A huge new state-of-the-art training facility now sits behind the union hall of Huntington, W.Va., Local 317, making good on the local's ambitious promise to greatly expand its apprenticeship and bring training closer to where many members live.

Local 317 Business Manager Shane Wolfe was joined by Fourth District International Vice President Gina Cooper and other IBEW and local dignitaries for the building's ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 31. A steady stream of construction and organizing opportunities and a growing market share were among the reasons for the expansion, he said

"We outgrew our existing building," Wolfe said. "We'll continue to offer training in it, but the new one will let us offer additional and expanded training."

Wolfe said the new facility will help Local 317 train as many as 500 apprentices per year — more than eight times the previous capacity. "It'll be ready for full operation when apprenticeship classes resume in September," he said.

"This training center represents more than just a building," Cooper said. "It embodies a commitment to empowering individuals, fostering growth, and nurturing the talents that will drive our future."

The $4 million, 10,000-square-foot facility, with its 45-foot-high ceiling, boasts plenty of room for year-round training on utility pole and bucket safety, plus a conduit lab for wire-pulling instruction.

"We'd talked about doing this for years, and talked with NECA all along the way," Wolfe said, referring to the IBEW's partners at the National Electrical Contractors Association.

Funding for the expansion came from Local 317's general fund. "Our members were on board, and our contractors were more than willing to supply it" with their equipment, Wolfe said.

For decades, Local 317's union hall and the original Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee building next door have been good neighbors within Huntington's largely residential West End community, something that helped smooth the buying of houses and vacant lots behind the hall to make room for the new facility, as well as the work with city leaders to rezone the parcels as "neighborhood commercial."

"Our neighbors have thanked us for spending money here" to develop the area, Wolfe said.

Construction of the new building began in fall 2022. "We made certain our members helped build it," Wolfe noted.

Local 317's nearly 1,500 members work in inside and outside construction, line clearance tree trimming, radio and television, telephone, and utility in 24 counties in West Virginia, 15 in eastern Kentucky, 19 in southwestern Virginia and two in southeastern Ohio.

The local's sprawling jurisdiction was top of mind in the decision to expand: Until recently, members who needed outside construction or utility training often had to get it at the IBEW's American Line Builders Apprenticeship and Training facility in Medway, Ohio, near Dayton.

"For us near Huntington to go two and a half hours to Medway is not as bad, as opposed to someone in southwestern Virginia who has to go five or six hours," Wolfe said. One such member is Daniel Cooper, a Wytheville, Va., resident whom Wolfe noted with pride was honored at this spring's IBEW Construction and Maintenance Conference as Instructor of the Year.

"This will help all of our members and their families," Wolfe said. "We'll still be using Medway, but now they can release instructors to use us" as a closer satellite facility.

A good portion of Local 317's growth, Wolfe said, has come from ongoing organizing wins, such as the nearly 100 new members recently brought in from telecom firms New River Telecom and Thayer Power and Communication.

"It's definitely a recruiting tool when they see our new facility," he said.

The business manager said his local's substation and transmission line work outlook is strong, as is the forecast for inside construction jobs, thanks largely to two IBEW signatory contractors that are employing Local 317 members on the $3.1 billion Nucor steel mill being built near Point Pleasant, W.Va.

"We have roughly 50 members on site now, with 150 at peak in mid-summer," Wolfe said, and as many as 70 maintenance jobs could become available for the IBEW when construction finishes in the next few years.

"I told them, 'Let's do a bang-up job on this so you can stay with it for 20 to 30 years,'" he said. "That's a good way to keep our folks close to home."

Also on hand for the May 31 grand opening were Michael Browning, a member of West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin's staff, and Jennifer Wheeler, a former Huntington City Council member who is running to replace term-limited Mayor Steve Williams, a longtime Local 317 friend now running for governor.

Wolfe also noted that state Del. Evan Worrell, who represents the greater Huntington area and leads the Legislature's two-dozen-member Republican Labor Caucus, was there, too.

"Evan votes 99.9% with us," Wolfe said, adding that during Worrell's election campaigns, "our members have canvassed for him." The caucus backs traditionally labor-friendly policies such as apprenticeships and restoring prevailing-wage provisions for state-financed projects, policies in opposition to the state Republican Party's platform.

Wolfe told WSAZ-TV that he hopes the new training facility will encourage more young people to consider careers in the electrical field.

"I would recommend any students that are not college-bound and they still want to work with their hands and provide for their families doing that type of work, come see us, we are hiring. We will continue to be hiring," Wolfe said.

"It was awesome!" That's how Allentown, Pa., Local 375 Business Manager Paul Anthony, pictured speaking, described a day at the White House solely for IBEW local leaders from Pennsylvania. Their meetings with Biden-Harris administration officials from the Energy, Transportation, Commerce and other departments focused on the surging opportunities for IBEW members, as billions of dollars for infrastructure and other projects pour into their state. Similar summits have been held for Wisconsin and Michigan locals, with others in the planning stages. Meanwhile, the White House has hosted scores of IBEW members at "Communities in Action" events to discuss job-creating investments in individual states.

A recent gathering of Alaskan stakeholders included Anchorage Local 1547 Business Manager Doug Tansy and apprentice Jana Mabie, pictured above. Citing attention from Cabinet members and other high-ranking White House staff, as well as subsequent meetings with the Alaska delegation on Capitol Hill, Tansy said it's clear that labor is no longer on the sidelines. "It was extremely encouraging to be welcomed into the conversation and to be asked what we we're looking for, consideration of our wishes and needs," he said. "We asked for training funds, we asked for funding for power storage, we asked for a lot of stuff." Tansy said he also came away with invaluable White House contacts, as Anthony and guests at other events also stressed. "We always say, 'President Biden's union friendly,' Anthony said. "But he's also really friendly with the IBEW, and we really appreciate that."