‘Union Apprenticeship Set Me on the Right Path’
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Cory McCray, an IBEW Local 24 member and founder of the Metro Baltimore Council AFL-CIO Young Trade Unionists, describes how his IBEW apprenticeship helped ensure he entered adulthood with a firm footing in the middle class. In the video here (on the left), McCray elaborates on his experience.
As I anticipate my 29th birthday, I realize how one decade can drastically change a person’s life. I find it impossible not to give thanks to God for providing me with a family, community and, most of all, the Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 24, for placing direction in my path.
As I reminisce about my trials and tribulations as a young adult, I pay homage to those who helped me overcome the self-inflicting wounds that we call experience. Those experiences are what play a big part in my decision making skills today, and the IBEW Local 24 was able to give me a clear foundation and structure to move in the right direction.
The IBEW offered a five-year apprenticeship program. My class went to school one day Read the rest of this entry »
Shuler: Young Trade Unionists Showing the Way to Victory
Young workers are the future of the union and progressive movements and the key to creating long-lasting prosperity. Last night, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler told the Young Trade Unionists in Baltimore at their one-year anniversary celebration that the successes they have had in just one year should be an example to the rest of the union movement.
Young union members in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area formed the Young Trade Unionists last year with the encouragement and support of the Metropolitan Baltimore Council of AFL-CIO Unions. The group was formed to educate and mobilize union members and nonunion workers in Maryland and metropolitan Washington, D.C., between 18 and 35, about the labor movement. They also encourage seasoned union members to attend meetings to help develop creative ideas and initiatives to advance the union movement. In one year, the group has grown to include some 450 members and has more than 2,000 friends on Facebook.
5,300 Employees at Southwest Airlines Reach Tentative Pact, and More Bargaining News
Some 5,300 employees at Southwest Airlines reach a tentative pact, and more updates from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
IAM, Southwest Airlines: Some 5,300 customer service and reservation agents at Southwest Airlines, represented by the Machinists (IAM) District 142, reached a tentative four-year agreement. The agreement, which still needs ratification by workers, is retroactive to last year and runs through October 2012.
