Just two weeks before Christmas, two deadly tornadoes tore across the heart of the U.S. Among the hardest hit areas were the 14 western Kentucky counties covered by Paducah, Ky., Local 816.

"The storms rolled through like a freight train," said Local 816 organizer Chad Rennison. "They did their thing and moved on, destroying everything in their path in about 30 minutes."

As always after such tragedies, IBEW members from all over North America rushed to offer professional and financial aid to the residents and businesses in the affected communities. One notable relief effort came from the members of Portsmouth, Ohio, Local 575, which covers four counties over on the eastern part of the Bluegrass State.

"We know that if we ever needed help, our IBEW brothers and sisters would be there for us," said Local 575 Business Manager Dan Shirey, who was recently appointed to the National Executive Council.

The National Weather Service said that the strong Dec. 10 storm system that tore along a path from the Ozark Mountains to the Great Lakes produced nearly 60 tornadoes. One violent twister spun up in northwest Tennessee and traveled east about 165 miles across western Kentucky — essentially the entire length of Local 816's jurisdiction. Another also formed in Tennessee, this time moving a nearly parallel 123 miles through Local 816's territory before finally dissipating in Todd County, Ky.

Right after the storms stopped, Rennison said, "We had members volunteering, trying to help people and do whatever they could." Locals and individual members from all over the country also were sending emails asking, "Can I come down and help?"

"I don't think most people can understand the chaos that ensues when something like this happens," Rennison said. "The storms hit at night, so we didn't really understand how bad things were until the next morning."

Large relief organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the America Red Cross mobilized almost instantly. But as Local 575's Shirey saw on the news just how widespread the damage had been, he knew that his local needed to pitch in, too.

"After learning what their needs were, [Local 575 organizers] Joe Dillow and Randy Brown reached out to our Executive Board about buying some supplies," Shirey said. The board agreed without hesitation and authorized the trio to spend up to $10,000 on necessities such as diapers, blankets, toiletries and cleaning items.

Donated power generators in Paducah were plentiful, Shirey learned, "but they said they needed more plug bars and power cords, so we went to every local supply house we could. Lots of folks in our community went out and bought supplies, too."

While the Local 575 members were shopping, Dillow had a conversation with his friend Skip Bailey, an organizer for neighboring Huntington, W.Va., Local 317, and mentioned what the members of the Portsmouth local were doing.

"We've always worked closely with Local 575," said Bailey, who passed the word on to his business manager, Shane Wolfe. "'We absolutely want to split the cost with them,'" Bailey recalled Wolfe saying. "And when we brought it up [at the next local meeting], there was no second thought about it.

"You see these things in the news, but I know when you get there, you get a whole new feeling for it," Bailey said. "We were glad and willing to join the efforts."

Working with Local 575 Training Director Matt Louanglath, supplies were gathered first at the local's Electrical Training Academy building and then packed into just about every inch of the academy's 20-foot trailer. At 4:30 on the morning of Dec. 17, "we drove 6 1/2 hours nonstop to Princeton, Ky., another one of the towns that was shook pretty hard," Shirey said.

When Shirey, Dillow and Brown arrived at their destination, Rennison was there to help them stage their distribution efforts out of an empty former grocery store. "Chad had worked out the logistics," Shirey said, "and later he took us around to survey some of the damage."

It was sometimes hard to grasp the amount of devastation they were seeing throughout the area, Rennison said. "Lots of people we dealt with still had structures, but we were also seeing people who had nothing. Whole city blocks were just piles of rubble. We were hooking up generators to structures that were still livable in low-income areas and to homes of elderly people who had been without power for nearly a week — no baths, no heat.

"We've also got guys volunteering to rebuild services," Rennison said. "[Local 816] Business Manager [Jimmy] Evans has been coordinating with local politicians and the Kentucky Department of Housing and Building Trades to make sure all inspections are still being done."

At this writing, 77 deaths have been attributed directly to the two tornadoes, which also leveled more than 1,000 properties and left thousands homeless.

"To our knowledge, one member lost everything," Rennison said, as did a retired IBEW member in Tennessee and the widow of another retired member. AccuWeather has estimated that the cost of the storms could reach $18 billion in total damages and economic losses.

"I think we have a responsibility to help," Rennison said. "We need a lot more love and compassion these days. I'd also like to think that people would help us out if the situation was reversed."

Rennison believes an experience like this can make electrical workers think about their apprenticeship roots. "Back then, you had to learn how to work as a team," he said. "That thinking transfers over to your whole life without you even knowing it."

