Changing the Skyline, Changing Lives
Oregon Tradeswomen is proud of our contributions to the Multnomah County Courthouse building – a project reflecting our shared values of diversity within its workforce, clients, contractors, and the community as a shared prosperity model. In alignment with Multnomah County’s commitment to advancing cultural diversity and social equity in the workforce, Oregon Tradeswomen is working to support these same goals.
The County and the general contractor for the project, Hoffman Construction, set specific diversity and equity goals and built a diverse team of subcontractors. The team is tracking progress toward these goals on monthly basis to ensure the principals of diversity, equity, and inclusion are making an impact in real time on the job and for our region’s workforce and minority contractor community.
In addition to working with Oregon Tradeswomen, Multnomah County and Hoffman Construction are working with subcontractors and other Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) certified pre-apprenticeship training programs on recruitment, training, and retention of women and minority workers across trades, and continuing to foster a welcoming and safe workplace environment where workers and emerging firms have opportunities to grow and succeed. View the latest diversity dashboard for all the reporting metrics.
Thanks to an investment by Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industry, Oregon Tradeswomen was able to introduce a bystander intervention model to reduce hazing, harassment, and bullying, which disproportionately affect women and minorities on the job-site. The County and Hoffman Construction committed to implementing and testing this pilot model to evaluate the impact on worker satisfaction, safety, retention, and workplace equity. To date, the project has seen some successes in building a respectful workplace model, hearing from tradesworkers on the jobsite who have expressed the difference on working on a construction site that has a commitment to ending harassment and discrimination.
Because of these intentional policies, tradesworkers like Oregon Tradeswomen graduate, carpenter, and mother of triplets, Heather Mayther, now have access to careers that provide financial stability for their families as well as the pride that comes with building up their communities. Recently, Multnomah County produced a short video telling the stories of Heather and fellow tradesperson, Shawn Story, and how their involvement in this project has transformed their lives. Stories like Shawn and Heather’s are valuable as they help people outside of the construction industry understand that these jobs can lift people out of poverty and into the middle class. Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury showed this video as part of her State of the County address and declared, “I am proud that these public projects are changing the Portland skyline, but I am most proud that they are changing lives.”
Tradeswoman and Mother Trillium Ward
No one said it was easy being a tradeswoman and a mom, but being a tradeswoman can give you the financial security to provide for your family. Trillium Ward began her journey into the skilled trades as a single mother of two, working as a drug and alcohol counselor for kids and young adults. Her job as a counselor was challenging work that only paid $12.50 an hour, hardly enough to support a family of three. Public assistance was helpful, but this was not the life Trillium imagined for herself. She had always loved working with her hands and took wood-shop, metal-shop, and other vocational programs her high school offered which focused on hands-on learning. With these experiences, the skilled trades started to look quite appealing as a new career option.
Trillium first applied to become an electrical apprentice with the IBEW, but didn’t score high enough on the application process to enter the program. After hearing about Oregon Tradeswomen around the community, she decided to enroll in the pre-apprenticeship program, the Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class (TACC). She knew that going through this program would be like receiving an endorsement of her qualifications and ability to succeed in the field. She was accepted to a special session of TACC that ran at night, which allowed her to continue working full time to support her family. If that wasn’t enough to demonstrate her commitment, she was also simultaneously taking a welding class on weekends!
After all her hard work in Oregon Tradeswomen’s pre-apprenticeship program, Trillium graduated from TACC, re-applied to the IBEW’s apprenticeship program, and was accepted! As an apprentice, she immediately made $3 more per hour than she did as a drug and alcohol counselor. Being a single mother at the time, it was imperative to have a support network of family and other moms to help out with childcare because a typical day for Trillium started at 4:00 am! Thankfully, just 6 months into her apprenticeship, Trillium made enough money to get off of state assistance and afford daycare. Her advice to mothers thinking about pursuing a career in the trades is to “make sure you have reliable daycare that can accommodate early mornings and the ability to be flexible with your schedule!”
