IFPTE, AFT, JWJ, TVA Meet to Discuss STEM Jobs Training Center

Officers and staff from IFPTE, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Jobs with Justice (JWJ), and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) came together for two days of meetings in Chattanooga this week to discuss the coalition’s ongoing efforts to stand up a training center for STEM workers. 

The meeting, organized by Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson and Assistant to the Executive Officers, Brian Kildee, focused on the coalition’s continued efforts to achieve federal grants dedicated to workforce development made available as a result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. 

Kildee, who is leading the effort on behalf of IFPTE and the coalition, commented:  “This week’s meetings were extremely productive as they allowed all of us an opportunity to share ideas and agree on the next steps toward our goal of standing up a workforce development center for STEM-related professions.”  IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer, Gay Henson, also commented:  “Our goal with standing up a STEM workforce training center is three-fold:  To create a self-sustaining job training center that will meet the needs of employers here in the South; to do so by providing these training opportunities to under-represented communities who lack job opportunities; and to do this by ensuring that all that enter the training program are union members while they train, and remain union members when they eventually leave the training program and enter employment.” 

The meeting was also attended by President Matt Biggs and was held at the AGC East Tennessee Construction Career Center in Chattanooga.