Main Street

Both the UA group and the NTI group (IBEW and NECA members) here at the beginning of the month were participating in trainings, not so much convention activities. They both used classrooms at Washtenaw Community College and University of Michigan for activities.
What does that mean? Well the earlier event was the The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association who have a National Training Institute here in Ann Arbor, this was the third year. It was abundantly clear in the opening and closing ceremonies, which I attended, that the fact the UM uses union labor brought this training event to Ann Arbor. Great treatment and welcoming from the city, the college and the UM keeps them coming back.
The NTI was previously help in Knoxville TN, so the weather is another asset we have over the previous location. That was over 2,000 people the frist week in August, which I understand is being repeated this week with the pipefitters and more.
A great economic boon, as well as a lot of people really enjoying our city!

Thanks for that, Linda. The pipefitters have become closely associated with WCC and even have a dedicated building [link] – this is a major coup for our area, one we can be proud of. Nice of them to fill up the time between Art Fair and football – I’m sure our restauranteurs appreciate it.

Here’s a link to a 2009 Chronicle article on NTI’s first year in Ann Arbor: [link]