NEW COMMERCIAL FEATURES STEAMFITTER APPRENTICES

A new commercial for CAUSE, the organization of the Mechanical Contractors Association, and the two unions -- Steamfitters and Plumbers – whose members work for the contractors, begins airing this week. The 30-second ad features three young union apprentices and is designed to encourage young people to consider a career in the mechanical trades.  

The three apprentices are Jason Lowery and Shirley Ogle, who are members of Steamfitters Local 602, and Jeff Kinney, a member of Plumbers Local 5.

“Like every other industry, from nursing to teaching, we face the challenge of attracting qualified employees in today’s high employment environment,” said John Dunleavy, CAUSE Chairman.  “By featuring real plumbers and steamfitters in our ad, we feel we can show potential job recruits that there are some great career opportunities in our industry, and that intelligent, attractive young people are taking advantage of them.”

 Dunleavy noted that the mechanical trades are a high-tech industry now, and must attract people with mathematics and other skills commensurate with the demands of the job.  He said the ad was designed to appeal to recent high school and community college graduates and people leaving the military service.

“Our workers are extremely well-paid,” Dunleavy added, and the pension programs in place mean that a young person starting out today can expect to have up to a million dollars in savings by the time he or she retires.”

“But not enough people are aware of the benefits, or the interesting, high-tech nature of the jobs,” he added.  “That’s why we thought a commercial would help spread the word.”  At the conclusion of the commercial, viewers are shown a toll-free telephone number, 1-888-731-0337, and the CAUSE web address, www.causegmw.org, so they can follow up on the career opportunity.

The ad will begin its run on Comcast Sports Network, and may be extended to other outlets, according to Dunleavy.