What's Working

Milwaukee Gear and WRTP/BIG STEP recognized by Department of Workforce Development

Milwaukee Gear, a local manufacturer of gears and drives, last week welcomed Manny Perez, Department of Workforce Development secretary, to their offices. Secretary Perez took a tour of the facility and met with recently hired machinists.

Milwaukee Gear, an open shop represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, recently hired 16 graduates from a CNC class coordinated by WRTP/BIG STEP. It was a collaborative effort between the company, WRTP/BIG STEP, Waukesha County Technical College, and the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board. The new employees start earning $15/hour.

Secretary Perez also highlighted employees who are also participating in Manufacturing Skills Standard Council certificate training, which was also coordinated by WRTP/BIG STEP with the involvement of Milwaukee Area Technical College and Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington Workforce Development Inc.

It’s great to see the work of local employers and their partners in the community recognized for efforts to bring good jobs to community members. After all, that's what's working.

Read the news release and check out the story on WISN 12.

Pictured above from left to right: Tramond Nicholson, WRTP/BIG STEP CNC class graduate, Azmi Issa, Milwaukee Gear's director of operations, Secretary Perez, Earl Buford, WRTP/BIG STEP president & CEO, Richard Fullington, Milwaukee Gear president & CEO, and Jane Pawasarat, DWD Employment and Training Division administrator.

Sixteen In, Sixteen Out - WRTP/BIG STEP CNC Class Graduation

Sixteen in, sixteen out.

Sixteen graduates started the WRTP/BIG STEP CNC class in February and 16 finished in April.

At the graduation ceremony for the class, held April 8, graduate Carl Butler shared just what that accomplishment meant to the graduates. Watch his speech below.

 

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Richard Fullington, president and CEO of Milwaukee Gear, the company that hired all 16 graduates, were in attendance to congratulate the graduates, who start work in the next couple weeks and will make $15/hr.

Milwaukee Gear, a Milwaukee-based manufacturer of precision gears and drives, has seen steady growth in the last six months and identified the need to hire qualified CNC machinists, who can be difficult to find.

“We found there were talented people in the community looking for work, but didn’t have the skills necessary to step into a production role,” says Alesia Butera, shared services manager at Milwaukee Gear. “We decided the best thing for our company would be to take the time and provide those interested in joining our team with the skills that would last them a lifetime.”

To help meet this goal, Milwaukee Gear began working with WRTP/BIG STEP staff members in January to develop the training course, recruit and select community members, and coordinate instruction.

“WRTP/BIG STEP has been instrumental in understanding our needs and developing a curriculum to meet those demands,” says Butera. “Organizations like WRTP/BIG STEP not only support employers in Wisconsin, they support individuals, communities and our local economy by helping put people back to work.”

With expansion expected to continue, Milwaukee Gear will be maintaining their partnership with WRTP/BIG STEP. By doing so the company not only expects to bring more qualified employees into their operation, but hopes other local employers will take notice and follow suit.

Says Butera, “We’re excited about our new team members starting with us, and we’re looking forward to a bright future for them and Milwaukee Gear.”

Jobs are Served, with a Side of Lunch - Milwaukee Gear and WRTP/BIG STEP CNC Training

As far as lunches go, this had to be one of the best for the WRTP/BIG STEP CNC trainees.

After spending Tuesday morning shadowing employees at Milwaukee Gear, the students were treated to a luncheon provided by the company. While they ate, CEO Richard Fullington gave them an overview of Gear’s business philosophy and Director of Operations Azmi Issa asked the students which area of the job shadowing they liked the best. Some answered machining, others grinding and quality control.

Issa then provided an overview of their benefits package options, and perhaps most importantly, gave them their start dates. Half will start April 11, the other half April 18.

“This is a great training program and I’m grateful to Milwaukee Gear and WRTP/BIG STEP for providing the opportunity,” said Trainee Ed Gates during the lunch.

The students are nearing the finish line of a two month-long dash to complete the CNC training course. Milwaukee Gear, a Glendale-based manufacturer, has committed to hiring all 16 graduates.

Their training has consisted of two days per week of math, blueprint reading, and gauging skills enhancement and industry essential skills training at WRTP/BIG STEP, two days per week of hands-on CNC training at Waukesha County Technical College, and one day a week job shadowing with experienced employees at Milwaukee Gear.

