DETROIT (WXYZ) — It's Women's History Month and we want to shine a light on Adrienne Bennett, a trailblazer in the plumbing industry.
She has worked on some groundbreaking projects, including one of the most historic - the resurrection of Michigan Central Station in Detroit.
Adrienne Bennett is a pioneer in business but as a child growing up in Detroit, she had dreams of becoming an engineer.
“I just loved science and I remember going to my mother and I said 'Mom we can't use aerosol spray cans anymore?'. She said, ‘Why?’ They're going to destroy the ozone layer. She said, ‘What is an ozone layer?’” said Adrienne Bennett.
But engineering would have to wait when a recruiter named James Guss Dowels from the Mechanical Contractor's Association of America was looking to recruit minorities and Detroiters into the skilled trades spotted her and gave her an offer that would change her life.
“He walked up to me and asked if I wanted to make $50,000. Now this was in the 70s and I said is it legal? He said, ‘Yes’. Doing what? ‘Being a plumber’,” explained Bennett.
But she had to fight to be accepted into an all-male union hall where five women before her had already failed.
On her first day at the hall, they were shouting, ‘No more women, no more women’.
WXYZ’s Carolyn Clifford asked, “They were shouting no more women at you and that didn't scare you?”
“Of course it did,” said Bennett.
Scared or not Bennett would go on to break the glass ceiling to become the first African American Master Plumber in North America. Hauling pipe, fixing toilets, and being tested for seven long years to reach the master level.
“With plumbing, it's not going to be glamorous but it's going to pay off if I choose to, I can still put a water heater in and I did fix my own toilet very recently.
Now after 40-plus years in the industry, Bennett is seeing the fruits of her labor payoff. As the President and CEO of Benkari LLC, she has gotten some big contracts including Little Caesars Arena and Michigan Central Station in Detroit.
“Now what was that like first being called into Little Caesars Arena and then the transformation of the train station?” asked Clifford.
“We were the first contractor on that job, we ended up pumping over two million gallons out of the basement of the train station,” said Bennett. "Ice was still falling down. It's cold, it's ruined.”
“I looked at it as we would be bringing life back to this building,” said Bennett.
Her son AK Bennett is her partner and is so proud to see his mom receiving long-overdue recognition.
“There's a lot of people in the industry that haven't done half of what she's done, really refreshing to see,” said Adrienne’s son, AK Bennett.
Her work has been highlighted by political heavyweights from the late Detroit Mayor Coleman Young who made her the first female plumbing inspector for the city.
Mayor Mike Duggan put the spotlight on her at one of his State of the City Addresses.
“What did that mean for you?” asked Clifford.
“It was humbling,” said Bennett.
Adrienne also offers an apprenticeship program.
“$15-$17 an hour when you complete the program. You can be making $100,000 a year,” said Bennett.
Plus, benefits and a pension. Frank Moore has completed four of the five years.
“What does that mean to you?” asked Clifford.
“I think it's a great way to start because I don't have to worry about the debt and it's a skill I can use for the rest of my life,” said Apprentice Frank Moore.
She also gives back to the community helping low-income and seniors with plumbing problems work and a career she is quite proud of.
“My children and my grandchildren and beyond can say my mother, my grandmother, did that because that's the legacy I'm leaving,” said Bennett.
Adrienne is on her way to a national convention in Florida where she sits on two boards. A leadership role she is all so proud of and wishes those who helped her get her start could see her now.
