Dear john,
Today, I announced $1,300,000 in Congressionally directed funding for union apprenticeships in San Antonio. The funds will be used to purchase equipment and renovate workspaces for the Local 66 International Association of Ironworkers through the City of San Antonio’s Ready to Work apprenticeship program. The equipment includes:
- A forklift;
- A scissor lift;
- A real lift;
- A spider crane;
- A gas welding machine;
- 3 torches;
- CPR equipment;
- Connex storage;
- Desktop mills; and,
- A lathe.
Ready to Work is an employer-led program that provides workforce development for 28,000 San Antonio residents, including youth, veterans, and persons with disabilities. The program focuses on upskilling through apprenticeships and partners with local unions, such as the Local 66 International Association of Ironworkers, the Communications Workers of America, North America’s Building Trade Unions, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
With this investment, San Antonio’s Ready to Work apprenticeship program will help provide workforce training for those in our community that need it most. Thank you to San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, San Antonio Director of Workforce Development Michael Ramsey, and President Rudy Rodriguez of the Local 66 International Association of Ironworkers for working with me to invest in our workforce.
I am a strong supporter of American workers. I am a cosponsor of the No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act, which would end the taxpayer subsidization of business anti-union activity. I am also a cosponsor of the Tax Fairness for Workers Act, which would make the tax deduction for union dues above-the-line and reinstate the tax deduction for unreimbursed employee expenses.
I will continue to stand with the working families of South Texas.
