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Learn more about the exciting developments at Summit Academy OIC in our recent press coverage.
For media inquiries or photos, please contact:
Lisa Bergerson, 612-278-5257, lbergerson@saoic.org
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| August 25, 2010
Diversity hiring a goal for MnDOT
Agency set standards, using federal funds to boost minority workforce.
| Training programs skewed more toward minority recruitment as part of the collaborative have already sent at least eight students of color from unemployment to state construction sites as heavy equipment operators. (PDF) |
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| August, 2010
Problem Solved: Louis King and Summit Academy OIC are creating jobs by equipping those who need them most. | Like all great leaders, Louis King is a problem solver. When he took note of many minorities lacking jobs, education, as well as a sense of purpose and pride, he set out to find a solution. (PDF) |
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| July 20, 2010
First class of heavy equipment operators graduates through new union-community partnership | Williams is benefitting from a joint venture between the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49, a union of 13,000 workers in Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and Summit Academy OIC, a nonprofit educational and vocational training center working with adults in the most economically depressed neighborhoods of the Twin Cities. (PDF) |
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| July 9, 2010
Summit Academy graduates ready for Highway Heavy jobs | "This type of program was long overdue; traditionally men and women raised on the family farm joined Local 49 for a more secure future with better health care and pension benefits. As our state's landscape has changed, we have had to find new ways to recruit new workers interested in a career in our industry..." (PDF) |
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| July 9, 2010
Union, school collaborate to get residents from depressed neighborhoods into good jobs | Nineteen students, including three women, graduate today from a 20-week curriculum that pairs on-the-job training from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49 and classroom instruction from Summit Academy OIC... (PDF) |
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| July 7, 2010
Local 49 prepares minorities, women to operate backhoes, other construction equipment | What's unusual about the new program is that it's operated jointly by a union (the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49) and an inner-city vocational training center (Summit Academy OIC). Local 49 officials call it a "groundbreaking" initiative that came about after two years of planning and negotiating. (PDF) |
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| June 28, 2010
Man Recalls Life In A Minneapolis Gang | "I want to be a part of the change. I feel I'm obligated to be a part of the change," he said. "I've been a part of the destruction for so long. Now it's time for me to be a part of the change." (PDF) |
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| June 20, 2010
King and Brown: To end racial disparity, take the first step
Let's bring money, time and influence to bear on this Twin Cities problem.
| A recent national study showing that blacks in our area are three times more likely to be unemployed than whites has resulted in a spike of attention to the issue. We must now fan this spark to bring about the flames of change. Talk alone will not do it. (PDF) |
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| June 16, 2010
Clements: Jobs training, the way out of poverty | "If you are going to put people to work, you need the education, you need access, you need the environment, the social network," King says. "That's what we do. We're working to build that social network". (PDF) |
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| May 24, 2010
Minnesota #2 in nation in racial gap in jobless rate | The phenomenon of racial disparities in unemployment is nothing new, but it's clear the recession has made it worse. Louis King argues that although some might think that the state's relatively small number of minorities would make fixing racial disparities easier, the reality is often exactly opposite." (PDF) |
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| March 29, 2010
Black Employment in Crisis | "One in five African American men, aged 20 years and older, is unemployed, and black teens are jobless at an even higher rate." Louis King was a guest on Kerri Miller's show discussing this issue. | |
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| March 25, 2010
Louis King: Widening the workforce for a building boom | "Building projects such as the light rail in St. Paul and the Union Depot have the potential to benefit communities of color if we develop a workforce that includes these individuals and helps us leverage the more than $2.4 billion that will be spent on local infrastructure projects in the next few years." (PDF) |
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| March 15, 2010
Fox 9 Community Connection Green Special | Louis King sat down with Robyne Robinson for Fox 9's Community Connections Green Special that aired Saturday. Summit's segment discussed its weatherization and green roofing training, as well as its on-site Green House. | |
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| March 2, 2010
Exec's laser focus helps minority training, hiring | Louis King, the veteran job-training executive, is starting to see results from his three-year, demonstration-to-boardroom campaign to raise the percentage of minority laborers on government-financed road, stadium and other public works projects. (PDF) |
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| February 26, 2010
Twins' Target Field a home run for local contractors | After more than a decade of lobbying and about two and a half years of construction, the Minnesota Twins finally have left the Metrodome for the greener pastures of Target Field. Workers included 35 people who were referred through Summit Academy OIC. (PDF)
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| January 15, 2010
Job-trainer Summit Academy expanding to east metro | "Summit Academy OIC, a nonprofit that offers job training and other educational services in poor neighborhoods, is expanding into St. Paul with plans to open its first location there this fall." (PDF) |
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| December 11, 2009
Mpls. projects to get $5.2M in federal funds | "The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a spending bill that, if passed by the senate and signed by President Obama, will provide about $5.2 million for a handful of projects in Minnesota's fifth congressional district, which includes part of Minneapolis.
The funds include $400,000 for Summit's Green Jobs Initiative located in the Harrison neighborhood of Minneapolis." (PDF) |
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| November 17, 2009
Target Field project opens doors for young worker | (originally published in Finance and Commerce) | "When Jamillah Karon enrolled in Summit Academy OIC in the spring of 2007, she wasn't certain exactly what the future had in store for her. Less than a year later, after a stint in residential construction, Karon found herself working on the future home of the Minnesota Twins. She's employed by Minneapolis-based Tri Construction, a minority-owned contractor working on the project." |
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| November 5, 2009
Summit Academy taking workers from minimum to livable wages | "Summit has incorporated weatherization training into all of our carpentry pre-apprentice certification training. Training in green collar building techniques makes these students more valuable to local construction companies." (PDF) |
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| October 29, 2009
Green Construction Education in Minneapolis | "Summit Academy OIC is offering "green education" for students wanting to learn about this growing trend... Students learn all aspects of building a home, but in the last 4 months, they learned how to build a green house." (PDF) |
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| September/October 2009
All Worked Up | "King saw opportunity, especially for those, like Turner, struggling to get a footing in the job market. Many green jobs are entry-level--installing solar panels, repairing bicycles, or working in the burgeoning recycling industry." (PDF) |
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| September 16, 2009
Minneapolis Target Center becomes first U.S. arena with green roof | "Minneapolis city leaders yesterday celebrated the greening of the Target Center roof at a celebration on top of the arena. Twenty of the workers were graduates of training programs at Summit Academy OIC." (PDF) |
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| August 26, 2009
The Green Economy: Saving Energy And Making Money | "The students at Summit Academy in Minneapolis are getting hands-on training in green construction. They're building a model home to study weatherization that will save energy on heating and cooling."
(PDF) |
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| August 7, 2009
Minority hiring report shows little progress on MnDOT projects
| "The construction industry itself needs to do more to level its unequal playing field, said Alex Tittle, education director for Summit Academy OIC.."(PDF) |
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| July 5, 2009
Questions remain over wisdom of Shubert move
| "Up to one-third of the workers on the Shubert project will be women, minority apprentices and skilled minority craftsmen. The jobs will pay $18.50 to $40 an hour for months. That's a good thing." (PDF) |
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| June 26, 2009
Louis King: Minority Business Executive
| "As president and CEO of Summit Academy
OIC, King has helped provide job training to thousands of Twin
Cities men and guided them to good-paying jobs and productive
lives."(PDF)
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| May 13, 2009
Officials wrestle with tracking minority hiring for stimulus projects
| Critics say federal projects are behind on minority hires, but one official said there probably won't be enough female and minority contractors to go around. (PDF)
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