About Oregon Tradeswomen
OTI In the News in November
Wow! Oregon Tradeswomen was in the news multiple times earlier in November! We made a lot of noise about the first ever National Women in Apprenticeship Day, and we invited members of the media to visit our Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class during their hands on learning days when they were hard at work deconstructing and demolishing the interior of the former ‘Sugar Shack’. This work opportunity was made possible through our partnership with Living Cully – an innovative collaboration between non-profit organizations in the Cully Neighborhood in NE Portland: Verde, Hacienda CDC and NAYA (Native American Youth and Family Center).
Women in Apprenticeship Day
Oregonian
Daily Joural of Commerce
NW Labor Press
Deconstruction of Sugar Shack
Daily Journal of Commerce
KATU
KGW
Portland Business Journal
PQ Monthly
2015 Willamette Week Give!Guide
Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. is honored to be part of the 2015 Willamette Give!Guide! The end of year campaign runs November 4th through midnight December 31st.
We are thrilled to have THREE business partners who are matching donations up to $7,500! Thanks so much to Atomic Direct, Enhabit (formerly Clean Energy Works) and Madden Industrial for making this generous pledge of support to help us double the impact of your donation to OTI.
Our business partners have also generously donated cool gifts as special thank you incentives for donors on select days: Cup Cozies, towels, a home energy audit, and court side seats to a Blazer game! These are all in addition to the coupons you receive with a minimum donation as well as the amazing incentives you’re eligible to win when you give a gift on the six Big Give Days! Visit the donate page for a more information about the campaign.
How can you participate?
- Donate! You can donate as little as $10 and it helps out OTI. We have three business partners matching up to $7,500 this year! Here is the link: https://giveguide.org/#oregontradeswomeninc
- Share on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn: Make a post on your social media and encourage your circle of friends to donate. You can also share OTI’s posts on Facebook, retweet on Twitter, and we have an Instagram account (@oregontradeswomen).
- Send an email to friends and family! Example: “I am a big fan and supporter of Oregon Tradeswomen. The non-profit does a lot of great work for tradeswomen and it is one of the organizations in this year’s Willamette Week Give Guide. The Willamette Week Give Guide picks non-profits to spotlight in a special publication in order to build awareness and financial support during the end of the year. OTI has three business partners matching up to $7,500 this year so every donation – whether it is $10 or $100 – is matched until OTI reaches $7,500. That means, $7,500 donated by folks like us becomes $15,000 because of the match. It is really easy, too. Just click on the link below and make your secure donation and tell all your friends, too! Thank you!!!”Here is the link to donate:
https://giveguide.org/#oregontradeswomeninc
If you are currently a supporter of Oregon Tradeswomen, thank you so much! If you are able, please help us meet and exceed the matching funds from our incredible business partners and empower OTI to educate, train, and place even more women into satisfying, living-wage careers in the construction trades.
Thank you!
National Women in Apprenticeship Day Social Media Campaign
It’s great that you are as excited as we are about National Women in Apprenticeship Day, Thursday November 5, 2015. Thank you for joining us to make the presence of women in apprenticeship known far and wide. We all know that apprenticeship itself is a very misunderstood concept and within that system, women are unseen. In order to bring this issue to the forefront, we have some tips for a Facebook post to contribute to the campaign and a national conversation. The tips below will give you a chance to let your friends and family know what you do, while connecting to other tradeswomen to create a larger impact!
Anatomy of the Facebook Campaign Post:
In order for you post to have the most effect, make sure that you specify for these posts to be ‘public’.
The Photo:
For this campaign, let’s show the world that women in apprenticeship work! Include a photo (or a video if you have it) of yourself on a job site or doing trades work. Here are some samples to inspire you!
The Text:
You should talk about your experience, your life, your apprenticeship. You want to let your networks know what you do and what that means to you! So, we aren’t crafting your post for you. However, here are some tidbits we are trying to highlight:
- Announce the first ever National Women in Apprenticeship Day, Thursday, November 5th, 2015
- Explain that apprenticeship means you get an education and paid on the job training!
