(ROCHESTER, NEW YORK) – It’s a sad fact: Rochester is dealing with some serious social problems when it comes to high rates of poverty and crime.  But to help remedy those problems, the Rochester Building & Construction Trades Council is spearheading a Pre-Apprenticeship Program called TRACS - Training Rochester Adults In Construction Skills, that’s working to provide opportunities to begin to turn around the lives of those who participate.

To set the stage, a report on child poverty trends was released by the New York State Comptroller earlier this year (Rochester ranked fifth in city poverty report  - rochesterfirst.com) that showed Rochester with statistics between 40% to 46% of children living in poverty in 2022. 

And when it comes to crime, Rochester has one of the highest crime rates for any City in the Nation.  There were more than 120,000 recorded crimes, which range from robberies to murder. And crime rates in the City were reportedly 126% higher than the national average (For More, Go To: Crime Statistics in Rochester, NY (arcgis.com)

Rochester Trades Council President Grant Malone told WNYLaborToday.com: “We ‘saw the need’ (for such a training program) and have worked with the Mayor (of Rochester) and our (Monroe) County Executive to help get TRACS going.  ‘We hope to graduate sixty a year, that’s our long-term goal and hopefully those who participate will spread the word by telling their families and their friends’ (of the benefits of being in the program).  ‘We want to get people to put down the guns (used in crimes) and instead - put a tool in their hands.’”

The TRACS Program has already run a couple of dozen participants through, including a wave of 12 in its second class who graduated in March, according to Trades Representatives. 

An initial 10 graduated in November (2023) and several have found their way into the Trades, including with the Bricklayers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the Laborers and the Roofers, according to the Trades Council.

"The commitment was unmatched," TRACS Training Coordinator John Guilford told WHAM-TV in March during the graduation ceremony.  "These folks came in every day, put their best foot forward and really came in ready to learn.  So, it made my job as an Instructor easy."

According to information supplied by the Trades Council, the program is designed to provide interested individuals with the basics of a career in the Unionized Construction Trades. 

The eight-week program features a multi-craft core curriculum that focuses on several key areas, including: Constructing Industry Orientation; Tools and Materials; Basic Math For Construction; Heritage of the American Worker; Diversity in the Construction Industry; Green Construction; and Financial Legacy.

Participants also receive exposure to OSHA (U.S. Occupational Health & Safety)-30, traffic control training, scaffold training, first aid and CPR training, as well as being provided with a tool belt, basic tools and a laptop - in addition to a $2,400 stipend paid throughout the course. 

Those who complete the program will become preferred candidates for employment with area Union Contractors.

To recruit candidates from diverse backgrounds, TRACS has also partnered with the Urban League of Rochester to offer these opportunities, as well as with UNiCON (Unions and Business United in Construction) Rochester, “which has a vision of a thriving community with a dynamic Constriction Industry promoting quality jobs and a growing workforce.”  

Program collaborators also include Rochester Careers in Construction, Incorporated and the North American Building Trades Union (NABTU).

“About (92% of the program’s graduates) are People of Color and (14%) are Women.” UniCON Executive Director Joseph Morelle, Jr. tells WNYLaborToday.com.  “‘We want to help those (in the Rochester Community) who are struggling with a change in their careers.’”

Working with Rochester’s Urban League is important, Trades Representatives said, which is helping with marketing the program by spreading the word in the City’s Minority Community - and it seems to be working as there’s a current waiting list of 48 who want to gain entry into TRACS.

Meanwhile, each affiliated Member Union of the Rochester Trades Council (which has 17 affiliated Member Unions that represent a combined 12,000 Unionized Trades Members across the region and has another 700 Registered Apprentices) has hosted TRACS Program participants at their training facilities in order to provide them with a personalized look into what they offer.

“This is ‘new’ for the Ironworkers,” Local 22 Business Manager Tim Starwald told WNYLaborToday.com. “‘Hopefully we’ll get a few people’ (into their Union who graduate from the program).”

“We ‘want to get more’ people in this program,” Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 13 Business Manager John Carpenter also told WNYLaborToday.com.  “It’s ‘been a struggle over the years’ (to get qualified Minority Candidates for his Union’s Apprenticeship Program). ‘The biggest barrier seems to be (Minority applicants) not knowing someone in the Trades to find out more about what we offer.’”

But the Rochester Trades stress that to offer employment in the area’s Unionized Construction Industry, Elected Officials need to work with the Trades to make sure taxpayer-funded construction projects include Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) that work to ensure high levels of Minority and Women participation on those projects so local jobs go to local Workers.

“It’s the ‘only way to make sure local people do not lose out’ (on good paying job opportunities,” said Trades President Malone, who also serves as District Manager for International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 158 and District 832.

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: For more about the TRACS Program and what the Rochester Building Trades Council and UNiCON offers, go to: Rochester Building & Construction Trades Council (rochesterbuildingtrades.com) and UNICON Rochester.

Also watch WHAM-TV’s recent report, headlined: Building career opportunities: Rochester pre-apprenticeship program honors new graduates at Building career opportunities: Rochester pre-apprenticeship program honors new graduates (13wham.com)