Saint Louis, Mo. — Flanked by union leaders and the program’s inaugural class, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay announced the launch of the Building Union Diversity (BUD) program today, which aims to provide free training for various union trade jobs for minority workers.
The program is an 8-week course in which between 10 and 20 eligible participants will receive free training and reviews in a variety of building and construction trades. Participants will be able to choose from a variety of training options based on their interests, and tradesmen will assess participants to place them in the training program for the job most suited to them. Those who successfully complete the training program are guaranteed at least one interview for a full time job at one of at least 8 participating trade unions.
Jeff Aboussie of the St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council said the program’s best selling point was its focus on “retention.”
“You’ve got a review at the front end and the back end for these students so they can find the trade that is best suited for them,” Aboussie said. “Retention is so important because so often people get into these programs and then they don’t stick with it. And what we’re doing is providing this training so that they have the skills to go get that job.”
Aboussie said the program was the result of almost a year of negotiating with city officials and local contractors. Funding for the program will come from federal dollars through the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) and the Department of Labor.
“At a time when economic justice is a proven factor in the strength of our communities, pushing this program forward and being a part of its creation is a great honor,” said Mike Louis, President of the Missouri AFL-CIO.
Rep. Jake Hummel, who recently was elected as Secretary-Treasurer for the Missouri AFL-CIO, said the program was something like a “pre-apprenticeship.”
“This gives everyone in it a chance to try each trade and find what is right for them,” Hummel said. “That way you don’t have the turnaround you’re normally going to see. If you look what’s happening in construction right now, it’s just starting to come back, and this is the time to be looking to getting more people trained and working.”
The program is available to anyone in the greater St. Louis region and will not exclude non-city residents. Slay said the program’s minority focus was not a response to the unfolding events in Ferguson, but rather a larger regional effort to create more minority job opportunities.
“We have to have a workforce that reflects our community,” Slay said. “We will make something good out of [Ferguson].”
Gary Elliot, business manager for the Eastern Missouri Laborers District Council and president of Laborers Local 110, said many local trade unions had an unfortunate past of excluding minorities, but that unions were prepared to “right that wrong.”
“This is about people who would have otherwise never had the chance to get these skills and opportunities,” Elliott said. “These jobs are good jobs, they have benefits, and you can raise a family on them. These are the jobs that people want to have an opportunity to work for. They don’t want a handout or charity.”
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
