Labor Day was created to honor the working people who built this country, and at Academy Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning and Electric we take that literally. Our company has been built by tradespeople since 1971, and many of the men and women on our team have been with us for decades. This weekend we want to say something we can’t say often enough in public: we are proud of them, and we are grateful for them.

• Academy Plumbing is a family owned, people first company, and our longest tenured employees are the reason we are still here after 55 years
• Plumbers, HVAC technicians, and electricians are frontline workers whose jobs do not pause for holidays
• Even on Labor Day, someone from our team is on call, because a water heater does not check the calendar before it fails

A Company Built by Tradespeople

Bill Collins started working at Academy Plumbing in 1989 [CORRECTION] as a helper, digging ditches and carrying pipe for the men who knew the trade. Over the years that followed he earned his licenses on the job, becoming a master electrician and an HVAC specialist while the company grew with him. When founder Jules F. Appleman built Academy in 1971, he set a standard for honest work and technical skill. Bill spent more than four decades living up to it, and in 2025 he took full ownership of the company he had given his working life to. He made one promise when he did: to keep this place open and make sure these folks have a good job for as long as we could. That is a promise from a tradesman to other tradespeople, made by someone who remembers exactly what it feels like to be the newest helper on the crew. With Derek, his son working alongside him since 2007, Bill leads the way he was led, by showing up, doing the work, and standing behind it.

The People Behind the Name on the Truck

Many of our employees have been with Academy for ten, twenty, and thirty years. In a trade where turnover is the norm, that kind of tenure does not happen by accident. It happens because people are treated like family, because their skills are respected, and because the work they do is meaningful. Every one of them has spent time in a crawl space in January, on a rooftop in July, and in a stranger’s flooded kitchen at an hour when most people are asleep. They carry licenses that took years to earn and knowledge that cannot be learned from a manual. When a customer tells us the technician was respectful, explained the problem clearly, and fixed it right the first time, that is the person we are celebrating this weekend.

Frontline Workers Who Do Not Get a Day Off

There is a reason plumbers, HVAC technicians, and electricians are classified as essential workers. Water, heat, cooling, and power are not conveniences. A burst supply line can put an inch of water into your home in minutes. A failed air conditioner during a 99 degree August afternoon is a health concern for an elderly resident. A sewer backup is a sanitation emergency no matter what day it is. Our team understands this, which is why Academy Plumbing has always kept someone on call, including on Labor Day. While most of Albuquerque is at a barbecue or on the road, one of our people has a phone within reach and a truck ready to roll. They chose a trade that serves people when people need it most, and they honor that choice even during our own holiday.

What On Call Actually Means

On call is not a figure of speech. It means a technician who has planned their holiday around the possibility of leaving it. It means a fully stocked truck parked in the driveway rather than the shop. It means being ready to diagnose a call, replace a failed water heater, clear a main line, or restore power to a panel with the same care they would bring on a Tuesday morning. We do not take that lightly, and we do not want our customers to either. When you call us on a holiday and someone answers, that person gave up part of their day for you.

How We Say Thank You

Labor Day is a good time for the rest of us to notice. If a tradesperson has ever shown up to your home on a weekend, a holiday, or in the middle of the night, a kind word goes a long way. A review that names the technician goes further, because it tells them their work was seen. For our part, we will keep doing what Academy has done since 1971: pay people fairly, keep them working, respect their craft, and stand behind their work with a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee.

To every plumber, technician, electrician, dispatcher, and office team member at Academy Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning and Electric: thank you. Enjoy the day. And if your phone rings, we know you will answer it. To our customers, have a safe Labor Day weekend, and if something in your home fails, you know who to call.

Academy Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning and Electric, Inc.
3271 Candelaria Rd NE
Albuquerque, NM 87107
(505) 293-4949