Just 5 years after starting on this new path, Trillium journeyed out of the Electrical apprenticeship! This is an incredibly proud accomplishment for her, because she managed to meet all of the strict program requirements around attendance and grades, all while having a new baby with her partner. Trillium is currently working for Oregon Electric Group where she runs bus ducts, installs conduits, pulls wire, creates panels, and installs lights among – other things. Trillium loves how her work keeps her brain engaged – whether she is learning new technology, new skills, or being put in different situations requiring adaptation and problem-solving. The hardest part about her job is the lack of continuity. When the people you work with, your start time, and your commute change regularly, its hard to plan for the future.
The biggest barrier Trillium faces as a woman in the trades is not outright harassment, but that compared to the men on her crews, she is not taken seriously. As a result, she has to to above and beyond to prove herself on every job-site – otherwise the men frequently assume that she isn’t competent. This becomes exhausting when you’re changing job-sites regularly – having to prove your worth with a new crew each time. Trillium’s advice for other tradeswomen is to help support other women. Solidarity is important in this field, so when you see other women, reach out, because the isolation can be hard.
In the end, the hard work pays off. Trillium says, “The amount of change in my financial status, going from poverty and living paycheck to paycheck, to financial freedom where I can buy a home and go on vacation has made a world of difference in my life and my children’s lives.”
A Pathway to Green Careers
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is invested in creating work opportunities in remediation and abatement in their own communities. Remediation and abatement are the methods used when a substance or practice in the construction industry is harmful to the environment and community. Remediation is the concept of using special techniques to make sure workers stay safe when dealing with hazardous materials such as lead and asbestos. Abatement is the process of removing the environmental threat so the entire community stays safe.
Often times, the remediation work needing to be done in a community is conducted by out of state workers. Oregon Tradeswomen’s Training Director, Amy James Neel, emphasizes, “Bringing in workers from out of state is a problem because these are high-skill, high-paying jobs. When people come in from out of state to do the work, those workers take their skills and their money with them out of the community and out of the state when the job is done.” In response, the EPA developed the Brownfields Program in 1995 to provide funding for training marginalized communities to enable them to access these important, high-paying jobs.
Oregon Tradeswomen has received Brownfields Program funding for many years, introducing our pre-apprenticeship students to career opportunities in our community dealing with remediation, alternative energy, material reuse, and cleaning up the federally recognized pollution sites affecting the Columbia and Willamette rivers.
Oregon Tradeswomen’s Environmental Worker Training Track is a two-week optional training providing our students necessary skills and certifications to pursue competitive careers in the industry. Oregon Tradeswomen’s pre-apprenticeship students are shown a broad spectrum of possible careers in environmental remediation, anything from spill response, biohazard cleanup, wind-turbine maintenance, asbestos removal, and weatherization, just to name a few. One of the most advantageous aspects of the Brownfields EPA Grant funding is that it allows Oregon Tradeswomen to assist students beyond the two week training track! We are able to support students who are truly dedicated to pursuing careers the EPA deems beneficial to the environment by helping interested students obtain certifications giving them a competitive edge in their job search. For example, if a student is interested in deconstruction, we can help them get an RRP Certification which shows that they know how to safely work around lead.
Oregon Tradeswomen’s program has adapted over the years we have implemented this training, as our curriculum is based specifically on community needs and the jobs opportunities connected to those needs. At the present time, the demand for green/energy efficient practices and solar PV installations in residential buildings are growing quickly. In response, Oregon Tradeswomen has partnered with Energy Trust of Oregon to integrate an “Introduction to Green Construction and Solar PV” segment for the two-week training track delivered by Earth Advantage. During this in-depth training, our students learn about the following high performance building best practices and career opportunities in the green building and renewable energy industries:
- Energy Efficiency
- Health & Indoor Air Quality
- Sustainable Materials
- Water Conservation
- Land Management
- Solar Photovoltaics (PV)
As an added incentive, Energy Trust provides scholarships to participate in a 6-month Sustainable Homes Professionals (SHP) accreditation training offered by Earth Advantage that takes place every fall in Portland. Funding for scholarships was provided by Energy Trust to support student scholarships for Oregon Tradeswomen, as part of its overall efforts to expand training for energy efficiency and renewable energy in the building industry. Discounts for Minority and Women Business Enterprise (M/WSB) certified firms for this accreditation training are also available and provided by Earth Advantage.
