Local Building Trades Refurbish Columbus Park Fishing Pier

A Columbus area park has a new fishing pier thanks to union volunteers, the Ohio AFL-CIO and the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA).

Members of 11 different Locals teamed up to give Antrim Park a new, sturdier and better looking pier.

The nearly 120-acre park is surrounded by a quarried lake, which is stocked with Rainbow Trout from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Anglers are only permitted to fish off the 2,400 square-foot dock on the banks of the lake, which was becoming compromised due to the deterioration.

According to Jeannette Mauk, Field Director for the Ohio AFL-CIO, a fundraiser is held each year in Columbus for USA and the funds raised go to a project to support the USA mission.

This year, the Ohio AFL-CIO selected the Antrim Park dock as their project and donated $15,000 raised at the USA dinner to purchase materials needed to refurbish the pier.

Volunteers from locals throughout the state, including a number of outdoorsmen who attended the fundraiser, donated their time to help rebuild the dock.

Members from Glaziers Local 372 and Mix Trades Local 1275 volunteered more than 1,000 hours prepping and staining the wood at their Locals.

According to Local 1275 Business Representative Joe Crytser, who helped manage the project, the wood initially came in green, which meant the two IUPAT DC 6 unions had to dry the wood before sanding and staining it.

After nearly four weeks of preparation work, volunteers spent two days ripping out the existing pier. They needed four days to install the new deck, handrails and benches.

“It’s a much better built deck,” said Crytser. “We’ve gotten a lot of positive compliments from the community and it was nice to see all the crafts work hand-in-hand. We built up some good comradery.”