Honoring Women Veterans in the Elevator Trade

Today is Women Veterans Recognition Day. Held on June 12 of each year, this day honors the anniversary of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, which gave women the opportunity to serve in the United States armed forces. Prior to President Harry S. Truman signing the Act in 1948, the only women allowed to serve in the regular and reserve forces of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps during peacetime were nurses. While women were permitted – and even encouraged – to serve their country during times of war, they were sent home when the war was done.

While on assignment for a story on the recently launched IUEC Veterans Assistance Program (VAP), we had a chance to visit with Phyllis Wilson, retired Army Veteran and president of the Military Women’s Memorial. She spoke with us about the Military Women’s Memorial Register, which aims to collect stories of all women who have served in the United States military, past and present.

“The center, the heart and soul of the Military Women’s Memorial is what we call the register,” she told us. “It is our national repository, the database that holds over 311,000 women’s stories. We’re on a mission to help America know about what these incredible women have done for well over 100 years. We’re looking to collect every one of them, and we encourage you, whether you’re a man or a woman. If you know a woman that has served or is serving, past or present, living or deceased, we want their stories in here.”

Many International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC) members come from military backgrounds. It’s a natural fit – while serving, many build mechanical, electrical, or technology-based skill sets that they can later use in careers in the building trades. Through programs like Helmets to Hardhats, the IUEC has provided pathways to careers in the elevator industry for many servicemembers transitioning back to civilian life.

Shaunelle Sandy, an IUEC Local 10 elevator constructor who recently passed her mechanic exam and achieved journeyman status (congratulations!), is Veteran of the U.S. Air Force who was introduced to the elevator trade through Helmets to Hardhats. She talked about the similarities between the support of a brotherhood/sisterhood of a union and that found in the military. “With unions, they have your back. You’re not out there on your own,” she said.

Another Local 10 member who came into the elevator trade through Helmets to Hardhats is U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Kristen Hernandez. “I was in the United States Marine Corps 2000 to 2006. Motor T, 35 -31…my MOS was 6672 aviation supply. We supplied aircraft parts for all the squadrons on the base.”

“The skill sets that the military gives us are some of the things that we take for granted during our time in the military, leadership, teamwork, the ability to coalesce around a team and know that what you’re doing is incredibly important, not for yourself, but for the team,” said Phyllis Wilson.

Shaunelle and Kristen, along with U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Bon Sampson, also out of IUEC Local 10, joined us on our trip to the Military Women’s Memorial. They had the chance to tour the museum at Arlington National Cemetery that featured information and artifacts related to military womens’ experiences through the years.

“Seeing these pictures on the wall definitely brings back memories of boot camp or being out in the fields or in the fleet,” said Kristin. “You remember your moments through their pictures.”

“It gave me chills just seeing and reading everything that all these women put forth for us and now they have their own place, their own home,” said Bon.

Along with Jason, Elevator Industry Work Preservation Fund National Coordinator Ryan Donnell, Local 21 member and spouse of a U.S. Air Force Veteran and IUEC IT Director Gil Duncan, U.S. Navy Veteran, are the lead officers for the IUEC Veterans Assistance Program (VAP). The IUEC VAP helps members and their spouses navigate the process of applying for education, disability, and other benefits they earned through their military service. Joined by Ben Valinsky, the program’s contact for educational benefits through the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP), they will be visiting IUEC Locals across the United States in the coming months.

“We are looking to help Veterans in all aspects of their needs. A lot of Veterans don’t understand there are benefits that are available to them. Our plan is to get the word out and let Veterans know we’re going to be a resource for them if they have a need that’s related to their military service. And we just want to be that community they can go to to seek assistance,” said Jason Gray, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran, IUEC National Organizer, and member of IUEC Local 32 in the Atlanta, Georgia area.Phyllis Wilson described the program as value added for the military Veterans working in the elevator trade. “You’ve earned those benefits. Let them help you file those claims and then get that education piece that you so richly deserve.”

She encouraged every IUEC member or spouse who is a woman who served in the military or any man or woman who wants to share the story of a woman Veteran’s service to visit the register and create an account.

“There’s over three million of us that have served. That means 10 % are in and 90% or 2.7 million are not in this story. And we can’t tell that your story if we don’t have it. So unless you put your story in here and tell us your memorable experiences of your time in service and share a photo – where did you serve? When did you serve? What branch of service were you in? It’s super easy, free and online.” Phyllis continued.

“I’m confident I would have been a better soldier had I known the sacrifices that women had done generations prior to me, but it was never taught.”

To add your story or another woman’s story to the Military Women’s Memorial register, visit https://womensmemorial.org/make-herstory/

To learn more about the IUEC Veterans Assistance Program and how this program helps members and their spouses access the benefits they earned through their military service, visit https://www.iuec.org/index.php/veterans-assistance-program/

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Florida’s IUEC Local 71 Celebrates 100 Years of Excellence

Can you guess how many elevators there are in the state of Florida?  Think about it – all of the commercial or industrial buildings with two or more floors, multi-story condos and apartment buildings, hospitals, airports/transportation hubs, and world-famous theme parks rely on elevators and other vertical transportation equipment to ensure the people who live, work, or vacation in the state can get to their destinations quickly, reliably, and most importantly, safely.

If you guessed there were approximately 65,000 elevators in the state of Florida, you’d be right. And wherever there are elevators, there is a need for a highly-skilled, safety-focused workforce to keep them up and running for the people who need them.

