hands a time or two.
I tip my hats to the families that left where they where from to go work and provided for what mattered most FAMILY.
It’s sad that the trades centres are not there today to show people that what family members had accomplished.
Sure they had a drink or two before they went up on those girders. Would any of us do it without a drink or two/three?
Man, I WOULD DRINK after THAT work...no questions about it!
I've never met 1 bad Newfoundlander salt of the earth great people,genuine honest hardworking people who love a laugh
ya true just never lend them money. I swear its in the newfie code to borrow when needed with no intent to ever pay back.
@@professorkaos2781 I'm from newfoundland and I let people borrow money all the time, rarely get it back. I honestly think the understanding is "borrow" means donating.
@@arseface2k934 newfoundland looks nice, have been to America before?
40 plus years as an operating engineer, local 49, my favorite job was hoisting iron. Nothing more satisfying than getting on with a good raising gang. If you had good connectors, things went like clockwork. We knew what we were doing by instinct as much as anything. Always a great sense of accomplishment at the end of a shift.
Huge respect to crane ops. I am a entertainment rigger/steel climber for stadium shows and working with a great crane op is an amazing experience.
I’m a union insulator and have been for 22 years. I honestly don’t care union or non union, much respect to those who helped build this great country before me and after me.
Massive respect to these guys.
I love stuff like this! Thanks for uploading 👍
Great video, this was exciting to watch. I'm a union pipe fitter from nova scotia, a little province next to Newfoundland. i work along ironworkers and with newfies. id love to go back and work in this time. - UA 56 Halifax, Nova Scotia
3 years later how are ya not much difference between us and Nova Scotia
Forgive my play on words....
Men of steel!
My hat's off to these men!
Dare you say, hat's off to these SUPERMEN 🦸🏼♂️
My father in-law was an iron worker,hardest working man I ever met.Had a six pack yet never did a sit up in his life,just a hard working man.Wayne Gregor was a beast of a worker,but a saint of a man.
Thank you for sharing with us, people like your father-in-law are rare these days!
OH MY GOD MY DADS IN THIS VIDEO THIS IS CRAZY
U lived in his ballsack at 1 time
Is he still alive
Hats off to your Dad.
Unsung heroes.... never forgotten from what they left behind.
Fascinating watching buildings in New York being built in the 80’s by these Iron Workers (or steel erectors as they are known in the UK)... beer at lunch time and a few after work... fantastic film.
One day I’ll get back to the big apple, love the place and 16yrs have flown by since I was last there.
Excellent reporting by the 5th in 1986. Very cool
I worked as an Ironworker in Bull Arm , Newfoundland . Great guys to work with . Local 764 . 👍
I'm proud to be an ironworker.
Use ironworking as a stepping stone while you still can move on up into another trade
Mad respect for these men !!! Hardwork is always appreciated
Watching in Dublin ireland 2018 great vid
The UK has Fred Dibnah
@@ogarnogin5160 Ireland used to be a nation of fred dibnahs. I loved his tv series.
Watching near Cardiff, South Wales in 2020 lol
Kildare 2020
Great video. Always love my ironworkers, the crews are some of the best characters with great stories and jokes. Not to mention the work is such a fine art requiring athletic skill.
I’ve said this on every other Ironworker video I’ve seen but I’ll say it again. YA’LL DON’T GET PAID ENOUGH.
I’m a sheet metal worker and it blows my mind that I make more on my check as an apprentice than my buddy does as a journeyman ironworker. Much respect.
Canadian East Coast Boy Proud member of the Boilermakers 146 Alberta !!
Keep up the great work guys, and more of same for your viewers.
I heard many years ago that a lot of what used to be called "spidermen" were native American or of decent from and worked in the 1900s onward. Love this, thank you.
As a Newfoundlander, mad respect. My great uncle is one of the guys on the beam eating lunch in that famous 1932 picture from NY. Most of the guys in that picture are from Bonavista Bay, and the rest Americans.
Interesting video every surname mentioned is Irish:
Kelly, Doyle, Sullivan, Costello, Quinnlinn, Healy, Joy, Kennedy. And the old men have Irish character and accents too, their fishermen ancestors came to Newfoundland from Ireland
The union especially back then would hire their own countries people irish would hire Irish Italians Hire Italian. Was like that even in the early 00s doubt it's like that still though.
