Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su visited Portland last week, with a focus on diversifying the nation’s workforce just months before the presidential election.
On Friday, Su and U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, toured the training center of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 48 in east Portland. At the training center, Su hosted a roundtable for industry leaders to discuss how the nation’s workforce could diversify as the federal government plans to overhaul the nation’s infrastructure.
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, right, and U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici speak with students at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers training center in Portland, Ore., on Feb. 23, 2024.
Joni Land / OPB
The federal government recently awarded a $1.25 million grant to Oregon Tradeswomen, a local organization that offers women a pathway to a career in the electrical trades.
Oregon Tradeswomen Executive Director Donna Hammond — who started as an electrical apprentice with IBEW in 1978 — said the grant will allow 200 low-income women an opportunity for a pre-apprenticeship program free of cost,
Hammond said it will create a pipeline of new journey-level electricians, who have completed apprenticeship and are able to work without supervision.
Keahe Ribuca, who recently went through the Oregon Tradeswomen program, said she had gone to college but didn’t feel like it was for her. A career in the trades was a much better fit, she said.
“It really kind of gave me an idea of what I could possibly do,” Ribuca said. “It also kind of made me feel safe in an environment where I can learn about something that I never actually knew anything about.”
Industry leaders from across the state discussed how diverse populations have been discouraged from working in trade industries. Historical discrimination and a lack of affordable child care were cited by many as roadblocks to a well-paying career.
“Those jobs have not always been open and available to everybody in every community,” Su said. “This time is going to be different.”
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Bonamici said that making child care more affordable and accessible is still a work in progress.
“We’re continuing to work on that,” Bonamici said. “We’re not going to have a full workforce without having accessible affordable child care.”