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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 12, 2023)
July 12, 2023 Page 7 Construction Industry Careers, Not Just Jobs Summer Meals now serving Multnomah County youth Food, Friends and FUN Sierrah Kienitz, ironworker Local 29 Apprenticeship Available Sierrah Kienitz had just graduated from high school and was working at a fast food business when she had the opportunity to join Ironwork- ers Local 29. That was three years ago and it’s changed Sierrah’s life. “I’m changed both physically and mental- ly. The craft has pretty much taught me how to be mature,” Sierrah said. Local 29’s Business Man- ager Jason Fussell says this is not an unusual story. As the local reaches out to make wel- come people who just need an opportunity to, in many cases, join the middle class. “Ironworkers Local 29 has been successfully working to increase diversity within our membership for years result- ing in one of the most diverse locals within our Internation- al,” says Fussell. “We recog- nize that a diverse workforce is not only beneficial to our trade, bringing in a variety of perspectives and creativity, but also highly beneficial to the community.” Currently Local 29 mem- bership includes 24% people of color and almost 40% of the current apprenticeship stu- dents are diverse. Kevin Crocker, Local 29 Apprenticeship Coordinator cuts right to the chase. “New apprentices starting today will be paid $25.96 an hour plus benefits and will receive a 5% raise every six months as they meet the program’s re- quirements. Journeymen earn $43.27 an hour plus $33.34 in benefits. Working 2,000 hours in the year and you will earn $86,540 in wages plus $66,680 in benefits.” Crocker continues, “The first step in joining Local 29 is to visit our training facili- ty to fill out an application. We are located at 11620 NE Ainsworth Circle in Port- land. We take applications every Wednesday from 7:00 to 2:30 and you must be 18 years of age.” Apprenticeships provide the opportunity to gain edu- cation while earning a living wage, establishing a career path and beginning work to- ward retirement at an early age, without incurring thousands We are Open! 3901 N. Mississippi Ave. Portland, OR 97227 P: 503.281.0453 Fax 503.281.3408 Web: www.sunlanlighting.com E-mail: kay@sunlanlighting.com of dollars of debt. Apprentice- ships are the foundation of our construction industry and pro- vide the highest quality work- force. The future shortage of skilled labor for the building trades is worrisome for the construction industry and we need to encourage the current and next generations to see if this is a path that fits them. Jason Fussell concludes, “ If you’re interested in iron- work we want to help you find a long, successful and safe ca- reer. If this isn’t for you, then I encourage you to go to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries website (www.or- egon.gov/boli) where there is information on dozens of apprenticeships. Find your passion, and then find an ap- prenticeship that will teach you the best practices for your craft while getting you started on your career.” Free meals available across 60 locations in Multnomah County Approximately 60 Summer Meals locations in Multnomah County are open to all commu- nity youth to drop in and eat a free meal this summer. These include parks, youth pro- grams, Gresham Library, and apartment and mobile home communities. Some schools are open for lunch and many additional schools and camps are feeding students enrolled in summer programming. To find a site near you, vis- it SummerFoodOregon.org, call 2-1-1 or text "Food" or "Comida" to 304-304. Free Summer Meals are available to all youth ages 1- 18, no pa- perwork required. Meals will be served on-site, so plan to stay and play. (Due to restric- tions at the federal level, the program can no longer offer Grab-and-Go meals in Mult- nomah County as it did during the height of the pandemic). Meals are provided through the Summer Food Service Pro- gram in a partnership among school districts, non-profit organizations and local, state and federal governments. This program plays a cru- cial role in our communi- ties by meeting the needs of youth and families. In Oregon, around one in six children are food insecure, meaning they have limited or uncer- tain access to enough safe and nutritious food. This rate is still significantly higher than pre-pandemic. Hunger and food insecu- rity can negatively impact a child's health, social inter- actions, curiosity, and learn- ing abilities. Summer Meal programs aim to address this issue. Last summer, an aver- age of 15,815 children a day participated in Multnomah County, and over 77,000 chil- dren statewide. The avail- ability of free meals when school is out helps families afford the increased cost of groceries and helps ensure that students return to school healthy, well nourished and prepared to learn.
