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ON THE ROAD TO BETTER WAGES AND BENEFITS
The excellent skills and safety training that our union provides for our members is something in which we can all take pride. The desire to share this pride led to an opportunity for KMLRCC Local 197 and other area building trades to host a few stops along Virginia 2nd District Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy's bus tour. For four days, Delegate Foy and her staff visited training centers in the Washington, D.C., northern Virginia, and Maryland area to see rsthand the positive impact unions have on the lives of her constituents. This effort to host an educational tour for local elected of cials and the public involved several aspects of our union including our top-notch training center staff, the Sisters of the Brotherhood, Local 197, Local 252 Mill Cabinet members, and our political team.
KML Carpenters were not only involved in coordinating training center tours for candidates, Local 252 Mill Cabinet members from New Jersey also provided the work to wrap the van for the tour.
"I have had the privilege to work as a carpenter as well as a graphics technician. We started as silk screeners, we evolved into vinyl technicians, and now we are involved with vehicle wraps, large format printing, and graphic design," explained Local 252 Member Jose Pagan about how the carpenters union got involved in vehicle wrapping.
With the help of fellow members Joe Wells and Miguel Torruellas, Jose was able to hand cut and mount the design on the van. KML's logo as well as the phrase "Stand With Union" was prominently displayed on the van as it drove across Virginia and Maryland. Check out a video of the process.
One of the stops of the tour was a "Women in Labor" roundtable event where Council Representative and Director of the Sisters of the Brotherhood Program Susan Shultz, Council Representative Vanessa Salazar, and recent apprenticeship graduate Constance Coggins were in attendance.
"This tour is important for both our members and the candidates," said Sister Shultz. "We're able to build stronger relationships while helping the candidates gain an understanding of how important it is for local people to work on local projects."
At the roundtable, Sister Constance shared how union training let her build a different future for herself and her family. "If I don't want to go to college, I don't have to. I can still have a good paying job straight out of high school." Sister Constance then explained to the room, "The opportunity to have a good life and buy my own home and feed my kids with no assistance—that is what the union is really offering me."
The nal stop of the tour was the Mid-Atlantic Carpenter's Training Center (MACTC) in Upper Marlboro Maryland, where many union members from northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland have gone through the apprentice training program.
MACTC Training Coordinator Bob Eaton and Executive Secretary- Treasurer William Sproule took Delegate Carrol Foy and other local leaders on a tour of the facility. The tour of the training center included explanations of how they teach scaffolding, pile driving, Best Practices in Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA), and even virtual reality welding training.
At the close of the trip, Delegate Foy said, "I want to thank the Carpenters and all the unions who have supported this effort to educate and energize people about the importance of union apprenticeship." She continued, "We are not only Virginia strong, but union strong.
"We support Delegate Carroll Foy 100% as she stands up with the Keystone + Mountain + Lakes Council of Carpenters and helps us ght for workers rights, good wages, and good bene ts" added Executive Secretary-Treasurer William Sproule.
The success of this tour was the result of the partnerships the KMLRCC has developed throughout the region. As the union grows, there will be more chances to partner with local leaders and get the word out about the opportunities our training centers provide.
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