Union plumbers provide free repairs on Water’s Off day of service

April 10, 2025 by

Jared Solway (L), Tyler McGhan and Erika Reil.

Erika Reil, Tyler McGhan and Jared Solway spent a Saturday morning last month making plumbing repairs at the home of a Marine veteran in St. Paul’s West Seventh neighborhood.

They put a new seat on a basement toilet and replaced its fill valve and flapper to stop it from running. Upstairs, the crew removed and reinstalled the hot and cold faucets on a new bathroom sink, after a handyman installed them backwards.

And best of all for the homeowner, Reil, McGhan and Solway did the work for free as part of Water’s Off, their union’s annual day of service.

Sponsored by St. Paul Plumbers Local 34 and Minneapolis Local 15, the event provides free service calls to low-income, senior and disabled homeowners in the Twin Cities. Journey workers and apprentices volunteer their skills, and union contractors donate any supplies and parts needed to complete the repairs.

Since its founding in 1994, union volunteers have given more than 14,000 hours of their services to over 4,000 households at a value of over $2 million. And that doesn’t include the savings on their future water bills.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize how much plumbing they use in their daily life,” Reil said. “They don’t think about it – until they need it.”

Reil, a Local 34 member, works as a foreman with Modern Heating and Air. Both McGhan and Solway are in the second year of Local 34’s apprenticeship program and employed by Mike’s Custom Mechanical.

Local Community Action Partner-ship agencies help unions identify homeowners in need of assistance.

Find a list of union residential plumbers in the Twin Cities at members.minnesotamca.org/directory.

– Michael Moore, Union Advocate editor

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After pandemic hiatus, Plumbers union brings back Water’s Off service day

April 25, 2022 by

Brett Bernhjelm and Julia Kunze pause for a photo with Dave Hallis, a disabled Navy veteran whose Maplewood home needed plumbing repairs. Bernhjelm is a military veteran, too, having served six years in the Minnesota National Guard.

Dave Hallis’ kitchen drain needed more than a quick fix, and caulking in the disabled Navy veteran’s roll-in shower had begun to separate.

So when Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties called Hallis in March to see if he could use some free plumbing repairs, the timing couldn’t have been better.

Hallis was one of 25 Twin Cities homeowners who received free service through local union plumbers’ annual Water’s Off service initiative March 26.

“I’ve had a couple plumbers come in, but it would just continue leaking,” said Hallis, who lives in a Maplewood mobile home. “Without this help, these repairs wouldn’t be getting done because financially I am strapped. I was worried it would create more damage because hardwood floors and water don’t mix.”

Making the repairs in Hallis’ home were two volunteer members of St. Paul Plumbers Local 34, Brett Bernhjelm and Julia Kunze. They replaced the leaking pipes beneath Hallis’ kitchen sink, recaulked his shower and did a walk-through inspection of the rest of his home’s plumbing.

“It’s a good thing it’s getting fixed today,” said Bernhjelm, a 19-year member of Local 34. “The band-aids that had been put on were not going to work.”

Since Water’s Off started in 1991, union plumbers have donated more than 13,000 hours of skilled labor, at a value of over $2 million. Their contractors, members of the Minnesota Mechanical Contractors Association and the Metro Plumbing Heating and Cooling Contractors, pick up the cost of parts and other supplies.

“Giving back to our communities is one of our core union principles, so once we identified the problem, we knew we needed to help,” said David Ybarra, president of the Minnesota Pipe Trades Association.

“By providing free plumbing repairs and inspections, this program not only saves these homeowners money, it lifts a weight off their shoulders and brings the community together,” said Marcia Paulson of Community Action Partnership.

For Kunze, a third-year apprentice, it was her first time volunteering with Water’s Off, which had been canceled in each of the previous two years because of the pandemic. She said it won’t be her last.

“I just like to give back to the community, especially for a veteran who has fought for our country,” Kunze said. “It’s an amazing honor.”

Bernhjelm is a veteran too, having served six years in the Minnesota National Guard. He and Hallis shared a laugh when Hallis successfully guessed which branch of the military Bernhjelm had served.

“I got the feeling you were an Army man,” Hallis said.

Those are the connections, for Bernhjelm, that make volunteering with Water’s Off worthwhile.

“Other people don’t have the training to fix things that we, as union plumbers, can easily fix,” Bernhjelm said. “And it’s great to run into people like David. He served us, and it’s an honor to be able to serve him.”

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Unions, contractors provide plumbing repairs to homeowners in need

April 12, 2018 by

Union volunteers working on St. Paul’s East Side include (L to R) Forrest Callahan (Local 34), Curtiss Cross (Local 15), Sara Gysbers (15), Tasha Lawrence (34), Jack Lawrence (15) and Stuart Kane.

Union plumbers and contractors held their annual “Water’s Off” service day Saturday, providing free repairs and inspections to low-income, elderly and disabled homeowners in the Twin Cities and Rochester.

More than 100 volunteers provided no-charge service to about 75 homeowners this year.

Minnesota apprentices and journey-level plumbers have given up more than 11,000 volunteer hours since “Water’s Off” began in 1994, providing over $1.5 million worth of repairs to 3,500 households statewide.

Union contractors, meanwhile, provide replacement parts at no cost to the homeowners.

