Laborers Archives

Is our apprentice program the answer for you?

| Apprenticeship, General Information, Training

So, if you’ve been reading along here with our blog, you’ve picked up on the fact that the NWLETT apprentice program for Laborers looks like a smart choice if you’re more interested in getting on-the-job training and cashing checks than putting in four or five years of time and tuition.

But at this point you might have some questions that we haven’t answered in detail, or at all. Here are some questions we commonly get, and straightforward answers to them.

What are the requirements to get in the program?

There are three mandatory requirements: you have to be at least 18 years old, you must have a valid driver’s license, and you need to verify that you have at least a 10^th-grade education or a GED.

How do I apply?

We suggest you give our apprenticeship office a call at 800.554.4457. They’ll ask you some questions to determine your next steps – typically, you’ll go to a union hall near your area and submit an application there.

How long does it take to complete the program?

The Laborer apprenticeship program involves 6,000 hours of combined on-the-job and classroom training. This can take from 3 to 5 years to complete – and you’ll be earning a good wage at the same time that you’re learning.

Do I have to take a drug test?

Yes, drug testing is mandatory for everyone in the program.

Are housing and meals free during training?

While you’re attending classes at the Kingston or Satsop training sites, your housing and meals are provided free of cost.

Why do I have to have a valid driver’s license?

On some jobs your employer may require you to drive a company vehicle, so you must be licensed and insurable.

What if I want to be an electrician/carpenter/operator?

Laborers are a separate trade from these fields, and we do not teach these very specialized skills. But, because the scope of a Laborer’s work is broader, we’re generally the first workers on a job and the last to leave. That means more overall work hours for Laborers.

I’ve worked in another state – will my skills transfer?

If you can prove that you’ve performed Laborer work (by showing W2s and pay stubs), you might be eligible for training credit and/or a higher starting wage.

What if I just want to be a flagger?

You’ll learn flagging as part of your apprenticeship. The program is designed to make you a well-rounded Laborer, which will benefit you and your employer in the long run.

What advice can you give me?

Be willing to learn and expand your skills. Being well-rounded in your skills helps you by making you eligible for more types of work. Because Laborer work can be cyclical, that means when one type of work (for example, concrete) slows down, you can pick up other work, like asbestos abatement. The more skills you possess, the more work will be available to you.

We hope this gives you an even better idea of why the NWLETT program is so beneficial for so many people looking to start on a solid career path. But, of course, you might have even more questions; we welcome them. Give us a call at 800.554.4457 and find out if you’re ready to get to work with us.

17 Apr

Make Sure You Use What You Learn

| General Information, Training

Quick question: What percentage of college graduates actually work in the field they have a degree in?

Go ahead, take a shot at it. 70 percent? 50 percent? Surely half of college graduates pay off all that time and expense with a job in the field they studied.

Try 27 percent. Yep, that’s the figure that was reported in the Washington Post from a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. So that means only about 1 in 4 degrees gets put to direct use – and that’s after spending an average of nearly $90,000 on a bachelor’s degree. Wow.

Now, compare that with the NWLETT apprenticeship program. First of all, the work you put in, and the (free) training you get, lead to the kind of well-paid job where you put to use exactly what you’ve learned.

Sounds good, right? You get paid while you work and learn, you get specific training for free, and at the end of the program you’re a skilled worker lined up for a successful career.

And here’s what might be the best part of all: Once you become a journeyman there’s a wide variety of specialty areas within the program, and you can request to work in the ones that interest you most.

Check out all the directions you can go within the NWLETT program:

Mason Tender/Hod Carrier – If you have an interest in masonry you can start here, helping a Stonemason by getting the site and materials ready to get the job done right. You’re helping the mason piece together a hands-on puzzle every day.

Concrete Worker – Working with concrete is both fascinating and rewarding. Learn the foundational skills of working with concrete, preparing the worksite as well and placing the concrete where it needs to be. This job is about providing the strength of what’s being built.

Asbestos Abatement/Hazardous Waste Worker – Talk about a valuable and respected skill – it takes specialized training and equipment to identify asbestos and other toxic materials, and you’ll play a crucial role in creating and maintaining safe environments.