Most elevators in Florida are within the jurisdiction of IUEC Local 71, which covers the areas of Miami, Miami Beach, and the greater South Florida region. The approximately 1,100 elevator constructor apprentices and mechanics who are members of Local 71 install, maintain, service, repair, and inspect the majority of them.

“I’m very proud to be a member of Local 71,” said John Herbert, an IUEC elevator constructor mechanic who serves in the top leadership position as the Business Manager for the Local. John has been an elevator constructor for 24 years, and has spent 22 of them in the Miami area. “Our work is our signature. So as long as we do it right – safe – the first time, we’re good. And that’s what we take pride in.”

“We all strive for one common good, and that’s to make sure that all our people go home every day safe and that the riding public continues to be safe every day on our equipment,” said Tommy Scudiero, who is the Business Representative for Local 71.

One of the largest projects serviced by IUEC Local 71 members is the Miami International Airport (MIA). IUEC signatory company Schindler Elevator was recently selected to step in to repair and modernize the aging vertical transportation equipment used by more than 60 million passengers every year.

IUEC members also take care of the elevators, escalators, and moving walks at PortMiami, the busiest cruise terminal in the entire world, which moved close to 7.3 million passengers last year. The vertical transportation equipment at PortMiami is serviced by several signatory companies including TK Elevator and Evolution Elevator, a family-run elevator company that ElevatorInfo profiled as part of a series on exceptional independent companies.

IUEC Local 71 has been around for a long time – it was chartered to be a part of the International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC) on January 9, 1924. Members of the Local recently celebrated the 100th anniversary with guests and supporters from around the country, including IUEC General Officers Frank Christensen (General President), Jim Chapman (Assistant General President), and Jim Bender (Ret. Assistant General President), along with representatives from the International, Organizing, Safety, the Elevator Industry Work Preservation Fund (EIWPF), the @Local 1 Pipes and Drums, and hundreds of brothers and sisters from IUEC Locals in the U.S. and Canada who traveled to Hollywood, Florida for the event the Local hosted in January. Supporting fellow members is a big part of what it means to be a member of the IUEC.

ElevatorInfo was on location in Hollywood to speak with some of the Local 71 members who were involved with planning the event.

“The 100th anniversary is something very special here in Local 71. It’s a century and we want to make sure that we honor everyone that came before us and made that path for what we have today,” said Tommy Scudiero.  “We have to celebrate these milestones and also understand that Local 71 is one of the largest locals in the South and we need to show that and be proud of that.”

In addition to his role as an IUEC Local 71 Business Agent, Tommy gives back to his brothers and sisters in the trade as an instructor for Miami-area elevator constructor apprentices in the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP), a QEITF Certified Elevator Inspector (CEI), and a member of several American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) building code committees. These committees write the standards for building and maintaining vertical equipment in the United States and Canada. Involvement with the development of ASME building code is important because it helps ensure that elevator constructors and workers from other building trades – along with the riding public – are able to stay safe on and around vertical transportation equipment.

Abel Arabitg, an IUEC International Organizer, is a member of Local 71 who was also in attendance for the 100th anniversary celebration. “I’ve always been a local guy. I grew up here in Miami and never did I ever hear about a union this strong, this well put together and the way that they handle themselves – and I’m so proud of being part of this union,” he said.

Abel emphasized the importance of honoring the elevator constructors who built the Local and strengthened its standing in the community through their hard work and dedication to quality craftsmanship, values the Local continues to uphold today. “We’re here today because of them and what they’ve accomplished in their career to pass on to the next generation. And that’s what I look forward to too, is that I want to make sure that when I step forward into my retirement someday, that I can look back and leave a footprint for those that are coming in in the future.”

John Herbert echoed his remarks. “The last 20 years I’ve grown and become the mechanic and rep that I am today…there are a lot of people I have to thank for that,” he said.

Mike Stella, Local 71’s Financial Secretary and another longtime instructor for the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP), also helped to organize the event. “This weekend we have the 100th year anniversary. It is such a big achievement for local 71 to (have been) around that long,” he said. “We’re really looking towards the future to make it even better. And it’s super-exciting to be to be part of.”

Along with having taught the Semester 100 apprenticeship curriculum to elevator constructor apprentices for more than 20 years – which he describes as one of his greatest achievements – Mike teaches a train-the-trainer course in SAIA Scaffolding for NEIEP instructors from around the United States at the NEIEP Instructor Training Center in Warwick, RI. Once they’ve completed the training and become certified instructors for SAIA, these instructors return to their home Locals and are able to certify apprentices in SAIA Scaffolding as part of the standard IUEC apprenticeship curriculum. The certification apprentices earn enables them to do scaffolding work on jobsites all over North America. Mechanics can also earn their SAIA scaffolding certifications through continuing education courses held at their Locals.

“It’s important for mechanics to participate in CE training because we never stop learning in this business,” said Mike. “You always are continuously learning systems. Computer systems are changing, elevators are evolving…the more you know, the more important you are to this industry.”

Unmatched craftsmanship, professionalism, a solid educational foundation, showing support for fellow members in the trade, and a focus on safety – these are all part of what it means to be an IUEC elevator constructor and the reason that Local 71 in Miami has sustained for more than 100 years.

To learn more about the advantages of becoming an IUEC elevator constructor, or if you are a building owner or manager interested in hiring an IUEC-affiliated company in the Miami area or anywhere in North America to install, service, troubleshoot, modernize, repair, or inspect the elevators, escalators, or other conveyance equipment on your property, contact ElevatorInfo.

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