No 'Brakes' on Learning

Some people slow down at 53. Andrew Strader was not about to let a 16-hour drive to Missouri stand in his way.

The USW Local 2122 member at U.S. Steel–Fairfield was determined not to let his ICD benefit slip away. With shift work and long hours making it difficult to earn his CDL in Alabama, Strader found the next best option: Express CDL in Missouri. Mission accomplished — and then some.

“At orientation, ICD coordinator Rachel Key talked about the benefit and my ears perked up,” Strader said. “I was like, ‘Holy cow! I can get my CDL with my ICD benefit? I’ve always wanted to do it.’ Rachel sent me the information, and I grabbed the football and ran for the end zone.”

Strader, a utility technician, completed all of the classwork online, but he knew the hands-on driving portion would have to be done in person. So he checked his work schedule, called Express CDL for the next opening, and took the long roundtrip to earn his Class A CDL.

“It’s life skills, man – you really don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Strader said. “If someone is going to meet you halfway – or all the way – for a free education, you’ve got to take advantage of it.”

Strader has been at the mill for only two years, but he has already made the most of his ICD benefit. In addition to earning his Class A CDL, he’s currently doing online pre-apprenticeship maintenance (MTM) training through ICD; he’s also taken welding classes at the Fairfield learning center.

“I’m a self-taught welder, but when I saw the classes through ICD become available, I jumped at it,” Strader said. “You get hands-on training with an instructor to fine-tune you. My skills got honed in and tuned up a lot with ICD.”

The cost of the CDL training was covered through the ICD benefit, leaving Strader to pay just $100 for his permit and about $140 in gas for the 16-hour journey.

“I’d say it was money well spent,” Strader said. “Layoffs happen all the time, and I’ve been laid off before. The only thing I had to fall back on was my two hands, but with ICD now I have welding and a CDL to land on to support my family.

“ICD was one of the greatest things to walk into my life.”