Pipe Layer – Who doesn’t like to play in the mud? You’ll get the direct satisfaction of helping install drainage, water and sewer lines, including shoring, soil stabilization and more. Your work may not be visible when you’re done, but it’s critically important.

Highway/Asphalt Layer – You’ve probably been building roads since you had Hot Wheels; imagine being part of the team that’s laying down the real thing. There’s a science and an art to making a good road, and you’ll learn about both.

Certified Erosion and Sediment Control Lead (CESCL) – It’s basically an in-depth course in soil science; you’ll control erosion on sites to prevent dirt and pollutants from getting into water, using sophisticated measuring tools and testing water quality.

Traffic Control – There’s so much more to traffic control than holding a flag; you’ll become proficient at reading, interpreting and drawing workzone plans, as well as setting up safety zones and traffic control strategies.

Demolition – If the phrase “break it and take it” gets your blood pumping, demolition may be the job for you. Use a variety of equipment to help perform demo on work sites, drawing satisfaction from getting rid of what’s in the way so something new can be built.

Tunnel Worker – Not everyone can work underground; if you’ve got what it takes to work in confined spaces, you’ll be a valuable asset to any project. Learn to install ventilation, concrete and rail systems, and perform maintenance on giant tunnel-boring machines.

With these kinds of choices, you’ll find something you really enjoy – and then actually get to do it as your career. Contact NWLETT to find out more.

10 Apr

Should you choose an apprenticeship over going to college?

| Apprenticeship, General Information, Wages

Everyone knows senior year is all about getting into college, and then coasting on the knowledge that new opportunities are going to unfold before your eyes — complete with a shiny new dorm room, and all for a mere $23,600 per year… wait, what?

Let’s rewind. Attending college right after high school might be traditional. But so is making New Year’s resolutions, and how does that usually turn out? Of course, just like cutting down on those fried foods, there are plenty of good reasons people choose to go to college. It just doesn’t mean you have to.

Hands-on work is rewarding and engaging. It offers results you can see and touch, and it connects you with your surroundings. Yet many students who love working with their hands feel pressure to go to college and earn a degree — even if they don’t know what to study, and even if they can’t really afford tuition. It’s a lose-lose.

There’s another way: A construction apprenticeship with NWLETT lets you earn a living wage directly out of high school, with on-the-job training during which you get free housing and meals, and tons of opportunities for career advancement.

Need more convincing?

Here are three bad reasons to go to college:

1. You think you need a degree to get a job.

Hate to bust the college bubble, but a college degree doesn’t guarantee a job. With an NWLETT apprenticeship, you’ll have a paying job, starting at $18-$24 per hour plus benefits and a pension. You can absolutely earn good money, enjoy benefits and advance in your field without a degree.

2. You’re worried being a laborer means you’re not smart enough.

Totally false. Skilled laborers are innovative, creative problem-solvers who use modern technology to plan and build the world we live in. You know what’s smart? Not racking up astronomical debt for an education you’re not even sure you want.

3. College is just what you’re “supposed to do”!

Seventy percent of Americans attend a four-year college, but fewer than two-thirds of those graduate. Behind finances, the second most common reason they give for dropping out is a feeling that they didn’t belong. College truly isn’t the best path for everyone — and if you’re questioning it now, any small setback will only make that doubt grow.

And here are three great reasons to choose an apprenticeship instead:

1. You need to start earning a livable wage.

Money is the top reason students drop out of college. On average, college costs $23,600 per year — and if you don’t finish with a degree, you still have to pay for the classes you took. The NWLETT Apprenticeship gives you free training, job placement services and a paycheck. In four years’ time, you have the potential of earning up to $225,000, plus benefits and pension.

2. Your time is precious.

Paying for school often means working evenings, or holding a full-time job and going to night classes at the same time. When you get paid to receive training on the job, you keep your nights to spend how you want.

3. College is still an option later.

If you decide you want to further your education after the program, it’s easy to apply your job training hours toward earning a Multi-Occupational Trades A.A.S. — an associate’s degree that offers additional education for management-level positions.