- Talk about getting a life-long career, not just a job
- Share your story, about how apprenticeship changed your life
- Let folks know that women only comprise 3% of apprentices, nationally
The ‘Hashtag’ (or the connection to a larger campaign!):
Hashtags are an important and essential part of creating a Facebook campaign. When you tag organizations or include hashtags, the connected flurry of activity means that those posts get seen more frequently. Then more people share your post, and the impact grows! So, don’t forget to include some hashtags.
- Essential Hashtags:
- @OregonTradeswomenInc
- #WomenInApprenticeship
- Hashtags for Extra Lift:
- #Tradeswomen
- #NAW2015
- #20PercentBy2020
- Tagging to Bring Your Union/Employer into the Circle:
- Like your employer or local union and use – @EmployerFacebookAccountName
- Like your international union and use – @InternationalUnionFacebookAccountName
Take it to the next level!
Add the Twibbon look to your Facebook and/or Twitter Account:
Over the past couple of months, you may have seen people change their profile pictures to have an overlay image. Maybe it was for Planned Parenthood with a pink picture that said “#StandwithPP” or Domestic Violence Awareness with a purple tint and a ribbon. Well, we now have a Twibbon for Women in Apprenticeship! It is a white hardhat that will go over the top of your current profile picture on either Facebook or Twitter. To use this, go to Twibbon and search “Women in Apprenticeship”. Click on the link and allow it to access your Facebook or Twitter and the website will take care of the rest for you!
Bring the Conversation to Twitter:
For those of you who are active on Twitter already you can craft a short post ( I am #WomenInApprenticeship). Here are some rough ideas for people to tag that you could use on Twitter (in addition to those above!):
Your State Governor, State Labor Commissioner, or State Department of Labor
US Department of Labor, Valerie Jarrett (Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls), Labor Secretary Perez
Together, we can use National Women in Apprenticeship Day to really bring tradeswomen to the forefront!
How To: Facebook Campaign for Oregon Women in Apprenticeship Day
It’s great that you are as excited as we are about National Women in Apprenticeship Day, Thursday November 5, 2015. Thank you for joining us to make the presence of women in apprenticeship known far and wide. We all know that apprenticeship itself is a very misunderstood concept and within that system, women are unseen. In order to bring this issue to the forefront, we have some tips for a Facebook post to contribute to the campaign and a national conversation. The tips below will give you a chance to let your friends and family know what you do, while connecting to other tradeswomen to create a larger impact!
Anatomy of the Facebook Campaign Post:
In order for you post to have the most effect, make sure that you specify for these posts to be ‘public’.
The Photo:
For this campaign, let’s show the world that women in apprenticeship work! Include a photo (or a video if you have it) of yourself on a job site or doing trades work. Here are some samples to inspire you!
The Text:
You should talk about your experience, your life, your apprenticeship. You want to let your networks know what you do and what that means to you! So, we aren’t crafting your post for you. However, here are some tidbits we are trying to highlight:
- Announce National Women in Apprenticeship Day, 11/5/15
- Explain that apprenticeship means you get an education and paid on the job training!
- Talk about getting a life-long career, not just a job
- Share your story, about how apprenticeship changed your life
- Let folks know, that women only comprise 3% of the trades, nationally
- You can support women in apprenticeship with a donation to your local tradeswomen organization, like Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. Donors who give a minimum of $10, today, will be eligible to be chosen to win 4 lower-level tickets to a Trailblazers game PLUS a signed jersey from a starter! Learn more at www.tradeswomen.net/donate.
The ‘Hashtag’ (or the connection to a larger campaign!):
Hashtags are an important and essential part of creating a Facebook campaign. When you tag organizations or include hashtags, the connected flurry of activity means that those posts get seen more frequently. Then more people share your post, and the impact grows! So, don’t forget to include some hashtags.
- Essential Hashtags:
- @OregonTradeswomenInc (In order to do this, make sure you already like our Facebook Page.)
