Anthony Cooper is an instructor leader for the free masonry training program, Pathway to Apprenticeship, the same one that gave him a second chance nine years ago.
It’s never been the same, it’s different now, I’m blessed, said Cooper, who was in jail multiple times for seven years.
At 27 and with a young daughter, Cooper decided to change his life.
After a twelve-week training, through the court he joined the free apprenticeship program of the Construction Workers Union, Local 79, at the Mason Tenders Training School.
“This has given me consistency, stability and security, what more can I ask for,” added Cooper.
Cooper is one of hundreds of ex-convicts who have benefited from this program and are now construction workers for Local 79.
“We don’t care that they are in jail for twenty years, what happened in the past, happened. What matters to us is what they are going to do in the future,” said April Rodriguez, instructor, Mason Tender Training Fund.
The Mason Tenders Training Fund of New York, in English, together with the non-profit organization, Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), offer training opportunities for Construction workers and Asbestos Workers, among other training.
This is a training program mostly for people who have been in jail but also for people looking to have a career in construction.
Francisco Grandez was a security agent at La Guardia airport when he heard about the program from a friend and applied.
greatness.
“Which is truly unbelievable because I never would have thought in my life that I would have been reading plans, climbing scaps, doing demolition,” said Grandez.
Francisco has been in the program for two years and says he has no regrets.
“I got tired of going from check to check, and really I wanted to succeed, I want to succeed,” added Francisco.
The triumph that Cooper sees today, who bought a house and has a better economic position. Although the most important thing, he says, is to be an example for his daughters.
“Going to the museum of modern art and telling my daughter ‘your dad helped build this’.”
To enter the free masonry training program, applicants must be 18 years of age or older, have a high school diploma and be able to carry at least 50 pounds.
For more information visit the website MTTF.ORG
