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Boilermakers 169: Don't forget, hire the vet

Date Posted: November 25 2005

Boilermakers Local 169 is expanding its base of organizing operations, seeking and accepting the resumes of a handful of military veterans into its apprenticeship program.

The organizing effort is taking place under "Helmets to Hardhats," a nationwide program designed to place military veterans into construction careers. In Michigan, Local 169 is one of the first unions to get involved.

Local 169 Business Manager Tony Jacobs said the local began recruiting in the Helmets to Hardhats program at the request of the International Unions' Great Lakes Area leadership.

"This is the kind of program unions should get involved in," Jacobs said. "These veterans don't have much to come home to in this job market, and we're offering them the opportunity to work in a high-paying job with good benefits. It's the right thing to do."

Last month, eight veterans who had recently completed their military obligations signed up to become part of the most recent group of 40 probationary Boilermaker apprentices. If they're willing to stick to it through 6,000 hours and four years of training, the apprentices will go onto to become journeymen and hopefully enjoy a good career with union wages and benefits.

Jacobs said the military experience makes veterans a good candidate for apprenticeship.

The Helmets to Hardhats to program was started three years ago by the AFL-CIO Building Trades Department. The building trades estimate that worker shortages are on the horizon, with more than 40 percent of the construction industry workforce expected to retire in the next decade. Construction unions have a goal of recruiting 1.6 million workers in the next five years.

Robert Eisenmann, 29, a Marine for the last nine years most recently based in Okinawa, Japan, was discharged from his military obligations on Aug. 1. He expressed some frustration in his initial post-military job searches, sending out multiple versions of his resume to different organizations without getting a bite.

"I found out about Helmets to Hardhats, sent them a resume, they contacted me and here I am," the Detroit resident said. "It was pretty quick." Trained by the Marines in warfare and amphibious raids, Eisenmann expected that boilermaker work would be a change of pace. "But I'm ready to go to work," he said. "Once a grunt, always a grunt."

Fellow Marine Nicholas Flint, 22, a four-year military veteran who spent time in Iraq and Okinawa, found out about Helmets to Hardhats through the Veterans Affairs Office.

"I put a resume out and two weeks later the Boilermakers called," Flint said. "I didn't know what a boilermaker was, but I found out later that my wife's grandfather was a boilermaker. From what I've heard, this looks like it's going to be a great experience, a high-paying job that will keep me on my toes."

MILITARY VETERANS attend an apprenticeship orientation session with Boilermakers Local 169. Leading the session are, at left, are Local 169 Business Manager Tony Jacobs and Boilermakers Great Lakes Apprenticeship Coordinator Larry McManamon, Jr.