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FY2017 Labor-Management Cooperation Grant Program Funding Summaries 

17-CA/I-001 

Automotive Industry Apprenticeship Trust Fund 

IAMAW District 190 

Oakland, CA 

Amount awarded: $119,718 

Problem: As in many other parts of the country, northern California faces a shortage of qualified and skilled

workers in the transportation and manufacturing sectors of the economy. Given current demographic trends, 

it is anticipated that the shortage of skilled workers will only increase in coming years as much of the nation’s 

workforce ages and nears retirement. 

Strategy: This project seeks to increase the number of skilled workers in these sectors by expanding the 

already established Automotive and Machinist Apprenticeship Programs that have been operating in northern 

California for nearly 70 years. Enlarging the Automotive and Machinist Apprenticeship programs of Northern 

California proactively addresses the future workforce shortage and creates an equitable, sustainable and 

strategic pipeline into the skilled trades. After developing a network of peer-to-peer apprenticeship advocates 

and community/industry stakeholders, outreach and the use of outreach personnel will be at the center of 

this project. These outreach personnel will serve as community liaison agents, promoting the values of 

apprenticeship while encouraging young people to apply for and to pursue lucrative careers in the Automotive 

and Machinist trades. The project also will recruit and train veteran journeymen to become mentors to 

younger generations of apprentices and workers entering the trades. The program will grow through new or 

revitalized partnerships with companies that have either underutilized or have never participated in the 

Apprenticeship Program, while emphasizing a greater cooperation and collaboration between labor and 

management. The overall goal of the reinvigorated apprenticeship program will be to create a sustaining 

partnership of labor and management that will last well beyond the funding period and to provide a forum for 

labor leaders and management to work together to address the looming skills-gap crisis in these vital

economic sectors. 

Results: The expected results and benefits of this proposed project will be the creation of a sustainable 

pipeline of skilled workers into the automotive and machinist trades in northern California. The initial goal of 

this project is to attract and start sixty new apprentices and add ten new participating employers to the 

established automotive and machinist apprenticeship programs of northern California (Automotive Industry 

Apprenticeship Trust Fund and Santa Clara Joint Apprenticeship and Education Advisory Committee). 

Another goal is to have the thirty new students enrolled in career and technology educational courses at 

affiliated community colleges. The goal of this proposed project is to change the lives of many young people 

by attracting them into the skilled trades and at the same time strengthening the ties of regional labor and 

industry stakeholders. 
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17-CA/A-002 

Center for Collaborative Solutions 

Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) 

California School Boards Association (CSBA) 

California Federation of Teachers (CFT) 

California School Employees Association (CSEA) 

Sacramento, CA 

Amount awarded: $37,228 

Problem: There is a need to train labor-management health benefits committees in California public schools 

to be better-informed purchasers and users of health care services. When district and union leaders do not 

have the tools they need to collaborate or to understand the complexities of health benefits issues, the labormanagement relationship and the collective bargaining process both suffer. Poor decisions can be made,

and employees and their families then are negatively impacted by increased costs for health benefits as well 

as poorer coverage and a lesser quality of care. 

Strategy: To address this need, the applicants propose to develop and deliver a comprehensive education 

program of online training segments and resources coordinated with a series of live coaching calls. The 

education program will consist of five 20-30 minute videos accompanied by handouts, all of which can be 

downloaded and viewed by individual labor-management health benefits committees. The coaching calls will 

take place once a month during the school year and address questions and topics requested by health 

benefits committees as well as content related to the training series. 

Results: This project will strengthen the ability of health benefits labor-management committees (covering 

a total of 80,000 employees) in California’s public education sector to effectively work together, increase their 

knowledge and skills in dealing with health benefits issues, and improve their ability to provide the best health 

benefits at the most reasonable costs for employees and their families. 
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17-IL/A-003 

City of Chicago 

Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL) 

Chicago Labor Management Cooperation Committee (LMCC) 

Chicago, IL 

Amount awarded: $95,000 

Problem: Engagement of Chicago city employees in the LMCC programs, including wellness, diabetes 

counseling and telemedicine offerings has remained limited. LMCC programs were created to hold down 

costs and also to improve the long-term health of the work force. Employees eligible to participate in these 

programs are often unaware of their options and of their options as health consumers. In addition, some 

distrust of these management initiatives to improve health care and wellness persists among eligible workers. 

