Just about everyone who's toured Baltimore Local 24's training facility walks away impressed. As with any IBEW local, it's a site for excellence. But not everyone in the community knows that — at least not yet.
"The average person has no idea that we operate in the backgrounds of their lives every single day," said Dave Springham, training coordinator for Local 24's JATC. "We want people to know that we offer a fantastic career choice for them, if this is the path they choose."
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| Local 24 hosted a camp for girls run by the National Association of Women in Construction in August, something the local has been doing for the past few years.
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Local 24 used to be much more of an industrial local, Business Manager Mike McHale said. The work was "behind a fence," out of the view of anyone not employed there. But that's not the case anymore, and McHale, along with his team, are making their mark on jobsites and at community events, local government meetings and anywhere else they can.
"We're taking every opportunity we can to increase our exposure," said McHale, a 40-year member from south Baltimore. "I want everyone to know what 'IBEW' stands for."
Local 24 does a lot of work with area vocational schools, as well as those with more college-bound students, and its staff make sure to attend career fairs throughout the area. But McHale has also made a push to get into the rooms where decisions affecting the local are made, so now there's someone from the local on every workforce development board in the jurisdiction.
"There are a lot of opportunities there. The work of these boards coincides with and impacts our industry," Local 24 Business Agent Jon McLaughlin said. "It lets us be a part of the conversation."
Rico Albacarys, a Local 24 membership development representative, got the workforce board he sits on to expand a program that offers financial assistance to college-bound students to include those entering the trades. He also pushed for higher standards on a program to offer course credit to students for doing certain types of work, ensuring that the students get valuable career experience and aren't just being used as cheap labor.
"They talk about apprenticeships, but rarely has anyone on the board actually been in one," Albacarys said. "A lot of money is allotted through these boards. It should go to programs that actually lead to a career."
Local 24's influence extends to the statehouse. Sen. Cory McCray is the local's vice president and a business development representative. He's one of less than 2% of the General Assembly with a blue-collar background and the only member who has completed a registered apprenticeship.
"I occupy a unique space that allows me to bridge the gap between the needs of working families and the legislative process," said McCray, who's serving in his second term. "I have both the opportunity and the responsibility to advocate effectively for apprenticeships and working-family issues."
One significant accomplishment of McCray's has been mandating that state-funded projects meeting a certain financial threshold are required to hire apprentices. He's also pushed for grant programs and tax credits for employers that hire apprentices from areas in Baltimore and across the state with a poverty concentration of at least 20%.
In addition to his legislative victories, the Baltimore native partners with area organizations to organize trade and apprenticeship tours for high school juniors and seniors. Over the last five years, McCray and his partners have brought more than 500 students to various apprenticeship programs, providing them with real-life examples and the opportunity to see people who look like them thriving in the trades.
"Cory is a good example for a lot of reasons of what a person can do," McHale said. "He never forgets where he came from."
The students McCray brings to Local 24 are just one example of the busloads of people who tour the local and training facility. Civic leaders come visit on a regular basis. The overwhelming response, Springham said, is surprise.
"Most people don't realize how comprehensive the training is, how impactful it is to people's lives," Albacarys said.
Visitors are also surprised that Local 24, like IBEW apprenticeships across the country, requires no public funding to operate.
"They see the investment we make in ourselves and our future and that we ask nothing in return but to stay and work as an IBEW member," Springham said.
One of the goals of Local 24 is to recruit more women. As part of this effort, it recently hosted a camp for girls run by the National Association of Women in Construction. And in each of the past four years, the local has broken its record for the number of women starting their apprenticeship.
"It's still not enough, but it shows that the word is getting out to applicants — and their parents — that this is a great training and employment opportunity for young women," he said.
In addition to NAWIC, Local 24 has strong relationships with area community colleges and organizations like SkillsUSA, a workforce development organization for students, and ELECTRI International, which was established by NECA to promote educational and consulting programs.
"Now we have teachers sending students to us instead of the nonunion side," McHale said.
Whether it's students, women, citizens returning from incarceration or anyone else from their jurisdiction, Local 24 is leaving no stone unturned and building up its brand as the premier place to go for the best electrical training and a ticket to the middle class.
"We want everyone in our communities to know our organization is here and that they can be a part of it," Springham said. "Age, gender, race, education level, checkered background, none of that matters. If you're ready for a career, to get your hands dirty and give your contractor eight hours' work for eight hours' pay, we want you to be a part of the JATC and Local 24."