- @TradeswomenTaskforce
- #WomenInApprenticeship
- Hashtags for Extra Lift:
- #Tradeswomen
- #NAW2015
- #GiveGuide
- #20PercentIn2020
- Hashtags to Bring Your Union/Employer into the Circle:
- Like your employer or local union and use – @EmployerFacebookAccountName
- Like your international union and use – @InternationalUnionFacebookAccountName
Take it to the next level!
Add the Twibbon look to your Facebook and/or Twitter Account:
Over the past couple of months, you may have seen people change their profile pictures to have an overlay image. Maybe it was for Planned Parenthood with a pink picture that said “#StandwithPP” or Domestic Violence Awareness with a purple tint and a ribbon. Well, we now have a Twibbon for Women in Apprenticeship! It is a white hardhat that will go over the top of your current profile picture on either Facebook or Twitter. To use this, go to Twibbon and search “Women in Apprenticeship”. Click on the link and allow it to access your Facebook or Twitter and the website will take care of the rest for you!
Bring the Conversation to Twitter:
For those of you who are active on Twitter already you can craft a short post ( I am a woman in apprenticeship). Here are some rough ideas for extra hashtags that you could use on twitter (in addition to those above!):
Oregon Governor Kate Brown, Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, Oregon Apprenticeship and Training Division
USDOL, US Women’s Bureau, Labor Secretary Perez
Together, we can use National Women in Apprenticeship Day to really bring tradeswomen to the forefront!
Making Connections: Innovative Changes
One of the magical moments of working at a non-profit is when you make a meaningful, useful, and unexpected connection. When this synthesis happens between two non-profits, it feels like community happening, the way it is meant to be.
For the second consecutive year, OTI connected with Innovative Changes for the Tradeswomen Leadership Institute. Although, I should pause to clarify, we actually work with them pretty often. On the surface, our missions seem disconnected but we send our students to them for financial planning education when entering the trades.
Innovative Changes assists low-income people build their long-term financial health. OTI is dedicated to promoting success for women in the trades through education, leadership, and mentorship. OTI also serves many low-income women for whom a career in the trades is a pathway out of poverty. Plus, as many of you who work in the trades know, there is a huge transition to make financially when you begin to work in this industry. It is hard to resist a spending splurge when money first starts coming in but it is also difficult to be prepared in the event of a layoff! Innovative Changes help tradeswomen enter and then stay in the trades when they work directly with our students and graduates and also when they present at the Tradeswomen Leadership Institute.
We were so grateful to have their volunteer, Landra Glover return on Saturday, September 26 to talk to attendees about financial planning. Last year, she was so well received that the planning committee was thrilled to have her return. OTI hopes that we can continue to grow and develop this relationship into the future.
As you may know, the Women’s Foundation of Oregon also believes in the work of both of our organizations: OTI and Innovative changes were the two winners of their 2015 Legacy Award. Thank you to WFO for supporting both of our organizations so that we can each have those magical moments of connection and furthering our missions.
– Tiffany Thompson, Advocacy Program Manager
Recap: Storytelling and Workshops
As most of you know, we started a new partnership this year with Back Fence PDX. B. Frayn Masters, Mindy Nettifee, and Liz Olufson saw the importance of tradeswomen’s stories and jumped right into creating a storytelling event for OTI! Most folks don’t think twice about how much work an event involves from planning to recruiting to donations and every other little detail. The dedicated staff at Back Fence were there for us, every single step of the way, it was the type of partnership a non-profit dreams about.
This fabulous partnership led to the development of an exciting, appealing event. Demand from the community was even higher than we had expected, Back Fence and OTI fielded dozens of calls from people trying to get tickets at the last minute. We wish that every single person could have joined us, and that is why we hope to replicate this event next year. If you missed the event, you can watch videos from each of the story tellers online:
Sarah Heidler
Laurie Suchan
Jen Netherwood
Bea Jenkins
Of course, the event would not have been such a success without the support of the tradeswomen who took a big risk to get on stage. We are so thankful to Sarah Heidler, Jen Netherwood, Laurie Suchan, Jodi Tillinghast, and Bea Jenkins. Hopefully, some of you are considering telling a story next year!