Ready to learn more?

There are plenty of reasons joining a paid apprenticeship out of high school could be a better, smarter and more rewarding choice for you than starting college. Contact NWLETT to find out more!

7 Feb

LIUNA Members Mobilize to Urge Congress to Save TPS

| General Information

The following is a news release from LIUNA:

Washington, D.C. (February 6, 2018) – Terry O’Sullivan, General President of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – made the following statement on LIUNA’s advocacy for Temporary Protected Status.

Today, LIUNA members joined fellow union members and allies with the National TPS Alliance in an all-day effort – including a press conference and visits with lawmakers – to urge Congress to act now to fix the Temporary Protected Status program (TPS).

In the past few months, the Department of Homeland Security has terminated TPS for immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan. Collectively, this will force out over 350,000 people, who have built careers, started families, paid taxes including Social Security, and in many cases raised U.S. citizen children.

The Temporary Protected Status Program is a humanitarian program that provides an opportunity for immigrants who have fled natural disaster and conflicts in their home country. Immigrants in this program, many who have now been in the United States for decades, are crucial to the construction industry. An estimated 30 percent of TPS holders work in the construction industry – literally building America.

LIUNA calls on Congress to act immediately to pass legislation to fix TPS and avoid a humanitarian and economic disaster. LIUNA has endorsed H.R. 4253 and S. 2144, which will keep families together and avoid devastating disruption to communities across the nation.

6 Dec

Building America Starts With the Builders

| Uncategorized

Building America involves union members from all trades.

The following is a 12.5.2017 news release from the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA):

Washington, D.C. (December 5, 2017) – Terry O’Sullivan, General President of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – made the following statement on LIUNA’s advocacy for Temporary Protected Status.
Today, LIUNA members joined fellow union members of UNITE HERE, UFCW, IUPAT, the Iron Workers and Bricklayers to deliver 40,000 petitions pushing Congress to fix the Temporary Protect Status program (TPS) which will expire without legislative action.
The Temporary Protected Status Program is a crucial humanitarian program that not only provides an opportunity to get ahead in the United States for those who have fled natural disaster and conflicts in their home country, it is also crucial to the construction industry.
An estimated 30 percent of TPS-holders, work in the construction industry – literally building America.
Congress must not allow political wrangling to short-change our economy and upend the lives of immigrants in the TPS program, who have become part of the fabric of our communities, working, paying taxes and raising families.
LIUNA strongly urges Congress to adopt a legislative fix to extend the TPS program before the clock runs out.

More information about LIUNA can be found at http://liuna.org

6 Dec

Useful Health and Safety Apps for Laborers

| Uncategorized

The Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America (LHSFNA) has posted the following information regarding finding useful health and safety apps for Laborers.

There are two recently released apps mentioned in the link below, but the first paragraph contains links to articles from 2014 with LHSFNA’s original recommendations.

Topics cover weight loss, exercise, nutrition, medical, ladder usage, lift calculation, first aid, and even a noise meter (want to gauge how loud the Clink gets during a home game, Hawks fans?).

With a few exceptions, most apps are available in both iPhone and Android format.

https://www.lhsfna.org/index.cfm/lifelines/december-2017/free-apps-to-help-improve-worker-safety-and-health/?utm_campaign=LLODecember2017&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

Source: LHSFNA

23 Aug

LIUNA’s Fact Sheet: Right to Prosper and So-Called Right to Work

| Right to Work, Wages

Our Right to Prosper and So-Called Right-to-Work

Our country is about more than just low wage jobs. What makes America different is that it’s about more than work; our country is about the opportunity to get ahead and prosper. The corporate-backed elitists pushing so- called “right-to-work” are out to cut your pay, destroy your pension and weaken your union. It’s a well-funded nationwide effort and we must fight to stop them.

Our Right to Prosper is under attack by right-to-work laws that undermine your union, threaten training programs, cut wages, destroy good benefits, and jeopardize pensions.

