How does one get into the highly competitive, very niche international apprenticeship competition held every three years by the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers and the International Masonry Institute?
You get to Carnegie Hall the same way: practice, practice, practice, but with lots of caulk.
For 26-year-old John Deslippe, getting a ticket to the Detroit competition meant spending his Saturdays working with skilled masons, refining everything from his stone touch-ups to grout work – weathering, banding, concave, you name it, if you can.
After all, the pressure was high. Deslippe competed on behalf of BAC Local 1, which represents about 2,000 members in Pennsylvania and Delaware, and his competition consisted of the top 1% of trainees in the United States and Canada. Previous participants have compared the competition to a brick-and-mortar Super Bowl.
“I think I saw him smile once during the competition,” joked Justin Scarinci, president and CEO of Local 1.
That changed last month when Deslippe was named the winner of its restoration category, officially called “Pointer, Caulker, Cleaner,” or PCC for short. Randall Williams, another member of Local 1, took third place in the tile category.
“[Deslippe] “I was thrilled, on cloud nine, thanked everyone for the training and hugged us,” said Scarinci. “It brought tears to my eyes.”
The boast comes as the BAC, which bills itself as the oldest continuous union in North America, celebrates its 160th anniversary and the craft continues to grow in popularity among Generation Z. According to human resources firm Gusto Insights, 18- to 24-year-olds made up 25% of new hires in the skilled trades in 2024.
However, bricklaying is a brutal craft.
Aside from the technical skills required, workers handle, hammer and chisel heavy material, sometimes in a trench, often exposed to the elements. Those who specialize in working with historic buildings face the added pressure of ending up on the ever-lengthening list of “restoration mistakes” and drawing the ire of preservationists.
Therefore, it is always a source of pride to see younger generations excited about work and achieving excellence, Scarinci said.
A product of the time
Like many people his age, Deslippe was initially drawn to masonry and construction because it offered an alternative to the traditional four-year college. His professional school experience at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster sparked his interest in masonry, which is often reflected in his various social media posts showcasing his latest work.
“It's hard manual labor, but also creative and very meticulous at times, and that combination has proven to be really rewarding for me,” said Deslippe, who went on to study historic preservation at Temple University's Tyler School of Art and Architecture.
Over the last year and a half, Deslippe has continued to expand his professional experience as a trainee at the union. He works during the week, earning wages and benefits, and spends Saturdays at the local training center, where more than 180 trainees are enrolled, according to Scarinci. Workers train with bricks, blocks, stones, piles, marble and terrazzo.
Approximately every three to five years, when competition time comes around, locals across the country select their best trainees to represent them in regional competitions in various specialty categories such as tile, brick and stone. Families are allowed to show their support at the finale, but there isn't much cheering. In fact, Deslippe instructed his Detroit-born father to support him from a distance so as not to distract him.
On competition day at Detroit's Huntington Place Convention Center, Deslippe was presented with a drawing and model made of brick and split-face stone, which also featured a worn carving that could best be described as a lion's face, a nod to the Art Deco features of Detroit's Guardian Building.
“Some of the bricks are missing, the joints are pulled back and they want the bricks to be filled in,” Deslippe said. “They want you to repoint the brick using these different joints in different areas. They want you to seal, also waterproof, and then patch stone pavers as well.”
The trainees were required to complete a full day of work performing a range of conservation tasks, such as facial reconstruction, while ensuring they followed safety protocols and wore the correct personal protective equipment.
Although it was a significant amount of work, the range of tasks was ultimately no match for Deslippe, who, with about six months remaining in his training, is looking forward to the additional responsibility that comes with it Diploma.
But despite being an international champion, Deslippe said he will “never stop learning about this profession.”
Yes, he's talking about exercise.