Oregon Tradeswomen graduate Chelsea Acker recently received the SHP scholarship and excelled in the course, which led her to join the team at Green Hammer, a design-build firm delivering eco-friendly homes, renovations, and communities. In a note to Earth Advantage, Chelsea said:
“I am writing to extend many thanks and extreme gratitude to Earth Advantage. I am one of the SHP Scholarship awardees from the current SHP class. I graduated from Oregon Tradeswomen this past summer and knew I wanted to start my career in carpentry working for a company that focused on high performance energy efficient and sustainable builds. The SHP class was recommended to me as a way to learn more about building science and meet others who are active in this field. Within a few months into the course, I found myself passionate about building science, and applying for jobs. I was hired full-time at Green Hammer just a few weeks ago and it is my dream job! I can’t believe I am getting to begin my career with such an amazing company that aligns so clearly with my ethics, values, and passion. I honestly DO NOT believe that I would have gotten the job if it weren’t for this SHP course, and there is no way as a woman entering the field with little to no experience that I would have been able to afford this course on my own. I am extremely grateful and humbled by this opportunity and wanted to extend many many thanks for believing in me and giving me this chance. This course made is possible for me to enter into the trades with a focus on high performance energy efficient homes/buildings.”
Oregon Tradeswomen is tremendously grateful for the opportunity to work with community partners in the green construction industry under the EPA’s grant. With this support, Oregon Tradeswomen is able to help our pre-apprenticeship graduates gain valuable skills to pursue a living wage career all while helping our local community. This funding also allows Oregon Tradeswomen to support our industry partners with exceptional, and appropriately certified employees who will go on to make the Earth a safer and more inhabitable place.
LinkedIn Learning Teaches Construction Fundamentals
In 2018, Mary Ann Naylor, Oregon Tradeswomen’s Communications and Marketing Director, was approached directly by Linda Sellheim of LinkedIn Learning, also known as Lynda.com, a massive online learning resource for professional development. Linda was interested in creating a video series for LinkedIn Learning exploring careers in the construction trades, what working those jobs entails, and dispelling myths about the trades along the way. Most importantly, she was looking for a tradeswoman to be the face and voice leading the series!
After a productive meeting with Oregon Tradeswomen’s Development and Communications team, we directed Linda to the NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center (NIETC) and our friend Bridget Quinn, who works as their Workforce Development Coordinator. We knew Bridget would be a prime candidate to lead a series on construction fundamentals. Not only is Bridget a Journey-level tradeswoman, but her role at the NIETC revolves around working with prospective apprentice-applicants to provide them with resources and guidance needed to successfully access union apprenticeship. Bridget is also a huge ally for Oregon Tradeswomen when we hold our Annual Career Fair at the Electrical Training Center and is a recipient of the Daily Journal of Commerce’s Women of Vision Award in 2017!
We are pleased to share links to the LinkedIn Learning track featuring Bridget Quinn. Videos are live on LinkedIn Learning and we encourage you to preview this incredible resource we hope will help many understand and access the world of the construction trades!
Helen Getchell Women of Color in the Trades Fund
Oregon Tradeswomen is committed to increasing the participation of women in the skilled trades, and we have shifted our outreach to focus on women of color who remain significantly under-represented in the construction industry, here in Oregon and across the nation.
We know women of color leave the construction industry at higher rates than both white women and their male counterparts, and Oregon Tradeswomen is working to address barriers and increase retention. There are many factors contributing to these high attrition rates, and Oregon Tradeswomen is working to help address those issues.
- We are focusing on strong public policy to ensure participation goals are in place on public project for a diverse workforce.
- We are working to create access to quality, affordable childcare.
- We are committed to addressing harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
These are just some of the ways we seek to shift the numbers, support our industry, and improve outcomes for workers in our communities. The Helen Getchell Fund was established to specifically provide support to help increase the retention of success of our sisters of color in the construction industry.
