UAW Chrysler workers
sharpen their skills
Union makes sure training is a constant in today’s ever-changing work world
Parcus Sutherland, a machine repairman from UAW Local 51, watches intently as instructor Mike Crew explains industrial rigging concepts at the Chrysler Technical Training Center (TTC) in Warren, Mich.
Sutherland is in the spacious rigging lab with a small group of other UAW members, eager to hear and understand the concepts Crew is trying to get across. He knows that moving heavy equipment is dangerous work and people have been killed doing it.
"I'm 'old school,' so I’m learning a safer way," the bearded eight-year veteran skilled tradesman said. "Before, we just hooked 'em and moved 'em."
When he returns to the Chrysler LLC's Mack II plant, he knows his weeklong training will give him more confidence to safely and efficiently move a machine.
That's the payoff Chrysler and the UAW are looking for when they send skilled trades, production and salaried bargaining unit members to the TTC.
The UAW bargaining team at Chrysler last year made sure that training would not go by the wayside. After all, training affects health and safety as well as quality, job security and profitability.
The process for applying for additional training is relatively straightforward: See your local technical training representative, fill out a form and submit it. The local leadership submits it to the plant leadership, they discuss it and if the training is needed, it's approved.
So why aren't more UAW members taking advantage of the many varied and critical training programs the center offers?
The answer may simply be that many eligible workers are not aware of 235,000-square-foot facility. Or it may be that some supervisors are reluctant to allow a valued worker off the job because their department is short-staffed due to attrition in the last couple of years.
If that's the case, it’s short-sighted and your local leadership will fight for your right to be trained, said UAW Vice President General Holiefield, director of the union’s Chrysler Department.
"The only way to profitability is through manufacturing quality products," Holiefield said. "The type of training provided jointly by the UAW and Chrysler is how we make sure our members have the necessary skills to safely operate our plants and make world-class vehicles."
For skilled-trades workers, continuous training is also critical because it reduces the company's ability to claim that our workers don't have the necessary skills for a particular project and that it must be outsourced.
The TTC's mission statement is this: "To provide world-class training that will meet or exceed our customer requirements using the latest, state-of-the-art technologies in a cost-effective manner."
Simply put, it tries to meet the training needs of Chrysler plants, including five-week apprenticeship training in 11 trades, skilled-trades refresher training in numerous areas, and various production worker and salaried bargaining unit training courses.
For a list of programs, go online to the training center's Web page at http://www.uaw-chrysler.com/training/ttc.cfm. A course catalog and registration form is available on the right-hand side of the page.
Once a member's class is approved and scheduled, workers find themselves at the TTC for about a week. They eat on-site and are paid a per diem. Housing is at a nearby unionized hotel. There are advantages to having the training at the TTC as opposed to their home plant.
For Sutherland and Ron Huneau, a toolmaker also from Local 51 in the rigging class, they can concentrate on continuous learning. In the plant, they could get called out of a training class for jobs that have to be done immediately.
"You don't have any distractions here," Huneau said.
Crew, the instructor, said many workers have used this equipment before, but have not been properly trained on it. It's a job he relishes because he can keep our members from being hurt on the job.
"Safety is the most important part of my job," Crew added. "I want them to be able to estimate the load and to know the rated capacity of the equipment. It's important that you know how to do things safely."
