Local Millwrights Quadruple Chapter

Since its inception in November 2002, Fort Smith-based Millwright Local 216 has grown more than four times as large. In one year, membership shot up from 68 to 292.

Robert Sprafke, president of the Arkansas Regional Council of Carpenters and business manager of Local 216, said the growth can be attributed to the demand for a local chapter.

“The membership option has attracted local millwrights back from other areas,” Sprafke said.

The Local 216 was formed when millwrights from Arkansas and Oklahoma merged to create one local union chapter. Previously, local millwrights would have had to belong to chapters in surrounding states or take a membership in carpenter unions. Millwright Local 216 is part of the Arkansas Regional Council of Carpenters, which has about 2,500 members.

“It gives us an identity,” Sprafke said.

Members pay dues of $30 per month. Sprafke said the chapter has a goal to have 500 members within the next two years.