The International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers (BAC) held its Annual Leadership Conference at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind., last month. Part of the conference includes workshop sessions for regional leaders to hear about new and exciting initiatives that could benefit their members. This year, Kevin O’Shea of Mastclimbers LLC in Grayson, Ga., and Aerial Work Platform Training’s mast climber representative, conducted a number of workshops on mast climber safety, the drive for “safe-use” regulation and, AWPT’s pivotal role in educating and training workers.

“Through my work with unions in recent months, it has become obvious that BAC members are some of the most frequent users of mast climbers, booms and scissors in the United States and the unions themselves have reached a high level of training and education through their apprenticeship programs,” O’Shea said.

O’Shea is a senior instructor for AWPT, the North American arm of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), an international organization dedicated to the safe use of access equipment and creators of an ISO-certified training program that is recognized worldwide.

Aerial Work Platform Training is the U.S. subsidiary of IPAF that promotes safety and training in North America. Further information can be found at www.awpt.org.

Founded in 1865, BAC represents hundreds of thousands of members throughout the United States.