1 min read

Season 5, Episode 241

Ironworker teaches fifth graders about important job traits

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Guest Name:


Rob Monak

Guest Website:


ironworkerslocal55.com 

Guest Social Media:


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Supportive Documents:


 

Director of Workforce Development and Organizing and also Vice President for Ironworkers Local 55 in Toledo, Ohio, Rob Monak, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to talk about how he teaches fifth graders important job traits. He also discussed organizing and the work outlook for Local 55 members.

Years ago, Local 55 joined the Sandusky County Chamber of Commerce and Monak, who has a bachelor’s degree in education, was asked to participate in a program to teach students about career opportunities. As part of the REACH Program, Monak visits fifth-grade students at the Lakota Schools once a month to talk about things like work ethic, attendance, paying attention, making an effort and a variety of careers, including being an ironworker.

Monak also spoke about the organizing efforts going on within the Iron Workers District Council and how he and others are working to help people improve their lives by joining the union. He discussed how one new organized member is succeeding. This young man, an Army veteran, has exceeded all expectations. As a result, the Local and his contractor are putting together a succession plan for him to advance his career.

Finally, there are two major projects in the Local 55 jurisdiction - a datacenter project in Sandusky and an Amazon warehouse. Monak said more datacenters are coming to the region and discussed how it will benefit the members of his Local. 

Listen to the full episode to hear more from Monak on his outreach to fifth graders and the work opportunities in Northwest Ohio.


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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