Historic SDP & Building-Trades Partnership to Benefit Philadelphia Public School Students

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, an historic agreement was signed this week that will provide building-trade apprenticeships for public school graduates in Philadelphia. "We are about to create a new middle class," said Philadelphia School Reform Commission chairman James Nevels. The agreement stipulates that the building-trades unions will accept at least 250 and up to 425 apprentices over the next four years. These apprenticeships offer the opportunity for public-school students who don't plan to go to college to eventually get union work as bricklayers, electricians, carpenters, plumbers and painters, positions that can pay between $20 and $40 per hour.