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Manufacturing Training Program Evolves Through Industry Downturn August 16, 2002 ETOP Expands to Thomson Multimedia
Manufacturings premiere training program, Enhanced Training Opportunities Program (ETOP), was designed 16 years ago to prepare IBEW members for inevitable downturns in the manufacturing industry. Back then, the IBEW successfully negotiated for AT&T plants to open on-site training centers to give members an educational boost in case of possible layoffs. Today with 8,000 members from AT&Ts successor companies Lucent Technologies, Agere Systems and Avaya Communications out of work, ETOPs legacy as a vital tool for the former employees has never been more valued. Many of them have found other jobs more quickly or at higher wages than those that did not participate in ETOP. Five of the original 11 ETOP centers have been closed and more are in danger of shutdown. But as a program that has expanded beyond AT&T plants, ETOP is rebuilding and finding new relevance in a leaner domestic manufacturing industry. ETOP and IBEW officials met in July with representatives of Illinois Gov. George Ryan to discuss the possibility of ETOP providing workers in IBEW-represented plants with skills upgrades for new manufacturing techniques to keep plants open and preserve jobs. ETOP plans to apply for a $1 million state grant to implement the training program for 5,000 IBEW members employed by Cooper Industries, Federal Signal Corp., Zenith Controls and Penn Aluminum International, among others, said ETOP Co-Executive Director William Dussling. And in Indiana and Ohio, IBEW members employed by Thomson Multimedia are taking advantage of two new training centers to seize their destiny one course at a time. Over the years, ETOP has helped thousands of members learn new skills, earn a general education development (GED) or even work toward a college degree. The ETOP centers, always located on site at the plant, are free. Though he remains out of work nearly a year after his layoff from Agere, IBEW member Robert Leone credits ETOP for encouraging him to return to school 30 years later. In between shifts, he visited the ETOP center regularly, attending college courses, non-credit classes and familiarizing himself with computers. "Continuing my education was something I always wanted to pursue but I worked a lot of off-shifts, so I thought I would flunk out," Leone said, adding that he embraced the convenience of continuing education through ETOP. "For me, it was a new world and a wealth of knowledge." He said he had taken three semesters of courses toward a two-year degree in applied science when he was laid off. He remains eligible for tuition assistance for one more year as part of his Agere benefits, but again, squeezing community college classes in between odd jobs and time with his family is difficult, he said. In April 2001, IBEW negotiators bargained for the programs expansion in the national agreement with Thomson, which operates four IBEW-represented plants. The two largest plants, Circleville, Ohio, and Marion, Indiana, open ETOP centers this year. At the Circleville Glass Operations plant, which produces glass funnels used in color television picture tubes, nearly half of the 750 IBEW members have signed up for fall courses, said Local 2331 Business Manager Tony Blankenship. "On average, probably two-thirds of our members will take some type of training in the next year," Blankenship said. The Circleville center, which opened on May 29, is a 4,000-square-foot facility with three classrooms and 40 computers. "Workers can come in before work or after work," Blankenship said. "ETOP accommodates our workers, not the other way around." ETOP officials expect to open the Marion, Indiana, center in late August. Approximately 1,000 IBEW members of Local 1160 work at that plant. The onsite facilities offer several advantages over traditional educational venues. Each has at least two full-time instructorsone offering computer skills assistance and the other career counseling. ETOP boasts a wide range of courses and trainings based on the particular needs of the work force in each location, Stander said. "The IBEW and ETOP recognize that the programs and their delivery must be tailor-made to fit the individual circumstances of the employers and their workers," Stander said. "Each are unique unto themselves. Its not a cookie-cutter operation." Courses include basic electronics, microelectronics and stress management but the breadth of educational possibilities is endless. Already, IBEW members participating in ETOP have attended 160,000 courses. Much of the instruction is through partnerships with technical schools and colleges, which send instructors to ETOP sites if enough students are interested in taking a particular class. ETOP has also started offering online courses through State University of New York Empire State College. ETOPs guiding philosophy governs how, where and under what circumstances people will have a positive learning experience. For instance, Dussling said, the centers exist inside four walls in a space completely separate from the factory. No classrooms are scattered outside the training center. Comfortable chairs, painted walls and easy access to computers, instructors and courses make ETOP an ideal atmosphere for learning. "People like the ease and comfort of being there and not having to commute between home and work and a training site," Stander said. "We make it as easy as possible for people to participate." The online courses are particularly helpful for Thomson plants with smaller locals, such as Indianapolis, Indiana (Local 1048) and Lancaster, Pennsylvania (Local 1666), where building large ETOP centers is not practical, Dussling said. A recent study determined that work place learning is the fastest growing sector in adult post-secondary education in the United States, due to a volatile job market where layoffs are common. No one understands the tenuous nature of employment better than the manufacturing industry, which has shed hundreds of thousands of workers in recent years. Programs like ETOP provide an extra measure of security for workers in need of more occupational skills and greater education, just in case. Downsizing by Agere, Avaya and Lucent demonstrated the value of ETOP just as its founders anticipated. An ETOP survey showed workers who took advantage of ETOP were finding jobs more quickly and/or at higher wages than those who chose not to use ETOP. ETOP is jointly administered by labor and management but is paid for by signatory manufacturing employers. It is open to IBEW members only but does not cost members or the IBEW anything. For more information on ETOP you may contact the IBEW Manufacturing Department 202-728-6149 or ETOP at 630-250-9440.
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ETOP Web siteETOP Opens Doors Wide - May 2001 Journal
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