Some just came to New York
My grandad spent most of his working life at sea, on the big cargo ships, and he visited the US and Canada, Australia, Asia etc and he visited ports like Jersey City opposite Manhatten on many occasions from the 1940's to the early 1970's, he once described how the sunlight would glisten off the thousands of windows in the skyscrapers of Manhatten, and this video reminds me of some of the great stories he told me growing up.
Funnily enough, the only job he had that wasn't on a ship, was as a steel erector (the British term for iron worker).
I am a retired crane operator and have worked the high steel plenty. Haven't met an Iron Worker from anywhere that can hold a candle to my Mohawks!! New Foundland or otherwise. Especially on the really heavy pieces.
Never have ever heard of one falling. 40 years in the business. Never met a hungover one either.
You ever met a black one
4 of My mom’s brothers were Iron workers in New York.
One worked on the twin towers and another lost his life as a young man walking steel.
So many of her family from NFLD were iron workers in Brooklyn area.
I’m fascinated with these guys and this work
These men have a strong brotherhood !
Newfoundlanders are some of the best people l’ve ever met
Sara Allison that's coz they are all probably of Irish decent 😉 nice to hear u say that tho 👍
@@Ken_Dalton
Costello doesnt sound Irish to me...
Lol
splash it don't sound Irish. But its pretty common here.. It's prob Saxon name,like mine!! But I'm Irish
@@Ken_Dalton
Costello is pretty common in Italy aswell.
splash haha really? 🤔 crazy. Maybe they are of Irish decent lol. Kidding.. I never knew it was a common Italian name tho, so that's good to know. Appreciated 👌
That's the way we did it. I truly miss those days.
Such an awesome documentary! That was a total trip into the past on a subject I knew absolutely NOTHING about and to see how much went into putting up the towers truly hits you in the feels.
What a beautiful piece of history amazing nothing like a man working a man’s job! 💪
They sound so Irish, it’s pretty amazing
The Costello's have County Mayo connections.
Most Newfoundlanders have Wexford and Waterford connections, followed by Cork. (When focusing on Ireland) the English side is mostly the West Country and Liverpool
Man 40k a year in 1986? I make 31k a year 2018.
Learn a trade.
Learn a trade?
learn a trade ?¿
Get a trades job
Nearly 90k in 2018...not even a comparison
One if the best docs ive ever watched
I worked for john Costello a couple years back, upper east side
@Mar Ton I worked for Johnny too. Ole guy went off the deep end. Goes by Johnette nowadays. Black boyfriend. Great iron worker though.
Mar Ton he was good. Good pusher
Kindly help with the contacts emails of metal manufacturing exporting companies.. Much appreciated !
@Harry Clams Italian
C Klan Elvis Costello's real name is Declan McManus. Regardless all the Costellos I know are Irish.
That guys house ( Jerry) was built for the middle class now they go for 6 7 8 hundred thousand. Terrible how the middle class was just forgotten. Now you got to be rich to by them houses
It's happening everywhere. Wages are not keeping pace with inflation. Things will rebalance after the 2nd Great Depression which we're heading towards with all the consumer debt. A lot of people won't survive it though. These older guys sound toughened because they are what was left after the 1st Great Depression. People who were not tough died of disease brought on or complicated by starvation or because they just gave up.
I was thinking the same thing!
Maybe I'm paranoid, but it kinda seems as though this "squeezing out" of the middle class has been intentional. Now, more people are poor, than before, or on government assistance. The middle class has shrunk considerably. Also, the second biggest job market in the US is retail. The biggest is - I believe - medical. A bunch of ailing consumers... Sad...
Or be an Ironworker
Ridiculous isn't it! Same with London!
I love being an Iron Worker!
LOL me to Paul!!!!! 37 for life!!!
@@bayside833 Good to hear brother! 37 here as well, ironically lol
@@pab4435 LOL I know I’m in your local 😂 that’s why I said it
This should be part of todays educational system.
Hard work 101. Considering no one wants to work anymore, this should be part of history curriculum.
