Columbia Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council recently made a sizable contribution to Helmets to Hardhats, a nonprofit that helps veterans find careers in the union building trades.
Helmets to Hardhats Northwest Regional Manager Nick Weathers was visiting the council’s Jan. 23 delegates meeting when former director Willy Myers presented him a check for $14,963.96. The money was left over from a dormant “partners in construction’’ special purpose fund that was set up decades ago to support safety programs and other joint labor-management work. Myers and Associated Wall and Ceiling Contractors head John Killin were the special purpose fund’s last remaining trustees, and they determined that Helmets to Hardhats was a fitting recipient of the funds.
Weathers recruits for the union building trades among those who are about to be discharged from military service. He says the program is booming, with roughly 15,000 veterans signing up in the last year at helmetstohardhats.org.
