King County Executive Ron Sims is using one the county’s biggest public works projects, Brightwater, to help workers build careers in an industry with good wages and benefits.
To celebrate the success of apprenticeship programs on projects like Brightwater and their benefit to regional projects and the community, Sims will today join local leaders to take part in the Seattle Seahawks ‘Union Day’ event.
Sponsored by the Seattle/King County Building & Construction Trades Council, the halftime event will take place on Thursday,Aug. 31 at the 7 p.m. Seahawks-Raiders game at Qwest Field.
From the start of construction in 2006 to scheduled completion in 2010, Brightwater is expected to create about 2,300 skilled trade jobs generating about $215 million in payroll. At least 15 percent of Brightwater project work hours will be performed by workers at various apprenticeship levels. The project has set a goal to have 33 percent of the apprenticeship hours being performed by women and people of color.
“These apprenticeships offer the training people need to advance in jobs with family wages and benefits, the kind of jobs that enable people to buy a home or invest in retirement,” said Sims. “That’s the American dream, and I’m proud to support programs that help hardworking people attain it.”
In addition to recruiting apprentices, Brightwater’s project labor agreement offers a mentoring program to match apprentices with journey level workers for skill building and support throughout their training. The goal is to help apprentices develop the needed skills for career advancement, and to encourage employers to retain the apprentices who join the program.
On game day, Seahawks fans seeking more information about apprenticeships and building trade job opportunities will be able to visit with project representatives at Touchdown City inside the Qwest Field Event Center, which is connected to the south end of Qwest Field.
People can also learn more about apprenticeship opportunities by visiting the Washington State Building & Construction Trades Council Web site at http://www.wabuildingtrades.org/ or by calling 360-357-6778.
Information about the Brightwater project is available at http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wtd/brightwater/ or by calling 206-684-6799.
People enjoy clean water and a healthy environment because of King County's wastewater treatment program. The county’s Wastewater Treatment Division protects public health and water quality by serving 17 cities, 17 local sewer utilities and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Formerly called Metro, the regional clean-water agency now operated by King County has been preventing water pollution for more than 40 years.
###
Note to editors and reporters: Visit the WTD Newsroom, a portal to information for the news media about the Wastewater Treatment Division, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/dnrp/newsroom.aspx.