Labor Spotlight- Johntay Young

You cannot be afraid of heights to do what Johntay Young, proud member of IUPAT 781, does for a living painting. Here’s his testimonial about what being a union construction worker means to him.

“If you’d ask me, I’d say that being a union painter is all that plus a bag Doritos.

It’s been a great experience with many more great experiences to come. The fact that I know that this is an organization that looks out for the people and thrives on helping all its members get the best wages, best representation, and the best benefits from their employers speaks volumes.

My past experiences with non-union contractors have often left me struggling to maintain a healthy life style while working my life away. I never felt that it should be so hard to maintain in life. In reality, it shouldn’t. Especially when you’re a person that works hard for a better life. It almost felt as if the harder I worked, the harder it was for me to get ahead.

Since joining the union, I’ve learned a great deal about my profession through different training programs and informational meetings. I almost feel obligated to learn as much as I can, because I feel like I’ve been missing out on so much information that unions have to offer. I do this not only for my trade but also for the community.

Unions everywhere do so much for our communities and it’s rarely highlighted in our news outlets. I love the feeling of being a productive community member who can actually give back to our community.

This is just the beginning of an aptitude of self-motivated attempts to better myself and those around me. The goal is to encourage or be an encouragement to my young brothers and sisters in finding the pathways to a better level of life. I want to be a conduit for more African Americans to navigate their way to and through the trades. We need new pipelines that are not prison pipelines to help us move out of poverty and into life-sustaining wages.”