The Milwaukee Brewers today announced that the Club will host an event to recognize the efforts of the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center and The United Association Union of Plumbers, Fitters, Welders and Service Techs to train and hire military veterans for full-time employment.
The event will take place on Saturday, May 28 from 12-3 p.m. at Helfaer Field at Miller Park, and will include a fun-filled pregame tailgate party featuring games of catch on the field and other activities for veterans and their families, as well as VA and United Association executives. The exciting day will culminate inside Miller Park as the Brewers host all of the participants for the game against the division-rival Cincinnati Reds that afternoon. In addition, there will be networking opportunities for veterans who have been placed in full-time positions through one of these programs.
In addition to the party, the Brewers are making a financial donation to the VA's Compensated Work Therapy Program/Veterans Industries, which offers vocational rehabilitation services to veterans. The program includes several subsets that offer services such as evidenced-based, supported employment services to veterans with a chronic mental illness, assistance with resume writing, interviews and applications, work as a therapy to veterans with a vocational obstacle, pre-vocational programs in selected work sites on the VA grounds and training for employment at the VA and in the community.
United Association offers several vocational opportunities for military veterans, including their "Veterans in Piping" program, which provides high-quality skills training and jobs in the pipe trades to active duty military personnel preparing to leave the service. The program consists of 18 weeks of highly specialized, intensive training in highly marketable skills such as welding, heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) and sprinklerfitting. United Association also provides participants with additional skill training opportunities after they complete this program by connecting them to their established apprenticeship training programs. In addition, these individuals can earn college credit through these opportunities that can be applied toward a college degree. Since 2008, they have trained over 700 veterans and placed 100 percent of their program graduates in quality jobs with good pay and healthcare and retirement benefits. This allows them the opportunity to provide for their families after their service to our country has been completed. The program has been praised by members of Congress, the Administration, current and former secretaries of labor, military leadership and the media.
"We are proud to support numerous initiatives related to active military members, veterans and their families, and along those lines we want to recognize the United Association and the Zablocki VA Medical Center for their efforts to build these critical programs," said Brewers Chief Operating Officer Rick Schlesinger. "We look forward to hosting may of the individuals who have organized and executed these efforts, as well as those who have benefited directly from the initiatives."
About Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center: The Milwaukee VA Medical Center (VAMC) delivers primary, secondary and tertiary medical care in 194 acute care beds (including PRRTP) and provides 600,000+ outpatient visits annually through an extensive outpatient program. The Community Living Center (long term care) units of 113 operating beds offer geriatric programming that preserves and enhances the individual's dignity. The operating domiciliary beds are the locus of several innovative programs, including an Alcohol/Drug Rehabilitation Unit, a Rehabilitation and Treatment Unit for veterans with chronic mental health problems and a Transitional Program that helps veterans successfully return to life in the community. The Medical Center also assists the Vet Center located in the City of Milwaukee. In addition, the Milwaukee VAMC has maintained a partnership with the Center for Veterans Issues (CVI) for the provision of grant and per diem services for homeless veterans at two sites in Milwaukee and Union Grove, Wisconsin (Vets Place Central in Milwaukee and the Veterans Assistance Program in Union Grove). All of Milwaukee's programs serve a veteran population of 321,421 in the southeastern and central parts of Wisconsin (Central Market veteran population for 2005) The Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center is a part of Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 12, which includes the: Iron Mountain VAMC in Michigan, Tomah VAMC in Wisconsin, William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, North Chicago VA Medical Center in Illinois (future site of the Lovell Federal Ambulatory Care Center), Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital in Chicago Illinois and Jesse Brown VAMC in Chicago.
About United Association: The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States, Canada (UA), affiliated with the national building trades, represents approximately 340,000 plumbers, pipefitters, sprinkler fitters, service technicians and welders in local unions across North America. The UA also honors a federation agreement with both the Australian Plumbing Trades Employees Union (PTEU) and Irish Technical, Engineering Electrical Union (TEEU). The UA has been training qualified pip tradesmen and women longer than anyone else in the industry. They provide the premier training programs available in the industry today, including five-year apprenticeship programs, extensive journeyman training, a comprehensive, five-year instructor training program and numerous certification programs. The UA helps their signatory contractors grow their market share by identifying new opportunities, providing support and connecting them to the safest, most skilled and most highly trained workforce in the industry. Once a UA member completes their apprenticeship they become a journeyworker. However, their education and training in the pipe trades is by no means over. The UA offers its membership continued education opportunities through their respective training programs, including journeyworker training and certifications in specialized areas of their trade. With the increasingly complex nature of the UA's work, it is almost required that journeyworks seek some form of validation of their skills. |
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