More than 20 Steelworkers and community volunteers designed and built wood benches that will be installed in the Braddock, Pa., community with the help of the Mon-Valley Institute for Career Development (ICD).
Braddock, just outside the city of Pittsburgh, has always been a union town. US Steel’s Mon-Valley Works - Edgar Thomson plant, whose workers are represented by USW Local Union 1219, began producing steel there in 1872.
The plant withstood the downturn of the steel industry in the 1980’s, but with a shift in production and the closure of other mills along the Monongahela River, where the small town of Braddock is located, the community fell on hard times.
In recent years, major efforts have been made to revitalize the once bustling steel town – new businesses have opened, the community center has been renovated and affordable housing is being built.
USW Local 1219 and other USW members from the Monongahela Valley have been a part of that effort, forming a partnership with organizations, businesses and local politicians.
“I think it's important for us to give back to the community we work in,” says Local 1219 President Jim Johnston. “When we can work together to do good things, everyone does better.”
Partnering with ICD
It was the struggles of the 1980’s that led to the development of the ICD – a joint labor-management initiative negotiated into steel contracts to provide personal and professional development trainings for laid-off Steelworkers.
The program helps workers have a more stable and rewarding career by providing courses that teach them skills to progress in the workplace or prepare for retirement.
Currently there’s more than 70 Career Development Sites across the country, including Mon-Valley ICD, which hosted the two-day carpentry course at USW Local Union 1219’s union hall.
“We saw an opportunity to partner with area leaders and offer a skills-enhancing course that solved a problem,” says Tamara Lefcowitz, USW Coordinator for the Mon-Valley ICD. “It’s a win-win; Steelworkers gained carpentry skills and the neighborhood now has beautiful benches for people to enjoy while waiting for the bus.”
Typically the courses are only open to USW members, but Lefcowitz decided to include community volunteers when the benches were ready to be stained because, “the residents of Braddock value the labor movement and they have a long history of supporting Steelworkers when it counts.”
In the coming weeks, the benches will be installed at bus stops around town and outside buildings in the community.
To learn more about the Mon-Valley ICD, visit www.monvalleyicd.com.