As millions of Americans took a moment this morning to remember the tragedy that occurred 11 years ago on Sept. 11 in New York City, Virginia and Pennsylvania, military veterans who’ve found careers through the Ironworkers, Laborers (LiUNA), Heat and Frost Insulators and Bricklayers (BAC) are rebuilding the World Trade Center in New York.

Take a minute to watch the YouTube video in the post. 

 Other unions spoke out in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and the members who made a difference that day:

Falls are the leading cause of death among construction workers and cause the second-highest number of injuries. A new interactive map marks fatal construction falls and graphically conveys what numbers alone cannot.

A union construction and building trades career can put workers on the path to the middle class. The Metropolitan Washington [D.C.] Council Community Services Agency's Building Futures pre-apprenticeship construction program can be the first step on that path.

The next course begins in October and applications are due by Sept. 14. Click here for a brochure, or call 202-974-8223 for more information.

Today marks the 75th Anniversary of the signing of the National Apprenticeship Act and at a ceremony marking the historic job training act, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis honored the Laborers’ (LIUNA)  apprenticeship programs with a 21st Century Trailblazer and Innovator award. Solis said the LIUNA program and other award winners were honored for their “long-standing success and innovative approaches” to training U.S. workers.

William Plotner waited for his daughter’s second birthday to enroll in the military on Sept. 11, 2004—three years after the World Trade Center twin towers fell. He wanted his daughter to remember the significance of her birth date. But most of all, he wanted her to think of him as a hero. Now Plotner, a U.S. Army veteran and member of the Laborers (LIUNA) Local 79, is rebuilding the World Trade Center.

Says Plotner:

On 9-11-04 I swore in. And now I get to work here. It brings, like, another sense of pride.

Mark King says he considers his Bachelor’s Degree in Labor Studies that he received Saturday at commencement ceremonies for the National Labor College’s (NLC) Class of 2012, as his “keys to the kingdom.”

King, a New Hampshire school librarian and AFT member, was one of 78 graduates from 25 unions and the AFL-CIO community affiliate Working America who received their degrees at the Silver Spring campus.

The Ironworkers’ training and apprenticeship programs ensure workers across the nation have the skills they need for 21st century green energy projects. The union and its labor-management component, IMPACT (the Ironworker Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust), have developed a new program on wind turbine construction and safety that provides workers with the job skills needed for the growing wind energy industry.

Click here to read more about this state-of-the-art training in our special AFL-CIO union innovators series.   

Are you or is someone you know trying to complete a college degree? If so, now is the time to do something about it, and the National Labor College (NLC) can get you started toward completing your degree as soon as this fall.

NLC is the only accredited labor college dedicated to educating union members and their families. Tuition is highly discounted for union members (about $300 per credit). If you apply now, take 50 percent off the application fee—and you can start taking classes in September.

Today is Teacher Appreciation Day and A.J. Kelinheksel tweets:

Today I'm thinking about Mrs. Blas-Murphy. She always took my opinions seriously. I realize now how hard that must have been.

You can thank a teacher today by tweeting your thoughts with the hashtag #thankateacher and retweet to @AFTunion.

Hans Petersen said goodbye to his roommate and left for work to install solar panels. Hans didn’t return from work that day. He died on the job when he stepped backward off an apartment building roof and fell 45 feet.

OHB’s California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program created a four-minute “digital story” to explain the tragic events that led to Petersen’s fatal fall and what could have been done to prevent it.