Cary James spent four years getting a degree in mechanical engineering from Boston University. But after a few years of working in her field, she quit and became an electrician apprentice. “I spent quite a few years in a job I knew wasn’t for me,” James said recently at a Center for American Progress briefing on apprenticeships. “It wasn’t related to my degree or what I wanted to do in life. I realized I needed to move away from a job and start looking for a career.” The Obama administration earlier this month proposed a $2 billion dollar Apprenticeship Training Fund as part of its 2017 budget proposal to fulfill the president’s pledge to double the number of apprentices in the United States. James, a first year wireman apprentice with IBEW Local 26, attends biweekly classes to learn about the field, safe working practices and electrician etiquette. “Everyone has different ways of doing the same job,” said James. “Working with multiple people on the same type of task gives me the opportunity to see what works best for me and gives me ways to improve my craft.”
Go to dclabor.org to read our complete report and see a photo of Cary James. On today’s labor calendar, there’s a Women's and Worker's Rights Rally at noon today at the National Press Club; go to dclabor.org and click on Calendar for details. Here’s today’s labor history: On this date in 1915, the minimum age allowed by law for workers in mills, factories, and mines in South Carolina was raised from 12 to 14. And in 1940, Screen Actors Guild member Hattie McDaniel became the first African-American to win an Academy Award, honored for her portrayal of “Mammy” in “Gone with the Wind” Today’s labor quote is by Hattie McDaniel "I loved Mammy. I think I understood her because my own grandmother worked on a plantation not unlike Tara."
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