Strategy: The LMCC plans to gather data on aggregate health benefit usage, demographics, interests, and 

attitudes. Various segments of the employee population can then be identified, and outreach to encourage 

participation in health care and wellness programs can be tailored to each segment as appropriate. 

Results: Engagement and the use of LMCC programs will be maximized. The LMCC will design better 

outreach to participants and selectively target those participants most likely to respond to different types of 

outreach. In turn, the LMCC hopes that this will improve education of employees on their benefits, health and 

wellness. Finally, engagement should foster a greater number of informed health consumers in the Chicago 

city work force. Success will be measured by higher engagement numbers. 
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17-TN/A-004 

Cooperative Agreement of Labor and Management (CALM) 

Sheet Metal Workers Local #5 

Laborers Local Union #818 

IBEW Local Union #270 

Operating Engineers LU #917 

Oak Ridge, TN 

Amount awarded: $56,768 

Problem: The Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee is 

the largest construction project in the state’s history, encompassing ongoing work for the Department of 

Energy by UT-Battelle and UCOR. The project is expected to create 2,400 construction jobs at its peak, which 

exceeds the current supply of available skilled craft workers. Apprentice recruitment in key trades has 

stagnated in recent years due to the post-recession slowdown of construction activity in the area. Because 

of the construction slowdown in the region, the rate of incoming trainees has not kept pace with the retirement 

of those who have served this area in the past. 

Strategy: The Cooperative Agreement of Labor and Management (CALM) will establish relationships with 

area high schools and community colleges/TCAT centers to identify potential apprenticeship and job training 

candidates. CALM will conduct and also utilize local area job fairs to promote the availability of apprenticeship 

and training to eligible individuals. To reach the appropriate candidates, CALM will use print and electronic 

promotional materials, sponsored events where students can interact with crafts professionals, and outreach 

on social media. CALM will seek to identify students and individuals for whom apprenticeship is the best fit, 

and to personally follow up with candidates to introduce them to crafts and careers they may not know exist. 

Results: The near-term goal is to recruit 250 new potential craft persons into apprenticeship training as of 

July 1, 2018, with an additional 250-300 by July 1, 2019. Success in meeting those goals is dependent on 

the project start date, and therefore, the availability of relatively steady employment for apprentices. Results 

are measurable through the growth in apprenticeship program enrollment. 
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17-MA/A-005 

Finishing Trades Institute of New England (FTI-NE) 

IUPAT District Council 35 

Painters and Finishing Employers Association of New England, Inc. 

Glass Employers Association of New England, Inc. 

Boston, MA 

Amount awarded: $86,888.00 

Problem: As the number of young workers entering careers in the building trades continues to decline, there 

is a need to become more competitive in attracting and recruiting the next generation of workers. The 

Finishing Trades Institute of New England (FTI-NE) is seeking accreditation as a higher education institution 

from the Council on Occupational Education. This project will support those efforts by providing teaching 

credentials for our technical faculty. The project will also assist the labor-management committee members 

in their roles as trustees of the apprenticeship college by providing leadership training and instruction. 

Strategy: The project will help most of the instructors, as well as the labor-management trustees achieve 

their associate’s degrees. This will be completed through a series of classes in conjunction with a strategic 

partnership the FTI-NE has formed with Mountwest Community and Technical College. The existing Board 

of Trustees will receive training and instruction that will enable its members to go forward as a highfunctioning labor-management committee responsible for future planning and educational initiatives. 

Results: Data will be collected throughout the project to demonstrate and ensure that the goals of the LaborManagement Committee have been met. The project’s leadership training will enhance the abilities of the 

Labor-Management Committee to execute its five-year strategic plan and a facilitator will be utilized to help 

review data, determine strategic direction and enhance the FTI-NE’s ability to admit, retain and graduate the 

finest apprentice workers in the region. 
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17-MN/A-006 

Finishing Trades Institute of the Upper Midwest (FTI-UM) 

International Union of Painter and Allied Trades District Council 82 

Brin Glass Company 

Julius B. Nelson & Son Inc. 

