Alissa Reynold’s journey from a soldier to a proud union ironworker

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Alissa Reynolds

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Alissa Reynolds, a journey-level Ironworker with Ironworkers Local 63, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast this Veterans Day to discuss her experience as an enlisted soldier with the U.S. Navy and what led her to join the trades. She also talked about the assistance provided by Helmets to Hardhats during the transition and how young veterans can find a home and career in the trades.

Reynolds joined the Navy at 17 and eventually rose to be a 2nd Class Petty Officer Service Warfare. By 19, she was part of a deployment to perform counterterrorism operations aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Reynolds discussed other details of her Naval career and what eventually led her to the trades.

As Reynolds began her transition out of the military and into civilian life, she was able to connect with Helmets to Hardhats. Once connected, she said she found a passion for ironworking. In 2021, Reynolds landed at Iron Workers Local 63, based just outside Chicago. At Local 63, she participates in fundraising efforts and educational outreach with her Brothers and Sisters in the union.

Finally, Reynolds discussed how young veterans can find a community and thriving career in the trades after their service. She highlighted how the union benefits and wages can act as a “great equalizer” for women and minorities. Reynolds shared her personal experience as a part of the Iron Workers community and the sense of security she has experienced. Reynolds said she expects to retire comfortably with dignity thanks to the home she found in the trades.

Listen to the show above for more about Reynolds and her journey from the Navy to the Iron Workers.

America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

Alissa Reynold’s journey from a soldier to a proud union ironworker

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