“Job training that leads to an actual job? You can’t beat that,” says WRTP/BIG STEP’s Joe Nicosia, who coordinated the training. “They’ve worked hard every day, and that will be their reward.”

Graduation is at 2pm on April 8, 2011, at WRTP/BIG STEP, 3841 W. Wisconsin Ave. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett will address the graduates.

Graduation is open to the public and community members are encouraged to attend. Food will be provided. Though it might not taste as good as what was served at that Tuesday luncheon.

MSSC Incumbent Worker Training - A Win-Win Situation

Helping employers connect to training opportunities for incumbent workers is an important aspect of WRTP/BIG STEP’s industry outreach. With skill enhancement to the workforce, it’s a classic win-win situation for the manufacturer and the workers.

In February, labor leaders from area manufacturers attended an information session held at WRTP/BIG STEP on the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council certification. Through a grant funded by Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, area labor leaders and dislocated workers will be able to attend training to upgrade their skills and earn the MSSC certificate. Industry coordinator Joe Nicosia has recruited a class of labor leaders and a class of dislocated workers to attend the trainings facilitated by Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Classes start this month. Employees from Master Lock, Pure Power Technologies, GE Healthcare, as well as students from WRTP/BIG STEP’s and Milwaukee Gear’s CNC class will participate.

For those already employed, gaining this certification can mean an increase in pay. Master Lock, for example, gives employees a $.50 raise for each module completed, which could mean up to a $2 increase for an employee if all four modules are completed.

That’s a great incentive and reflects the increase in skills and knowledge for the employee, says Grace Maizonet, president of UAW Local 469 at Master Lock.

“This certification is great for many reasons,” says Grace. “It improves career advancement and earnings and can offer the flexibility to work in other manufacturing arenas.”

MSSC is an industry-recognized certification that contains four modules for production workers:

• Safety
• Quality Practices & Measurement
• Manufacturing Processes and Production
• Maintenance Awareness

This certification is available to entry-level as well as incumbent workers. It’s another example of how employers and workers benefit from upgrades to the workforce. For employers, it means a more skilled workforce and new opportunities to compete. For workers, it’s a valuable credential that can make them more employable or can help advance their career.

Win-win.

Find out more about Manufacturing Skill Standards Council certification.

The Value of a Good Job - Marques and Stephone

Marques Paige and Stephone Cosby know what it’s like to struggle.

Both worked hard just to make ends meet before enrolling at WRTP/BIG STEP and the TrANS road building class. Both can tell you the difference between a job and a good job. Both can tell you how the latter can have transformative effects on a life.

The Transportation Alliance for New Solutions (TrANS) class, developed by Wisconsin Department of Transportation and industry and offered by WRTP/BIG STEP, offers community members instruction on basic construction and road building skills, safety and awareness training, commercial driver’s license permit, flagging certification, and much more. An important component of the training is apprenticeship preparation. Students are required to apply for at least one trade. This access to the possibility of apprenticeship gives graduates the opportunity to secure a family supporting job in the skilled trades.

Marques, now a laborer apprentice, and Stephone, a journeyman laborer, shared their stories with the contractors and attendees at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Partnering for Employment Workshop at Waukesha County Technical College. The panel discussion was followed by a speed networking event that allowed TrANS graduates to meet with contractors.

Stephone’s and Marques’s words are more powerful than anything we can write. Please listen and share.

 

 

 

 

Destination: Employment

Sixteen individuals filed into a small classroom in the otherwise deserted WRTP/BIG STEP building on Wisconsin Avenue Thursday morning. While the building was closed to the public, these 16 dodged snow plows and snow piles on a frigid, frosty morning to make it to their first day of CNC training class.

It’s a trek worth the effort.

Like most training courses facilitated by WRTP/BIG STEP, this one touts the ever-important employer connection. Industry coordinator Joe Nicosia has been working with manufacturer Milwaukee Gear to develop and implement the training. This flexibility in the training allows employers to tailor the course work to their specific needs, which makes the graduates extremely valuable to them.

Milwaukee Gear has committed to hire at least 15 graduates of this specially designed course. This type of commitment is at the center of what makes WRTP/BIG STEP a success in getting people into family-supporting jobs.

