Alexandria DeFaria
Third Year Plumber Apprentice
Local 1, UA, New York City
Young Women of Color in Construction: What They Don't Tell Us Up Front
Alexandria DeFaria is currently a Local 1 plumber for the city of New York.
Alexandria’s path to a career as a plumber was a winding one. She got her first job at 15 not because she had to, but because she wanted to. She was always looking to experience and learn something new. She tried college, waitressing, bartending, retail, and customer service. A career in construction for a woman to her mind was unheard of. But researching an occupation she could seriously commit to, stumbled upon Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW), an organization that prepares, trains, and places women in the skilled construction, utility, and maintenance trades. NEW gave her insight on what a career in the trades would be like.
Alexandria always tells people who express interest in the trades to be prepared to work hard because it is not easy. But she enjoys working in the trades because she the work is varied, she meets great people, and she gets to turn ideas into realities. She is proud to have a skill such as plumbing that is so important to society.