A Philly union worker just won big at the ‘Super Bowl’ of apprentices

How do you get to the highly competitive, very niche International Apprentice Contest, hosted by the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers and International Masonry Institute every three years?

Same way you get to Carnegie Hall: Practice, practice, practice, but with a lot of caulk.

For 26-year-old John Deslippe, earning a ticket to the competition in Detroit meant spending his Saturdays working with experienced masons, fine-tuning everything from his stone patching to joint work — weather, ribbon, concave, you name it, if you can.

After all, the pressure was high. Deslippe was going on behalf of BAC Local 1, which represents about 2,000 members in Pennsylvania and Delaware, and his competition consisted of the top 1% of apprentices in the United States and Canada. Past contestants have likened the competition to a masonry Super Bowl.

“I think I seen him smile once during the competition,” joked Justin Scarinci, president and business manager of Local 1.

That changed last month when Deslippe was named the winner of his restoration category, officially called “pointer, caulker, cleaner,” or PCC for short. Randall Williams, another Local 1 member, placed third in the tile category.

“[Deslippe] was ecstatic, on cloud nine, thanking everybody for the training, hugging us,” Scarinci said. “It brought tears to my eyes.”

The bragging rights come as the BAC, which calls itself the oldest continuous union in North America, celebrates 160 years, and amid the skilled trades’ growing popularity with Gen Z. According to human resources company Gusto Insights, 18- to 24-year-olds made up 25% of new hires in the skilled trades in 2024.

Still, masonry is a brutal trade.

Aside from the technical knowledge required, workers are handling, hammering, and chiseling heavy material, sometimes in a ditch, often exposed to the elements. Those who specialize in working with historic buildings face the added pressure of ending up on the ever-growing list of “restoration fails” and drawing the ire of preservationists.

So it’s always a source of pride to see the younger generations passionate about the work and excelling at it, Scarinci said.

Like an increasing number of people his age, Deslippe was initially drawn to masonry and construction because it offered an alternative to the traditional four-year college. His trade school experience at Lancaster’s Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology sparked an interest in brickwork that is often reflected in his various social media posts, showcasing his latest work.

“It’s hard manual work, but it’s also creative and really meticulous at times, and that combination, for me, has proven to be really rewarding,” said Deslippe, who went on to study historic preservation at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University.

For the last year and a half, Deslippe has continued to add to his work experience as an apprentice with the union. He works during the week, earning pay and benefits, and spends Saturdays at the local’s training center, which has more than 180 apprentices enrolled, according to Scarinci. Workers train with brick, block, stone, pile, marble, and terrazzo.

When competition time comes around every three to five years, locals across the country pick their best apprentices to represent them at regionals in a variety of specialized categories, such as tiles, brick, and stone. Families are allowed to show support at the finals, but there’s not a lot of cheering going on. In fact, Deslippe instructed his father, who is a Detroit native, to support him from afar so as not to distract him.

On competition day in Detroit’s Huntington Place convention venter, Deslippe was handed a drawing and a mock-up of brick and split-face block, which also featured a worn carving of what could best be described as a lion’s face, a nod to the art deco features of Detroit’s Guardian Building.

“Some bricks are missing, the joints are raked back, and they want you to infill the brick,” Deslippe said. “They want you to repoint the brick using these different joints in different areas. They want you to caulk, also flash waterproof, and then also stone patch.”

Apprentices had to perform an assortment of preservation tasks, such as restoring the face, over the course of a full workday, all while ensuring they followed safety protocols and wore the proper personal protective equipment.

Though a significant amount of work, the series of tasks was ultimately no match for Deslippe, who, with about six months left in his apprenticeship, is looking forward to the added responsibility that will come with his graduation.

Yet despite being an international champion, Deslippe has said he is “never gonna stop learning about the trade.”

Yes, he’s talking about practice.