Specialized apprenticeships across the IBEW are on the way for members who work in the battery and advanced manufacturing industries, thanks to recent efforts from local leaders throughout California and in the union's Ninth District office.

In June, Ninth District International Vice President David Reaves announced the creation of the Clean Transportation and Advanced Manufacturing Electrical Training Trust. This new initiative seeks to pair IBEW educators with employers to craft apprenticeship and skilled training courses. Training targets include industrial manufacturing technicians, electric vehicle mechanics, and others who work in battery and advanced manufacturing.

Reaves noted that the Manufacturing branch was once the largest in the IBEW, with nearly 400,000 members. The White House's emphasis over the last 3½ years on infrastructure funding to expand U.S. manufacturing and bolster the country's supply chain has resulted in nearly 800,000 new domestic production jobs so far, a portion of which has gone to IBEW members.

Boosting domestic manufacturing also has helped reverse a four-decade downward employment slide, brought on by past presidential administrations' policies that made it easier for corporations to send their industries offshore.

"The unprecedented federal investments from the Biden-Harris administration are creating high demand for skilled workers in the battery and manufacturing sectors," Reaves said. "The IBEW is ready to meet this moment, and we are bringing national resources to this initiative, spearheaded by local unions, to ensure these sectors are creating middle-class, unionized career opportunities for our members."

Reaves said the IBEW is speaking with employers about these apprenticeships, which can combine modules created by the Electrical Training Alliance and the National Utility Industry Training Fund with those customized for whatever needs an employer might have.

These new apprenticeships are being designed to leverage the IBEW's established electrical expertise in a way that gets workers ready for thousands of current and potential jobs in the industrial, manufacturing and technology sectors.

"What's great about these apprenticeships is that they take what the IBEW already does so well to train our construction members and expand it for those of us who work a new set of employers," said International President Kenneth W. Cooper.

Reaves noted that his predecessor, John O'Rourke, had seen what was coming in manufacturing and battery work and wanted to make sure the IBEW had a foothold. "He knew it was going to take training to do that, so we kept things rolling and, with help from some of our California locals, built it out from there," Reaves said.

The Ninth District Battery Committee includes representatives from Diamond Bar Local 47, Los Angeles Locals 11, 18 and 1710, San Diego Locals 465 and 569, and Vacaville Local 1245.

"After we started it here in the Ninth District, we took it to President Cooper, and now we're rolling it out across the IBEW," Reaves said.

Training at the union's JATCs will provide workers with classroom and lab experience to complement the skills they gain on the job. The new trust also will help JATCs adapt to handle such things as manufacturing training or maintenance of zero-emission vehicles.

"Once a company hears that there's established IBEW training, they get excited about it because a lot of federal funding is tied to having training," Reaves said.

Some of these companies are national and global, he noted. "You get an agreement in one of their areas, it could leapfrog into their other facilities as well," he said.

Reaves thanked the business managers who are helping the new trust get off the ground, as well as Ninth District International Representatives Robert Brock and Micah Mitrosky.

"We want to make sure your union is there to help handle the training needs of the current and next generation of workers," Cooper said. "We see this trust as a way to bring IBEW-backed standards across these critical industries."

Portland, Maine, Local 567 members rebuilding federal infrastructure across the Pine Tree State were recognized for their work with a visit from Robin Carnahan, who leads the General Services Administration.

The GSA manages and leases buildings owned by the federal government. Carnahan said it will distribute about $3.4 billion provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for new buildings and renovating old ones.

About $300 million is going toward projects in Maine, including five ports of entry along the Canadian border. The most visible project in Portland is a renovation of the historic Gignoux Courthouse.

The building is a local landmark and features a classic Italian Renaissance style but has had few renovations since opening in 1911. IBEW members are working overnights to upgrade its electrical system so the federal courts housed there can maintain normal hours during the day.

"It's clear to everyone across the Biden-Harris administration that organized labor helped build this country," said Carnahan, a former Missouri secretary of state. "That's why we're doing everything we can to help support our brothers and sisters in the unions, and we're going to continue to do that. Not just in Maine, but all over the country."

Local 567 Business Manager Denis Lehouiller welcomed Carnahan's visit and was pleased to hear her reaffirm the Biden-Harris administration's commitment to using union labor in the transition to clean energy.

Signatory contractor Sargent Electric oversees rebuilding the courthouse's electrical system. Work is expected to take 2½ years, employ about 15 Local 547 members and cut the courthouse's energy costs by nearly 50% — savings that will be passed on to taxpayers, Carnahan noted. Workers also get a boost in pay for working nights.

"It's longevity work," Lehouiller said. "That's what's nice. You have people working for 2½ years instead of something like a solar installation project, which might take six months. This is much, much better."

Jason Queen, Sargent's New England operations manager and a former Local 567 member before moving into management, noted that upgrading an electrical system in an older building takes a highly skilled worker. For instance, workers are drilling through as much as 18 inches of granite.

"Everything needs to be restored back to the way it was," Queen said. "We're not completely gutting the space. It's pretty selective work. Drilling new holes is going to be a challenge."

Examples like that illustrate why union construction members and their signatory contractors are the best choice for this type of work, Carnahan said. Plus, the wages paid stay in the community.

"It's not always easy to find skilled trades workers to do these projects, particularly ones like this where the building is still going to be in operation," she said.

In her opening remarks, Carnahan thanked the IBEW and Local 567, personally mentioning Lehouiller and Second District International Representatives Joe Casey and Dave Keating, who also were in attendance.

Casey said the moment is especially significant because Maine has had no public projects in recent years that included project labor agreements.

PLAs ensure collective bargaining agreements that govern terms and conditions for all workers, both union and nonunion. They ensure that workers receive a fair wage and protect taxpayers by eliminating costly delays and guarding against a shortage of skilled trade workers.

Casey said all local unions and their partners bidding for the work created by public spending must maintain meticulous records to fend off attempts by nonunion contractors and other competitors looking to land the work.

"This in itself is not a huge project," he said about the courthouse. "But what it does is emphasize the importance of the PLA. That's good news for future projects and shows why [the Inflation Reduction Act] was such a big deal."

Later in the day, Carnahan attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony of a new U.S. Customs border station and bridge in Madawaska, Maine, just across from Edmunston, New Brunswick.

IBEW members also worked on that project, which replaced a decaying bridge more than 100 years old and the previous station, which was 65 years old. Large, modern trucks were not able to cross the bridge, so drivers had to find alternate routes.

Carnahan joins a long list of Biden-Harris administration officials to visit IBEW facilities during the last four years, led by the president himself and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president.

Others include Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.

"None of this happens without the work of our union partners because I know the work you are doing not just on jobsites, but in training centers like this, where you are training the next generation of skilled workers," Carnahan said.

"That's why we are so excited to be able to implement going forward the president's executive order on PLAs because we know PLAs are good for American workers," she added.