Had a pretty great day in Pittsburgh last week with Senator Dave McCormick, who understands workforce better than most politicians, and Wells Fargo, who – when it comes to workforce – continues to put their money where their mouth is.
The Senator showed me around his beloved city, and proved to be an excellent guide. We started with breakfast at a legendary local diner called Pamela’s. Me, the Senator, and the head of every trade union in town. Electric, plumbing, carpentry, HVAC…they were all there, and there was much to discuss about the state of work in the Keystone State. Great guys, great conversation, great omelet.
From there, we headed over to FerroWorks, the only mill in town that still pours steel. Once upon a time, there were a hundred steel mills like this one, up and down the river. Today, there is only one, but the pride and work ethic on display is impossible to ignore. Beyond their core manufacturing 
capabilities, FerroWorks is also dedicated to workforce development. The company actively runs metallurgy and metalworking training programs and apprenticeships to help grow the domestic manufacturing workforce. FerroWorks is known primarily for churning out the solid steel knuckles that connect railroad cars. Thousands and thousands and thousands of knuckles, since 1868. I swear, no place on earth looks more like work than a steel mill.
From there, we headed over to CCAC, a local community college that’s likewise committed to workforce development. The tour was very impressive. So much state-of-the-art technology, and so much talent on hand. Again – the pride that these teachers
take in their work, and the enthusiasm of the students I met…just great. Reminded me of my own alma mater, another community college called Essex, back in the day.
After that, I joined a panel discussion with the Senator, my new friend Scott Mautino – who gave us the tour of FerroWorks – and Fernando Revas from Wells Fargo, who casually presented my foundation with a check for $1 million. That money will be earmarked to support workforce development in Pennsylvania. To say I’m grateful to Wells Fargo, and humbled by their ongoing support, would be an understatement.
Finally, the Senator took me to lunch at the Capital Grille with a couple dozen CEOs from Pennsylvania’s leading companies. All are intently focused on skilled labor, and all appeared to listen with great interest to what we’re doing at mikeroweWORKS, and what we’re about to do.
Suffice it to say, no state is doing more than Pennsylvania to drill down on this issue. Democrat, Republican, union, non-union…everyone has a seat at the table, because everyone has skin in the game. I’m super encouraged to see what’s next. Big thanks to Senator McCormick and Wells Fargo for leading the charge.
Mike
PS. The guy behind the podium is Manny Gomez, and he completely upstaged me and everyone else during the panel. In short, Manny started as a grinder at FerroWorks seven years ago, and worked his way up to a supervisor, overseeing 120 workers today. He came from a very tough part of town, and worked his way up with a level of determination and work ethic available to anyone, but seldom exercised. Manny is a rockstar, with a story that needs to be told.
Also of note, a couple of MRW scholarship recipients who happened to work in the area and dropped by to say hello and make me very proud. Zoey McEleeven applied for a work ethic scholarship last year from mikeroweWORKS, and got one, along with a badass tattoo. (Half woman, half tiger!) She’s working today as a diesel power systems tech who gets to travel all over the country doing what she loves.
Jason Taylor was also there, even though his hair was not. Jason was a janitor when he applied several years ago, and today, he’s the lead building tech at Chatham University, overseeing facilities. More importantly, Jason told me that his scholarship from MRW led to a series of domestic events that directly resulted in the birth of his two children. I didn’t ask for details but assume they were named after me, and remain deeply flattered.
Like I said, a pretty good day.
If you want more, the Pittsburgh Gazette did a nice write-up. Hopefully, it’s not behind a paywall. https://bit.ly/mrwscholarships
PPS. Work ethic scholarships currently available at mikeroweWORKS.org. Go get some!