• Posted: December 20, 2022
• better careers, better communities, Brown & Momen, Darren Byrd, IBEW Local 134, IBEW-NECA Technical Institute, Lakeside Alliance, Obama Presidential Center project, Powers & Sons Construction, Safeway Construction, Turner Construction, UJAMMA Construction

Showing their dedication to building better communities and better careers for Chicago’s youth, Powering Chicago’s members recently teamed up with Lakeside Alliance for a ‘day in the trades’ at the Obama Presidential Center project site, located on the city’s South Side. This event was the third in a series of four, aiming to introduce students to careers in the trades. The first day was focused on carpentry, the second on plumbing, the third on electrical and the final session focused on sheet metal.

IBEW Local 134 electrical contractors were joined by 16 high school students. Together they were tasked with helping to wire electricity for eight mock-up bathrooms located in temporary tents on the project’s construction site.

Darren Byrd, IBEW Local 134 business representative, said the opportunity arose out of a conversation with Scott Atchinson, senior project superintendent at the Obama Presidential Center.

“He approached me to talk about having IBEW Local 134 put on a day in the trades for high schoolers. He said, ‘you can make it as big as you want,’’ said Byrd.

Learning from experienced professionals

Three electrical contractors who are working on the Obama Presidential Center project and the students arrived at the job site after the carpenters and plumbers had finished their work on the bathrooms. With the help of the high school students, electricians got to work installing a fan, a light, two switches and a GFCI outlet into the bathrooms.

Representatives from IBEW-NECA Technical Institute (IN-Tech) were also on hand to show the students the circuit boards and lights that are used on job sites like the Obama Presidential Center site. The students learned different ways to wire doorbells, chimes and lights from IN-Tech instructors.

“They were able to look at a blueprint and decipher it,” said Byrd.

The students were rewarded for their hard work with pizza. They even got to keep the hard hats, PPE vests and tools that they were issued that day for the job.

“Most of them definitely enjoyed the experience,” said Byrd. “They were into it.”

Fostering the next generation of electricians

The group of high schoolers in attendance included young men and women, some who had family members who work as electricians, and one student whose father had even worked as a laborer on the very same Obama Presidential Center project.

“My favorite part was seeing the students. They start off real quiet but then when you see them working and getting into it, they’re willing to learn,” said Byrd.

Lakeside Alliance is a joint venture among five construction firms — Brown & Momen, Powers & Sons Construction, Safeway Construction and UJAMMA Construction — who came together to select majority-owned Turner Construction as the prime contractor for their Obama Presidential Center bid in 2015.

When complete, the Obama Presidential Center will include a library and a museum that celebrates our nation’s first African American President and First Lady, Barack and Michelle Obama.