Friday night was a fun way to bond before we launched into the workshops for the Tradeswomen Leadership Institute. Tradeswomen volunteers, staff from AFSCME, the AFLCIO, and from LERC taught eight workshops for 47 women in attendance. We kicked off the morning with a tour of Benson High School focused on their trades and manufacturing training. Did you know that approximately every two years, the students at Benson design and build a house from the ground up?
Marilee McCall inspired us all with her keynote address. She opened her life to us and shared her path to becoming Mayor Pro-Tem in Woodland, Washington. Marilee was heartfelt in telling her personal journey. Now, she faces challenges regularly for being a woman in leadership but it doesn’t slow her down and she revealed her own secret for dealing with Naysayers. Thanks to Marilee (and Bea for the connection) for showing us one path to leadership.
None of this would have even been possible if it weren’t for the amazing women on our planning committee: Anjeanette Brown, Maddie Ettlin, Irais Gandarilla, Sarah Heidler, Kadence Jimenez, Bea Jenkins, Leigh Jenkins, and Jodi Tillinghast.
Thank you all so much and we look forward to an even more amazing Tradeswomen Leadership Institute in 2016!
U.S. Bank Foundation Grant Award
Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. (OTI) is honored to have been selected as a recent grantee of the U.S. Bank Foundation in support of our Pathways to Success program.
This $1,500 grant will help fund Pathways to Success, OTI’s job training and employment program which fosters the economic self-sufficiency of low-income women by providing job training, support services, job placement and retention services for women entering high-wage trades careers. These grant funds will pay help for student support services (such as hard hats, rain gear, boots, and tools), student transportation (for field trips to apprenticeship training centers and construction job sites), and staff time of our employment services team.
U.S. Bank contributes to the strength and health of its communities through the U.S. Bank Foundation and Corporate Giving. Through the U.S. Bank Foundation, the Foundation provides cash contributions to nonprofit organizations in grant priority areas of education, economic opportunity, and artistic and cultural enrichment. In 2014, the U.S. Bank Foundation provided more than $23.5 million in grant funding.
Thank you again to the U.S. Bank Foundation for their ongoing support of our work to train and educate women about living-wage trades careers. Learn more about the U.S. Bank’s charitable giving by visiting their website at:
www.usbank.com/community/charitable-giving.
Donor Spotlight: Victoria K. by Dennise M. Kowalczyk
I reached out to Victoria when she renewed her sustaining membership because I saw this comment on her donation:
“My daughter, Vanessa, is a recent graduate of the Pathways program. She was given a great opportunity to learn a trade and is looking forward to an apprenticeship in iron working. OTI provides a career opportunity to women that might not otherwise be possible. I saw her develop improved self-confidence and teamwork with her cohorts.”
The above photo was taken at Vanessa’s graduation celebration that I also had the opportunity to attend. It was my first experience in participating in Oregon Tradeswomen’s celebration of our training program participant’s success in graduating from our Trade and Apprenticeship Career Class. The event included stories, laughter, tears, and promises of established friendships.
Victoria began investing in OTI when her daughter, Vanessa, began investing in her own, new career path as a TAC Class student. When the session was over, Victoria renewed her support so OTI can prepare even more women in their pursuit of a living wage career as a tradeswoman and Vanessa gave back by donating a computer so OTI can help find those women work.
Join Victoria, Vanessa and all the supporters of Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. by making a donation today to ensure a bright future for women in the Portland area. It takes all of us to support these women as they embark on this new journey of independence. With your gift, you are helping women earn a living that will allow them to build a life for themselves and their loved ones. Women who not only live here, but fulfill their dreams like Vanessa did in finding a career that she loves and in which she thrives.
Thank you!
Dennise M. Kowalczyk – Development Director
9th Annual Tradeswomen Leadership Institute
Where is the best place in Oregon to get together with other tradeswomen? Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.’s annual Tradeswomen Leadership Institute (TLI) of course!! This year the event will be Friday September 25 and Saturday September 26. Some of you already know all about this, so if you are eager to register, you can do so now!