Little Canada, MN 

Amount awarded: $74,607 

Problem: A report by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry (MDLI, 2016) spells out the long-term 

challenges facing the State of Montana, including an aging workforce and a lack of young workers to replace 

those who retire. Presently, there is not a Montana labor-management group established that can work 

collaboratively to explore the workforce needs, instructional requirements and necessary financial resources 

to set up a full-scale apprenticeship/journey worker training program for the Finishing Trades Institute of the 

Upper Midwest (FTI-UM). The finishing trades do not have an effective marketing and educational strategy

in place that will help the workforce gain the necessary skills that employers need, Training workers in the 

construction and industrial industries in smaller and more rural areas, such as those in Montana, has been a 

particular challenge because of the distance students need to travel. The goal of this project is to develop a 

more innovative approach to provide the requisite technical skills and academic credentials for young 

workers. 

Strategy: The Finishing Trades of the Upper Midwest will seek out members and create a Montana labormanagement group to conduct a needs assessment and develop a five-year strategic plan for establishing

apprenticeship and journey worker programs for the finishing trades. The strategic plan will include 

establishing benchmarks, milestones and human and financial resource requirements. A facilitator will help 

the group review data and determine an appropriate strategic direction. 

Results: The expected results will be a strategic plan that tackles the obstacles of establishing an effective 

training program that can be presented to the Finishing Trades Institute of the Upper Midwest Board of 

Trustees. This strategic plan will include curriculum committees with labor management members that focus 

workplace experience for valid academic outcomes, engaging employers in building programs, plans to hold 

forums to identify employer needs and plans to hold seminars on workers’ rights and responsibilities. The 

Board will consider this strategic plan for incorporation into its own five-year plan. 
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17-NY/I-007 

Healthcare Industry Grant Corporation 

Labor Management Committee of 1199 SEIU 

John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital 

Buffalo, NY 

Amount awarded: $78,700 

Problem: In light of recent care transformation initiatives, hospital management and employees are faced 

with a constantly evolving and changing health care system. As job roles and workflow changes, many front 

line workers may feel less engaged and at times powerless to determine how care is delivered, with a lack 

of communication often cited as an area of concern. The staff of the Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo 

also faced an added challenge with the November 2017 move of the hospital into the new John R. Oishei 

Children’s Hospital on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Because of these recent developments, the 

hospital’s workforce is in need of innovative training and retraining initiatives, improved labor-management 

communication, and cooperative, innovative solutions for the delivery of high quality, patient and familyfocused care in the new hospital. 

Strategy: The Hospital Labor Management Committee will engage in the planning and development of this 

18-month project to engage unionized employees in front line problem solving and decision-making through 

the establishment of unit-based multidisciplinary labor management teams. The teams will receive training 

in rapid cycle problem solving methods, conflict resolution, organizational communication, and the 

development of goals and work plans. Labor and management team members will work together to address 

mutual areas of concern and arrive at collaborative solutions. The challenges associated with the transition 

process into the new John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital will be a priority area for many of the teams. 

Results: Through training and collaboration, the unit-based multidisciplinary labor management teams will 

facilitate the cultural change required for labor and management to successfully work together toward 

increased employee engagement and improved communication, problem solving, and decision-making to 

better meet the needs of patients and families. Measurable project outcomes include improved patient 

satisfaction scores, improved employee satisfaction scores, and improved quality performance scores. The 

project will provide a permanent framework for long term and sustainable improvement in the way care is 

delivered at the new John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital. 
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17-NY/I-008 

IAM CREST Metropolitan, Inc. (IAM CREST Metro) 

New England Motor Freight (NEMF) 

Long Island City, NY 

Amount awarded: $111,541 

Problem: Working with our sister organization, District Lodge 15 (DL-15), which has a collective bargaining 

agreement with NEMF, we believe that there is a great need, now and in the future, for commercial driver’s 

license (CDL) holders in the northern New Jersey area. At the same time, there is a need among veterans, 

at risk and disconnected young adults to have greater access to good paying career path jobs. NEMF projects 

that there will be a need for 160 new entry level CDL drivers over the next few years in the region. 