 “Right-to-work” allows workers to opt-out of their fair share of union dues, stretching your union to the breaking point by forcing it to cover “free riders.”
 “Right-to-work” will deprive you of the family-supporting wages you deserve – workers in “right-to-work” states make about $5,300 a year less than workers in free-bargaining states.
 The health of you and your family will suffer – in “right-to-work” states, 28 percent more people lack health insurance. And your pension will be threatened as companies run away from their obligations.
 “Right-to-work” laws can be deadly. The rate of workplace deaths is 36 percent higher in “right-to-work” states. Workers in those states also lose out on workers’ compensation.“Right-to-work” is bad for your employer, too – it gives the upper hand to “low road” companies that offer poor pay and benefits and no career ladder. They can also devastate your local economy.
 Employers like yours negotiate with a union for a reason – they get access to a skilled, trained workforce. “Right-to-work” laws hurt their ability to compete on the quality, safety and productivity advantages they offer by using union workers.
 The good wages you make – the wages your union-negotiated – allow you to spend more money at local shops, restaurants, and other businesses. By weakening unions and putting those wages at risk, “right-to-work” laws can hurt your community’s economy as well. America is about prosperity for all but “right-to-work” laws hit the pocketbooks of women and minorities hard by threatening their unions.
 Latino union members earn $45 more each week than nonunion Latinos, while unionized African Americans earn 30 percent more each week than those, not in a union.
 “Right-to-work” laws undo the major gains unions have made in closing the gap between men’s and women’s pay. While the overall gender gap is 32 percent, it is only 5 percent among men and women who are in a union. Laborers’ International Union of North America – 905 16th Street NW | Washington, D.C. 20006 | 202-942-2246 | www.liuna.org

11 Aug

Did you know…

| Schedule, Training

…the latest and greatest version of the training schedules for all sites and locals can always be found here on the website?

If you don’t find what you’re looking for (especially with recertification training), keep checking, as that page is updated whenever a local requests a class.

You’re welcome.

11 Aug

Apprenticeship Connects Real Skills to Real Jobs

| Apprenticeship

We’re running this in the Fall newsletter, but it bears repeating!

From LIUNA:

Washington, D.C. (June 15, 2017) – Terry O’Sullivan, General President of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America – made the following statement today regarding President Trump and Secretary Acosta’s focus on apprenticeship training programs:

We applaud the Trump Administration’s focus on apprenticeship and skills training as a proven pathway to life-long, family-sustaining careers for millions of workers who might otherwise struggle in today’s economy.

With classroom and on-the-job training, workers can earn while they learn and enter the workforce without the debt that burdens too many college graduates. Apprenticeship training can open the door to career opportunities for workers by teaching job-ready skills based on employer needs – in short, apprenticeships are about real skills that connect workers to real jobs.

LIUNA and the other building trades unions have long understood the important connection of training and jobs. It is why LIUNA, working together with our signatory employers, created a world-class, accredited training network across North America. LIUNA has over 60 different construction and environmental skills training curriculums. We invest over $145 million a year in apprenticeship training and journeymen upgrade training to 200,000 construction laborers each year, at absolutely no cost to the government or taxpayers.

We pride ourselves in recruiting new workers by forming and cultivating national and local partnerships. We work with community groups, faith-based organizations, high schools, junior colleges, and others to train the workforce of today and tomorrow. The proven, long-term success of the union Building Trades system, if viewed as a university, would be the largest privately funded training system in the U.S.

While details are being finalized, the Administration’s proposal can help workers by providing access to quality apprenticeship programs that lead to good middle-class jobs. There is still much to be done, but we look forward to working with President Trump, Labor Secretary Acosta and Congress to strengthen apprenticeship and highlight the union construction trades program as a model for excellence.

11 Aug

Eclipse safety

| Health, Safety

Planning on watching the total solar eclipse on August 21?

Protecting your vision during during all phases of this incredible event is important. The only safe time to view without protective eyewear is during the approximate two minutes of totality.

Here’s an informative piece which recently ran on NPR which details the safest methods (and it even includes a link to reputable, NASA-approved dealers of protective eyewear).

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/01/540661570/planning-to-watch-the-eclipse-heres-what-you-need-to-protect-your-eyes