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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 2015)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | November 20 , 2015 | PAGE 3 During National Apprenticeship Week, Nov. 2-6 Apprenticeship gets some long-overdue recognition Sheet Metal Workers and Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. recognize ‘Women in Apprenticeship Day’ The Sheet Metal Institute, Sheet Metal Workers Local 16, and Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. (OTI) hosted a “Women in Ap- prenticeship Day” Nov. 4 to cel- ebrate Oregon’s success in intro- ducing women to apprentice- ship. The event was part of the National Apprenticeship Week put on by the U.S. Department of Labor to promote apprentice- ship opportunities and to show- case to businesses the positive impact they have in workforce training. More than 200 events took place nationwide during the week of Nov. 2-6, with North American Building Trades unions (formerly the National Building and Construction Trades Council) hosting open houses in more than 15 cities. In Portland, sheet metal in- dustry employers, union offi- cials, public officials, female pre-apprentices, apprentices, and graduates of the Sheet Metal training program talked about apprenticeship opportunities. Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown each issued proclamations de- claring Nov. 4 as “Women in Apprenticeship Day.” APPRENTICESHIP: DID YOU KNOW? ■ Nearly two-thirds of all registered apprentices in the United States are trained in the construction industry. ■ Among construction apprentices, roughly 75 percent are trained in the unionized construction sector — known as the joint apprentice training committee (JATC) system. ■ Every year, North America’s Building Trades Unions and its signatory contractors direct over $1 billion in private investments towards this JATC system. ■ When wages and benefits that are paid to apprentices are APPLAUDING APPRENTICES. Sheet Metal Workers Local 16 apprentice Lisa Davis demonstrates how to repair a fan motor at the Sheet Metal Training Institute in Northeast Portland. The soon-to-be journeyman was a graduate of Oregon Tradeswomen Inc.’s pre-apprenticeship pro- gram before entering the sheet metal trade. She told her story to women pre-apprentices and apprentices, part of “National Apprentice- ship Week.” In the background from right to left are Connie Ashbrook and Leigh McIlvaine of OTI; Sheet Metal Local 16 journeyman Allie Medeiros; and Sheet Metal Local 16 Business Manager Charlie Johnson, a graduate and former instructor at the Sheet Metal Institute. trained journeymen. Appren- tices are paid at a percentage rate of the journeyman scale, plus fringe benefits. Their wages in- crease as they progress through the program. The length of train- ing depends on the craft. At Sheet Metal Workers, for instance, it takes 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and 800 hours of class- room time to earn a journeyman card. Charlie Johnson, business manager of Sheet Metal Work- In Oregon, more women are ers Local 16, said journeyman becoming apprentices sheet metal workers make $38 At 6.9 percent, Oregon has more an hour, with “unparalleled” than double the national rate of fringe benefits that include a women in construction trades pension and full medical bene- apprenticeships. According to fits. “I don’t think there are too Connie Ash- many oppor- brook, execu- tunities out- tive director of side the con- “There is nowhere else on OTI, registered struction earth that you could go to apprenticeship trades that of- become better skilled in programs in the fer that kind Portland metro- the craft you want than of income,” politan area that these apprenticeship pro- Johnson said. her organization Many ap- grams right here in your partners with prenticeship home state of Oregon.” have nearly 10 programs also percent women, are assessed — Oregon Labor Commissioner on average. for college Brad Avakian “We’ve got a credit, which ways to go can apply to- though,” Ash- ward an asso- brook said. ciates or bachelor’s degree. “Half of Oregon’s registered ap- Elana Pirtle-Guiney, work- prenticeship programs have no force and labor policy adviser to women at all.” Gov. Brown, said bureaucrats Apprenticeship training is an talk a lot about how to help Ore- “earn while you learn” system gonians get better training and that offers people the chance to higher wages without crippling learn from — and work with — them with budget-breaking debt that can often accumulate when attending college. “And we know the answer,” she said. “We know that apprenticeship programs are the perfect way to do it. We can get people into high wage jobs and into career- path jobs, and anybody can ap- ply. But not enough people do.” Apprenticeship is on the rise According to the U.S. Labor Department, apprenticeships are on the rise, increasing from 375,000 in 2013 to 445,000 to- day. By the year 2020, approxi- mately 30 percent of all jobs will require a post-secondary degree or credential. Experts also project a shortfall of nearly 3 million Americans lacking the post-secondary education re- quired to fill these jobs. Recently the Obama Admin- istration made an unprecedented investment of $175 million in “American Apprenticeship” grants to expand the apprentice- ship model into new occupa- tions and new industries. It’s part of the president’s challenge to double and diversify the num- ber of apprentices in America by 2019. The Oregon Employment Department was awarded a $3 million grant. The money is be- ing used to form Oregon-Ap- prenticeships in Manufacturing (Oregon-AIM) to aid employer recruitment and create training programs in advanced manufac- factored in, that annual investment exceeds $11 billion. ■ Our unions and contractors operate more than 1,600 training centers in the United States. ■ If the Building Trades training system, which includes both apprentice-level and journeyman-level training, was a degree granting college or university, it would be the largest degree granting college or university in the United States — over 5 times larger than Arizona State University. ■ If the Building Trades training system was a public university system, it would be the third largest public university system in the United States — almost twice as large as the University of Texas system. ■ If the Building Trades training system was a K-12 school district, we would be the fourth largest school district in the U.S., only behind New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. — F ROM N ORTH A MERICA ’ S B UILDING T RADES U NIONS turing. “We are truly committed to go beyond the talk, and really expand apprenticeship into other industries,” said Shalee Hodgson of the Oregon Em- ployment Department. “Manu- facturing is where we’re starting with it.” Industries that will be tar- geted to form apprenticeship programs include: • Industrial Machinery Mechanics (also industrial mobile me- chanic) • Machinists (also industrial main- tenance machinist) • Computer-Controlled Machine Tool Operators, Metal and Plas- tic • Numerical Tool and Process Con- trol Programmers • Electrical and Electronics Repair- ers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment • Electrical and Electronics Engi- neering Technicians • Sawing Machine Setters, Opera- tors and Tenders, Wood Hodgson said one of the goals is to have at least 300 new apprentices registered in Oregon in advanced manufacturing oc- cupations over the next five years. In particular, the program wants to create apprenticeship opportunities for women, peo- ple of color, veterans, and recip- ients of Temporary Aid to Needy Families and Supple- mental Nutrition Assistance Program. Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian told the pre-ap- prentices from OTI that Oregon is renowned for its apprentice- ship programs. “There is nowhere else on earth that you could go to be- come better skilled in the craft you want than these apprentice- ship programs right here in your home state of Oregon,” he said, pointing to the sheet metal, elec- tricians, plumbers and steamfit- ters, and laborers training facili- ties. Also speaking at the Sheet Metal Institute were Betty Lock, regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau, and Oregon state Sen. Chip Shields.
