You won’t want to miss all the great content inside our annual IKORCC magazine. Inside you’ll find a letter from EST Todd Pancake, updates from hubs across the council, important information on your pension and healthcare, infrastructure information, Sisters in the Brotherhood, training updates, recruitment efforts, and stories on the incredible impact IKORCC members have […]
On December 10, 2021 a devastating tornado impacted a large portion of Western Kentucky. Many homes were damaged or suffered total losses, and many families lives were changed within an instant.
MAC (Member Action Committee) members of Locals 224, 357, and 1076 set out on Saturday December 18, 2021, at the request of Deacon Ricky Sleigh of Powers Chapel General Baptist Church. This church is located two miles up the road from Bremen, KY which suffered a major impact from the tornado.
In total, we had 14 members representing each local working diligently to build approximately 100 feet of shelving to be used as a temporary food pantry for those affected. All material was donated by Lowes, and each member brought out plenty of their own tools to insure a job well done.
The Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters stands with our brothers and sisters in Kentucky following a devastating tornado over the weekend that affected many businesses, industrial facilities, homes and healthcare facilities.
Our local unions and regional hubs are ready to respond and help as needed. Affected members are encouraged to contact your local for help with water, masks and more as supplies last. Please contact your local directly for specifics & to make arrangements. Please call ahead before arriving.
Local 175: Louisville, Kentucky
502-363-1751
Local 224: Newburgh, Indiana
812-490-0500
Local 357: Paducah, Kentucky
270-442-1148
Local 1650: Lexington, Kentucky
859-252-5254
Local 1076: Millwrights Kentucky
317-807-5715
We are working diligently to ensure all members are safe & assessing how we can help our members and the community.
5200 hours of on the job training, 640 classroom hours, 4 years of dedication and sacrifice – that’s the kind of experience you get when you hire a journey level carpenter from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. Saturday night, 405 fully trained journeymen and women graduated from the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship and Training Fund program during a ceremony at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis, Indiana.
“Congratulations to the newest journey level carpenters,” said UBC General President Douglas McCarron in a video address to graduates. “You’ve reached a milestone in your careers and you did it during some very difficult times. The pandemic affected your training, but you stayed strong and completed your apprenticeship.”
View photos from the event here.
EST Todd Pancake congratulates the newest journey level carpenters at the IKORCC JATF apprenticeship graduation.
405 graduates completed their apprenticeship – the most graduates ever in Indiana and Kentucky. IKORCC Executive Secretary-Treasurer M. Todd Pancake told graduates there’s never been a better time to be a union carpenter.
“You may not realize it, but you’ve met a goal. And now it’s time to look ahead and set a new goal. There are more opportunities available today than I’ve ever seen in the industry,” said EST Pancake as he congratulated graduates and shared the plethora of opportunities in the job market for skilled tradespeople.
This year’s graduates overcame many challenges due to COVID-19, including taking portions of their 4th year classes online, in addition to meeting rigorous graduation requirements. These graduates are a vital addition to a workforce desperate for skilled tradesmen. Graduates were trained as carpenters, millwrights or floor coverers.
“Everything we do is about attitude. Everything you do is 100 percent attitude, so always remember that. We are many trades, but one United Brotherhood,” Jerry Burke, Director of Education for the IKORCC JATF said.
Congratulations and thank you to the 16 Helmets to Hardhats graduates that completed their apprenticeship and honorably served our country.
16 of the graduates honorably served in our nation’s military and took part in the IKORCC’s Helmets to Hardhats program. Helmets to Hardhats puts vets on a fast track to union apprenticeship and a rewarding career in carpentry after their military service.
Helmets to Hardhats graduates represented the US Marines, US Army, US Army Reserves, and the US Navy.
In a speech to graduates, Royce Peters, Executive Director of the Carpenters International Training Fund, encouraged graduates to be good mentors and continue their training. “This journeymen class is now walking on paths in the construction industry that are not only unprecedented but unimaginable. Technology is changing. The key to staying competitive in today’s construction world is training.”
EST Todd Pancake and 2021 IKORCC JATF graduate speaker Brittany Grier of Local 413.
New journeywoman Brittany Grier, from the Warsaw Training Center and Local 413, inspired the room as the 2021 IKORCC JAFT graduate speaker. Brittany is a fourth-generation carpenter, third-generation union carpenter and a second-generation female carpenter. She’s a superintendent for Ziolkowski Construction.
“The union runs in my blood and I believe in its ability to unite and build,” she said. “We are undervalued profession, yet we earn more hourly than the average American. Plus, 100 percent of our benefits are paid for by the contractor out of their pocket.”
She added, “In this room are all new journeyman carpenters. We have this fresh start to strengthen the reputation of the union, raise our worth, which will raise our wage – it all starts here with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. Uniting together, treating our brothers like family and in turn changing the industry of carpentry.”
