News and Resources

Safety and health is a top priority for the OPCMIA International Training Fund (ITF). While we have historically focused on physical health—preventing injuries, illnesses and accidents in deeply demanding crafts that involve hard physical labor, heavy equipment and challenging working conditions—it’s now apparent that mental health is every bit as important.

The OPCMIA International Training Fund’s premier annual event, the Instructor Training Program, will be held from July 10-14, 2023 at Washtenaw Community College (WCC) in Ann Arbor, Michigan — and registration is now open.

“I learned more about concrete work in one year as a union worker than I did in three years as a non-union worker.” That statement from Cement Masons Local 633 apprentice Bryce Younger says it all.

OPCMIA Local Unions and their Apprenticeship Programs were active participants in National Apprenticeship Week, a nationwide celebration showcasing the successes and value of Registered Apprenticeships for training the next generation of plasterers and cement masons to be the most skilled, trained, professional workforce in history, held November 14-20, 2022.