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PILMA—Good Works, Great Jobs

Senator Blumenthal Tours Sheet Metal Workers Local 40 Training Center

(article from the North Branford Patch)

The Sheet Metal Workers Local 40 and the Associated Sheet Metal and Roofing Contractors of Connecticut provided Sen. Richard Blumenthal with a tour of their training center on Old Forge Road Monday afternoon.

The center helps provide training for skilled craftsmen to improve air quality and reduce wasteful energy in heating, ventilation and air conditioning, the company press release said. The facility is also focused on creating more green jobs.

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What Separates Union Ironworkers from Non-Union Ironworkers? Training

Reprinted from the Iron Workers Magazine

The Iron Workers JATC, journeyman apprenticeship training committee, and in Canada TICs, trade improvement committees, are one of the bestkept secrets at our disposal.

When was the last time you invited elected officials, or candidates, to your local apprenticeship training?

On December 20, 2010, Local 22 (Indianapolis, Ind.) held an open house and tour of their training
facility. In attendance were representatives from Eli Lilly, a large construction user, contractors, and Congressman Andre Carson (IN-07). The theme for the event was “Training to Build the Facilities to Keep and Create Jobs in This Country.” The event was facilitated by the PILMA (Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association). Dave Kolbe, political and legislative director, serves as
trustee to PILMA representing the Iron Workers.

All locals have relationships with major industries in their area. When industry, contractors and building trades work together to educate elected officials they have a better understanding of issues like prevailing wage, project labor agreements, independent contractors, and safety.

In the private sector, project labor agreements ensure the best, fastest, and safest construction
projects. Why can’t they then work in the public sector building our infrastructure, everything from dams, water projects, roads, and bridges? Go to the PILMA website to check out
the YouTube video of this event: http://www.pilma.org/goodworks.html

Congressman Carson Praises Unions, Companies Collaborative Approach to Jobs and Innovation in Indiana's Bioscience Sector

On Monday, December 20, 2010, the Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association (PILMA) hosted Congressman Andre Carson (D-IN) at a tour of a state-of-the-art training facility run by Iron Workers Local Union 22 in Indianapolis.  The event, cosponsored by PILMA partner Hoosiers Work for Health, brought together leaders from industry, labor and government to focus on job creation and innovation Indiana’s bioscience sector.

Local Union 22 and Eli Lilly have worked together for years to keep Indiana at the forefront of innovation and job growth in the pharmaceutical industry.  Before the tour, Local 22 Business Manager Jeff Stinson and Eli Lilly and Company representative Mike O’Connor both addressed the group and spoke to the success of this partnership. 

“By securing our state's bioscience sector, we can ensure that Indiana can remain a fortress of high-paying jobs, economic growth and innovation well into the future,” Stinson said. “This training center highlights our commitment to providing the dedicated, highly-skilled workforce needed to support this bioscience-rich state.”

Congressman Carson also praised the unions and companies for their collaborative approach and noted the critical role that a highly-skilled and trained workforce plays in the state’s innovation economy.  “If Hoosiers are to be competitive in our future economy we need to sustain our highly-skilled workforce,” said Rep. Carson. “With Indiana having the second highest concentration of biopharmaceutical jobs in the nation, this training facility will provide the needed support to further develop our workers and the life sciences industry.”

Indiana is home to more than 500 life sciences companies. These companies provide jobs for a wide range of professionals—from construction workers and engineers who build the facilities to the sanitation workers, groundskeepers and administrative professionals who keep the plants running. If the U.S. is to remain competitive, it is imperative that life science industry leaders, such as Indiana, secure their position as a center of innovation. 

California PILMA Delegation Visits Santa Clara Sheet Metal Training Center

Sheet Metal Workers Local 104’s Joint Apprenticeship Training Center in Santa Clara recently hosted a tour by a delegation of pharmaceutical industry executives and California labor leaders from PILMA.

The tour showcased the training that members of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association (SMWIA) undergo to prepare them to master various welding specialties and unique technical skills that are essential in the construction of specialized structures such as cleanrooms, fume hoods and other critical components of modern pharmaceutical production facilities.

Graduates of the SMWIA apprenticeship program master every aspect of the industry, but many gravitate toward the challenging specialties of modern high tech construction.

In partnership with its signatory contractors, the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors of North America, SMWIA maintains one of the most rigorous craft training programs in the nation and the Santa Clara Center is one of the most advanced of the union’s 165 training centers.

The Santa Clara center features a 50,000 sq. ft. facility housing 11 classrooms with the latest in computer and audiovisual training aids. The center contains a design lab where students work with the latest computer aided design (CAD) software and building planning technologies.

SMWIA graduates are well versed not only in their craft and skills, but also and the latest developments in energy efficiency concepts, Green/LEED construction and highly efficient systems integrating all construction processes through Building Industry Management (BIM)—ensuring end users the best value for their construction dollar.

Tour participants included Patty Cooper, executive director of the California Biotechnology Foundation, Jennifer Fitzgerald of Amgen, Merrill Jacobs of PhRMA, Donna Kaylor of Pfizer, Travis Miller of Bay-Bio, Bob Balgenorth of the California Building and Construction Trades and Scott Carstairs, of Therma, a SMACNA contractor.

 

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey Visits SMWIA Local 19 Joint Aprenticeship & Training Center

September 2010--PILMA, in conjunction with We Work For Health, co-sponsored a September 10th visit by Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey to Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 Joint Apprenticeship & Training Center in Philadelphia. The session showcased the strategic partnership between the biotechnology industry and labor for some 35 biotech professionals and representatives from PILMA’s labor and industry partners—including SMWIA, GlaxoSmithKline, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer.

This was the first of several planned site visits to familiarize industry officials with the skill levels and training that various union craft workers bring to specialized construction challenges in the biotechnology industry.

The event earned notice from local print media and the ABC Philadelphia TV affiliate.