Tradeswomen Trade Tools for Caps & Gowns

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Family and friends of 21 newly-minted graduates filled the Gompers Room at the AFL-CIO Monday for the Washington Area Women in the Trades (WAWIT) graduation ceremony. Traci Pfeffer and Jhonnal Daniels spoke for many of their fellow-graduates when they shared the many challenges they faced to complete the 12-week building and construction trades pre-apprenticeship program. Congratulatory and supportive words were offered by keynote speakers including Channel 7 anchor Maureen Bunyan and YWCA Executive Director Orysia Stanchak, and special thanks were given to the four unions who provided hands-on experience for the women at their apprenticeship schools, including Cement Masons Local 891, the Sheet Metal Workers Apprenticeship program, the Joint Carpentry Apprenticeship Committee and the IBEW Apprenticeship Program. This is the fourth group of female construction workers to complete the training, which is coordinated by the YWCA of the National Capital Area, Wider Opportunities for Women and the Community Services Agency of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO.
- Reported by Alya Mbamba