Inside
MEETING NO TICES
See
Page 6
V olume 108
Number 22
No v ember 16, 2007
P ortland
At Career & Benefits Fair
Craft unions welcome veterans into training programs
National Guard and reserve mem-
bers who are returning from war are
finding the welcome mat is out at union
apprenticeship training programs in
Oregon and Southwest Washington.
At a Veterans Career & Benefits Fair
Nov. 3 at Clackamas Community Col-
lege, more than a dozen of the 58 infor-
mational booths were sponsored by
union training programs.
“Apprenticeship training (and con-
struction work) is a perfect fit for a lot
of our people,” said Oregon National
Guard Brigadier General Michael
Caldwell, deputy director of the Ore-
gon Military Department. “Labor
unions have been superb working to get
soldiers plugged into their programs.”
An estimated 700 veterans — in-
cluding many who recently returned
from Iraq and Afghanistan — attended
the career fair, which was open to all
military veterans, including those from
Vietnam.
Because of their military experience,
Caldwell said veterans bring immedi-
ate special skills to the workplace: They
are disciplined, they can follow instruc-
tions, and they are not afraid to work
hard. “But making the right connec-
tions can be difficult,” he explained.
“Many of these young kids are not
(PHOTO LEFT) Joe Luna (sitting), apprenticeship coordinator for the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers and a
former Marine, discusses the benefits of apprenticeship training with a soldier attending a Veterans Career & Benefits
Fair Nov. 3 at Clackamas Community College. (PHOTO RIGHT) Sheet Metal Workers Local 16’s HVAC & Metals
Institute was one of 13 training programs at the fair recruiting apprentices. Staffing their booth was Ric Olander
(right), assistant director of apprenticeship, and Joe Harris, a business development agent for Local 16.
aware of this opportunity.”
To help military veterans transition
back to civilian life, the Oregon Na-
tional Guard and the Oregon Appren-
ticeship and Training Council have
made arrangements that gives veterans
special consideration for apprenticeship
placement. Military veterans also can
get credit for previous work experi-
ence, which allows them to advance
more rapidly to journey-level status.
“Servicemen and women will re-
ceive the best training in the trade of
their choice. They will be paid while
learning, and they will come out with a
union career in the construction indus-
try — a career that pays a living wage
and provides great family benefits,”
said Glenn Shuck, executive director of
Labor’s Community Service Agency.
Shuck helped coordinate the process
that resulted in the agreement between
the National Guard and the Appren-
ticeship and Training Council. LCSA
also is a contract partner with the Vet-
erans Workforce Investment Program,
which assists veterans with training,
job placement and other services when
they return from active duty.
Joe Luna, apprenticeship coordina-
tor for the Portland-based Bricklayers
and Allied Craftworkers and a former
Marine, said veterans can apply for the
bricklayer, tilesetter and terrazzo work-
ers program at any time and that the
program has a procedure for direct en-
try for soldiers with the proper skill set.
Luna also said that veterans in his
program can use GI Bill benefits while
enrolled. “It’s like going to college,” he
said.
“Most training programs are ap-
proved for the GI Bill,” confirmed Mel
Lowney of Helmets to Hardhats, a
partnership program between the na-
tional AFL-CIO Building Trades De-
partment, the signatory Construction
Industry Employer Associations, and
the U.S. military services.
For more information about the Hel-
mets to Hardhats program, go to
www.helmetstohardhats.org.
Ric Olander, assistant director of
apprenticeship at the HVAC & Metals
(Turn to Page 4)
Labor celebrates its
history with Arts Festival
November is Labor History Month in Oregon, so to celebrate, the Northwest
Oregon Labor Council held the first-ever Pacific Northwest Labor Arts Festi-
val Nov. 10 at Portland State University.
Featured performers included Anne Feeney (in photo second from left,
singing with — from left to right — Grace Cox of Citizens Band and Susan
Lewis and Janet Stecher of Rebel Voices of Seattle); hip-hopster Mic Cren-
shaw of Portland; folk music legend Dick Weissman; labor songwriter Paul
McKenna and others.
“It was a great lineup of entertainment. I hope we can do it again,” said Fes-
tival Coordinator Jim Cook. Cook, a retired member of Letter Carriers Branch
82, is chair of the labor council’s Labor History Committee.
The Labor Arts Festival combined various art forms showcasing working
class culture, pride and solidarity. For example, the Museum of People’s Art in
Bay City displayed period pieces from the Works Progress Administration
while Swedish political and labor artist Julie Leonardsson presented “Outside
the Lines/International perspective of class struggles.”
Photo by John Acerbi