Student Scott Reale is excited by the prospect of being hired at the end of the two- month training. Scott was laid off in 2009 from Milsco Manufacturing, where he had worked for 30 years, when they moved their manufacturing operations to Mexico and a plant in northern Wisconsin.

“Every employer does things a little differently, so this training gives us a leg up at this company,” says Scott. “It’s really exciting. I’m looking forward to getting going.”

The course includes industry essential skills training at WRTP/BIG STEP, hands-on CNC skills training at Waukesha County Technical College, and job shadowing with workers at Milwaukee Gear.

“The class is challenging, but we recruited a great class,” says Joe Nicosia. “They’re motivated. They know what’s at the end of line if they graduate.”

In other words, the trek toward graduation may be difficult, but the destination makes all the difference.

 

Tune in to “What’s Working” in the coming weeks for the employer perspective and updates on the class and its participants.

Master Lock and UAW Local 469 Bring Jobs Back to Milwaukee

With the proliferation of so-called free trade agreements and the opening of new markets in a global economy, outsourcing has been the manufacturer’s trick of choice to help keep production costs low and profits higher.  But a race to the bottom in terms of wages and benefits doesn’t just hurt U.S. workers.  Employers are beginning to realize that domestic union labor can actually provide more bang for their buck.

Some companies are starting to bring back work from other countries. Milwaukee’s own Master Lock has brought back production work from China and is now running its floor at full capacity for the first time in 15 years.

 “First and foremost, it’s about quality,” says Mike Bink, recording secretary of the UAW Local 469. “We’ve always been able to compete. We’ve got lots of quality in the skilled trades and it reflects in our product.”

Bink (pictured), a tool room machinist, has worked at Master Lock since 1979. He has seen work shift to China and Mexico in the late 1990s and subsequently seen the U.S. workforce shrink from more than a 1,300 employees to less than 300 in the late 2000s. Assembly work went to Mexico and some production work went to China.

But in 2010, work performed in China started shifting back to the Milwaukee plant. There are currently 337 union employees at Master Lock, and that number should grow as the company adds new equipment to increase capacity and adds another shift to make cylinder and key components for their famously indestructible locks.

“There are a lot of bad things one could say about what happened in the past, but we’re here now and we’re growing,” Bink says. “It’s a credit to the company and the union that there’s a commitment to a presence in Milwaukee.”

Now that presence is growing again, and it is a great example of how responsible companies can partner with their workforce and take the high road towards prosperity. 

Read more coverage about work coming back to Master Lock’s Milwaukee plant in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel articles “Reassessing China” and “Reversing the Flow.”

The Employer Connection

WRTP/BIG STEP is known around the region and the state for its work in helping people find family-supporting jobs – and careers – in the construction and manufacturing fields. This work is important, especially as the state continues efforts to retain and attract jobs.

With all these good efforts, sometimes WRTP/BIG STEP’s work with employers is overshadowed. But it is no less important. Providing services to employers that help them stay competitive and thrive allows them to grow, which means more jobs.

The employer connection is something that is unique to WRTP/BIG STEP.

Using a needs assessment of the manufacturing climate in Wisconsin conducted by WRTP/BIG STEP staff – the most recent completed in 2010 – industry coordinators are able to connect interested manufacturers to the programs and resources that will enable them to effectively implement changes in areas such as modernization, energy efficiency, and current and future workforce needs.

Those efforts are making an impact.

In its inaugural post, “What’s Working” highlighted WRTP/BIG STEP’s efforts, in collaboration with Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington Workforce Development Inc. and Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC), to get needed training to more than 300 incumbent workers at seven area manufacturers.

“We act as a convener of these manufacturers in an initiative like this,” says Joe Nicosia, industry coordinator at WRTP/BIG STEP. “We already have relationships with these employers and the labor representatives, so when we find resources that can help them become more competitive and can benefit their employees, there is trust already built in. They know we can help them and that we’ll get the job done.”

The seven manufacturers – all union represented – have identified needed training in technical skills, such as CNC machining and maintenance, and industry essential skills, such as team building, train the trainer, and problem solving.  The Department of Workforce Development is providing funding for the training, which will take place throughout the 2011, though its Industry Partnership initiative for the M-7 region in Southeastern Wisconsin.

