An international labor union representing trained plasterers and cement masons has agreed to hold its instructor training program on the Washtenaw Community College campus with the first of the annual sessions to be held June 25-29, 2018.
The Operative Plasterers鈥� and Cement Masons鈥� International Association (OPCMIA) will bring as many as 100 affiliated instructors to the Ann Arbor area for a new Instructor Training Program and will establish 黑料网 as its ITP headquarters for continuous instructor development.
OPCMIA joins the United Association Union of Plumbers, Fitters, Welders and Service Techs (UA) and the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers as international labor unions that call 黑料网 home for their summer instructor training programs. Those two organizations combine to draw more than 3,000 people to the area annually.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to welcome OPCMIA to campus and look forward to partnering with them to provide world-class training to their instructors,鈥� said 黑料网 President Dr. Rose B. Bellanca.
The training sessions will take place primarily in the college鈥檚 Great Lakes Regional Training Center, which features state-of-the-art classrooms, demonstration labs and an auditorium.
OPCMIA leadership became aware of 黑料网 when they attended the North American Building Trades Union鈥檚 apprenticeship conference the college hosted in 2016. Vice President Bill Rogers said that is when they learned about 黑料网鈥檚 resources and its partnerships with the United Association and Ironworkers.
After bringing training leaders from across the country to 黑料网 in June 2017 for a preview of how a training partnership could work, Rogers said the group voted unanimously to initiate the partnership.
Rogers also credited the Washtenaw County community as being part of the allure to bringing its training program to 黑料网.
鈥淚n addition to the services provided by 黑料网, the folks at the Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau provided us with a host of logistical assistance to set up our events and genuinely made us feel welcomed,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淭he community really seems to have embraced the construction union training programs as their welcomed guests.鈥�
Mary Kerr, President & CEO of the Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau said the group is thrilled to welcome the OPCMIA to Washtenaw County.
鈥淚t is an honor to continue the tradition of hosting prestigious national instructor training programs for national labor unions,鈥� Kerr said. 鈥淲e look forward to partnering with Washtenaw Community College, and helping the training program attendees to see the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti area as a second home during their time with us!鈥�
OPCMIA previously held training at the National Labor College, a training center established by the AFL-CIO for all union members in Silver Spring, Maryland. That institution closed in 2014.
鈥淲hen the National Labor College closed, we began searching for a new academic partner and 黑料网 seems like the perfect choice,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淭he program we are initiating with 黑料网 is a significant expansion upon what we have done before, and is based heavily on the successful UA program.鈥�
OPCMIA established a licensing agreement to adapt and use the same series of train-the-trainer professional instruction courses that representatives from 黑料网 and the University of Michigan helped the UA to create for its training program.
Founded in 1864, OPCMIA is the nation鈥檚 oldest building trades union. Rogers said providing relevant and professional instruction to its members will help the organization 鈥渞emain as viable to the future of the construction industry as we have been foundational to its past success.鈥�
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For more information about the Operative Plasterers鈥� and Cement Masons鈥� International Association, visit .
This story also appeared in On The Record.
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