P4A on Track for Record Setting Training Year
2017 continues to be a record-setting year for trainings at the UWUA’s Power for America Training Trust (P4A). As of July 1, P4A had trained over 2,000 UWUA members. “We are on target to train 5,000 UWUA members by the end of the year,” said P4A Executive Director Jonathan Harmon. “Our Training Fund employers see the benefit of P4A training and continue to ask us to provide more.”
One reason for the increase in training has been the emphasis on Health, Safety and Environment (HS&E) trainings. “There should never be an argument about our members’ safety,” said UWUA Executive Vice President Steven VanS
looten. “P4A continues to prove that they are the training experts in this area.” Members working for American Water, Aqua Ohio, Consumers Energy, Con Edison, and Peoples Gas have benefitted from multiple safety trainings over the year.
Skills trainings continue for UWUA members as companies and the UWUA work toward updating the nation’s energy infrastructure. Across the Midwest and Northeast, P4A has worked with American Water to implement a new “utility worker” program to train new hires and individuals in their first two years of employment. These workers are given the necessary skills to safely operate and inspect fire hydrants as well as operate, inspect, and maintain valves. This new program currently uses P4A instructors to share their expertise with these new workers.
While this year continues to break records for training individuals, P4A isn’t satisfied. “We are currently in discussions to add more employer members as well as increase our selection of trainings with current employers,” says Harmon. “It’s an exciting time at P4A!”
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UMAP Cohort 15-Bravo Graduates
Local 18007’s P4A Utility Workers Military Assistance Program (UMAP) Cohort 15-Bravo recently graduated in front of family, friends, and guest speakers from as far away as Washington DC. To date, more than 350 veterans have graduated from the program. “I could not be more proud of this group, and every class before them. Six months offers extensive training, but its pay off is in a career as a union utility worker, which is like a golden ticket for these young men and women,” said Local 18007 Business Manager and UWUA Veterans Committee Chair Richard Passarelli.