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August 27, 2008

A chance to clear dust: Union training program workers donating labor, getting on-the-job experience

By Arthur E. Foulkes

TERRE HAUTE — Heavy equipment operators with the International Union of Operating Engineers local 841 are making dust and getting valuable training at Terre Haute’s new Emergency Responder Training Academy on North Brown Avenue.

The union workers, who are building roads designed to enhance the training facility, are donating their labor and receiving some valuable on-the-job training, said Norm Loudermilk, a Terre Haute firefighter and City Councilman.

“This gives them a chance to make dust,” Loudermilk said. “They were gracious enough to donate their labor.”

This type of donated labor is not unusual for union training programs, local union officials said. Not-for-profit organizations can sometimes receive free union labor if the work provides valuable training for people taking part in apprenticeship programs, they said.

“The [union] members love that type of training because they like to get away from the training center and actually do something,” said Terry Weaver, training director for the IUOE based in Terre Haute. The IUOE training facility, which serves more than a dozen counties in Indiana and Illinois and features a 100-foot crane, is in Vermillion County, Weaver said.

Last summer, several local unions donated labor to build a new classroom for Terre Haute’s Maple Center, an integrative health and maternity care facility on North Sixth Street. Unions also provided free labor for demolition work at Terre Haute International Airport – Hulman Field.

Union training programs last several years and are tough to get into. But, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unionized workers are paid on average around $200 more each week than non-unionized workers.

“We take the cream of the crop,” said J.B. Strange, financial secretary/treasurer of the Plumbers and Steamfitters local 157, based in Seelyville. This year around 600 people applied to become apprentices at the Plumbers and Steamfitters local, Strange said. Only around 60 were accepted, he said. “We don’t just take anybody. We always try and take the best.”

The apprenticeship program, operated by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Terre Haute, lasts five years and requires 8,000 hours of on-the-job training, said Mike McClain, training director for the IBEW/National Electrical Contractors Association training facility on Ohio Street. The IBEW apprentices also receive more than 1,000 hours of classroom instruction and eventually earn an Ivy Tech Community College degree, he said. The IBEW/NEC has 27 apprentices starting the training program this year, McClain said.

The training program for the Plumbers and Steamfitters lasts five years and requires 1,500 hours of on-the-job training and 216 hours of classroom training each year, Strange said. The IUOE apprenticeship program requires 6,000 total hours of training; however, apprentices have the option of testing out of the program early after 4,000 hours if they meet certain requirements, Weaver said, adding that the program typically takes five years to complete.

Most of the IUOE training is hands-on, Weaver said. “To be an operator, you really need to know how to pull the levers,” he said.

While the number of apprentices accepted into programs may seem small compared to the number of applicants, several unions report higher than average numbers of new apprentices accepted this year. Duke Energy’s planned coal gasification power plant in Edwardsport and the Rockies Express natural gas pipeline, which will pass through Vermillion, Parke and Putnam counties, are two reasons some area unions expect to need additional workers in upcoming years.

“Our job market looks pretty good for the next few years,” Strange said. The IUOE’s Weaver agree this year looks good, but he’s less certain about next year. The IBEW’s McClain said this year’s new apprentice class of 27 is larger than most years and another large class may be accepted next year, he speculated.

According to the BLS, there were around 15.7 million union workers in America in 2007 making up around 12.1 percent of wage and salary earners. Union membership rates are highest for public sector workers, where around 40 percent of employees were unionized. About 7.5 percent of private sector workers were unionized last year, the BLS reported.

Safety is a big part of union apprenticeship programs, local union officials said. For heavy equipment operators, safety is not only important for the person operating large equipment; it’s also vital for anyone working nearby, Weaver said.

Union apprenticeship programs provide academic and realistic training, generally lasting four to five years, according to Unions.org, a Web site providing information about several union apprenticeship programs. Apprentices often pay only for their text books and are otherwise paid while receiving their training.

“I guess you could say they get paid to learn,” Strange said of the apprentices with the Plumbers and Steamfitters. “It’s a career. It’s what we do.”



Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.

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