Pages 8 - IUPAT

I N T E R N A T I O N A L U N I O N O FP A I N T E R S A N D A L L I E D T R A D E SDISTRICT COUNCIL 50 - HAWAIIDavid Rodrigues Honored for 50-Year CommitmentOn April 16, 2012, BrotherDavid Rodrigues was recognizedand honored by theInternational Union of Painters andAllied Trades (IUPAT) for 50 years ofmembership in Painters Local Union1791. Brother Rodrigues began workingas a laborer before getting into theIUPAT as an apprentice in 1962. Heworked with Hawaii Painting, AkiraYamamoto Painting and numerousother companies throughout the stateover the past five decades.Brother Rodrigues currently residesin Keaau on the Island of Hawaii andremains a dedicated union memberwho faithfully attends the monthlyVolunteer Organizing Committee(VOC) meetings.Asked about his strong commitmentto the union, Brother Rodrigues sayswithout hesitation, “The union wasalways there for me. I owe what Ihave today to the union. They backme up all the way.”A huge “mahalo” goes out to David’sfamily for their support throughout hiscareer. District Council 50 commendsand extends its heartfelt thanks and congratulationsto David Rodrigues for hisoutstanding commitment to the IUPAT.DavidRodrigues(center)with hisfellowmemberscelebrating50 yearsin theIUPAT.DISTRICT COUNCIL 51 – VIRGINIA, MARYLAND, WASHINGTON, DCIUPAT GOES TO HIGH SCHOOLThe International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT)strives to take every opportunity to introduce our crafts toyoung men and women considering career paths, and theIUPAT union leaders and trainers just outside of Washington,DC are no exception. Recently, District Council 51 BusinessManager/Secretary-Treasurer Mark Heffron and his trainingteam, Director Bill Bailey and Coordinator Andrew Ager,proudly participated in the Prince George’s County PublicSchools (PGCPS) Foundation for Applied ConstructionTechnology for Students (FACTS) program. FACTS is an initiativethat teaches high school students the fundamentals and finepoints of residential construction by putting them to work inbuilding a local house from the ground up. In early May,representatives from DC 51, including Political Director RoxanaMejia, joined the students they trained and fellow instructors ina small ceremony in Clinton, Maryland to celebrate thecompletion of the program’s 36th student-built house.“We’re proud to be a part of this for the community, andespecially for the kids,” said Heffron at the event. “We lookforward to being a part of this for a long, long time.”Representatives of the IUPATwere presented with a plaque inappreciation of their time anddedication. From left to right; DC51 Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer MarkHeffron, Training CoordinatorAndrew Ager, Training DirectorBill Bailey, FTI RecruitmentDirector Greg Renne, DC 51Political Director Roxana Mejia,FACTS Program Instructor TonyDingle and FACTS ProgramPlanner/Director Margie Edsall.Students were placed in groups andworked on different parts of thehouse. This dining room served asthe training ground for studentsinterested in the finishing trades.12 A P R I L - J U N E 2 0 1 2 • J O U R N A L