View her full speech here:
An exciting new partnership is underway at the IKORCC. Jerry Burke, IKORCC’s training Director for the Indiana and Kentucky training centers, announced a new specialized construction training program in partnership with the Louisville Urban League’s Kentuckiana Builds Program as well as an articulation agreement to add IKORCC’s pre-apprenticeship Career Connections curriculum to the Kentuckiana Builds curricula.
This partnership will allow students currently enrolled in the Urban League’s Kentuckiana Builds program to lessen the barriers of entering IKORCC’s apprenticeship program by reducing the enrollment time that is typically 6 months long, down to just 6 weeks. The students will also gain direct entry to the apprenticeship once they complete their 6-week construction training program.
During the 6-week program with Kentuckiana Builds, students receive career-focused management, expert job placement, and work-related incentives to recruit and prepare them for the construction industry. Once they graduate from the program, they leave with three credentials First Aid/CPR, OSHA-10, and the Core Construction credential from the National Center for Construction Education and Research.
During the program, The Louisville Urban League’s cohort will be hosted at the IKORCC’s Louisville training center for a 5-day hand and power tool training module. While the students are with the IKORCC for the 5 days of classes, they will learn soft skills, an introduction to construction, and tool safety among other topics both in the classroom and via hands-on techniques. Read more
Applications are now open for the IKORCC scholarship program. Forty $1,000 scholarships will be awarded in 2022 to eligible member’s dependent children. Twenty of the scholarships are awarded based on scholastics, and twenty others via a random drawing.
The Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council scholastic scholarships are awarded based on 60% high school grade point average and 40% on
SAT or ACT scores. Twenty scholarships will be selected by random drawing.
The scholarship is to be used solely for the purpose of education in the form of tuition, room and board, and or books.
Sons, daughters, and dependent children of members of the Indiana /Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights are eligible for scholarships provided that:
All applications must include:
Scholarship applications must be received prior to Friday, March 18, 2022 at the Greenwood Council Office, located at 771 Greenwood Springs Drive, Greenwood, Indiana 46143.
The Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters joined UBC members across the United States and Canada to raise awareness for construction industry tax fraud. Check out highlights from IKORCC Tax Fraud Days of Action events in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.
The Tax Fraud Day of Action event in Indianapolis was a tremendous success. Business representatives and members of the IKORCC Executive Board spent a few hours educating lawmakers on tax fraud, with a special emphasis on solutions to tax fraud. Of the 150 elected officials invited, 62 lawmakers, both republican and democrat, visited the event and learned more about construction industry tax fraud. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett also attended the event.
The Indiana event was held at the Indiana State House atrium. To drive attendance to the event, IKORCC reps handed out tax fraud toolbox/lunchboxes packed with concrete solutions to fight tax fraud. The theme of the giveaway was, “You already have all the tools you need to fight tax fraud”. The toolboxes were a big driver to our event.
The solutions inside included: enforcing existing laws, creating a tax fraud task force, sharing information amongst government agencies and responsible bidder ordinances or RBOs.
In addition to the in-person event, the IKORCC created a new website, endtaxfraud.com. The website focuses on the actual solutions to tax fraud and what lawmakers and the public can do to help.
We held a two day Tax Fraud Awareness event in Louisville, Kentucky this year. On the first day, we visited a dorm under construction at the University of Louisville, with predominantly union subcontractors. We educated members of all crafts about Tax Fraud and how important it is to get involved politically with elected officials to help eliminate this illegal business model. It was an extremely successful event. We also educated and built relationships with company management teams.
On the second day, we took our messaging to a non-union led job site in Louisville. We used this as an opportunity to educate owners, workers and management teams while also gathering info on Labor Brokers, potential future members, and accurate counts of employees being paid cash or with a 1099. This gave us a new angle on how to fight tax fraud.
Tax Fraud Days of Action in Columbus was a successful day of educating legislators and the public on why tax fraud is a danger to everyone. Legislators from both sides of the aisle and even some who we didn’t have a previous relationship with us, showed up to learn more about tax fraud. Legislators loved the tax fraud lunchboxes and were excited to talk about upcoming projects in their areas and what our organization has going on.
All IKORCC Representatives onsite had legislators from their area represented in the turnout.
Check out a video interview with Democrat House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes about tax fraud.
Here is another video with Republican House Representative Jay Edwards
Former Industrial Representative and UBC instructor Steve Griffith also stopped by and gave us an interview.
Today IKORCC EST Todd Pancake, IN/KY Assistant Director Charles Davis and Chief-of-Staff Matt McGriff visited and toured the Anderson Wood plant in Louisville, KY. Anderson Wood owners Dave and Ben Anderson gave the tour. They met to show support and partnership with our Industrial market. 
The IKORCC is proud to work with Anderson Wood. Anderson Wood has been a leader in hardwood dimension for over a century, providing a wide array of products manufactured from sustainable American hardwoods.
They supply architectural millwork for some of America’s most prestigious buildings, and also produce institutional furniture and residential millwork that includes strong commitments to dormitory furniture and stair components.
Members working at Anderson Wood are part of Industrial Local 2501.
Read more about Anderson Wood on their website.