In addition to helping those in need, “Water’s Off” boosts water conservation efforts in the region – a driving motivation behind the project’s founding 24 years ago. After working with utility companies, Minnesota Pipe Trades President David Ybarra recalled, union plumbers found that those who could least afford plumbing services were the same homeowners with the largest water bills.

“Giving back to our communities is one of our core union principles, so once we identified the problem, we knew we needed to help,” Ybarra said.

The program developed in Minnesota now serves as a model for other volunteer programs across the country.

Plumbers Local 34 apprentices gather for a photo before Water’s Off 2018.

 

St. Paul Plumbers Local 34 turned out nearly as many apprentices (33) as journey-level members (49) this year – an encouraging sign for the future of the program. Together, they provided repairs to 24 homeowners in the East Metro.

“These volunteers aren’t just fixing a leaky toilet,” said Marcia Paulson, the program manager for Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties, which identifies homeowners in need of assistance. “They’re saving money for homeowners and showing that someone’s looking out for them.”

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On annual service day, union plumbers provide $70,000 in service, repairs

April 6, 2017 by

Plumbers Local 34 members and apprentices provide repairs to an elderly Roseville homeowner during Water’s Off. From L to R: retiree Al Aschenbrener, apprentice Jason Chrysler and journeyman Jim Schumann. Said Aschenbrener, “As long as I’m still moving, I will be here to help out.”

Volunteer plumbers provided an estimated $70,000 worth of service and repairs to senior, low-income and disabled homeowners in Minnesota during their unions’ annual Water’s Off day of service March 25.

The program, begun in 1994, is a joint effort sponsored annually by Minnesota plumbers’ unions and their contractors to give back to the community – and raise awareness of the importance of conserving water. Plumbers donate their labor, contractors donate supplies and community agencies, including Ramsey Washington Community Action Partnership, identify homeowners in need of assistance.

This year the effort drew 181 volunteers, including 76 from St. Paul Plumbers Local 34. In all, plumbers provided assistance to 108 homeowners in Minnesota, logging 905 hours of volunteer work.

The service day kicked off with a breakfast banquet, where Gov. Mark Dayton presented plumbers and their contractors with a framed proclamation declaring Water’s Off Day in Minnesota.

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For St. Paul plumbers, giving back is an annual tradition

March 23, 2016 by
Fourth-year Local 34 apprentice Matt Theis searches for the source of a water leak in a basement on St. Paul’s East Side, while Colby Willson (L) and Jason Miller look on.

Fourth-year Local 34 apprentice Matt Theis searches for the source of a water leak in a basement on St. Paul’s East Side, while Colby Willson (L) and Jason Miller look on.

Members of St. Paul Plumbers Local 34 and union plumbers from across Minnesota volunteered to fix plumbing problems for elderly, disabled and low-income homeowners during the annual “Water’s Off” service event March 19.

For the 22nd consecutive year, union plumbers provided free labor, and their employers, members of the Minnesota Mechanical Contractors Association, donated replacement parts and supplies as necessary.

Sixty-five journey-level workers and apprentices from Local 34 participated in the event, providing repairs to 40 East Metro homeowners, identified with assistance from the nonprofit Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties.

At a breakfast banquet preceding the volunteer event, plumbers accepted a proclamation from Gov. Mark Dayton – one of several elected officials, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Mayor Chris Coleman, in attendance – declaring Water’s Off Day statewide.

Colby Willson replaces a trap in the main-floor bathroom of a home on St. Paul’s East Side.
Gov. Mark Dayton presented plumbers with a proclamation declaring Water’s Off Day statewide.
Local 34 journeyman Jason Miller (L) shares a tip with fourth-year apprentice Colby Willson.
Union plumbers from Minneapolis and St. Paul gather for a banquet breakfast before volunteering.
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Plumbers mark 20 years of community service through ‘Water’s Off’

April 29, 2014 by
Jerry Regenscheid, a member of St. Paul Plumbers Local 34, installed a new faucet for a St. Paul homeowner during the union’s “Water’s Off” day of service April 5.

Jerry Regenscheid, a member of St. Paul Plumbers Local 34, installed a new faucet for a St. Paul homeowner during the union’s “Water’s Off” day of service April 5.

Members of St. Paul Plumbers Local 34 were among 96 union plumbers from across Minnesota who volunteered to fix plumbing problems for 81 elderly, disabled and low-income homeowners April 5, during the annual “Water’s Off” service event.

It marked the 20th consecutive year Minnesota’s union plumbers teamed up with their contractors, members of the Minnesota Mechanical Contractors Association, to make “Water’s Off” happen, and several elected officials thanked them for their efforts at a kickoff breakfast at the Roseville Radisson.

“You’re not here for yourselves,” Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton told the volunteers. “You’re here to better other people’s lives. I congratulate you for your commitment to humanity.”

Each year, Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties helps identify homeowners who need plumbing assistance, and Dayton presented CAP staff member Marcy Paulson with an award recognizing the agency’s contribution to “Water’s Off.”

“Water’s Off” started in the Twin Cities in 1994 and is now a national volunteer program.

“We’ve been through some tough times in the Building Trades, but the room was just as full then as it is today,” said Harry Melander, president of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council. “This is the type of stuff we need to keep doing so people understand what the Building Trades really are about.”

Gov. Mark Dayton presented Marcy Paulson of Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington County with an award honoring the agency’s contribution to Water’s Off.

Gov. Mark Dayton presented Marcy Paulson of Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington County with an award honoring the agency’s contribution to Water’s Off.

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