Page 12 - Work Force September 2020

Working on NYS Canals: Pride and history significant for CSEA members
ALBION — For many of the CSEA- represented employees who maintain and operate New York State’s 524-mile canal system, going to work each day is an easy lift.
Just ask CSEA New York State Canal Corp. Local President Erik Crandall, who says that it’s the best job in the world. “I absolutely love this job,” he said.
The New York
State Canal Corp.
manages the canal system, which links the Hudson River with Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes, the Niagara River and Lake Erie.
Maintaining history
Built by New York state and fully opened in 1825, the Erie Canal is considered a major engineering marvel of the 19th century.
Dating back more than a
century, much of the historic canal equipment is still operational and requires significant maintenance and unique skills often performed by second and third-generation CSEA- represented canal employees.
“Every day is a brand-new challenge,” said Crandall. He gets
to use all the skills he possesses and then some, including carpentry, electrical work and mechanical engineering, to just about anything that needs attention.
“We have some really talented people here at the Western Erie Canals section, and I know everyone takes a lot of pride in what we do,” said Crandall, who began his Canals career in 2009. “We are problem- solvers. I also love being involved with the union — and I take that job very seriously.”
Connecting New York
Crandall was quick to admit the
impact of the Erie Canal on the rest of the Empire State can be seen by just looking at a modern road map.
“With the exception of Binghamton and Elmira, every major city in New York falls along the
trade route established by the Erie Canal, from New York City to Albany, through Schenectady, Utica and Syracuse, to Rochester and Buffalo,” said Crandall. “Nearly 80 percent of upstate New York’s population lives within 25 miles of the Erie Canal.”
John McKee, the Chief Lock Operator at Locks 34-35 in Lockport, said the history of the canal system still intrigues him to this day.
“Tourists and curious travelers will ask me all sorts of questions about the locks, how they work and what I do,” said McKee. “It’s a real joy to share my insights and knowledge with the public.”
McKee, a CSEA member since 2002, supervises and coordinates activities of lock operators, who open locks and dams on the canal for vessels requiring passage.
He also helps with mooring boats awaiting passage through the canal, raising or lowering water levels, opening and closing gates and valves of locks and dams, operating navigation lights and traffic signals and compiling records of vessels that pass through the locks.
Crandall said lock operators move about 3 million gallons of water into and out of the locks in about five minutes.
Challenging times
While daily operations are going smoothly these days, Crandall said that earlier this year, that certainly wasn’t the case.
“It was a really tough time for us when the [COVID-19] pandemic hit mid-March, and we couldn’t report to our job sites,” said Crandall. “Although strict health and safety protocols where set in place when we eventually returned, it was a
Crandall
Chief Lock Operator John McKee.
big relief for most of us just to be back on the canal doing our jobs. Staggered shifts, social distancing and wearing PPE were the least of
our concerns. We were just happy to be back.”
— Ove Overmyer
Lori Bacon, a second-year seasonal canal structure operator who is based in Oswego, takes boater information and records the times they come and go before raising or lowering boaters to the next lock. Bacon, who used to work at a local marina for 15 years, said that she meets a lot of parents that bring their kids down to the water. “They’re into it, and it’s fun teaching them and telling them about it.” Bacon also noted that there are not many women who work along the canal operating the locks. “Women need to apply,” she said. “They need to know that it’s out there. There are opportunities.” (Photo and caption by Nicholas Newcomb)
12 The Work Force
September 2020