The University of Iron
Ironworkers
Apprenticeship Program
Local 377 and 378
Organized Labor
Jan 2009
The building trades offer something that few other institutions in our modern-day, high-tech society can offer: a place where almost anyone who is willing to work hard and follow the rules can make a decent living, with health care and benefits for themselves and their families, including retirement. And when they retire, they can look back at what they accomplished and say, “I was part of the great profession that built this city.” This is one of the great achievements of the union movement. Labor unions have fought hard not only for decent pay and working conditions, but also to preserve the skills and traditions of their crafts and to pass those traditions and skills on to the next generation. And the key to this is union apprenticeship programs. In this issue we begin a series of articles on apprenticeship programs, starting with the iron workers, Local 377 and 378.