More about The Helen Getchell Women of Color in the Trades Fund
The Helen Getchell Women of Color in the Trades Fund is a designated fund housed and managed at Oregon Tradeswomen. Through the fund, women of color who demonstrate need are provided with direct financial support to successfully complete pre-apprenticeship and enter into employment and registered apprenticeship in the skilled trades.
The fund is advised by members of the Helen Getchell Giving Circle, which is comprised of the fund’s founder, Charlene Getchell, and invited community and industry stakeholders who are committed to ensuring access, opportunity and equity for women of color in the skilled trades.
Or mail your gift to:
Oregon Tradeswomen
454 SE 187th Avenue
Portland, OR 97233
Wire A Light Dates Announced for 2019
Would you like to learn about the possibilities a career as an electrician offers? The NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center is hosting four “Wire a Light” workshops for women who have an interest in the electrical trades. During this free workshop, you can learn how to wire a light, meet women electricians in the industry, and find out how to start your career as an electrician.
Dates & Registration:
September 19, 2019
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Register for the 9/19 workshop
December 5, 2019
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Register for the 12/5 workshop
Location:
NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center
16021 NE Airport Way
Bus Lines:
NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center is accessible via TriMet bus lines 74 and 87.
From Pre-Apprenticeship to Business Owner!
Oregon Tradeswomen has the privilege of meeting some truly amazing women during every Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class (TACC) we hold, and our most recent graduating class was no exception. Janet Huerta decided to embark on a new path after the tragic passing of both her parents on the same day and she enrolled in TACC.
Janet had worked in social services for decades, assisting survivors of abuse. Both her father and step-father were woodworkers, her brother started his career in framing as a teen, and her nephew is a laborer, so tools and workshops were familiar to Janet. A particularly harsh winter in central Oregon one year devastated the house that Janet had called home for 20 years and due to the high demand for skilled tradespeople, she was unable to get help to fix the damage the ice had wreaked. This dilemma sparked a question in Janet’s mind: “Why can’t I do this?”
When she quit her job to care for her parents full-time, this question stuck with her. Janet connected with Oregon Tradeswomen’s Outreach Coordinator, Anjeanette Brown, at a Women’s Foundation of Oregon event, and began her relationship with Oregon Tradeswomen as a donor. After the passing of her parents, Janet’s brother encouraged her to begin volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, which would give her an even better idea if this new path would be a good fit. Janet soon discovered that most of the other volunteers were retired tradespeople whose experience allowed them to take first dibs on certain parts of the building process. Unfortunately, Janet wasn’t getting training opportunities as fast as she would have liked.
In May of 2018, Janet attended Oregon Tradeswomen’s annual Career Fair which solidified her interest in pre-apprenticeship. After the event, she made sure to check the Oregon Tradeswomen website every day to make sure she didn’t miss the opportunity to register for the Fall TAC Class. Not only did she register for TACC, but she caught it two-handed. The 8 weeks of TACC flew by and, surprised by how well she did, Janet proved to herself that with baby steps, her goals were attainable. In her own words, Janet says, “the most valuable part of pre-apprenticeship is the chance to let go of any fear or self-doubt that holds all of us back from trying new things and finding out ‘We Can!’ It is what happens for everyone here whether it is intentional or not. Oregon Tradeswomen creates a space to overcome fear or doubt and instills an internal mechanism to problem-solve anything.”
Janet went on to complete our Environmental Worker Training Track with a HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response) certification, and on her last day of training, she was approached by a family friend who needed a toilet installed. Feeling confident in her abilities, she recruited a classmate, and they set off to lend a helping hand. Having successfully executed her first gig, Janet knew she could turn this into a business! And from that thought emerged The Build-It Sisters, a business based in Sisters, Oregon that Janet hopes to expand to hire Oregon Tradeswomen graduates and other women. With more work already lined up through word-of-mouth, Janet’s goal is to go above and beyond other contractors, skillfully completing jobs and leaving spaces nicer than they were before.
