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Mechanics were always easy
Ryan Stas
International Union
of Operating
Engineers IUOE
Local 4
Early on the Winthrop Center construction site, the blue flame of the acetylene torch flashed off & in one motion the welding helmet snapped up, metallurgy keeping pace with reality.
By his own admission, Ryan Stas has always had an aptitude for pulling things to bits. But on this job, his ability for putting them back together is what counts. As a boy he restored old cars with his father. Mechanics were always easy.
Early on in Louisiana, while working on the flood walls in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, his boss handed him the wrong hose. A blast of oil hit him directly in the face & blew his hard hat off. “I’m lucky I’m still alive.” Only safety glasses saved his eyes. Luckily he survived but the incident somehow redoubled his resolve.
For several years he worked in & around Texas but eventually East Coast Slurry noted his skills. So Ryan packed up, sold everything, put what was left into a van, returned to New England & enrolled in their union training program.
A recent journeyman, everything about him is young, dwarfed by the gigantic electric motors he maintains. With strength & acumen, in all manner of weather, he has learned the trade of master mechanic. Ryan faces all types of challenges meeting the demands of modern construction methods.
He repairs & keeps the largest machines on the construction site running: pumps, clamshell buckets, hydromill trench cutters, etc.
Living in Hanson, Massachusetts, Ryan is the oldest of five siblings. He is very much involved in the lives of his extended family since they are all near. Building skyscrapers is a good living.
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