Applicants for Educational Assistance must meet below requirements:
Member must be in good standing with their Local Union.
Member must be an eligible Health & Welfare participant with child also showing on the Member’s benefit plan.
Child must be an unmarried son, daughter, stepchild or legally adopted child of a member of a Local Union under the jurisdiction of District Council 21 whose parent is actively making contributions to the Fund through payroll deductions.
Child must be a high school student (senior year) intending to enroll at a post-secondary institution or a currently enrolled post-secondary institution student (full time), regardless of whether such institution is a college, university, trade or vocational school, nursing school or any similar institution:
Under the age of 19
Over the age of 19, but under the age of 26 and a full-time student
Over the age 19, but incapable of self employment because of mental or physical handicap prior to age of 19
Scholarship amounts will be determined by the number of applications received.
Scholarship applications are now available for the 2021-2022 school year. If you have any questions, please contact Stacy Reynolds at the District Council 21 Headquarters – (215) 677-7980.
Applications must be submitted no later than JUNE 25, 2021. You can send in the application before receiving the Tuition Bill. Scholarships will be awarded the day of the AUGUST District Council Meeting.
As the COVID-19 vaccine continues to roll out into our communities, we know how important it is to ensure our members are getting the information and care they need. All District Council 21 members who are interested in receiving the vaccine within Philadelphia County can fill out the following form, put together by the Philadelphia Building Trades:https://form.jotform.com/210406051625140
This form is completely voluntary and is only for use by trade union members. The information you provide on this form is confidential and will only be used by the Philadelphia Building Trades to connect you with where you can register to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Completion of this form does not guarantee that you will receive the vaccine and does not preclude you from obtaining the vaccine from your local pharmacy. Continue to stay safe, on and off the job site, and don’t hesitate to reach out to the union hall with any concerns.
At this month’s Painters Local 2011 Executive Board Meeting, we honored recently retired Business Agent Tom Boetefuer. Thank you Tom for 40 years of service to the painters and DC 21! Enjoy your retirement!
Need some extra funds for the holidays? Good news: now through December 31, DC 21 will be entering all members who log into the IUPAT Member Mobile Portal app into a raffle for $100 gift cards!
We’re adding a little friendly competition to this holiday season. To keep things interesting, each DC 21 Local will be giving away two $100 gift cards to two members, one to Wawa and one to Home Depot – with four DC 21 Locals (252, 2011, 2018, and 1955), that’s $800 up for grabs!
Through the IUPAT Member Mobile Portal app, information about your dues, pension, and certifications are right at your fingertips. After you download and log in, don’t forget to explore the app to learn more.
Log in using your Member ID by the December 31 deadline. Don’t remember your Member ID? You can find it on your IUPAT Journal or vacation checks, and glaziers can check their member ID cards.
That’s it; after you log in, you’ll be automatically entered to win one of these $100 gift cards. DC 21 staff will review a list of who has logged into the app and will randomly select winners based on the contest timeframe.
Winners will be notified via the contact information listed for them in the Member Mobile Portal app.
DC 21 and the IUPAT are always looking for new ways to keep our members informed. Staying informed about your pension, benefits, status, and more has never been easier.
Tureka Dixon instructing FTI apprentices at a recent class.
When Tureka Dixon was working in payroll at a construction company, she realized the money she could make by turning in her blazer for a hard hat. She found her way to the Painters Union glaziers apprenticeship program in Philadelphia, where she was paid to learn and work on a job site. Now a mother of two, Tureka has a 401(k), a pension, and a benefits package that covers things like her hospital stay for her second child’s birth and her son’s braces.
This is National Apprenticeship Week (November 8-14), a week to recognize the impact of apprenticeships on individuals, employers and the economy. For decades, union apprenticeships have provided a debt-free path to family-sustaining careers. Now, as our state and the nation prepare for a Joe Biden presidency, union apprenticeships will be more important than ever in getting Americans back to work.
Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan will create millions of jobs focused on rebuilding America’s crumbling infrastructure, which was given a “D+” rating by the American Society of Civil Engineers. There’s no better way to get Americans back to work than union apprenticeships in the building trades to rebuild our critical infrastructure like roads, bridges, schools and hospitals.
A group of high school trainees enrolled in a FTI program.
Apprenticeships provide critical career paths for young people, providing a debt-free education and job placements with local employers, unlike a traditional college. As the collective student debt owed by American students passes $1.5 trillion, young people need alternative paths to rewarding, high-paying careers. And apprentices aren’t the only ones who benefit from programs like these. These programs give employers access to a highly skilled workforce trained in industry-leading techniques and safety to support their bottom lines.
For example, students at the Finishing Trades Institute – the training arm of District Council 21 – accrue zero debt as part of ourearn-as-you-learn model and are promised 100% job placement if they complete the program. An accredited technical community college, the FTI confers its own associate’s degree, and students can also pursue bachelor’s degrees through agreements with a number of local institutions in the Philadelphia area like Penn State, Jefferson, Rutgers, and Rowan.
The FTI also works with high school students throughout Greater Philadelphia to show the benefits of vocational training and pursuing a career in the construction industry. For many high schoolers, the cost of universities makes higher education seem like an impossible goal. Through mentorship, scholarships, and hands-on training, the FTI is showing the next generation that a college degree and a high-paying job are possible for all. Graduates of the program earn more than $70,000 a year on average, with annual increases.
As our nation gets back to work under these new federal plans, National Apprenticeship Week highlights how apprenticeship programs can bolster our economy and help workers earn an income while learning in-demand skills to guide them in the recovering economy. And even before COVID-19, the need for newcomers to the building trades was high, with construction and engineering certificates leading to careers with wages as high or higher than many bachelor’s degrees, according to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.
But, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. still lags behind other countries like Germany, Switzerland, and the U.K. in terms of industries’ utilization of the apprenticeship training model, even though it’s anticipated that nearly 30% of all jobs by 2020 will require a post-secondary degree or credential. Experts also project a shortfall of nearly 3 million Americans lacking the post-secondary education required to fill these jobs.
Tuerka Dixon with her two children at her graduation.
Through her apprenticeship program, Tureka was able to earn both an associate’s degree and a Bachelor’s in Construction Management. Now a part-time instructor with the FTI, Tureka teaches the next generation of workers entering the trades.
“I’m able to relate to them because, of course, I was once in their spot,” Tureka told me recently. “And knowing that I’m helping newcomers achieve what I’ve achieved – a career that supports my family, with benefits that will allow me to retire comfortably – is the best feeling.”
It’s time for us to catch up with the world’s other leading industrialized nations. When we talk about getting Pennsylvanians back to work, we must do so with an eye towards the future – the future of our cities and towns, but also the futures of the working people building them. During National Apprenticeship Week, let’s celebrate the apprenticeship programs that are allowing our employers, communities, and workers to come back stronger than ever.
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Joe Ashdale is the Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer of IUPAT District Council 21.
