Green Labor Journal - Working for a Substainable Future

UA Sustainable Technologies Program

At the heart of the green building movement

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UA Sustainable Technologies Program
By Steven H. Allen, LEED AP
At the heart of the green building movement

The United Association (UA) is a multi-craft union representing Plumbers, Pipefitters,
Sprinkler Fitters, and HVACR Service Technicians throughout North America.

Each year the United Association Training Department spends over $150 million on the education and training of this highly skilled workforce.  The knowledge and the hands-on skills of UA members are used each day to perform the work that makes up the very heart of the Green Building Movement.

We have just completed our second Green Systems Training Trailer. For the last two years, the first of our UA  Green Training Trailers has been traveling back and forth across the United States educating UA members and the general public on green systems and energy efficiency in  both commercial/industrial and residential systems.

Under the UA’s Green Systems Awareness Training & Certification Program, three, new “green” craft-specific certifications are being developed in the following areas: Green Plumbing/Pipefitting; Green Sprinkler Fitting, and Green Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR).  Furthermore, the core information of Green Systems Awareness is being incorporated into all UA training curriculums.

LEED Certification
More than fifty percent of the requirements set forth in the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification for New Construction & Major Renovation rating system specifically refer to the systems installed, maintained and serviced by the men and women of the United Association.

The USGBC’s LEED rating system standards for Storm Water Design, Water Efficiency, Energy &  Atmosphere, and  Indoor Environmental Quality are architectural and engineering concepts that are transformed into reality by the knowledge and hands-on skills of UA workers.  

The design and installation of sustainable water and energy systems in our buildings and homes are just the starting point of energy efficiency and sustainability. If a building or home is to remain “green over time,” it must be maintained and serviced by workers who feel that they have ownership in the Green Building Movement.  From installation and startup, to scheduled or emergency service, UA workers are involved at every stage in the life of an industrial, commercial, or residential building.

Our training curriculums concentrate not just on the individual skill sets that are unique to each craft, we also teach our Apprentices and Journeyworkers to understand how building and homes work as “systems.”

We have been Green for quite some time. Over two decades ago, many high schools across our nation began to replace their wood, metal and machine shops with computer labs. America retooled the educational system to produce “knowledge workers.”

Unfortunately, as the environmental systems in the commercial and residential structures where these workers live and work became more complex, our national educational system reduced or eliminated essential training in hands-on skills and related craft areas.

Fortunately, United Association skilled trades training programs were never reduced in size or scope.  Since we could no longer assume that entry level students were familiar with shop safety, basic physics, mechanical principles or the use of hand tools, we made sure that our training programs provided the foundation for the more complex training to come.  In a sense, our union became the repository of the hands-on knowledge no longer provided by high school shop programs.

UA Skilled Trades Training    
Today, UA Training Department programs proudly graduate “knowledge workers” with technology skills plus hands-on skills and Associate Degrees in Construction Supervision and Sustainable Technology ─ with majors in Plumbing, Pipefitting, Sprinkler Fitting or HVACR. United Association pipe trades industry workers are the heart, lungs and blood of the Green Building Movement.

The UA is very proud of its leadership role in Skilled Trades Training. For the past three years we have been training instructors to certify our members in Green Systems Awareness.  The program is also open to our Employer Partners as well as to the general public.  

The UA Green Systems Awareness program has recently been recognized by the United States Green Building Council’s Educational Provider Program. The UA’s Green Systems Awareness Certification program has met the following criteria established by the USGBC for educational programs:
    •   Are preeminent in green building education and align with USGBC’s educational mission.
    •   Offer courses at all learning levels to supplement USGBC’s core educational offerings.
    •    Are thoroughly reviewed and meet USGBC’s criteria for instructional design and content quality.
The United Association is honored to have one of our educational programs in the field
of Sustainable Technology receive this recognition by the United States Green Building Council.

Some new green developers naively start off by asking, “what is the minimum amount of training necessary for a person to build, inspect and maintain green buildings”?  Well, at the United Association we don’t have “minimum training.”

Being a member of the United Association is to be enrolled in a lifelong training program. We understand the Green Building Movement. It is what we do.  And more importantly, it is who we are.

Steven H. Allen is Director of the Sustainable Technologies Department of the United Association. He is a Member of the Green Mechanical Council and the U.S. Green Building Council, and is a USGBC LEED Accredited Professional.