March 24, 2025

IBEW Local 98 celebrates third annual Rosie's Girls graduates

Innovative recruitment program trains young women for careers as union electricians

By Mark Lynch, Jr., IBEW Local 98 Business Manager

Provided Courtesy/IBEW Local Union 98

(L to R) Yamileth Marquez-Hernandez, Teila Allmond, Debora Carrera, Jacqueline Lemus-Mendoza

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 just celebrated our third annual graduating class of Rosie’s Girls, our innovative pre-apprenticeship program that recruits and trains high school girls for careers as union electricians. Graduates of the Rosie’s Girls program - named after the iconic World War II female empowerment and job recruitment campaign icon - are automatically qualified to apply for an IBEW Local 98 Apprenticeship. Leading this noteworthy female recruitment effort are Elaine McGuire for IBEW Local 98 and Teila Allmond for Apprentice Training for the Electrical Industry (ATEI) 98, the Union’s apprentice training program. Both women previously worked in the field as experienced Journeywomen Union Electricians.

Provided Courtesy/IBEW Local Union 98

PA Secretary for Labor & Industry Nancy Walker

Fifteen talented young women from Philadelphia received their Rosie’s Girls diplomas after successfully completing the Fall 2024 Rosie’s Girls session. Making the event all the more memorable, the girls’ proud family members were in the audience, cheering them on. Rosie’s Girls’ Coordinator Teila Allmond served as emcee. The fifteen grads were also honored by the attendance of two governmental VIPs: PA Secretary for Labor and Industry Nancy Walker and City of Philadelphia Chief Education Officer Debora Carrera.

Mark Lynch, Jr., Business Manager, IBEW Local 98

Following the one-hour graduation ceremony, the girls participated in a three-hour electrical trade show at which the Rosie’s Girls grads and 70 new program participants got to see and interact with the newest electrical industry tools offered by major manufacturers like DeWalt, Milwaukee, Stanley Black & Decker and others.

It was, pardon the pun, a riveting day for all in attendance.

For more information on IBEW Local 98’s Rosie’s Girls Pre-Apprenticeship Program, visit https://www.facebook.com/rosiesgirls98.

Mark Lynch, Jr., IBEW Local 98 Business Manager