The path to freedom and opportunity
“When I think about freedom, when I think about opportunity, it runs through places like this and folks like you,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday.
He was visiting the Steamfitters Local 449 in Jackson Township to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week.
“I’m proud to be here making these investments in you and your future and in all of our collective future,” he continued.
In July, Shapiro’s administration awarded $90,000 in grants to Local 449 through the state Department of Labor and Industry. The funds were used for a marketing campaign to attract candidates to the union’s apprenticeship program.
It’s true that freedom and opportunity run through union shops. They also run through colleges, high schools, the military, and on and on. Odds are, whatever group of workers the governor is talking to, he’s going to see freedom and opportunity, as any visionary should. That’s the heart of the American way.
But apprenticeship programs are in a unique position right now.
College enrollment was down 8% in the three-year period from 2019 to 2022, according to an NPR report. Between the pandemic and skyrocketing student debt, and the fact that skilled labor is in high demand, colleges are suffering.
“Registered apprenticeship programs give Pennsylvanians the opportunity to earn competitive wages and advance their careers,” Department of Labor and Industry Secretary Nancy Walker said when announcing the grant in August.
“The apprentices go to school for free,” Ken Broadbent, business manager at the Steamfitters union, said in August. “They get to work on a job where they get paid and start at roughly $18 an hour with a 10% raise every year. It’s a middle-class way of living.”
For apprentices, Steamfitters has two programs. One is building trades focused where they learn to build heating and air conditioning systems, while the other trains apprentices to be mechanical equipment service technicians.
“It will take them about five years to complete the training,” Broadbent said. “We got about 500 apprentices, 1,900 active members and 2,900 total with 1,000 retirees. Our jurisdiction runs from the West Virginia border to Lake Erie, which is 15 counties.”
The program contributes to the economy and puts paychecks in the pockets of hard-working members with solid careers.
It’s a good time for the governor to tout the union apprenticeship program.
Apprenticeships will build a new generation of skilled labor workers. We applaud the efforts to build a skilled workforce for the commonwealth.
— RJ