She did a great job interviewing them
what a great documentary
If i drink beer on my lunch i dont wanna go back to work
me too lol i wanna keep drinking
I can't believe I get to flex on this type of subject but... /flex, our crew did it all the time, Foreman would hide us all a sip of gin around the corner every few hours. Hahahaha but hey, it must be the newfoundlander blood.
one time years ago me and a co-worker split a bottle of Żubrówka Bison Grass Vodka during lunch break
he passed out in the truck, I continued working sheet metal ductwork on a ladder....... by God I do not know how I did it, but I remember doing a good job
our third co-worker didn't drink and we got home safely
that was a day....
Awesome story about Newfoundland guys!
Those are my brothers I'm a Union Ironworker from local 378 Oakland. iron workers get up on it . We Rule when it comes to hanging iron ,nobody can build a skyscraper or s Bridge better or faster than we can in the world. There is no second best and there is no rival... we are the best in the world. ☆Union Ironworkers Dangerous by Choice☆
378 during the 80’s here. My dad was 378 for 38 years.
Something about this documentary makes me feel so relaxed & warm.
i really needed this right now
Being from Newfoundland it blows my mind that this video has more views than people on the island
Drinking beer at the jobsite 6:33. Wow imagine that.
Amazing interview
Buzy looking at you. Forget the 40.000
Tbh this is history. Many will not see this. But the few that do, we know and can pay our respects!
Cheers to these wonderful Gents!
I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary, Thanks for uploading , scaffolder in the UK, although I actually prefer the term scaffold builder as the Americans say.
Ifs scaffolder in Alberta too
Interesting, I remember seeing a film that was about High Rise iron workers, the film gave credit to many American Indians from the Oneida tripe in northern New York. The test of the work must be due to the Irish men from Canada. Actually, I do believe most Americans regard Canadians co-workers in every important industry or high tech operation. I know many Canadians were involved in NASA, certainly working for Boeing, mining, entertainment, etc. it's not so much singling out Canadians but understanding that what ever we accomplish is due to a large extent with North Americans, Canadian or US, the border doesn't mean much
Bobby Paluga French Canadians often were drunk terrible at math and measuring. Still aren’t respected
martin joseph that was perception it’s not my views and my great grandparents were French Canadian and spoke French.
Rip my father ! Local 40 high steel union. My father fell and lost his career. But I still respect and love him. Rip Marty Kennedy.
I love this documentary style on the workers US
Hurts a bit to see the guy near the end so happy that he got to help on the WTC towers.
Pretty funny to see alot that "The good ol' days when men were men, not like now" bullshit!
They still stand and walk the steel all across America and Canada you know! Just gotta go and apply at the Union hall... But make sure you tell them how tough you were in the UA-cam comments!
Why don't you, tough guy?!
A few years ago, my wife and I went to Atlantic Canada...via New Brunswick. We visited Halifax, and Prince Edward Island. We drove on the Confederation Bridge and returned by ferry...I was pleased to visit the airplane museum. I was amazed at the large size of the cockpit of the "stringbag". An amazing airplane that did so much in ww2.
What does this have to do with Newfoundland? 🤣
An act of contrition goes along with walking high steel❤
My father was a union pile driver “454” he came here when he was 19 from Newfoundland. And passed away at 87 and still had his accent... never walked out the door in the morning without kneeling down and saying a prayer to keep him and his gang safe ... you are greatly missed pop
I've never seen a documentary on the building of world trade center 7. It's so sad that this building only lasted about 15 years.
The fact the company didnt want to install a safety net after 3 deaths is baffling
Would love to hear their opinion on how their bldgs. came down? Especially Tower 7. Also high iron workers are lucky to make $50k/yr. now. No way... Fantastic video...
NYC ironworkers make more than double 50k / year now
You guys are a special breed god bless you
I read a book on New York ironworkers and the Fish were my favorites. I’m a Reb from Louisiana.
Drinking beer on lunch break nice
When eminem wrote that line "palms are sweaty " he was watching one of these highrise videos.
All the hard work an the bushes brought it down with people in it
Union Ironworker here. The trade center recovery process is what messed up my lungs.
The guy got his thumb pulled off tendon to the elbow and all😖🤯🥶🥵
That must have stung.