War-injured troops deserve support, and that's what they get from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. Literally.
Apprentices at the union's Las Vegas training center learn woodworking skills—and the Brotherhood's commitment to helping others—by making custom canes for wounded servicemen and servicewomen.
Retired UBC millwright John Kendrick and Terry Dickson, a retired union electrician, came up with the idea of creating the canes and made the first batch of about 50 in Kendrick’s Las Vegas garage. When they drove the canes to Camp Pendleton, the sprawling Marine Corps base in Southern California, they found demand far exceeded their supply. So they went to John Vincent, coordinator of the Southwest Carpenters Training Fund’s Las Vegas Training Center to ask for help on the production end.
“They asked me, ‘Is there a way that we can adapt this into the apprenticeship program?’” Vincent said. While the idea appealed to him, Vincent told the retirees that the high-end materials might be an issue. He took his concerns to his apprenticeship committee at the training center and got the OK to proceed.
After contacting suppliers, contractors, and union halls, materials began pouring in and Vincent made the project part of the curriculum.
“We start in the portable power tool class and then take the pieces over to the fine woodworking class to be finished up,” he said.
To the apprentices, this is not a typical assignment.
“We definitely take special pride in making these canes,” said Enrique Chavez, an apprentice at Local 1977 in Las Vegas who worked on the project. “We do different sizes and different colors, and we use different techniques for each one of them. I’m pretty sure the vets are going to be happy with the finished work.”
The end product is a significant improvement over the standard government issue.
“You look at the metal canes they give out and you think, ‘That’s terrible,’” said Dickson. “I can’t imagine being in my 20s and taking one of those out in public.”
The UBC-made canes are cut to length after being fitted to the individual veteran, and that requires enlisting the talents of Brotherhood members from near the military hospitals where the canes are distributed.
Belmont Thompson and Isidro "Rango" Rangel, instructors at the UBC's Mid-Atlantic Regional Council's Joint School of Carpentry in Upper Marlboro, Md., recently provided canes to several marines and sailors recuperating at Bethesda Naval Hospital, where they measured each veteran and cut the cane to length.
"I was glad I was able to do that for our guys in the service," said Rangel, a 37-year member of the Brotherhood who served in the Army. "I am a vet myself and whatever I can do for my brothers, I am willing to do."
Marine Sgt. Danny Garcia of Fort Worth, Texas, who has undergone several back and knee surgeries since being injured in Iraq, appreciated the effort.
"The canes are a lot nicer than the standard ones we get issued," he said. "We are proud to receive them."
Besides thanks, the two instructors received several inquiries about Helmets to Hardhats, the program that fast-tracks veterans into union apprenticeships.
The Las Vegas training center is now churning out about 30 canes quarterly, but that’s still short of the need.
“It’s not enough, but we help as many returning veterans as we can,” Vincent said.