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.