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ITLC’s Executive Director Delivers Keynote Address at Metro Transit’s Graduation Ceremony

Posted November 2023

As the keynote address speaker at Metro Transit's (Minneapolis/St. Paul) October 26 bus operator apprenticeship graduation ceremony, ITLC Executive Director Jack Clark delivered words of praise to the thirty graduates, calling them "skilled professionals” who serve the critical role of "holding the community together, building community." Jack echoed Metro Transit's General Manager Lesley Kandaras' comment to the graduates that the operators are indispensable as the agency's ambassadors and its public face. Amalgamated Transit Union’s (ATU) Local 1005 Bus Apprenticeship Coordinator Alec Johnson introduced Jack, noting that ITLC was the "organization to thank for helping us to become the second bus operator apprenticeship in the country." Jack, in turn, emphasized that Metro Transit’s unique two-year operator apprenticeship is a recognized national program.

 

Jack also asked the operator mentors to stand, acknowledging that they "gave of themselves very freely" in "passing on their knowledge and skills and creating a legacy." Others who addressed and congratulated the graduating operators included ATU Local 1005 President Ryan Timlin and Director of Apprenticeship, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry Erin Larsen. 



View the Jack’s keynote address and Alec's introduction in the video below.  https://youtu.be/GPoLTxuk9LQ