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Season 4, Episode 172

Fighting the stigma of union jobs is key for organizing at Local 55

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Guest Name:

Rob Monak

Guest Website:

https://www.ironworkerslocal55.com/ 

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Vice President of the Ironworkers Local 55, Rob Monak, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to talk about his unique path to Union. Monak also talked about the efforts by Local 55 to organize and recruit new members in Northwest Ohio.

Monak found his way to Local 55 after a few years searching for a career. He grew up with many Local 55 families and found the Union life was for him. Monak not only serves as Vice President of the Local but also as an organizer and business development agent. Currently, Local 55 is the king of Northwest Ohio, but they continue to fight the stigma behind union work to build a better community.

With companies making more off workers than ever, it’s the union’s job to fight for the fair share of workers. Monak works to educate workers on their rights to earn a livable wage and have benefits for their families as well. He’s found that most Prevailing Wage conversations organizers have resulted in more new members of the Union.

There’s been an ebb and flow to recruiting over the last five years. If an apprentice can make it through year one of their apprenticeship, they have about an 80 percent chance to make it through the entire apprenticeship, Monak said. The early expectations prove to be the most difficult in the apprenticeship program. While the apprenticeship recruiting process isn’t as ideal as Monak would like, it’s making progress, and that’s a starting point for building a successful recruitment pipeline.

To learn more about Ironworkers Local 55, please listen to the show above, then visit ironworkerslocal55.com

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, American Alliance for Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 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, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North America, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Survey and Ballot Systems, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

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