Union Degree Helps Firefighter Blaze Ahead

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bachelor's degree, Graduation, Health and Safety, IAFF, Labor Studies, National Labor College

One of the biggest difficulties that union members face is that people don’t understand who we really are, says Mark Fuller of Kansas City, MO. “People don’t realize that we’re their neighbors, we’re in the car behind them picking up our kids at the same schools, we buy groceries at the same place,” says Mark.

“It’s because we don’t tell our story enough. In fact we don’t tell it at all. But we can’t tell our story if we don’t know it ourselves.”

Earn Credit for Military and Apprenticeship at National Labor College

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Building and Construction Trades Department, Construction Management, IUEC, military

“It was tough when I got out [of the military] and I was looking for a job—although I had experience, I didn’t have the licenses to continue working in the private sector in aircrafts so it was tough trying to find jobs with no certifications,” says NLC student Perry Penny, who had been a structural air craft mechanic in the Navy.

At first Perry took low-paying jobs as a laborer just to get by. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before his cousin told him about the Helmets to Hardhats program. Perry now lives in Rockledge, FL, and is an installer with the Elevator Constructors Local Union 139.

“I was blessed when the Helmets to Hardhats program opened up to me. It was like night and day—really helped me out a lot,” he says.