Sparks Fly as Native Americans Start Training To Join Future Ranks of Unionized Welders
With shortages of skilled workers in pipe trades among the highest anticipated for construction crafts, at least one supplier is reaching into new territory for recruits—Native American reservations.
This month, the plumbers’ and pipefitters’ union and the U.S. Interior Dept.’s Bureau of Indian Affairs launched a new program to fast-track apprenticeship for Native Americans in welding and pipefitting trades. About 20 trainees, from tribes in eight states, began instruction at a Mokena, Ill., training facility run by Local 597, the union’s Chicago-area local that also is its largest. But with response great, future programs are anticipated elsewhere.