Ray McArthur pulls his car into his EMU parking spot at 6:30 a.m. each morning. The campus sits still in the crisp morning air as McArthur makes the long climb up the tower crane and gets ready to start his day at work.
“In construction, you got to take it when you get it,” McArthur said. “There is no vacation time, sick leave time or anything like that.”
McArthur has worked in construction for 40 years, and he can count the days he’s missed on two hands.
McArthur’s job is to operate the tower crane for the EMU renovation that began in September.
McArthur has been involved with multiple construction projects on campus, including Autzen Stadium, the University of Oregon Student Recreation Center, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art as well as the EMU Amphitheater.
His career in construction began in 1974, when he started working for a labor union. McArthur tried just about everything in the field of construction, from carpentry to electricity, but always had a passion working with heavy equipment operations.
McArthur has been working on the tower crane since 1980.
His day-to-day job consists of eight to nine hours operating the crane himself, and he spends most of his time observing everyone on the ground. Operating the crane is a one-man job, but McArthur never feels lonely. He has his bellman, Willy, on the ground to be his eyes and ears and instruct him, sometimes through radio and sometimes with hand signals.
“Because the job is so intense and you have to focus all the time, the days just blink by,” he said. “Right now, it’s the calm before the storm, so I can just swing by and drop the hook right in your lap, but when we move into late fall and the wind starts to kick up with the rain, the crane gets to be a handful.”
McArthur has faced winds of 67 mph while climbing the crane at night.
McArthur enjoys being alone in his crane most of the day, but he has no hesitation climbing down his cab and working with everybody else on the ground.
“There are some operators that do the power trick thing, but I am no better than anybody else,” he said. “I will come down and work side-by-side to anybody if they need it. We’re all equal out there and we take care of each other.”
After 40 years of working in construction, the EMU renovation may be when McArthur lays down his hard hat.
He plans to retire this March on his birthday, and dreams of moving to Costa Rica.
“Work is just something I do between trips,” McArthur said.