Strategy: Working with DL-15, IAM CREST. Metro will facilitate a new outreach and recruitment strategy 

with NEMF. The goal will be to hire 40 new CDL drivers over the 18-month grant period. IAM CREST Metro 

will utilize strategies developed by its sister organization IAM CREST in the organization’s highly successful 

New Jersey “Youth Transition to Work Program” (YTTW). The YTTW program has successfully trained 

dozens of young at-risk and disadvantaged young people for careers as automobile or diesel technicians. 

Through a part time outreach coordinator, we will launch the Northeast Tractor Trailer Training Program 

(NETTTP) to reach out to community groups and replicate the successful YTTW recruitment and preparation 

strategy. 

Results: Recruit and prepare for work a minimum of 40 at-risk and in-need persons into NEMF. We will work 

to ensure the recruitment model which is developed by the NETTTP will continue even after the end of the 

grant period. 
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17-IL/I-009 

Mechanics Local 701 Training Fund 

Hunter Equipment 

Carol Stream, IL 

Amount awarded: $135,871 

Problem: There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity for the exiting Baby Boomer generation to transfer 

automobile and diesel engine repair and maintenance knowledge and experience to the generation entering 

the workforce. The brisk pace of technological innovation in transportation vehicle design exceeds the

financial resources of self-funded training programs to equip continuing education courses of study with 

training aids and models relevant to employer’s needs and expectations. The capital investment, intensive 

nature of automobile and diesel engine repair, and maintenance training facilities necessitate centralization 

and structurally limit available opportunities for timely, quality training. 

Strategy: Shorten the career indecision time of high school juniors and seniors by offering week-long, 

summer month Pre-Apprenticeship Scholarships, which include advanced instruction in automotive 

technology and career workshops with employed members of their peer group. Make a significant capital

investment in training aids and models to create new training classes in hybrid vehicle maintenance and 

repair, aluminum welding structural repair, and CANbus troubleshooting and repair. Utilize the ubiquity of 

the Internet to create an online, on-demand learning and continuing education video library embedded in the 

training program website, and negotiate discounts and group rates with general and proprietary education 

automotive online training providers. 

Results: A fostered increase in the number of talented, young adults committing earlier to a career in 

automobile and diesel engine repair and maintenance; a nurtured increase in the number of experienced 

mechanics who will improve their opportunities for career and financial advancement through continuing

education classes; and a training facility equipped with the latest automotive repair and maintenance tools, 

technology, training aids and online courses and webinars. 
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17-PA/A-010 

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare PA, 

Guardian Elder Care Nursing Home Centers 

SEIU HCPA Training & Education Fund 

Clarion, Kinzua and Titusville Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center 

Harrisburg, PA 

Amount awarded: $98,775 

Problem: Long-term skilled nursing care facilities, or nursing homes, are held to the same high standards as 

other health care delivery settings, which must provide high quality care in a safe environment. LaborManagement committees focused on the combination of quality assurance (QA) and performance 

improvement (PI) measures can lead to positive outcomes. However, many QAPI committees do not fully 

engage the front line worker in high level committee work because of the cost and staffing challenges that 

replacing the worker on the floor would incur. This can result in QAPI committees that don’t fulfill their 

intended overall purpose of quality assurance and performance improvement, which can negatively impact

quality resident care, staff satisfaction, and the overall labor-management relationship. 

Strategy: The strategy is to implement a QAPI Labor-Management Committee Training Project that 

significantly involves front-line staff at three rural nursing home facilities and encompasses joint training on 

lean methods, consensus decision making, collecting data, and assuming joint leadership. SEIU Healthcare 

PA Training and Education Fund will be working with these three nursing home partners to validate a model 

as a best practice for implementing QAPI Committees. 

Results: The three facilities will confirm a best practice that can be duplicated throughout the company, 

demonstrating positive, measurable results in efficient work practices, employee satisfaction, positive 

outcomes for residents, and a sustainable collaboration between union and management around quality and 

performance improvement.