Pete Ielmini, Executive Director of the Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust (LMCT), joined Ed “Flash” Ferenc on the America’s Work Force Union Podcast on June 25, where he was calling in from Phoenix, while attending the Insulation Industry International Apprentice and Training Fund’s (IIIATF) annual Joint Apprenticeship Conference and Master Apprenticeship Contest. The conversation ranged from the origins and growth of the conference, to a legislative update on the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act, to one of the most pressing and underreported issues in the trades: the disproportionately high rates of suicide and substance misuse among construction workers.
With U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introducing legislation to fund a formal study into the root causes of those high rates, Ielmini explained why getting to the causes, not just raising awareness, is the only way to make real progress.
Why unions exist: the message Ielmini brings to every apprenticeship conference
Ielmini opened by explaining what brings him to Phoenix: the MAC/JAC, an annual gathering that is near and dear to his heart, and one he has watched grow dramatically over the decades. Before getting into the mechanics of the conference, he made a point he planned to deliver to the room in a few hours: you cannot talk about apprenticeship without talking about why unions exist in the first place.
Unions were formed in the 1880s on two core principles that remain just as relevant today. First, that a man or woman should be able to earn wages that provide enough to buy what they need to live well in this country. Second, working conditions should be fair and safe. Everything the building trades do in their apprenticeship programs — teaching craft skills, developing leaders, training foremen — flows from those two foundational commitments.
Ielmini also addressed why the media’s portrayal of unions so often frames organized labor negatively. He pointed to the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee — formerly called the Labor Committee — and a recently scheduled hearing on apprenticeship programs, but not a single representative from a union apprenticeship program was invited. The apprenticeship conference in Phoenix, he said, is where the real work and the real story are told.
How the JAC conference has grown
Ielmini traced the history of the JAC back to its origins in 1978, when three apprenticeship coordinators met in Alabama, sat by a pickup truck with sandwiches and beer, and spent an afternoon sharing ideas about what was working in their Local Union training programs. When they finished, they decided to do it again the following year. The group then grew to 10. Soon, they moved the event to a hotel and then sponsors started showing up.
Today, the conference draws approximately 300 attendees — apprenticeship coordinators, instructors, Joint Apprenticeship Committee trustees and Local Union representatives from across the U.S. and Canada. They come together to share knowledge and receive professional development.
The Master Apprenticeship Competition (MAC) is a highlight Ielmini described with genuine enthusiasm. Each of the 10 regional Conferences within the International holds its own competition, with apprentices applying materials and completing written tests that include union fundamentals. Regional champions then advance to the International competition held at the annual conference, where 10 finalists work multiple days, side by side, on identical piping systems under timed and judged conditions.
The winner is announced at a dinner attended by JAC attendees and MAC competitors at the end of the week. Ielmini, a self-described football coach at heart, sees competition as one of the most powerful development tools available. He expressed genuine respect for every apprentice who steps up to compete. Displaying your skills in front of a crowd and subjecting yourself to judgment, he said, takes real courage.
FMIA update: fourth quarter push as the 119th Congress winds down
With the summer recess underway, Ielmini provided an update on the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act. On the House side, the bill remains on the suspension calendar — a procedural queue for non-controversial legislation awaiting a floor vote. On the Senate side, Senate Bill 4312 was introduced in April by Sen. Cortez Masto and Sen. Daines (R-Mont.), and they are actively gathering co-sponsors.
Ielmini has visited approximately 25 Senate offices to build support and was planning to return to Washington, D.C. next week for more visits. The described a pattern where most senators are waiting to see others sign on before committing themselves. It is a familiar dynamic in legislative advocacy, and one that requires patience — something Ielmini acknowledged does not come naturally to him.
He has received no negative responses from any office he has visited. The support is there. The challenge is converting that quiet support into formal co-sponsorships. The 119th Congress ends in December, and Ielmini expressed confidence that the bill can get done in the fourth quarter, while noting that the final months of any Congress tend to be chaotic and compressed. He is treating it like the end of a close game where the outcome is not decided, but the team is still on the field.
A bill to study construction worker suicide rates
The most sobering portion of the conversation centered on a piece of legislation Ielmini recently learned about: a bill introduced by Sen. Cortez Masto directing Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to fund an in-depth study into why construction workers experience disproportionately high rates of suicide and substance misuse.
Construction workers make up just 7.4 percent of the American workforce, but account for nearly 17.9 percent of all deaths by suicide that are reported with an industry classification. The root causes, such as workplace conditions, management practices, physical demands, financial stresses and other factors that may drive those rates so far above the general population have not been adequately studied, Ielmini said.
He is now pushing for support of the legislation in conjunction with the FMIA — making the case in every Senate office he visits. He sees the two efforts as complementary, both grounded in protecting and improving the lives of working people.
The Insulator Union’s existing mental health infrastructure is built around the Insulators Member Assistance Program (IMAP), which partners with Youturn Health to provide training, peer counseling and coaching to members across the country. Youturn Health operates at the national level, works directly with Local Unions and understands the specific pressures of the construction environment. Ielmini described his current role as connecting those professionals who have the expertise with Sen. Cortez Masto’s office, which has the legislative power to fund the kind of study the industry needs.
Ielmini believes more needs to be done. Awareness is not enough. Simple counseling is not enough. The industry needs to understand the root causes of what is happening to its workers and then act on what it finds. A funded, rigorous study is the necessary next step. When that data exists, it strengthens collective bargaining as well. When a union can bring evidence to the negotiating table, it makes it easier to argue for the conditions and supports that workers actually need.
Listen to the episode
To hear the full conversation with Host Ed “Flash” Ferenc, including additional details on the MAC/JAC, the FMIA’s path to a vote and the legislation to study mental health in the construction industry, visit the America’s Work Force Union Podcast episode featuring Pete Ielmini. The show is available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify and Pandora. For more information and data on construction worker mental health, visit our mental health page.