Washtenaw Community College hosts training for 4,000 union trainers in Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor’s Washtenaw Community College (WCC) will host training events for union trainers from four national skilled trades organizations this summer.
Training sessions will be held on the WCC campus between June to August, according to a news release. Trainers from the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers, Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons International Association, International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Union and United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters are expected to attend.
Trainers will spend a week on campus taking classroom credit classes and participating in hands-on laboratory instructional training in order to stay updated with the latest skills and technological developments in their fields, the release said. Following the program, trainers will be able to impart their learning to union members across the country.
The training events began in the week of June 13, with about 175 members of the United Union attending training sessions on campus covering topics such as computer skills, fall prevention and safety, among others.
In the week of July 11, about 110 members of the Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons International Association will participate in the sessions. Following this, about 650 members of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Union will attend in the week of July 18.
August will see the most union trainers on campus with more than 3000 members of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters attending the training sessions.
“We are thrilled to welcome back to campus so many of our valued trades partners, WCC President Dr. Rose B. Bellanca said in the release. “The skilled trades play an essential and important role in supporting and building better communities, and we are very proud of the relationships we’ve built with these organizations.”
The sessions will conclude on Aug. 15 with a block party with live entertainment and sidewalk dining in the downtown area organized by Destination Ann Arbor and the 10th annual UA Plumbers and Pipefitters 5K run.
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A similar training event was hosted on the campus last year with trainers from the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers.
Contact Navya Gupta at ngupta@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ann Arbor's Washtenaw Community College to train trade union trainers
