1 min read

Season 2, Episode 68

Building trades pre-apprenticeship programs boost Texas job creation

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Guest Name:


Leonard Aguilar

Guest Website:


texasaflcio.org

Guest Social Media:


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The south has been a difficult place for labor unions to thrive. While the political atmosphere remains fairly hostile towards unions, they are making ground in their organizing efforts.

Texas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Leonard Aguilar has seen just about every level of the union world, from pre-apprenticeship to his new position within the state labor federation. He joined AWF Union Podcast to discuss what they are doing to spur job creation and how their pre-apprenticeship programs are helping the state’s working people.

Winter storm recovery

Having a United Association background, Aguilar gave a quick update on the damage done to piping systems by the recent winter storms in Texas.

He said the state rallied together over the common problem, but this was quickly forgotten. While the people of Texas are searching for solutions to the problem so it does not happen again, leadership at the Statehouse has quickly pushed the problem aside and is back to partisan arguments.

Texas job creation

Aguilar said the Texas AFL-CIO is focusing its efforts on job creation, specifically through the Texas Renewable Energy and Jobs Program. This is designed to help workers and those entering the workforce to find careers and training in the renewable energy sector.

Currently, many energy jobs are not union jobs. The shift to renewable energy positions unions in a great place to organize and train a brand new workforce. While Aguilar said they are still protecting workers in the fossil fuel industry, it will be important to target this new workforce.

Pre-apprenticeship in Texas

Pre-apprenticeship programs are being developed throughout the state with suggestions from various building trades unions. He said the three-week program is expanding and is open to high school students, those looking to enter the workforce and people switching careers.

He said the opportunities in Texas are great for building trades workers, with cities expanding and corporations moving to the state.

As an added bonus to building trades unions, Aguilar stated the program boosts apprenticeship retention rates. Participants can gain a feel for the career and begin to invest, making them more likely to fully commit.


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.

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