There are so many paths for our graduates to explore when they leave pre-apprenticeship and we love to hear about all the creative ways they take the skills learned during class and apply them in the work-force. Not only do we need women in apprenticeship, but we also need more female contractors and business owners. We wish Janet the best in her endeavors and cannot wait to share in the successes of her and her trades sisters!
Happy New Year from Oregon Tradeswomen’s Executive Director
Sarah was just one of the many working women in Oregon who, despite working full-time, was still living below the poverty line. In fact, one third of working women in Oregon head households that live in poverty. Women’s economic security in Oregon is further threatened due to the low rate of high school graduation, ranking us 48th in the nation, lack of affordable housing (47th), and the persistent wage gap –factors which all contribute to an economically fragile demographic.
In 2018, Oregon Tradeswomen made changes to our training program in order to better serve women like Sarah, who simply needed a hand up – not a hand out – in learning new skills that lead to high-wage employment in the skilled trades. Through our Pathways to Success program, our retention services, public policy work, and career education sessions, we were able to serve more women experiencing poverty than ever before, including women with significant barriers to employment. We’ve increased our capacity, we’ve removed impediments to accessing our program, and we’ve increased services so we can help more women change their lives.
In reflecting upon this past year, I am pleased to share that Oregon Tradeswomen has made good progress creating economic opportunity for more women, shifting workplace culture, and addressing systemic and policy barriers which hindered access, opportunity, and equity for women like Sarah. We embarked on a new path, yet one which honors our founding sisters’ vision and mission to promote success for women and girls in the trades. Through a year-long process, which included input from funders, community partners, industry, tradeswomen, program graduates and policy-makers, we have developed a Blueprint for Prosperity, our three-year strategic plan. While it will guide us forward, this document will live and be responsive to both opportunities and challenges which may come our way as we continue to grow and broaden our reach.
Through this plan, we will work ever harder, and more strategically, to serve more women like Sarah who now makes a family-supporting wage and has transitioned from reliance on public benefits to economic independence. Oregon Tradeswomen will continue to be a part of the regional, statewide, and national conversation about the importance of investing in racial and gender equity for our workforce, and the critical need to have good public policy to support such efforts. We will work to be the change we seek.
We invite you to join us in 2019 – come celebrate 30 years of success with us this year! And as we ring in the New Year, and a new path for Oregon Tradeswomen, join us in helping to transform lives.
My sincere gratitude to all of our partners and supporters for all that you do, in 2018 and always, in service of our mission. We look forward to seeing you in 2019 and wish you a Happy, Healthy, and Joyful New Year!
With gratitude,
Kelly Kupcak
Executive Director
Easy Ways to Support Oregon Tradeswomen!
As a non-profit organization, Oregon Tradeswomen’s work is made possible through the generosity of our supporters. For these gifts we are immensely grateful, but not everyone has the financial flexibility to make a monetary contribution. Luckily, there are other ways to support our work that are quick and easy!
Each of these avenues are incredibly helpful to our organization. If every one of our supporters participated in at least one of these programs, the impact would be undeniable.
Dovetail Affiliate Program
Oregon Tradeswomen is both honored and thrilled to announce that we are the first affiliate partner for Dovetail Workwear, which means ALL of Oregon Tradeswomen’s community – from students, graduates, field instructors, donors, volunteers, staff, and members can receive a 10% discount on purchases simply by using this link to shop: dovtl.me/oretrd!
In addition to your 10% off, Dovetail Workwear also makes a commensurate 10% donation to Oregon Tradeswomen!
Fred Meyer Rewards
What if we told you that your Fred Meyer shopping trips could benefit Oregon Tradeswomen? Every time you shop, Fred Meyer’s Community Rewards program will put aside up to $650,000 each quarter to benefit an organization of your choice! Here is how you can participate:
- Go to fredmeyer.com
- Click on the silhouetted person icon at the top right side of the page to Sign In.