In addition to playing the role of convener of the employers, WRTP/BIG STEP will be providing the training for the industry essential skills, while partner WCTC will provide training for the technical skills.

By receiving training, some incumbent workers will have the opportunity to advance in their careers, possibly opening up jobs for new employees.

“What’s Working” will bring updates and success stories as the training unfolds throughout the year. As always, stay tuned.

The Fruits of Collaboration? Good Jobs.

At WRTP/BIG STEP, collaboration is the way of life. Collaboration with labor unions and employers, with public agencies and lawmakers, with community members and community-based organizations. The organization’s success hinges on the success of its collaboration with these community partners.

The “Strengthening Diversity on Urban Forestry Service Delivery” program is one example of the collaborative efforts among different agencies and organizations to create and implement a successful program that benefits community members. WRTP/BIG STEP is working with the City of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board, AFSCME District Council 48, and the Milwaukee Area Workforce Funding Alliance to recruit a class for the second year program.

“The collaboration between major city partners was invaluable in providing a quality training experience for the participants,” says Carrie Hersh, WRTP/BIG STEP’s training manager.  “It allowed each of us to use our strengths instead of having unnecessary replication.”

The fruits of that collaboration are what make the process so important: jobs for people who need them.

The Urban Forestry program enjoyed a successful initial class in 2010. All 13 participants who completed the training found employment upon graduation. In fact, some were hired before they finished the course.

Ray Rivera, one of the top climbers in the class, had the choice of several employers who wanted his services before he graduated.

“What’s better than actually getting to pick who you work for? It’s a great feeling,” he says.

Ray was so pleased with the course that he agreed to speak to interested recruits about his time in the program and the opportunity it gave him.

“The training you receive is everything you need and a little more to actually go start working in the field.”

Over the course of the seven-and-a-half month Urban Forestry training, participants receive hands-on training in tree climbing and pruning, equipment operation and maintenance, tree identification, and safety instruction. Graduates earn industry recognized credentials, an important part of finding employment in a family-supporting job after graduation.

Learning from the successes and challenges of the first class, which graduated in December, WRTP/BIG STEP is working closely with program partners to ensure that positive changes are integrated for an even more successful 2011 class.

To learn more about the inaugural class of Urban Forestry, visit WRTP/BIG STEP’s youtube channel and check out videos featuring participants.

Introducing What’s Working: Building Good Jobs in Wisconsin

Jobs.

It’s the political buzzword of our time. But anyone who’s been unemployed knows that it is more than a word. So does the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.

In this space, we will be telling you the story of how labor unions and labor-affiliated organizations continue to work hard for the people in our state. “What’s Working” will offer a glimpse into the efforts to get people into family supporting jobs and to help responsible employers thrive.

Organizations like the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (WRTP)/BIG STEP, which was founded through the collaborative efforts of workers, the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, and stakeholders throughout the region, work to get community members into family supporting jobs. The work done by such organizations is critical for workforce development.

 

Since the early nineties, WRTP/BIG STEP has worked cooperatively with labor unions and employers to get people to work in family supporting jobs. As a workforce intermediary, WRTP/BIG STEP is a connecting point for community members to gain access to training opportunities in the manufacturing and construction fields.

Training courses are industry driven and developed by unions and employers who hope to hire community members to fill their needs. The focus on working closely with union-represented employers gives graduates access to opportunities to gain employment in places where they will be paid a fair wage and have access to benefits like health insurance and retirement plans.

WRTP/BIG STEP also provides services to employers to help them become more competitive and thrive in the state, keeping jobs – good jobs – here.

For instance, industry coordinators have worked collaboratively with the Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington (WOW) Workforce Development Board to secure funding to bring technical and essential skills training to more than 300 incumbent workers at seven union-represented manufacturers throughout the state this year. This effort will help workers advance in their careers while also helping these employers maintain and possibly expand their workforce.

You can read more about WRTP/BIG STEP and their efforts at their website, www.wrtp.org, and continue to follow their successes here.

In the coming months, we’ll bring you examples of what WRTP/BIG STEP and labor unions are doing in our communities around the state.

Stayed tuned to find out what’s working.