By Stephen Smoot
In 2023, the rate of veteran homelessness rose a staggering 7.4 percent over the previous year. The National Association of American Veterans reported in 2023 that nearly 12 million veterans contended with a disability. Mental health problems plague just over two million.
With so many American military veterans struggling, sometimes with problems connected to their service, sometimes with the demands imposed by an uncertain and inflationary economy, support programs remain a vital part of protecting those who defended America’s freedom.
David Bland, governmental affairs director with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 53, delivered an informational presentation to the Pendleton County Commission last week. In it, he shared details about the union’s “Hardhats to Helmets” program. This opportunity fast tracks veterans through the training process to earn a place with the union and the opportunity for good paying employment.
Bland shared that many of the businesses who employ workers from the trades represented by the IUPAT suffer, like almost everyone else, from staffing shortages. Jobs available through the union include industrial and commercial painting, drywall work, window glazing, floor installation, hydro-blaster technicians, and more, up to a total of 30 crafts.
He added that “we need 500 hydro workers” and are “about 300 short” to perform other types of work.
These opportunities benefit women veterans as well as men. “Though not as many seek our work or careers in the trades,” Bland said, “women are actually better at detail sometimes,” and described how that applied especially to painting and drywall work.
The program, according to the union’s flier, “trains transitioning members of the military in one of our many trades and assists them in finding a job to immediately begin building a successful career with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.”
Training for veterans comes at no cost, with veterans encouraged to “save their GI Bill for future courses.” The training involves both classroom and also hands-on learning together.
Union membership brings perquisites, such as skills and safety training, eligibility for health insurance, and various retirement savings opportunities. After learning the trade, union members can then take classes on how to lead others in a supervisory role.
Within one year of discharge, the veteran can enter the program, in which the union partners with the United States Department of Labor. The partnership enables the union to waive certain requirements for veteran applicants. Pay comes 60 percent from the union, the rest comes from the federal government. A veteran who wishes to enter the trades, but does not take advantage of this program could miss out on thousands of dollars.
Training takes place at the massive 96,000 square foot facility in Weston. They train union members, but also, for example, “state road bridge inspectors . . . in large numbers.”
When they invited elected officials to learn more, Agnes Queen, Lewis County commissioner, exclaimed, “You need to tell everyone about this.”
Apprentices then “take training and apply their skills into actual projects around the jurisdiction all across West Virginia and the surrounding states.”
Bland urged that supporting employment through the IUPAT also helps to keep employee jobs in West Virginia. He praised Marshall University for using the union on their projects, but shared that West Virginia University employs workers from Pennsylvania generally. He said, “If you can’t hire union, at least try to hire local people . . . (because) if you send all the money out of state, it’s gone.”
Bland has made it his mission to explain the program to local government officials across the district, which covers West Virginia and parts of Ohio and Maryland to ensure that veterans learn about the opportunities available.