The union relief committee of the Kentucky AFL-CIO and the Greater Louisville Central Labor Council established a disaster fund to raise money to help union families affected by the tornadoes. Mail checks, made out to the United Way of Kentucky, to P.O. Box 4653, Louisville, KY 40204-0653, and write "Union Disaster Relief" on your check's subject line.

"Brotherhood Outdoors," the Union Sportsmen's Alliance long-running show that highlights union members on once-in-a-lifetime hunting and fishing expeditions, has a new home — one that makes it easily available to more viewers.

New episodes of the show, which recently began its 14th season, are posted on Monday at 4 p.m. EST on YouTube instead of airing on a cable television channel. Episodes average 12 minutes in length.

The IBEW is a sponsor of the show and 14 members have appeared on it over the years.

"American union workers are the heart of the Union Sportsmen's Alliance and their stories are what 'Brotherhood Outdoors' is all about," said Forrest Parker, USA's director of conservation and communications.

"After 13 seasons of airing 'Brotherhood Outdoors' on network TV, we are very excited to move our union-dedicated outdoor series to YouTube to give all our members real-time, free access to enjoy it and help shape future content through their digital engagement," Parker added.

In addition to the regular episodes, the Union Sportsmen's Alliance will post bonus videos on topics such as cooking while in the field and how-to segments on its YouTube channel. Other videos will include insights from exploration guides and guests.

The Union Sportsmen's Alliance is a non-profit organization made up of union members who use their outdoor skills while volunteering to advance conservation efforts and preserve North America's outdoor heritage. Members have built and improved facilities that allow more access to the outdoors on public lands. They also have sponsored and participated in events that expose schoolchildren to fishing and the outdoors who might not have an opportunity to do so.

Active and retired IBEW members in the United States and Canada are encouraged to apply for a spot on "Brotherhood Outdoors," but they must be a member of the Union Sportsmen's Alliance to be eligible. Membership in USA is free for IBEW members.

See new episodes at YouTube.com/UnionSportsmen.

There's a lot that goes into creating an inclusive working environment on a jobsite. One thing that probably doesn't come to mind though, is the availability of menstrual products. But construction sites in British Columbia are beginning to take notice and account for the on-the-job needs of everyone in the trades. One contractor leading the way is IBEW signatory Houle Electric.

"Once we learned about this campaign, it was really easy for us to say yes," said Houle Vice President of People and Culture Amber Roberts. "Our vision is to be an industry leader, and that includes embracing and advancing diversity and inclusion."

The Period Promise campaign is an initiative of the United Way that aims to eliminate what's known as "period poverty." Half of all people who menstruate say that they have struggled to purchase products for themselves at some point in their lives, and more than a quarter have gone through a period without having any products at all. In terms of work issues, research by the United Way found that more than 20% of people who menstruate missed work because of an inability to access menstrual products. And 30% have had to leave work for the same reason. Menstruation is, in fact, one of the top two reasons that women miss work in Canada.

Affordability can even be a concern for tradespeople. Despite being paid a solid living wage, individuals sometimes have to pay CA$18 or CA$20 for a box of tampons in remote and rural areas.

There can be other barriers for construction workers too, said Mollie Routledge, a journeymen electrician responsible for membership development with Kamloops Local 993. Women, non-binary people and trans men represent less than 5% of skilled tradespeople, so their menstrual needs are rarely considered when it comes to stocking the restrooms.

"It's not something that everybody thinks about," Routledge said. "And it's not necessarily an easy conversation to bring up if you do need something."

Routledge, who is also a director of Build TogetHER, the women's committee of the BC Building Trades, took her concerns to Houle last summer and said she's thrilled to have the company sign on and even post about it on social media.

"I'll admit it's a pun, but this is the right thing to do, period, and I'm deeply grateful to Houle for taking this step," Routledge said. "They are an outlier in the sector, but all good leaders are outliers at some point."

Houle signed the pledge on Aug. 30 and is currently providing menstrual products for its roughly 80 members doing electrical work on the multi-year CA$623 million Mills Memorial Hospital project.

"Houle is a positive, forward-thinking company and their employees welcome having easy access to these menstruation products in the same manner as toilet paper," Routledge said.

Adopters of the Period Promise include unions, post-secondary institutions and nonprofit organizations, but only a handful of private companies like Houle. Also of note is BC Infrastructure Benefits, the first crown corporation to sign on. BCIB manages workforce development on certain public infrastructure projects.

