Hurricane Katrina has devastated countless lives and families. The events wrought by the hurricane point up weaknesses in disaster preparedness and state and local infrastructure. One of the things we can all appreciate is the enormity of infrastructure rebuilding that will go on along the Gulf Coast for years to come. Even now as our contractors slowly move into the hurricane affected area the need for skilled UA manpower to perform vital work in the rebuilding efforts is growing. The need for UA skills will continue to grow in this area. At the same time, we are seeing a demand for UA skills increasing nationwide and in Canada.

Several years ago the UA was experiencing a nationwide shortage of welders. We undertook a welder recruitment program at that time. The program tapped into existent private/welding schools to recruit individuals that had completed a rigorous course of study on welding. That program was very successful and brought over 600 new welders to the UA in just 18 months. The retention rate for that program was very high with a 2% dropout rate. We slowed the program down because for a variety of reasons work opportunities became fewer across the country.

Today, we find ourselves in a similar situation. The difference this time is that not only are we short of welders but of plumbers and HVACR Technicians. No where is this more evident than along the Gulf Coast. In this area alone we will need thousands of UA members. And as stated earlier, the need for our craft is growing all over the US and Canada. Consequently, we are initiating a recruitment program to enhance normal apprenticeship entry and local union organizing efforts. Our intent is to further strengthen the United Association's position in the construction, maintenance and service markets. The most direct way of doing this is to demonstrate that UA signatory contractors can man their work. We are planning ahead by supplementing our traditional methods of training skilled manpower through apprenticeship and Journeyman training. In year 2004 UA members worked over 270,000,000 man-hours. During the next twenty-four (24) months we expect the number of hours worked by UA members to increase dramatically. It follows that an increase in man-hours equates to an increase in the number of workers. The shortage of skilled workers represents a critical problem for the UA and our signatory contractors. By now we know that the governmental response to worker shortages is to tap into South and Central America, the Eastern Bloc and developing Asian countries. Frankly the idea of importing cheap labor while skilled Americans are looking for work does not make sense to me.

A shortage of manpower while problematic is also an opportunity for all concerned. If you have the skills of a pipe welder, commercial or residential plumber or an HVACR Technician let us know. Simply click on this LINK and submit a career profile form. You will be hearing from us soon.

William P. Hite, General President