Brian Andersen in the water heater lab at the UA Local 130 Training Center in Chicago.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BRIAN ANDERSEN
BRIAN ANDERSEN WENT FROM MIXING DRINKS TO MIXING VALVES AND FOUND THE CAREER OF HIS DREAMS AND THE CHANCE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH IAPMO AND ASSE
For Brian Andersen, the third time was the charm when it comes to careers. After serving nearly a decade in the Navy as an electronics technician, he entered the fastener industry, traveling the world installing computer systems onto machines that produce nuts, bolts and screws.
Eventually, he decided to pivot to a different career. While working a nighttime shift at a bar, Brad Bruce, a man he previously knew only as “Brad the plumber,” invited him to join the plumbing company he was starting, B. Bruce, Inc. Plumbing and Sewerage. Brad did not see Andersen’s lack of plumbing experience as an obstacle.
“I see how you buzz around this bar and how efficient you are, and I can’t teach work ethic,” he recalls Brad telling him. “So I’d like to teach you plumbing; are you interested in becoming a plumber?”
The company initially performed non-union work while Brad saved money to become a signatory with the local union in Chicago, at which point Andersen joined UA Local 130’s apprenticeship program. Andersen excelled, winning the apprenticeship contest at the local, regional and state levels. He was the runner-up in the international contest in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
“I’m still bothered by that more than a decade later,” he said with a slight smile.
After becoming a union company, the business shifted from residential plumbing to larger projects, such as renovations on Chicago hospitals and public schools. As the company expanded, Andersen was promoted to estimator and project manager.
Reflecting on his early non-union work, Andersen noted significant differences.
“There was no real training,” he said. “We had on-the-job training where Brad was teaching me the trade, but I didn’t learn the codes. I didn’t even know what the code book looked like until I got into the apprenticeship program. He would teach me what he thought was important.”
The benefits also stood out.
“I was paying out of pocket for my kids to have insurance and I didn’t have any; and it wasn’t good insurance at that. It was catastrophic-type insurance and it was not cheap, but it was all I could afford.”
Right: Brian and Katie Andersen with his cousin Greg Edwards and Greg’s wife, Nicole Edwards, at San Pedro Fish Market in Long Beach, where Nicole is the director of human resources.
Andersen left the company and eventually became the in-house plumber at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, working for C.J. Erickson Plumbing, while also teaching night school to fourth- and fifth-year apprentices. In 2017, he became a full-time instructor for UA Local 130, which led to becoming their training coordinator in 2022.
In October 2023, he and his wife of 11 years, Katie, moved to Southern California. He became an instructor and curriculum developer for the Southern California Pipe Trades District Council 16 Apprentice and Journeyman Training Trust (A&J). Though he lives in the Los Angeles area, he is a member of UA Local 230 in San Diego.
Andersen’s involvement with ASSE — which joined IAPMO as an international chapter in 2011 — began when he attended a working group on infection control risk assessment (ICRA) at the ASSE office in Mokena, Illinois.
“I met all these great people and started realizing what goes on behind the scenes,” he said. “Coming up in plumbing, I had never really thought about how all of the standards were written and where they all come from.”
That first working group was a light-bulb moment. He started attending mid-year and annual meetings and joined committees focused on infection control and rainwater harvesting. The latter stemmed from projects he had done at Chicago public schools and parks in collaboration with ARCSA, now part of IAPMO.
Today, Andersen serves as Western Region director of ASSE International and recently concluded a term on the ARCSA Board of Directors. He remains active on ARCSA’s Education and Research Council and serves on the UA and ASSE code development committees. He also teaches regional and Instructor Training Program water conditioning classes for the UA’s International Training Fund.
He joined IAPMO in 2022 and has attended several conferences. Now based in Southern California, he said he is looking to increase his involvement with the organization. He recently led a well-received class on stormwater and rainwater harvesting at IAPMO’s UPPA — Long Beach Chapter.
“I like to approach speaking engagements as discussions rather than presentations,” he said. “I use a slideshow that elicits conversation and get a lot of feedback. I had three or four people ask me if I would speak at other organizations.”
When speaking to potential apprentices, which he used to do as training coordinator in Chicago, he highlights the opportunity to specialize in a particular area of the trade that aligns with their interests. For Andersen, specialization has been in education and finding ways to keep apprentices engaged and committed to a career in the trades.
“There’s a lot of attrition in these apprentice schools, and trying to lower the number of people who decide there’s something different out there that they would rather do is important,” he said. “I think a lot of those decisions are made without having all the information or based on one or two years’ worth of experience, when if the training scenario was heightened, maybe they wouldn’t be so quick to jump. Not that there’s anything wrong with the training we have, but In his very limited free time, Andersen enjoys hunting, fishing, and watching his beloved Chicago Bears. His daughter, Britney Belle, is a marketing professional in Denver and his son, Brian Bay, lives in Phoenix and is a graphic designer.
Looking back, Andersen said that while he entered the trades for the money and benefits out of necessity, he has gotten back so much more than that.
“I had no idea what impact it would have on me personally,” he said. “I just thought, ‘Well, it’s something that I’m capable of doing, so I should go do it because it pays well.’ The amount of satisfaction that I get is incredible. And now it’s gotten on to educating others, and that really brings a lot of satisfaction as well.”
Mike Flenniken is a staff writer, Marketing and Communications, for IAPMO. Prior to joining IAPMO in 2010, Flenniken worked in public relations for a group of Southern California hospitals and as a journalist in writing and editing capacities for various Southern California daily newspapers.
Last modified: April 9, 2025