- If you haven’t set up a Fred Meyer rewards account, click “Create an Account”
- After signing in to your account, scroll down to the very bottom of the page and locate the Community section
- Under “Community” you will see and select “Fred Meyer Community Rewards”
- On the page that pops up, there will be a section that says “Are You a Fred Meyer Customer?” and under that there will be a link that reads “Re-enroll or link your Rewards Card now” which you will click
- The page that pops up will list suggested organizations to support, but at the very top of the page you will want to type in “Oregon Tradeswomen” on the search field and search
- Oregon Tradeswomen should be the first listing to pop up, so locate it and press the “Enroll” button
- The website will give you a confirmation page with the information of your enrollment in the program
- Now, whenever you shop at Fred Meyer, swipe or enter in your rewards info and Fred Meyer will donate a percentage of your total to Oregon Tradeswomen!
Amazon Smile
If you are an Amazon user, each purchase you make can help Oregon Tradeswomen through the Amazon Smile program! Amazon Smile is a way for you to direct 0.5% of your Amazon purchases to a non-profit of your choice. To start generating money for Oregon Tradeswomen, follow these simple instructions:
- Go to Amazon Smile’s home page at http://smile.amazon.com
- Log in using your Amazon account
- A page will pop up asking you to select a charitable organization
- There will be some spotlight charities, but below that, there is a search bar to pick your own charitable organization where you can search “Oregon Tradeswomen”
- Oregon Tradeswomen’s profile will show up and you will click the yellow “Select” button to support that organization
- A page will show up with a confirmation of wanting to support the charity, so you will want to check the box and press “Start Shopping”
- Now, every time you shop on Amazon, a percentage of your total will be donated to Oregon Tradeswomen!
Donate Your Car
By donating your vehicle you will save yourself the hassle and expense of selling your vehicle while supporting a cause you are passionate about: helping girls and women explore their opportunities to pursue living wage jobs in the trades. When you donate your car, boat, motor home, or motorcycle, Oregon Tradeswomen will greatly benefit from your donation.
This kind of donation is a substantial gift and will help offset costs in our programs that empower women to learn about working in the trades.
Volunteer
At Oregon Tradeswomen we are always looking for volunteers to take some time out of their day to help us out. There are many ways to volunteer with our organization, the biggest of opportunities being our Annual Career Fair. If you are interested in being contacted about volunteer opportunities, please email our Communications Coordinator at trytten@tradeswomen.net
We thank you for your support this holiday season as you join us in ensuring that the thousands of low-income women and girls will receive the inspiring education, training and mentoring needed to become the next generation of tradeswomen.
From Oregon Tradeswomen to AFSCME
Oregon Tradeswomen is proud to announce that our Director of Advocacy Programs, Tiffany Thompson, has started a new chapter of her career with AFSCME Council 75 as an organizer. She will be working on higher education and behavioral health organizing campaigns as well as developing and training member organizers. Her last day with Oregon Tradeswomen was November 26, 2018.
Kelly Kupcak, Executive Director of Oregon Tradeswomen stated, “Tiffany has been a tremendous asset not only to Oregon Tradeswomen, but to our industry as a whole, and to the national tradeswomen movement in shifting our conversation from what is wrong, to the powerful impact we can have when we collaborate together. We have been privileged to build our work with her vision and look forward to her continued success at AFSCME.”
Stacy Chamberlain, Executive Director of Oregon AFSCME added, “We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Tiffany Thompson to our team at Oregon AFSCME. Her commitment to worker rights and experience in leadership development and organizing will be huge assets to our organization.”
Tiffany expressed that she will genuinely miss her coworkers and members of Oregon Tradeswomen, but is excited to expand her passion for workers’ rights through the union movement at AFSCME Council 75. Tiffany explained, “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the wonderful experience I have had at Oregon Tradeswomen. I plan to stay an active volunteer and donor of the organization. Most importantly, I know that this move will only deepen the relationship between Oregon Tradeswomen and AFSCME, strengthening our shared fight for respectful workplaces, the rights of working folks, and the leadership of our members. I am grateful to everyone who has believed in me and I look forward to taking on new challenges.”
All of us at Oregon Tradeswomen, from our staff, to our Board of Directors, and our extended community wish Tiffany the very best in this new chapter in her career.