"BCIB is working with the province and contractors to open doors for women and people across the gender spectrum," said Irene Kerr, BCIB's president and CEO, in a statement. "But it's not enough to simply open the door. We need to create safe and welcoming jobsites so that everyone is able to do their best work."

Fluor Constructors, which is working on the Canada LNG project, has also signed on. LNG Canada's Kitimat terminal is part of the largest private-sector infrastructure project in Canadian history, a CA$40 billion-plus development that includes new pipelines running from gas fields near the British Columbia-Alberta border to the west coast export terminal. At peak, Routledge says they are expecting to have 3,000 electricians on site.

The Western Joint Electrical Training Society has also signed on with the Period Promise and will have products available at all of its locations. Western JETS is responsible for the training of the electrical specialists employed by all signatory contractors of IBEW unions including Victoria Local 230, Local 993 and Nelson Local 1003, which covers Vancouver Island, Northern British Columbia, the Yukon and the Kootenays region in the southeast.

The United Way and other supporters are optimistic that more companies will eventually come on board.

"We're hoping that the more companies like Houle become adopters, the more it will catch on," said Neal Adolph with the United Way. "Employers will realize that the Period Promise program not only benefits workers, but is feasible, economical, good for business and the right thing to do."

Routledge also noted how programs like the Period Promise can help to address the province's need for more tradespeople.

"We have a skilled trades shortage, so there has been a push for some time to recruit people from underrepresented groups, including women," Routledge said. "The more ways we can demonstrate that construction is welcoming to women, the more inclined they'll be to consider a career in the sector."

The Period Promise is an extension of Local 993's broader inclusion efforts. Last March, the local received a Breaking Barriers award from the province for its work to recruit and retain women, Indigenous people and other historically underrepresented groups.

"This is another way in which we can help to remove stigma, promote dignity and provide healthy work places where everyone can work to their highest potential," Routledge said.

Young boys and girls in Tennessee will soon have a dedicated place to learn about the electrical trade, thanks to the Middle Tennessee Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

"This is a great way to reach young kids and plant that seed that will hopefully turn into a career," said Nashville Local 429 Assistant Business Manager James Shaw.

The Roy Grindstaff Skilled Trades Center at the Boxwell Reservation in Lebanon will offer more than 900 youth aged 13-18 the chance to earn a merit badge in trades including electrical, automotive maintenance, home repair, painting, plumbing and welding. Grindstaff was a 60-year IBEW member with Local 429.

"I wish I had this growing up," said Jason Flannery, the council's camping director and main force behind the project. "These are solid skills to have but you need to be introduced to them."

That's just what the center aims to do, to give kids a taste of the trades, not just for their practical value but also to help train the next generation of professional tradespeople.

"In today's environment, youth are taught that the only way to a successful career is by receiving a bachelor's degree at a four-year college," Flannery told the BSA blog. "While that is true for many young people, there are those for whom college is not the best path. These youth are often not exposed to the exciting and professionally rewarding arena of the skilled trades."

While the badges themselves are not new, having a center specifically for teaching the scouts is.

"I am not aware of another council in the country with a free-standing facility to be used specifically for introducing scouts to skilled trades," said Scout Executive Larry Brown. "Scouts will not only be able to earn merit badges in these areas, something that would be difficult for many to do on their own, it may also foster a future career or lifelong hobby interest. Our country needs people trained in the skilled trades who have also gained the values and integrity taught by scouting programs. This will be an important way for the council to help with that effort."

The Middle Tennessee Council serves more than 15,000 youth and adult volunteers in a 37-county area extending from the Tennessee River to the Upper Cumberland Plateau and Fort Campbell, Ky.

The electrical curriculum will focus on basics like making an electromagnet, making and running a simple electric motor, and showing how a battery works. There will also be a mobile bathroom with electrical outlets and wiring for the kids to get a hands-on feel and see a cross section of the inside of a home. There will also be a focus on safety.

"I want hands-on safety before it's hands-on," Flannery said.

Scouts will also have the opportunity to earn a merit badge in American Labor. The course, taught by an area high school teacher, will even encourage participants to visit a local union or attend a union meeting.

Local 429 members including Shaw and retirees Gerald Grant, David McBride and Grindstaff's old classmate James Pistol attended the groundbreaking ceremony in October, and the local has donated money to help fund the new project. They are also in talks to have members teaching electrical courses during the summer camps.

"Having a professional partner such as IBEW Local 429 is very important, not only through their generous financial support but also through the expertise they are able to share," said Linda Carter, the council's associate development director. "In addition, having a connection to the building's namesake, Roy Grindstaff, adds something special."

The building is scheduled to open this summer.