We start out on Friday night with a celebration for tradeswomen, which includes a social hour and a special event: Tradeswomen Stories! Five tradeswomen will be on stage telling their true stories live. If you register for TLI you automatically get one ticket free but you are encouraged to bring friends and family! Additional tickets are for sale for $15.
The Tradeswomen Leadership Institute facilitates the leadership development, advocacy skills, and unity among all women (union, open shop, self-employed and otherwise) working in the building, construction, mechanical and utility trades. 2015 will mark the 9th annual Tradeswomen Leadership Institute, planned by Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. (OTI), the University of Oregon’s Labor Education Research Center (LERC), and a dedicated committee of tradeswomen volunteers. This year committee members were: Barbara Byrd, Irais Gandarilla, Anjeanette Brown, Leigh Jenkins, Maddie Ettlin, Sarah Heidler, Lori Baumann, Bea Jenkins, Kadence Jimenez, Jodi Tillinghast, and Becki Yanosko. We are so grateful for all of the time they put into planning and volunteering for this event!
This year we will have 8 workshops (instead of the normal 9). We did this to focus on an extended workshop about mentorship – both how to be a mentor and how to find a mentor. It is going to be a great topic! We also have workshops on running for office, social justice, and a return from Innovative Changes to teach Financial planning.
We encourage tradeswomen to ask their employers or unions to send them to this great event. The cost is $55 with a $10 discount for all OTI members. We are more than happy to invoice your company or union, just make sure you ask them first! If you need more support with that process, Tiffany would be happy to help.
We also want to be supportive of those who are not being sponsored and maybe be new to work or perhaps currently underemployed. We do offer scholarships, just tell us you are interested in your registration, and we will be in touch! For those with kids, we have you covered too! We are offering $40 per child scholarships to help with childcare costs. This is a first come, first served scholarship with limited spots so register early!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Out in the Union: A Labor History of Queer America
(Pictured from the left: Connie Ashbrook, Miriam Frank, Madelyn Elder)
We frequently find our dear Executive Director Connie Ashbrook out and about in the media – TV Interviews and Magazine Articles. We also know that the incredible Madelyn Elder is Northwest famous in the labor community, only recently stepping down as president of CWA before starting work full time for OTI as our Chief Financial Officer (We are so lucky!). Rarely do we find both of these incredible women featured in one place! Yet, this is exactly what you get in Miriam Frank’s Out in the Union: A Labor History of Queer America.
On Thursday August 6, the Q Center hosted Frank for a reading from the book. To appeal to her audience, she shared quotes and stories from Portland area activists. During a passage featuring Elder, there was laughter as she realized everything (including a small bit of scandal!) that she had shared during the interview. It was at this time that the audience discovered that Elder and Ashbrook had been interviewed in 1995 – making their quotes deliciously new to them as well! Frank, clearly fond of many of the attendees, casually interacted with the audience and invited them to comment and build on stories they had shared for the book – creating an atmosphere of community and camaraderie.
If you want a little taste right now, here are a couple of short quotes:
“Connie Ashbrook came out at work in the early 1990s. The ultraconservative Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA) proposed Measure 9 (1992) … to mandate the firing of LGBT workers…Although the elevator construction industry was nobody’s target, Ashbrook came out at work merely by displaying a “No on 9″ bumper sticker on her lunch box. She told her union business agent that the measure would harm her personally.” (pg. 27)
“I don’t think the New York guys were interested in the gay thing at all but they were pissed at the local leadership, and they saw it as a union democracy issue. Then there were two gay men who came, telephone operators. And then some white male installers showed up, guys from Seattle, with their crew cuts. They were going, “Where’s the gays?” And there I am with my little hand raised. It was frightening to get up and talk about gay rights.” (Elder, pg 88)
For those of us who advocate for Queer Rights and Workers’ Rights OR those who just want to know what role Labor Advocates played in the Queer Movement – this book is for you. And Miriam Frank wrote this as oral histories, so you have a chance to get to know advocates who pushed the movement forward. Plus, it is a great way to get to know both Connie and Madelyn a little better – from their own voices 20 years ago. If you buy the book from Amazon, remember that you can do a little good for OTI at the same time, and support us with Amazon Smile.