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In the past four years, a pre-apprenticeship program in Oregon has successfully prepared 137 prison inmates for careers in the construction industry. Yet days appear to be numbered for the 12-week Union Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Training (U-PACT) program because its funding is due to run out in approximately six months.

Three labor unions partnered to launch U-PACT, which began at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility women’s prison in Wilsonville. Program co-founders include Anna Martin, director of U-PACT Oregon; Kevin Crocker, Ironworkers Local 29 apprenticeship coordinator; Shawn Lenczowski, Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local 1 business manager; and Jeremy Kendall, Cement Masons Local 555 apprenticeship coordinator.

U-PACT was inspired by Washington’s Trades Related Apprenticeship Coaching (TRAC) program, according to Martin. TRAC helps a lot of women realize they are capable of more than they think, said Jennifer Robinson, a Farwest Steel field superintendent. She graduated from the program in 2006.

鈥淚t really drives them in a great direction for their future,鈥� Robinson said of pre-apprenticeship programs.

U-PACT provides training inside three Oregon prisons: Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, South Fork Forest Camp in Tillamook, and Deer Ridge Correctional Institution in Madras.

For the hands-on ironworker training, Martin teaches program participants how to tie rebar, use a cutting torch, set up a welder, use construction math, take elevations, tie knots, and more. The cement masons teach them how to set up a pour and lay concrete. The brick masons work with participants to create mock setups for chimneys or retaining walls, Martin said.

Each cohort receives approximately three months of training. Officials typically accept adults in custody within a year of their release date but have accepted people who are scheduled for release in two years.

Upon release, U-PACT graduates get direct entry into apprenticeship for a trade of their choice from three options: ironwork, cement masonry, or brick masonry. Then they’re added to a ready-to-work list, Martin said.

Martin helped set the wheels in motion for U-PACT in 2022, when she wrote for Ironworkers Local 29 a proposal for a $10,000 Future Ready Oregon grant to explore the possibility of teaching a pre-apprenticeship program inside Oregon prisons. Then a $264,000 Future Ready Oregon grant paid for two cohorts at Coffee Creek.

Later, U-PACT received a U.S. Department of Labor grant through Portland General Electric. The $1.6 million award paid for 12 cohorts at Coffee Creek, four cohorts at South Fork, and two cohorts at Deer Ridge. But now funding is on track to run out at the end of September.

鈥淚’ve been watching to see if there are any other grants that align with our goals as well as raising awareness about the program, but as of right now there is no future funding,鈥� Martin said.

Ashley Lautenschlager, a U-PACT graduate at Coffee Creek, said she hopes the program will continue. She doesn’t know where she would be without it, she said.

鈥淚 think this program is really a great program to be able to help reduce recidivism and help people turn their life around,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen I heard about this pre-apprenticeship program that was direct entry into one of the three unions, I was like, oh wow, this is right up my alley.鈥�

The program helped show Lautenschlager that it is possible to have a good life and a career after incarceration, she said. She exited prison in July 2024 and signed up for the Ironworkers Local 29 apprenticeship program.

鈥淏ecause I did the pre-apprenticeship, when I got out, they paid for all of my tools, they paid for my boots, they paid for my first month’s dues, they paid for all of the fees,鈥� she said.

Lautenschlager first worked for Farwest Steel of Vancouver, Washington, on a few projects, including the Alder 9 apartment building in Southeast Portland. She also worked on the Abernethy Bridge for two different companies. First, she set up post-tension cables for general contractor Schwager Davis Inc. of San Jose, California. Then she contributed to rebar work for rebar specialist Camblin Steel of Roseville, California.

Apprentices need 8,000 hours in different areas to finish the four-year program. These include hours in rebar and post-tensioning, structural, rigging and welding, and more. Lautenschlager is on track to finish her second year in July.

鈥淚 get to jump around, try out different things, get my hours in all the different categories so that way I’m a well-rounded ironworker and I can maintain skills in each of the areas,鈥� she said.

With the union, Lautenschlager works for different employers. Once she becomes a journeyman, she will be able to decide whether she wants to continue working for different companies or for one.

U-PACT graduate Brianna Boyd has been working with Cordero Escalera, a journeyman ironworker with Ironworkers Local 29 who is currently working for concrete contractor Zavala Corporation, for around a month. Escalera was pleasantly surprised by Boyd’s drive and motivation, he said. She is always willing to learn, he added.

鈥淪he came (to the jobsite) already familiar with a lot of the ironworker training that we receive at the apprenticeship program,鈥� he said.

Escalera also worked with a few other graduates, including Lautenschlager on the Abernethy Bridge. It was refreshing to see a young, female face on the crew eager to work hard and earn her pay, he said.

Pre-apprenticeship program participants gain fundamentals that not all workers possess on their first day on a jobsite, Martin said. Those skills have helped U-PACT graduates contribute to the Bull Run Filtration Project, the Abernethy Bridge seismic improvements, the Intel campus modernization and expansion, and other projects.