Director of Education and Training with the United Association International Training Fund, Raymond Boyd, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to close National Apprenticeship Week and talk about his journey in the Union, the importance the organizing team plays in growing membership, and the success he’s experienced in 2023 as part of his work with apprentices.
Boyd was seeking a purpose before joining UA Plumbers Local 690 in Philadelphia. After applying and passing the entrance requirements, Boyd spent 35 years helping to inform people about the importance of unions. He reflected on where the UA and his role with UA ITF have taken him, and the opportunities he was provided with that would’ve been impossible to imagine without joining the Union.
The UA Organizing Team scours the entire United States targeting areas to provide information and a home for anyone wanting to join the trades. Boyd described the process involved with the organizing team's research and how the UA’s membership has grown to more than 370,000 members. Anyone interested in joining the trades should visit UA.org/join for more information about the trades within the UA.
2023 has been the most rewarding of Boyd’s life as the Director of Education and Training of the UA ITF. It has allowed him to travel the country and see all the success apprentices within the UA are having. He expressed how rewarding it is to give back to UA Locals and the International levels by training and educating the future of the UA. Boyd can’t understate how great it has been to be able to develop and lead the UA into a more diverse and successful future.
To hear more from Boyd and on the UA ITF, listen to the show above.