of the executive office,

in order to ensure a fair and rewarding opportunity for all apprentices and journeymen, uphold the high standards of morality and ethics, and ensure the spiritual health and well being of the brotherhood, do establish this Constitution of United Specialty Painters. 

All legislative authorities herein granted shall be vested in the executive officers of U.S. Painters and the journeymen shall act as representatives of the apprentices to the executive officers.

Selection- New candidates have one to three working days to be evaluated by a U.S. Painters instructor in order to determine whether the candidate is a good fit for the U.S. Painters work scholarship program. There are no skill requirements but you must be able to respectfully listen, comprehend, and execute instructions from the officer and maintain a positive attitude. During the days being evaluated, candidates earn their money based on performance through meeting time and quality standards.

Basic Training- U.S. Painters Basic Training takes someone with little or no skilled trade experience and transforms him into an independent assistant to the paint, epoxy, or drywall officers and journeymen.  As an apprentice, you will be learning under an officer or journeyman who has the skill and/or has completed the apprenticeship program himself. When the apprentice is able to independently prep a house for rolling/spray or assist with epoxy installation or drywall, they may receive a silver star for paint prep, a silver gray star for epoxy assistant, a silver white star for drywall assistant, and the certificate of that respective trade. 

Journeyman Training   

Upon graduating basic training, the new prep journeyman student will continue into brush/roll and spray training.  to become a paint journeyman, candidates must prove that they are able to meet all the moral, social, speed, and quality standards for brush/roll and spray at silver level.  When they have met all the required standards, they will be given a special recognition in which they will receive a certificate of completion, a gray uniform polo shirt, and the silver eagle badge that signifies the journeyman status.

Officer Candidate Training   

As a journeyman, the opportunity to apply for OCT or officer candidate training is now open.  In OCT, journeyman refine their social skills and work toward mastering prep, brush/roll, and airless spraying, and other skills.  They also learn how to communicate, market, write estimates, and handle finances.  Upon graduation, you will receive the certificate of business and administration and if the student has met all the gold standards in spraying, he will also receive the rarely awarded gold eagle badge.   Now he is part of the cadre of USTS instructors that secures training for the next generation of U.S. Painters, the most highly trained and versatile painters in America. 

Contractor Tag

At the BAR  (brush and roll) journeyman rank which is represented by two silver stars and two gold stars, a member may apply for the contractor tag which gives him the privilege of independently estimating jobs over $1,000.  The member may receive payments direct as long as they are reported and recorded in the company's accounting record immediately.   When half payment is received, the lead member of that job must pay half the fee amount.  For example, the fee for use of the ROC is 5% of the gross. So a $5,000 job would  require a total of $250 usage fee paid, so half would be $125. Every member who qualifies will receive a gold tag with their name, the title "contractor", and the United Specialty ROC number 346934 engraved  onto it.  They will also receive a notarized written contract stating the details of the agreement. Any member caught contracting a job over $1,000 without a represented ROC will be reported to the AZ ROC and fined $1,000 by the state of Arizona.  

Red Team

Red team is a temporary team of two to four members who have met some of the highest performance standards at gold level and who are usually assembled to tackle sizable jobs in the fastest possible time.  At this level team members are focused on performance goals and setting or breaking company records for honor and recognition. Those who qualify will be recognized with the rarely awarded Red Team lion patch.

Paint Profit Distribution-Provided that the apprentices or journeymen are present all days of the project, jobs under $500, apprentices receive at least 25% and Journeyman 35% of the gross profit.  It is rare that an officer works as a helper under another officer, but when he does, he will recieve 40% of the gross profit. Jobs between $500 and $999 Apprentices receive at least 20%, journeymen 30%, and officers 35% of the gross profit.  Jobs between $1000 or more apprentices receive at least 15%, journeyman helpers 25%, and officer helpers 30% of the gross profit.  

Epoxy Floor Profit Distribution-Provided that the apprentices or journeymen are present all days of the project, they are renting all the tools they use, and contribute to half of the labor, for two and three car garages, apprentices receive at least 15% and Journeyman 25% of the gross profit.  For epoxy floors over 650 square feet, apprentices receive at least 10%, journeymen helpers 20%, and officers 25% of the gross profit. 

Payment Policy-You may be paid half for every job you participate in on the day and time that the job is perceived to be half completed as long as the client has paid half down to the company. Apprentices and journeymen will receive their final payment within 48 hours that the company receives the final payment. 

No Card Sharing- There will be no lending of payment cards or pin numbers among U.S. Painters for any reason.

Tools and Equipment-Basic prep tools will be provided to prep apprentices for the first month of training.  Prep journeyman must own their own razor, multitool, and five in one.  Spray journeyman can rent an airless sprayer from U.S. Painters.  Officers must own all tools necesary to prep and spray.  

Compensation for Helpers Doing Touchups-The leader of the project will pay a travel, labor, and gas compensation of $40 to his apprentice to do the touch up for less than an hour. If the touch up is perceived to last more than an hour, then the whole team for that job should be required to do the touch-up without extra payment. However, if one member does a touch up lasting more than an hour, than he will be compensated according to the work he has done. ($40 for first hour, then an agreed for any further work after an hour)

Estimates-As mentioned,  journeymen in the business and administration program have the privilege to submit estimates for U.S. Painters under the coaching and guidance of an officer.  When receiving a phone call, always try to lead them to the online bid form.  Never disclose the price sheet to clients directly as prices vary based on demand.  All estimate prices are to be recorded via paper, email, or text and sent to the client. It is preferable that clients receive the estimate in person.

Injury Compensation-U.S. Painters does not employ workers and is therefore not required to file workman's compensation for any worker. We do, however, encourage every member to know basic first aid, work safe, have health insurance, and have a habit of saving money in case of a medical emergency. In the case that a worker is injured on a job site to the extent that he is incapable to continue his work, the executive officers who are all trained in first aid will assess the situation and decide what the best course of action is at that point.  In special cases, U.S. Painters may pay up to half of the deductible for a medical emergency that happened on a job site.  For life threatening injuries, call 911. 

Payday Loans- Apprentices can request an advance payment loan up to $500 as long as there is a pending check that covers their earned amount requested.  However, there will be a flat rate fee of 5%.  For example, $100 borrowed would mean $105 will be paid back or withheld from the pending paycheck. This may only be done upon approval of a leading officer who also has the authority to deny the request for any reason.  Apprentices are expected to manage their personal finances wisely and not depend on the good nature of the officers to accommodate them in financial need.

Moral Policy-Substance Abuse, sexual harassment, cussing to the client, a negative attitude, and immoral language is not tolerated at U.S. Painters. Smoking and vaping is prohibited. Those found doing illegal substances will lose their membership at U.S. Painters. We encourage an environment of uplifting and edifying words. Swearing is unprofessional and disrespectful. Please try to use other words to express yourself during the work day, especially in the hearing of the client.

Any noncompliance to the policies and regulations of this constitution can and will be grounds for your dismissal from U.S. Painters.

This company, U.S. Painters, will not be dissolved without the mutual written consent of every executive officer. No U.S. Painter will be disassociated from this community unless agreed upon by all Executive Officers and he is proven to be in deliberate breach of any of the policies contained in this constitution.

Executive officers will be the keepers and editors of the U.S. Painters Constitution. Policies will be edited, revised, updated, and/or reviewed when necessary and sent out to every executive officer via email. Once the updated policy is emailed, each executive officer will have  seven days to discuss or dispute any of the changes. Once the seven days have expired, this updated constitution with its changes will be presumed as effective from the date listed.  

                     Jeremy Lee Koehn

     President of United Specialty Painters 

September 11, 2025