Three Local Union 25 Training Center Staff Teach During National Instructor Training Program
Rock Island, Illinois (August 2023) — From August 12-18, nearly 2,500 United Association members
from throughout the U.S. and Canada converged upon Ann Arbor, Mich., for the annual Instructor
Training Program (ITP). The ITP is a rigorous 5-year certification program with a mission of maintaining
the highest level of quality craftsmanship within the plumbing and pipefitting industry.
This year, the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 25 is proud to announce the addition of Training
Coordinator Chuck McKnight to the ITP’s faculty lineup, along with full-time instructors Dave Kealey and
Jake Greer. To have three full-time instructors tapped for the “train the trainer” program is a significant
achievement.
“For a mid-sized local, it’s a pretty big deal,” McKnight said. “Everyone there is a journeyman instructor
at their own local, and they’re coming to learn the latest technology and techniques to take back to their
own union hall and spruce up their teaching methods. There are no ‘canned’ classes and instructors are
given a lot of autonomy. It makes sense — in different parts of the country there are different needs,
rules and regulations.”
McKnight is set to co-teach the UA Crane Signal Person Certification for Instructors course with Kealey.
Certification in this course will give participants a working knowledge of safe crane operation and allow
them to become instructors and exam administrators for their home locals.
“Each trade has their own national training program of some sort, but the UA has one of the most
admired programs and invests the most in training each year,” McKnight said, noting it costs roughly
$5,000 to send each instructor, with a 5-year, 200-hour minimum to get their full instructor certification.
“That’s a lot to invest in an individual, but worth it because it makes us the best at meeting the
plumbing, pipefitting and HVACR needs within our communities.”
McKnight has attended the ITP as an instructor student since 2008, and he’s excited for the opportunity
to share his industry expertise with other instructor colleagues next week.
“It’s a credit to the people who came before me. I only know what I know because other people taught
me,” McKnight said. “That’s what an apprenticeship is, right? You’re passing knowledge on to someone
else from someone who gave it to you. We’ve got a lot of skilled and capable people in this local
—current and past — and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”
To learn more about the Local Union 25 apprenticeship program, visit https://lu25.org/training/.
About Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 25
Since the early 1900s, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 25 has guaranteed the professionalism of its
journeypeople, and the value of their work through a world-class training program. Five years of
extensive classroom training in a state-of-the-art training center plus on-the-job experience produces the
most skilled, qualified and safest workforce in our community. Local Union 25 members provide 70% of
all plumbing, HVAC and pipefitting performed throughout the Quad Cities region. For more information,
visit www.lu25.org.
