Members of L-5 and L-199 take part in promotional film
A VIDEO PRODUCED by Helmets to Hardhats includes segments with military veterans who became Boilermakers through the H2H program. First shown at the Building and Construction Trades Department conference, the 12-minute film is an inspiring account of how the program helps veterans transition from military service to the civilian work force by connecting them with career opportunities in the construction trades.
“Every hour I work I’m putting money in my pension and annuity.”
— Jonathan Russell
To produce the film, regional directors from H2H worked closely with various BCTD-affiliated councils and lodges, among them Boilermaker Local 199 (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Local 5 (New York). Filming for the L-5 segment was done at the lodge offices and training facility. Footage featuring Local 199 members was shot at the St. John’s River Power Park during an outage.
Local 199’s Jonathan Russell, Danny Thomas, Dewey Doak, and Steve Vietze, appear in the film. Among those appearing from Local 5 were BM-ST Tom Klein; apprentice Dominick DelSignore, L-5 Zone 197 (Albany, N.Y.); and welding instructor Harry Hamilton.
Russell is one of several Boilermakers who have a speaking part in the film. He describes the benefits of being a Boilermaker, noting “I have a wife and I have five kids. Every hour I work I’m putting money in my pension and annuity. When I’m old and I can’t do it for them anymore, I’m still going to have that money rolling in. I’ll still be able to be there for them. It’s a sense of security.”
A number of IBB field construction lodges participate in the H2H program, which was established in 2003 by then-BCTD Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Maloney (now Boilermaker International Vice President for Western Canada).
Over the past three years, Boilermaker lodges have placed nearly 300 veterans in apprenticeships, according to H2H Manager of Communications Tad Kicielinski.
