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Union Carpenters Support Senator Sherrod Brown at RallyOctober 30, 2024 - 3:56 pm
It’s In Our Hands – 2024 EndorsementsOctober 25, 2024 - 1:26 pm
2025 CMRCC Scholarship Applications OpenOctober 3, 2024 - 1:33 pm
2024 Don Sherry Achievement Award AnnouncedJuly 22, 2024 - 1:57 pm
2024 Scholarship WinnersMay 29, 2024 - 10:29 am
Celebrating Ohio’s 2024 Apprenticeship GraduatesFebruary 20, 2024 - 4:00 pm
Exciting AnnouncementFebruary 19, 2024 - 10:46 am
Community Values in Youngstown
/in News /by KameronAlthough the local JATC was unable to hold their annual open house, the Youngstown-Steubenville Hub still found a way to introduce high school students to the opportunities within the IKORCC apprenticeship program.
The Mahoning Valley Skilled Trades Expo hosted their second skilled trades event aimed at promoting union trades to seventh through twelfth-grade students. Unfortunately, the event was canceled last year due to the pandemic but returned with new ways to promote careers in the trades. The Hub partnered with local contractors like AP O’Horo, the Western Reserve Building Trades, and the area school’s Educational Service centers to host the two-day event. The event launched with a public open house to recruit and educate members from the community outside of just schools. Students from three Ohio and two Western Pennsylvania counties were given a chance to experience hands-on activities at each of the craft’s stations. Splitting this year’s event into two days gave the over 4,500 students more time to visit with each craft.
The Youngstown-Steubenville Hub has also partnered with the United Way to build several wheelchair ramps and assist the team in bagging groceries for more than 350 families unable to reach a food pantry in person. IKORCC members along with community members spent about three to four hours bagging groceries for United Way’s Satur-Day of Caring. The groceries were loaded into volunteers’ cars to be delivered to elderly members of the community.
Honoring Jerry Burke
/in News /by KameronWhen you lose someone so vital to an organization and who has positively impacted so many lives, it is difficult to properly convey the legacy they leave behind. The work Indiana/Kentucky Director of Education Jerry Burke has done on behalf of the UBC will continue to positively shape the apprenticeship and union for decades.
It is with deep sadness we announce the passing of Jerry Noel Burke, who passionately served the UBC for over 22 years. Jerry passed away on November 17, 2021 at 55 years old.
Before his work as Director of Education for Indiana and Kentucky for the IKORCC, he was a dedicated teacher for Jefferson County Public Schools at Jeffersontown High School in Kentucky, where he was a Welding and Project Lead the Way instructor to many students who loved him dearly.
He was a proud member of Millwright Local #1076, the American Welding Society Section 048, the Honorable Order of the Kentucky Colonels, and played the saxophone for the University of Louisville Marching Band.
Jerry was devoted to his family, his work and his community. He worked tirelessly to ensure that everyone had equal access to opportunities within apprenticeship programs in Indiana and Kentucky, pioneering CTE program development in high schools with the Kentucky TRACK Program, and leading development of SEAL (State Earn & Learn) programs in Indiana.
His commitment to community was displayed by his dedication to programs like KentuckianaBuilds and groundbreaking partnerships with multiple recovery centers. He also served on the board for Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana.
In addition to the incredible professional legacy he leaves behind, Jerry will be missed for his sense of humor, passion, positivity, trademark smile and passion for music. Coworkers said, “You didn’t work for Jerry, you worked with Jerry. We weren’t a staff, we were family.”
EST Todd Pancake said, “Jerry had an unparalleled dedication and commitment to apprentices, members & the training fund. The incredible legacy he left behind will continue to grow through the many programs he shaped and the apprentices he was devoted to. He will be deeply missed by everyone at the IKORCC.”
In his own words:
Partnership Helps Build Membership & Community
/in News /by KameronA new partnership in Louisville is breaking down barriers & growing membership. This innovative partnership with the Louisville Urban League’s Kentuckiana Builds Program reduces the time it takes to enter the apprenticeship from six months to only six weeks for participants. Students will gain direct entry to the apprenticeship once they complete a six-week construction training program that includes: First Aid/CPR, OSHA-10 and the core construction credential.
One week of the program is hosted in the IKORCC Training Center where students learn hand and power tools, soft skills and safety. “The partnership between the IKORCC and the Urban league is important for everyone to know that there are endless opportunities to build your future and your family’s future,” said Kentuckiana Builds Instructor and Local 175-member Michael Greathouse. Two cohorts of classes have completed this program with more classes scheduled in 2022.
There couldn’t be a better time to grow the membership in the Louisville-area. Louisville Senior Business Representative Waylon Isaacs says the work forecast for 2022 is strong. He’s estimating a large growth in manhours with work on projects like Baptist Hospital, Blue Grass Army Depot, Joint Forces HQ, Nucor, Ford Battery Plant and the VA Hospital in Louisville.
In addition to growing membership, the Louisville hub continues to build their community. They are currently working with the Jefferson County Public Schools and Louisville Metro Council on building community lending boxes to place in neighborhoods across the city. The boxes will be filled with food, toiletries, books and more.
Building Boom in Columbus
/in News /by KameronCentral Ohio carpenters and millwrights are busier than ever with some of the most well-known organizations around town. With ongoing projects for Ohio State Medical Center, Ohio State University, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Facebook, Google, Amazon, Hilton and more; members working in central Ohio will be plenty busy for the next five years plus.
If you’ve been to the Ohio Apprenticeship graduation, you know the Convention Center Hilton hotel. To meet the needs of the growing city, Hilton is expanding to a second tower, known as Hilton 2.0. The standalone tower will add another 463 guest rooms, making the total occupancy 1,000 rooms. This will be Columbus’ first and only hotel of that size. Area-members are working on the piling, micro-piling, concrete, metal studs, drywall, doors, acoustical ceilings and roofing. The $210 million project is being completed with union carpenters and is expected to be opened by June 2022.
Representatives are kept busy recruiting from non-union job sites and career fairs while competing with the countless now hiring signs around town. With huge projects approaching for both carpenters and millwrights, they are actively hiring experienced journeypeople and apprentices.
“It’s important our members know how effective their testimony is. They’re the best organizers we’ve got”, Senior Representative Troy Woodyard said. “They have inspiring stories to tell and we’re hoping everyone can do their part to grow our Brotherhood”.
Recruitment and Retention: Cleveland Nails It
/in News /by KameronThe “Great Resignation” is hitting the country hard especially with the baby boomer generation retiring in waves. Now more than ever it is crucial to bring in and retain new members. The Cleveland Hub has organized over 60 new Hispanic members throughout the year with the help of bilingual representatives. The Hub has also signed two new minority contractors along with several other new signatory contractors. More contractors mean more future work and more advancement opportunities for members.
Renewed attention on apprentice retention from locals out of their office has proved successful with retention rates in the 90th percentile. A focus on mentoring, maintaining a strong relationship between the Hub and the JATC, and attentive job placement assistance keep these apprentices busy working and coming back year after year.
The biggest project out of the Cleveland hub this year has been the mass timber frame mixed-use project across from the historic West-side market in downtown Cleveland.